# need invaders ufo painting information



## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

I just picked up the invaders ufo kit and it has the clear domes at the bottom. what is the true color of these small clear domes on tv ? :dude: and the main outer hull is metallic silver i would guess, does anyone have any pictures of their painted ufo's they can post ?


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I have episodes of the Invaders, and I also have the model. I have watched to see the color,I am confused. During the main title space scenes it show the color blue, and on an episode it showed red. I am going to use blue as it looks right.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

i remember the show but can't remember the exact colors. i want to see what color other builders decided looked best.i am thinking blue as well.


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## petseal (Apr 23, 2002)

model maker said:


> I just picked up the invaders ufo kit and it has the clear domes at the bottom. what is the true color of these small clear domes on tv ? :dude: and the main outer hull is metallic silver i would guess, does anyone have any pictures of their painted ufo's they can post ?


Not sure which version you have but in the re-release I bought a few years ago the 5 domes where made of clear red plastic. I will try to post some pics of mine but I just bought a new digital camera and have not had the time to play with it. WAY more complicated then my old one! 
Hope that helps! Later, Petseal :wave:


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

For most of the show the 5 lites were blue , the windows were red.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

http://www.theinvaders.co.uk/model/

Here is a link to pictures of the model a modeler painted.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

those pictures are perfect ! thanks for posting them, this gives me the info. i need


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Always glad I can help, that is why we are here.

I thought I would mention this, I found years ago a part from a Christmas tree stand that looked just like the Invaders ship. But since I bought the model I will build that first. Later I will build the tree stand into the ship with lights.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

now that will be something to see, how big is the stand ?


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

It is only about 1' across. I am alway on the look out for anything plastic. I hope to build a spaceship from various parts soon.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> http://www.theinvaders.co.uk/model/
> 
> Here is a link to pictures of the model a modeler painted.


Looks like a *Quinn Martin Production!* :thumbsup:


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Invader Colors*

Happy Holidays, everybody! I've been busy with them and family stuff, so much so that I haven't been able to do much more than log on once a week and empty my email box. But today I thought I'd take a few minutes and look in on the board.

I have a couple episodes of _The Invaders _on tape (can it be very long before the entire series is released on DVD?). The long rectangles on top of the saucer had a weird, strobing effect, which consisted of white lights whirling against a black background, much as was painted on the photo in Lloyd Collins' link. The lights flashed but also appeared to move from right to left within the rectangles (clockwise, if you could see the effect from above the ship). The effect was not unlike the forward domes on the space warp units of the original _Star Trek _U.S.S. _Enterprise_, and about as hard to figure out how it had been done.

The domes beneath the saucer were light blue, and faded on and off. The big textured disk in the center was orange and faded also, at a slower rate than the blue domes. The kit domes, by the way, are inaccurate. They're way too shallow, and not true hemispheres. I purchased some 3/4" or 1" diameter acrylic cabochon (half-round) jewels at a crafts store that looked just right (sorry, I don't have the package here in front of me with the diameter). 

The hull color is another one of those tricky areas that we could debate about with the same length and breadth as that of the TOS _E._ Passing over the problems of film stock, alterations from various film processes, the settings on our individual TV sets, etc., the color changed under various circumstances. In the title sequence, a saucer is shown approaching Earth from space. There, the color is a medium metallic blue; Testors Sapphire Blue would be a pretty good match.

In flight within the atmosphere, the saucers had a pale blue appearance. I would attribute this to the matte process used to composite the model into the film. I do this because there was an episode where a saucer had landed; the saucer was still light blue, but its landing legs were a dull silver. It looks like the production staff built a "practical" set of legs so the actors had something to climb up into (see below). The miniature saucer was later superimposed on top of the full-size landing leg prop. So my guess would be that the legs were painted to match the miniature, without taking into account the effect the compositing process would have on the model's color.

The interior of the ship was very dull, regarding the color palette there, with none of the Christmas lights you saw within the _Jupiter II, Flying Sub, Enterprise, _or _Spindrift._ It was very businesslike, with just matte silver gray walls and white lights - again, the modeler that Lloyd linked us to got the colors pretty accurately.

The Aurora/Monogram model has the usual accuracy problems. The ship below the cylindrical crew compartment is not deep enough - on the show there was a small corridor below the crew compartment in which a person could walk upright. The main hatch was located at the top of the right rear landing leg (facing forward, with the front landing leg being below the Control Room). The round hatch was reached by climbing a _single _ladder, which reached from the ground to the indented rungs in the landing leg. After a short walk through the corridor, anorther round hatch in the floor of the Store Room got you into the ship.

The walls of the Store Room slanted inwards; they were smooth, with none of the door detail that appear on the model pieces. The Control Room is a pretty fair representation of the set seen in the series. Although the chair looks pretty bulky for the scale, it really is a good representation of the series prop. There was no indented window however. About the other two rooms and the little vestibule in the center I can tell you nothing.

