Tony Hardy’s 4 Foot Jupiter 2 part 5

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The ship was painted an overall aluminum color and turned out great. Interior lighting was provided by a fluorescent that I picked up at Home Depot. There is no interior power source. Everything plugs right into a wall socket. This made more sense as the lights had to run all day at Wonderfest without any down time for battery changes, etc. Besides, I’m not much of an electrician either

The display cradle was cut from clear plex and utilized the same contour templates that I had made earlier from the lower hull. The exhibits shop where I work made this for me and they did an incredible job! It breaks down for easy transport and is pretty lightweight.

I still needed to complete the main view port frame, but was now out of time. The Robinsons would have to be exposed to the vacuum of space for their first display. There would be no clear plastic in the view port for this trip. Actually this ended up working out great at the show. The incomplete view port allowed many fans to take photos of the interior without having to worry about reflections from the flash.

Finished at last! Two days until Wonderfest and counting. For a while there I didn’t think that I was going to make it. I packed the ship as best I could and barely fit it into the back of my Toyota Previa, and I do mean barely!

I arrived in Louisville Friday afternoon and was able to set-up the Jupiter that evening. Finally, I could step back look at thing and enjoy it. However, this paled in comparison to the overall reactions of Jupiter 2 aficionados that filed their way past the model that weekend. The general reaction was one of total wonderment. A slack jawed glassy eyed look was usually followed by a grunt and slight drooling. You would have thought that there was some type of electroshock therapy going on, but I understood, as did every other fan that gawked at the J2 that weekend. Fans just couldn’t believe how big the model really was. The extraordinary craftsmanship of the artists who originally created this pattern in the 20th Century Fox Studio mill still lingers. It is a classic design. One that has not diminished with the passage of time.

This was a bizarre weekend to say the least. Traversing across the years from 1965 to the year 2000 the Jupiter 2 filming model had virtually flown out of my television set and into my life in a way that I would never have believed. Had that little six year old ever known that he  would one day grow up and be the proud owner of one of these beauties, he probably would have had trouble sleeping for the next 35 years?

I certainly must thank Steve Iverson and Anthony Taylor for including shots of my J2 in their recent book. I remembered that they had taken pictures and had requested some shots from me, but in the haze of the show I never registered that they were using them in the book. What a pleasant surprise! Thanks guys!

Bottom line is that we’re all a lucky bunch. We’ve grown up and witnessed an incredible period of human history, plus we grew up with great TV shows, movies, toys and models. We hit the jackpot! So whenever you’re having a rotten day at work, a bad relationship or an illness, build a model and reconnect with the innocent times of your youth. You can go home again!

Tony Hardy