# Things To Come Tank



## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

I'm looking for any photos or behind the scenes info on the tank miniatures from the 1936 movie "ThingsTo Come". I think they were made in a least 2 scales. It looks like they were probably carved out of wood and used wide rubber-type bands for the tracks, with the gun barrel turned metal (brass?). I found 1 decent pic online, but that's all.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Been working on a 1/35 scale pattern for some time now.There is no behind the scenes info,I've looked.they seem to be large radio controlled models in different scales for perspective.The kit I produced a few years ago.


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## MadCap Romanian (Oct 29, 2005)

That movie was awesome! I'm amazed that it predicted WWII and was pretty close to the official "Start" date.

Great model Falcon!


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## lunadude (Oct 21, 2006)

Love this movie. Nice to see some models from it.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

I plan to do the "Bodale "John Cabal's Plane,the "Tank Modern",The Wings Over the World flying wing,and the Auto Gyro.I know there was an autogyro model,but it was about 85% right.


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

Hey Falcon Designs, I have some plans of Cabal's plane somewhere that were published in a British aeroplane model building magazine from about the time TTC came out. I think they are available online (that's where I got them). If you can't find them, I'll see if I can dig them out and post them. On a related note, I think the Drill/Tank/Ship/Boat from the movie "Unknown World" bears a strong resemblance to the Tank from TTC. I'm posting some screen grabs and see what you all think. It looks like they used a pedal sprocket from a bicycle on the front end. Too bad the movie blows. I think Willis Cook might have built the models for this movie. I know he built stuff for Ray Harryhausen.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Thanks,I have those blueprints you spoke about.That vehicle has a simular design,I dont know that movies,so you may be right.Here are some masters for the plane.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

falcondesigns said:


> I plan to do the "Bodale" John Cabal's Plane,the "Tank Modern",The Wings Over the World flying wing,and the Auto Gyro.


Bo Dale? Wasn't he a surf guitarist back in the '60s? :tongue:

Some sources use the name "Bolide" (meaning a meteor, shooting star or fireball) for the little plane, but that name was never heard in the movie.

http://website.lineone.net/~raynes.pk.mac/misc/ttc.htm

A garage kit of the giant eight-engined, twin-fuselage flying wing would be awesome!


moonbus01 said:


> . . . I have some plans of Cabal's plane somewhere that were published in a British aeroplane model building magazine from about the time TTC came out. I think they are available online (that's where I got them).


Those plans used to be available on the dannysoar.com website, but it appears to be defunct.



> _On a related note, I think the Drill/Tank/Ship/Boat from the movie "Unknown World" bears a strong resemblance to the Tank from TTC._.


I thought the Cyclotram looked like a cross between a streamlined tank and a 1949 Cadillac.


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

Hey scotpens, I found the plans for the plane. I split it up into 2 posts. That's a nice build, IMO.


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

Here's the rest. In still1 you can see the pin striping layout pretty well. In still2,
is that a port for a machine gun on the cowling? And the big question is, could Cabal fit in the plane with his helmet on?.....


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

@ scotpen:Thanks,old age,could not remember the exact spelling.The Wing will be 1/144 scale.

@moonbus01:The vents are for the engine to breath.The helmet is part of the windshield,and he does stand up with the helmet on.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

*Things to come tank*

I've been wanting to do the Basa Bomber for years (the flying wing) I have looked for years, but never found any photos of the plane except frame blow-ups from the film. If you build it- I'll take one!


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

falcondesigns, I get it now with the helmet/windshield concept. Pretty cool. I wonder what happened to all the miniatures and sets from TTC, because there had to have been loads of stuff built. Maybe when England got bombed... Pretty ironic... "What will it be, Passworthy, what will it be?"


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

moonbus01 said:


> falcondesigns, I get it now with the helmet/windshield concept. Pretty cool. I wonder what happened to all the miniatures and sets from TTC, because there had to have been loads of stuff built. Maybe when England got bombed... Pretty ironic... "What will it be, Passworthy, what will it be?"


