James Bond: Moonraker

An original miniature used in the production of the 1979 James Bond picture Moonraker starring Roger Moore as the suave spy.

Following the box office success of Star Wars in 1977 the decision was made to send James Bond into space in his next adventure. The film centres around Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) who plots to commit global genocide and repopulate the Earth with a new race of perfect physical specimens from his Space Station. The design of the space station was that of prolific Bond production designer Ken Adam who drew influence from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. For filming requirements the space station was realised in miniature by special effects legend Derek Meddings and his talented visual effects team, built in large scale with the completed model measuring approximately 20' across it was filmed on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios.

This is the original shuttle docking bay number six from the space station miniature and is the bay to which Bond and Goodhead (Lois Chiles) dock their Moonraker shuttle as they arrive. The miniature is cast in fibreglass and is expertly detailed with plasticard and kit parts, it features windows with detailing behind which would be lit from the interior during filming and is painted and weathered to a high standard. The top of the miniature features a metal section to the middle where it was connected to the arm of the space station during filming, this top section is joined to the main body of the miniature by way of a bar which runs through the model and is secured by a wingnut to the underside.

The interior of the miniature features a metal tube inside which was used for the special effects shot when this section blows up as the marines leave the space station, this was likely achieved by blowing air through the tube to dislodge a pre cut section of the model aided by pyrotechnic charges, some foil remnants remain to the interior which were added to aid the special effects shot and are clearly noticeable on screen. The explosion of the remainder of the space station was achieved by shooting the miniature with shotguns, the finished effect drew approval from director Lewis Gilbert but did mean that the miniature was in pieces and was largely destroyed making this a rare and significant section of the miniature which can be conclusively screen matched to Bonds arrival and also the one used for the special effects shot where the marines depart.

This stunning model miniature is accompanied by an original docking tube constructed of perspex and two A1 size blueprints for the space station which were drawn by assistant art director John Fenner and were the personal copies of visual effects supervisor Derek Meddings who retained them along with the docking bay miniature after production.

The docking bay miniature measures an impressive 18" in diameter and stands approximately 9" high, it remains in excellent screen used condition only lacking a few pieces of minor detailing.

The multiple exposure shots which created the laser battle in space, the realism of the shuttle flight and the stunning model miniature sequences all contributed to the groundbreaking visual effects of Moonraker which earned the picture an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Model miniatures from the James Bond franchise remain incredibly rare on the collectors market and this represents a significant and desirable special effects artefact from this box office triumph.