Time Machine from George Pal's "The Time Machine" (1960)

Scale: 1:12
Initial Release: 1988s
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 4

About the Design

In his seminal 1895 novel, science-fiction pioneer H.G. Wells provided only a minimal description of his nameless hero's fanciful time-traveling apparatus. Sixty-two years later, it would be up to producer George Pal's art director, William Ferrari, to concoct from virtually whole cloth their vision of the engineering marvel Mr. Wells had only broadly sketched in late Victorian prose . The result was this almost jewel-like wonder with polished brass rails surrounding a comfortable club chair set before a spinning sundial-like disc that, in its whirling simplicity, convinced enthralled viewers that star Rod Taylor was indeed sliding through the centuries. Although the updated "Time Machine" foisted upon audiences in 2002 was a technically more complex prop, its basic lines and proportions were still clearly influenced by this earlier George Pal design.

About the Kit

This resin kit from Alan Terry's ATL Models was the first "Time Machine" model to hit the market. Sold by various retailers, principally Lunar Models, in the late 1980s, the kit was somewhat crude in its engineering and lacked the detail found on Lunar Models' own in-house kit that would be produced several years later, as well as the Masterpiece Models kit released in 2002. (Although none of the kits are perfect, most experts consider the Lunar Models model to be the most accurate of the three.) Particularly absent from this ATL model was the raised detailing on the disc's outer rim. The details on the "generator" behind the rider's chair were, in fact, paper cutouts one glued in place in lieu of decals. (The paper decal has since suffered considerable damage.)

The model is an original issue.