The "Transporters", I think, are supposed to be the aliens' regenerating stations. These items appear in detail in the series' pilot episode, which you may still be able to find on video cassette. While the kit parts aren't very accurate(there's a photo below), a piece of clear plastic tubing about 1/2" in diameter, cut long enough to completely encase a figure standing on the station, would minimise the problem.

I picked up my episodes of _The Invaders_ from an outfit called *Paul's Hobby Zone*, P.O. Box 113, West Newton, MA 02165, USA . They're a little pricey, but if you're a certified accuracy freak, this would be a good place to go for reference material. And here's a link to a great _Invaders _site: http://www.theinvaders.co.uk/

Help any?


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## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

BTW, I came across an interesting use of the The Invaders UFO kit.

The other night, I was watching the 1980 Olivia Newton John disco movie XANADU (don't mock me).

The movie started off with the old stylized Universal logo with a small aircraft circling the globe....looked like Lockheed Sirius. That passed behind the globe and second aircraft appeared: a Curtiss C-46. At that point, I knew they were up to something because I've watched enough old Universal films to know that a C-46 was never used in the logo. Then a Concorde appeared. Finally, the Concorde dissappeared and The Invaders ship appeared. And it was definitely the Aurora/Monogram model. Based on the scales, they all seemed to be commercial kits (Williams Bros. C-46, Airfix Concorde).


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I was reading Starlog Magazine about The Invaders, and they had this to say on the ship "Although the much-publicized flying saucer did little more than land and take-off, artist from the Howard Anderson company drenched these shots in colored light and wowed viewers with truly breathtaking compositions" So like ST, the ship can have color tints added to look like as seen on tv/tapes. I still think it is a silver/gray base color.


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## MangoMan (Jul 29, 1999)

Brent Gair said:


> The other night, I was watching the 1980 Olivia Newton John disco movie XANADU (don't mock me).


Umm, I won't mock you if you don't mock me about asking if this was on DVD or VHS? I've never seen it on DVD, but I haven't looked too hard, either.


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## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

XANADU is on DVD. In fact, it's actually quite an early DVD release having first been issued in 1999. It was expensive at the time but came down dramatically in price last year.

The print is a tad dirty and the process shots show a fair bit of grain but it is anamorphic widescreen and the 4.0 Surround sound is fantastic. Not everybody's cup of tea but I was 22 years old when the movie came out and who could resist Olivia Newton-John and ELO at that age?

For the sake of being on topic, I bought two INVADERS UFO kits from Cult's hobbyshop last Spring and I'm saving info in this thread.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Brent Gair said:


> ...The other night, I was watching the 1980 Olivia Newton John disco movie XANADU (don't mock me)...


Okay, Brent, I won't mock you...but you're not making it very easy!  Actually, you have brought up a good question, namely, just what the heck *was *that little low wing monoplane that appeared on the Universal logo during the Laemmle years? I've always wondered whether it was supposed to be the plane you see flying at the end of _Werewolf of London _(1935), or if that was just the Widow Glendon flying off with her boyfriend.




Lloyd Collins said:


> ...I still think it is a silver/gray base color.


I agree with you, Lloyd - but _which _silver/gray color? As good Sci-Fi modelers, we MUST nail the *ORIGINAL* color down, so we can recreate it EXACTLY when we paint our models.

Because Sci-Fi modeling is so much fun, you know. :freak:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

You mean an exact science? 

I would love to find out the original color, but who would know?


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

Guys
Has anyone ever figured out how many filming models of the UFO there were and what happened to them?

Jeff


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## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

Mark McGovern said:


> Okay, Brent, I won't mock you...but you're not making it very easy!  Actually, you have brought up a good question, namely, just what the heck *was *that little low wing monoplane that appeared on the Universal logo during the Laemmle years? I've always wondered whether it was supposed to be the plane you see flying at the end of _Werewolf of London _(1935), or if that was just the Widow Glendon flying off with her boyfriend.


I just checked the DVD.

The plane used in the logo is, in fact, a Lockheed Sirius. 99% of photos on the web show the float equipped Sirius flown by Charles Lindbergh. Here's a rare (and not to good) picture of the Sirius on wheels as we see it in the Universal Logo:

http://www.highgallery.com/airraces-lockheed-sirius-a.JPG

The plane at the end of WEREWOLF OF LONDON is not the same but it's a close cousin. The plane at the end of the movie is a high wing monoplane. It appears to be a Lockheed Vega . The Sirius is often considered as the low wing development of the Vega. So they are are close...but not the same.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

*Ya learn someting new every day!*



Brent Gair said:


> ...The plane used in the logo is, in fact, a Lockheed Sirius...The plane at the end of WEREWOLF OF LONDON is not the same but it's a close cousin...


