1941 Scale Model Special Effects

Unedited footage. Wire suspended scale aircraft models presumably used to depict the Battle of Britain. Some sequences are very convincing and the techniques were later used for TV programs such as Supercar and Thunderbirds.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• special
• effects
• scale
• model
• aviation
• history
• battle
• of
• britain

[davisgloff]

As usual, Marvelous.. I don't know how you find this stuff, but I'm very grateful.

OK, I admit I'm stumped.. Is that Brahms?

[Bomberguy]

Max Bruch's Violin Concerto 3rd movement

[reticulan5]

beats CGI shit anyday

[chaucer44]

I'm an editor and I have to tell you thisfootage is AMAZING and would cut very well. Almost every shot has some golden moments. I am highly impressed with what these guys did with scale planes and wire rigs.

[Threetails]

Airfix's contribution to the war effort?

[FPilotBierce]

@smurfswacker Like around 1:30 and subsequent? I figure the model is rigged to a hinged "plate" so the "puppeteer" can use a rod to dip the inside wing down for the bank.

[carmium]

I love those planes turning in a 20-foot radius! 8-)

[FPilotBierce]

REACH FOR THE SKY was just on Th¡s Network a little while ago. Yes, they used quite a bit of this exact footage, but they got away with it by using little snippets at a time, combining them with actors in mockup cockpits, intercutting with archive footage, and other tricks.

[smurfswacker]

This stuff is brilliant. It's awesome how something so simple...swinging models on a wire...can yield such convincing results. By "simple" I don't mean "easy"...as others have pointed out, doing this stuff right was quite difficult. Can someone tell me how they made the plane bank and slip off-screen? I can't figure that one out.

[TK42138]

The sequence from 3:10 particularly good.

[cochranexyz]

@reticulan5 You know, CGI is really overboard. Because it can be. I agree with you.

[greatersumofparts]

Utterly amazing! The added score was perfect.

[moirproductions]

My favorite moment is at 2:16. When you see the close up of the one plane with a massive squadron in the background while the music swells! It just seems like one of those old movie moments were the hero is heading up on his first flight. Gives me goose bumps.

[NVanWendy]

@AbuAvital No, the Dambusters was way more sophisticated, and the raid used Lancasters, not Fireflys. I've already griped about the crummy pasted-on explosions in the water on Dambusters post somewhere!