Tony Hardy’s Lost In Space #420

I only had the #419 kit as a kid, so it was a real pleasure to finally build the #420 kit after owning the Polar Lights kit for almost 9 years.

I did a bit of research before I started painting. First off , over the years I had come across several color photos of the screen-used Cyclops costume, so I decided to paint him as accurately as possible.

Also, a friend mine by the name of David Reynolds recently paid a visit to Red Rock Canyon in the Mojave desert. This is the location used in the original LIS pilot for Chariot scenes, some shots with the Rocket belt, and John & Don climbing the rocks to the weather station, etc. This same location has also been used in hundreds of TV & motion picture segments. It stood in for Egypt in the original “Mummy” starring Boris Karloff, it was the Forbidden Zone in “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes,” a hillside became the sloping crater of Capt. Nemo’s Vulcania for troops to run down at the conclusion of Disney’s “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea,” plus Republic Serials like “Command Cody” filmed there too. And last but not least, the 4 ft. J2 filming miniature was strung up on wires by the Lydecker brothers and flown past a pinnacle at this location.

So needless to say, David had taken some very nice color pics of the location that he generously offered to loan me for painting reference (thanks Dave). The location is gorgeous! It’s called Red Rock Canyon for a reason. The different alternating red hues in the rock strata are just amazing, plus the sand has a slight pinkish color. Not only that, but the color of the location actually reflected the colors in the screen-worn Cyclops suit. This was very neat, because in nature, living things tend to reflect the colors of their environment. Now we all know that the Irwin Allen productions weren’t known for their great continuity, but perhaps costume designer Paul Zastupnevich had the time to research this since the Cyclops was created for the well funded pilot. Regardless, it was nice to finally paint the kit in it’s accurate colors.

Also, I wanted to do something more than just paint the Robinson figures silver. On a recent trip to “Michael’s” I discovered a glitter impregnated paint that I thought I’d try to use on top of the standard silver based paint job. The glitter is quite small and worked perfectly. Now when I walk around the model, the light really catches their suits and reflects back, just like it did in those early episodes.

I took quite a bit of time to work on the Chariot. I purchased the upgraded aftermarket decals from Culttvman’s shop. They went on like a dream and I highly recommend them. After that I painted the top and corner panels to match.

The finishing touch was to cast and mold the Chariot bubble in clear cast resin. A nice added detail I think.

I spent quite a bit of time on this kit, but I wanted to paint it as accurately as possible. I treated every piece like a kit unto itself. I have to say that I’m very pleased with the finished piece. But you know, it really does look better in person.

Building this kit has now put me on a styrene kit building binge. After all, that’s where it all started for me in 1963 when I built my first kit (the Aurora Superman). I’m working on that one now, but can’t wait to sink my teeth into more kits. The upcoming Seaview kit from Moebius Models won’t be sitting on my shelf for long, that’s for sure!

Tony Hardy