Many thanks, Brent. I'll have to keep an eye out for a kit of the Sirius. That kit plus a globe in the right scale would make an interesting model project.



Lloyd Collins said:


> I would love to find out the original color, but who would know?



Last year there was a pretty large discussion about the precise shade of green to paint Boris Karloff's Frankenstein Monster. The debate over the precise shade of gray used on the original _Star Trek Enterprise_ is the stuff of legend. So is the infamous disqualification of aircraft models that weren't painted with the "correct" camouflage colors from a National contest of the International Plastic Modelers Society a few years back.

I'm not going to try to talk anyone out of putting the effort into pinning these details down if they so desire. I've always maintained that what pleases the modeler should be all that matters. So Lloyd, if hunting down the original color that was painted on the Invaders' UFO miniature is that important to you, I say go for it.

As for me, I'm going to hose my model with "Mark McGovern's _Invaders _UFO Silver-Gray #1" and let the chips fall where they may.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Well, I had hoped someone had read about the FX of the show, and knew the color. As you say silver/gray, that is good for me. I think I will recheck my VHS to get a round about feel of the color, and go with it. 

I find it kind of strange that more coverage of the FX of The Invaders has not been covered somewhere.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Maybe someone on one of the Sci-Fi boards can point you to a back issue of _CineFX _or _Cinefantastique _or some such magazine?


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Personally, I used the testors metalizer "Magnesium" spray for the UFO hull colors, and sealed it WITHOUT buffing it, and came up with a very eerie "alien metal" color. Try it, I think you'll be as pleased as I am.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

i need to re paint my clear domes that go underneath, i tried painting them with a mix of dark blue and flat white mix and the white was a little gummy it turns out. i painted them in enamel and have been soaking them in castrol superclean for 3 days and only some came off. i bought some MM clear blue but i wont be able to use it if i can't get the other paint off. any suggestions ?


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## petseal (Apr 23, 2002)

petseal said:


> Not sure which version you have but in the re-release I bought a few years ago the 5 domes where made of clear red plastic. I will try to post some pics of mine but I just bought a new digital camera and have not had the time to play with it. WAY more complicated then my old one!
> Hope that helps! Later, Petseal :wave:


Finally figured out some of the features to my new camera so here are three shots (I hope) of my kit. 
The interior was painted using acrylic paints. I airbrushed the primary color then detailed with a paint brush. 
For the hull I airbrushed the large circle on the underside with an enamel orange. I then masked it and painted the rest using Testers Silver from a spray can. 
As far as the red domes go, after looking the kit over again, I am still sure they were molded in red, but I could not swear to that in court! Memory is going and I am just not 100% sure!
Hope that helps! Later, Petseal :wave:


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

wow those are great pics !!! :thumbsup: my domes were clear, and hopefully the rest of the paint will come off so i can paint them with the clear transparent blue. what color did you paint the doors in the ship ? they look a little darker than the walls ? :wave:


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## petseal (Apr 23, 2002)

model maker said:


> what color did you paint the doors in the ship ? they look a little darker than the walls ? :wave:


It's just the angle! The doors are the same color as the hull. 
I forgot to mention before thatI used clear red on the "light" stripes around the top. I like using the clear paints over colors like silver. It looks lite up when the light hits the kit. 
Later, Petseal :wave:


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

i have clear blue by model master it's acrylic iv'e never used the stuff before and i want to try it out on my clear domes underneath. how well does it go on ?


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## petseal (Apr 23, 2002)

model maker said:


> i have clear blue by model master it's acrylic iv'e never used the stuff before and i want to try it out on my clear domes underneath. how well does it go on ?


I find Acrylic paints are great to airbrush with but because they do not adhere very well to regular plastic kits, even with primer! But the clear acrylic paints are fantastic and look smoother if you use an airbrush. 
I did a Darth Vader Vinyl kit years ago and painted his sabre with the clear red. Once it dried it would not come off. 
You should be able to spray the inside or the outside of the domes, it will not make a difference. 
If you do not have an airbrush you should still be OK, unless you are planning any light effects. But I would suggest painting the inside of the dome as any "brush strokes" will be less visable. 
Hope this is helpful. Later, Petseal :wave:


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

thanks ! i am going to start working on the ufo in the morning and it will be finished hopefully by tomorroe nite.
Bert


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Good hints going on here! 

Model Maker, post pictures when you can. I have too many other models going on now to start my saucer, but I look forward to see yours.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

i will try and post a pic or two of my 24" lunar jupiter 2 i will have to make a new post to do so.
Bert


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

my pics are a mite too big to post  i will see if i can e mail them too you if that is ok


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Good hints going on here!
> 
> Model Maker, post pictures when you can. I have too many other models going on now to start my saucer, but I look forward to see yours.




you have mail :wave:


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

You have mail.


