Valley Forge from "Silent Running" (1972)

Scale: N/A
Initial Release: 2002
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 4

About the Design

"Silent Running" was "2001: A Space Odyssey's" special effects director Douglas Trumball's first foray into directing.  Set in the mid-21st Century, the movie posited a "deforested" Earth in which the last living samples of the planet's varied eco-systems were housed in sealed domes aboard commercial cargo ships orbiting the planet Saturn.  The "Valley Forge" with its crew of four (plus the three robotic drones Huey, Louie and Dewey) was the centerpiece of the drama. The mile-long spacecraft was a marvel of special effects engineering with its spindly girders, multi-faceted fuel pods and geodesic domes housing everything from deserts to rainforests. 

About the Kit

This resin kit was offered by an L.A.-based special effects technician beginning in 2002. Although capturing the basic shape and proportions of the original filming miniature, the kit was very simple in its composition and challenged the builder to invent all manner of ways to custom-detail its exterior. For example, in this model, the engine complex and forward antenna array were customized using tubular styrene and pieces from plastic destroyer models. 

This model was built in 2004.