Martin removes the detachable nosecone (made from solid wood) which in the first draft of the script could go down to planets to explore, like Fireball Junior in Fireball XL5!

The completed 6ft 4 inch Altares, made mainly from EMA plastic sections and piping, having its panel lines added.

The half-scale Altares being weathered down.

This photo shows the "plumbing" necessary to fire Altares' freon gas jets. These were installed at the studios.

A composite shot of the finished Altares before being delivered to Bray Studios. I could not get far enough away from the model to get the whole thing in in one photo as it was over 6ft long!

Martin in 1976 with the finished model just prior to delivery to the studios.

The rear section of Altares made from EMA plastic square tube with turned aluminium engines that actually fired!

Above and below: Close-ups of the solid wood nose of the large Altares. Note the "Airfix" 1/24th scale Harrier parts 4 of which were used liberally on the model!, the use of a 1/24th scale car transporter lorry kit side can be clearly seen on the underside of the solar panel!

the shuttle docked at the "Delta Beacon" space station.

These show the U.N shuttle carved from solid wood. I made the tailplane as a bit of a tribute to Thunderbird 2 (as many have commented on!)

These show the Delta Beacon under construction. A carpenter built this huge plywood box-like structure at the studios and I built sections in my studios at home and took them down to be fitted on. Many sections from the S.S. Daria from "Space 1999" were used again on the "Delta Beacon". I then worked for 3 months at the studios decorating the rest of the model.

Cameraman David Litchfield films a shot of the "Delta Beacon" into which the Altares will be matted.

These photos show the "Delta Space Beacon" from various angles, and show how the Altares docked on a pillar-like structure. This had to be made in 2 scales as both the large and small models were used in this sequence.