Icarus (Full Ship) from "Planet of the Apes" (1968)

Scale: 1:72
Initial Release: 2012
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

Anyone who has seen the original 1968 "Planet of the Apes" remembers the violent water landing and subsequent sinking of the spaceship "Icarus" in the first few minutes of the film. To help bring the movie in on budget, the producers decided to show the approach and crash from the ship's point-of-view, therefore eliminating the need for expensive model work and special effects. Only the spacecraft's needle-like nose, which briefly protruded from the water, was built as a practical prop.

This has naturally led the film's fans to wonder, what did the entire "Icarus" look like?  Despite what was shown in subsequent "Apes" film, that the nose section functioned as the entire vessel made no sense, as it left no room for engines. The "scrap" used to suggest a back end in the 1970 sequel "Beneath of the Planet of the Apes" gave us no credible clues as it was clearly just left-over hardware from 20th Century Fox's "Lost in Space" TV series.

In 2002, fan Jan Rukr of the Netherlands published his vision of the "full" Icarus on the Internet, and it quickly became a fan favorite. Retaining the nose's sharp, angular lines and late-1960s design ethos, Rukr's extrapolation remains one of the most plausible and esthetically pleasing solutions to this decade's old mystery.

About the Kit

Based on Jan Rukr's original plan views as well as front-end schematics provided us by several "Apes" fans, this 1:72 model kit was produced exclusively for Fantastic Plastic Models by Anigrand Craftswork. Nearly a foot long, the kit features a full cockpit interior and well as decals by JBOT.

Icarus "Full Ship" concept by Jan Rukr (2002).