Thunder Fighter Miniature

This is a copy of the filming miniatures which was cast in the original molds.  It was being made specially for one of the Buck Rogers show creators by the same shop that had made the originals.  It is cast as a thin coat of "bondo" applied to the inside of the mold then the remaining cavity is filled with urethane foam.  It makes a quick and light weight part which is normally used for exploding scenes.  The foam "fragments" in a very scale like way and is light enough to prevent injury to the crew in the event of an accident.  It should be noted that the commercial model kits are extremely accurate copies of the subject, it is only a shame that the show itself was not more successful.  Still the kit does provide the opportunity to have some fun and use ones imagination, after all there could well have been many different paint schemes used by the various Earth Directorate Forces.  This subject gives the model builder the chance to experiment without the worry that others might criticize the model for not being "accurate".

Note:  The first photo seen in the table above was sent to me via E-mail by a friend of mine.  He got it from a website he had visited but could not remember where it was.  I include this photo here because I own a rough casting of a Thunder Fighter which looks almost exactly like this one but I have no photos of it at this time.  If you are the true owner of this photo (or this model for that matter!) please contact me via E-mail.  I will be happy to remove it from this site if you so desire.
Update: Thanks to Wasili Angelopoulos, a professional model builder in Amsterdam, this photo has been identified.  It is a photo of the original wooden pattern from which the filming miniatures were cast and first appeared on the "Sci Fi Hollywood" website under "Spaceships".  Thanks Wasili!