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

the pics are on there way 130 a.m. Nevada time


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## bert model maker (Feb 19, 2002)

hi Lloyed you have mail once again !


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## Mark Dorais (May 25, 2006)

NTRPRZ said:


> Guys
> Has anyone ever figured out how many filming models of the UFO there were and what happened to them?
> 
> Jeff


 I'm not sure about that. But I've heard that the model was created by the Howard Anderson company. I was told they had something to do with creating the shuttle craft from the original Star Trek, if memory serves me correctly. Also I believe the filming miniature looked different from the Aurora/ Monogram kit. It appeared to be a little wider at the top section with a subtle taper to it. The Aurora/Monogram is much too verticle. All the best to you.


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## The Batman (Mar 21, 2000)




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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

Not to upset the Apple Cart as it were, But the actual Filming Miniature was about 4' in diameter and painted....*WHITE:freak:*


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

And it had no slits along the crown; those were "projected" on.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

I know this thread is a little old, but I was doing some research on the kit colours for my own UFO which I received today (Thanks Chris! :thumbsup
and I discovered this web page which has some good (If small) colour reference pics. I thought it would be good to add this link to the thread for further reference.

http://film-miniatures.com/workbench/the-invaders-saucer.html

I'm sure most of us interested in the kit would have access to the DVDs now as well, which are an invaluable reference.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Thanks for bumping the thread back up, Oz. it was valuable to me if only for the info, which I'd forgotten, about the Lockheed Sirius being used for the old Universal Pictures logo.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

No worries Mark. It's been an interesting thread to read. 

I did notice something about the kit when I was doing some parts clean up last night. The two ladder sections that are to be glued to the landing leg cover the recessed grab rails that are molded in, BUT, if you turn them upside down, they touch ground level beside the pins on the bottom of the leg.

It looks like the leg could not be stowed in the 'in flight' position, but it makes more sense that the ladder goes all the way to the ground to avoid an Apollo 11 jump when the crew come and go.

I noticed that in the kit pictures shown in a previous link, the ladder parts were not used which is more screen accurate.

Any thoughts?


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

Oz,

Don't go by my thoughts - I never do; nevertheless, you might want to go over my first post on this thread from 2004. You can find photos and even whole episodes of _The Invaders_ on the Internet if you noodle around enough. Below I've attached a photo I found of the ladder arrangement on the full-size mockup.

I have a VHS tape of another episode that shows the ladder in the same arrangement as the photo, but with only one ladder on the left side (that is, viewed from the same point of view as the photo below). In the episode I have, the flying saucer is not shown taking off from the ground; the camera cuts to David Vincent looking up, then back to the UFO streaking off into the distance. You never get to see how the ladders were stowed in flight, so there's apparently plenty of latitude available to how you position the things.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

You and I were on the same track Mark, just prior to posting this I sat down to watch an episode called 'The Mutation' as I thought I remembered some very clear shots of the legs and ladders. That is the episode that your screenshot comes from.

It appears that the practical full size legs were adapted as required for each episode. In 'The Innocent' the ladders on the legs are not in view and Michael Rennie and Roy Thinnes actually enter the saucer via a ladder in the centre of the practical legs (which means they are climbing up into the big orange/red light) The legs in that episode were flat on the ground without the supporting pipes.

It appears that the ladder pieces could be an optional extra if you build your UFO kit in a permanent 'gear down' configuration. If you wanted to get carried away you could add a pivot point (a pin?) at the top of the ladder so the extra length could be swivelled into a stowed position if you want to put the gear up as well.

Oh, as for colour, I was considering using a rattle can of Tamiya pearl blue. It's very pale and has that neat otherwordly sheen. Most of the process shots made the UFO look VERY blue anyway, and I thought I might be a nice compromise in lieu of traditional silver. I'll do a test run and let you know how it looks.


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## Mark McGovern (Apr 25, 1999)

I'll be interested to see how the blue comes out, Oz. I can see several hull color options, based on what you see in the series:


Paint the hull the same dull silver as the full-size legs, on the theory that they represent the entire ship color.
Paint the hull the pale silvery blue and the legs the dull silver, as the ship appears on the ground in long shots.
Paint the whole thing the silvery blue - maybe the legs turn that color when they're up and the ship is in flight?
Paint the whole thing the deeper metallic blue seen in the opening sequence of each episode - maybe it turns that color when operating outside the atmosphere?
Paint it any old way you want.
I like #5 best myself. Good luck with your UFO!

P.S - What would the best color be for Skippy?

P.P.S. - That was a joke - I don't really want to know what color Skippy was. :dude:


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