I'm sure all the props and models from that picture were trashed, as there was little possiblity of their being re-used in some other film.

BTW, the final line is: "_Which shall_ it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?" Sounds much better, especially when spoken by Raymond Massey in his plummy baritone.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

There is hardly any information on the making of this film.Seems a shame since it is such and important film in cinema.There is about 16-18 minutes of film that was only in the first release of the film,and trimmed out in later releases.I have a book called "The Prophetic Soul...Welle's Things o Come" with the full shooting script.The english special edition done a few years ago,has tried to fill the gaps in the film with stills and dialogue.


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## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

*Things to Come Tank*

Actually there is a good book on the making of this film. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Things-Come-B...=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276784162&sr=1-9

Don't expect a lot of photos though- pretty much the same as you'll find elsewhere. What is interesting is how HG Wells was a real pain to work with.
He was given tremendous power and say-so regarding the film, but it's abundantly clear he know NOTHING about film making. Wells kept harping on how the film makers had such little visions and the most awful designs and ideas- then would give them the most abstract ideas and suggestions that were clearly impossible to interpret. Wells wanted no titles to the film-"No one reads them anyway." Patrons were to be issued a program. He also always insisted that his name was to always be the important thing- this was an H.G. Wells film. He hated the montage of man's march into the future. The music was awful, etc, etc. It's a testimony to the film makers that it's as good as it is. Wells wanted an endless series of speeches given by the main actors in formalized language. I've attached the only photo of the planes in the book, along with one of the digging machines.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

nautilusnut said:


> . . . Wells wanted an endless series of speeches given by the main actors in formalized language.


That's pretty much how the film turned out anyway. The characters don't have dialogue so much as they deliver soapbox oratory. But they do it with such beautiful BBC accents!


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

I have that book also.There is a missing scene with Owald Cabal and his Ex Wife,Rowena(played again by Margaretta Scott,The Boss's mate in Everytown)where they discuss the merits of space flight,also after the air raid on Everytown there are Airwomen walking through the town as well as Airmen.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

^ And I wouldn't be surprised if they looked like this.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Not quite,they wear the same Airmen outfit as Cabal.


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Here are a few more reference pics scanned from books:


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## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

Thanks for those pics! I've been going through the Madacy Entertainment '99 dvd release for screencaps, and the transfer quality of that dvd is horrible; these pics are way better! :thumbsup:


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## Arronax (Apr 6, 1999)

For those that can't wait for a "Things to Come" model kit, Lindberg, Revell and Matchbox have all produced models of the Hawker Fury - the plane that Cabal is first seen flying and then lands to try and save the enemy pilot, that he shot down, from the poison gas escaping from the crashed plane.

Nice diorama subject if you can figure out how to model "escaping poison gas."

Jim


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

^ And the enemy plane appears to be a Percival Mew Gull racer (visible starting at 8:24 in this YouTube clip):


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Yeah,gonna do that one too.


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## Joe Brown (Nov 16, 1999)

And while that is true, the shot-down plane doesn't match the waves of enemy planes that we see coming in by the flocks. We're the sort of viewers who will catch those little differences...


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

^ And the full-size partial mockup doesn't match the real plane. It's much shorter from front to back and has fewer canopy frames.


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

Here are a couple of grabs. 1st with tank coming over the hill with barrel retracted, 2nd shot a group of tanks on the move. It looks like they used a double exposure to create the illusion of more tanks.There doesn't look to be a lot of room left in the tank for a crew if you factor in the barrel size. Maybe it's a drone...


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Crew could be in the round pod below the barrel,I think I saw four tanks that were motorized or remote controlled.I will try to make this as a vacuum formed kit to keep the price down and because of it's shapes.


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## moonbus01 (Jun 4, 2010)

A few more grabs. In the 1945 montage scene, there is another vehicle following or being towed by a tank. Since it's in silhouette, not a lot of detail except for the really huge barrel. I wonder if it was something thrown together just for this one shot, or maybe it's reused somewhere else as a piece of machinery.


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

You may be right,good catch.


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