Landmaster Kits

[wwwmwww]

Ok, I'm a very big fan of the Landmaster from Damnation alley.

So I was rather pleased when I just spotted this on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=160093411359

Granted its not the best or most detailed kit in the world but it is the LANDMASTER. The first kit ever made of the Landmaster or so I thought until I did some checking. Here:

http://www.rocketfin.com/model_weblog_dec05.html

I see it stated:

Landmaster 1 Model Kit Damnation Alley

December 18, 2005

Wow, this Monsters in Motion Landmaster model looks like one heck of a kit. Granted it's 1/35 scale, but since that is a popular military scale, I think that would allow for a lot of extras for a model builder to add. (maybe a dirt bike for one.)

This is of course the Landmaster, from the movie Damnation Alley .

The link to monsters-in-motion however looks dead.

https://www.monstersinmotion.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=8040

I MUST know more. Anyone with any pictures of this kit? Or a clue on how I can get one?

Thanks so much,

Carl

[wwwmwww]

Well I won the eBay auction. I also emailed Monsters in Motion and they are trying to track down the molds. If they find them they said they'd put the kit back up on their site. I also asked if they had any pictures of they kit and a week has gone by with no reply. I believe there are members here that have offered kits for sale through Monsters in Motion so I'm curious. Anyone have any ideas on how I could locate the original maker of this kit? Is there a better forum to be asking questions like this one in? I really want to see what this thing looks like.

Thanks,

Carl

[EXO]

I love the landmaster. I see the remains of the real thing once and a while off the 101 here in L.A. Haven't seen it in a while, I wonder if it's still there.

[Knight26]

Never heard of it before, but I think I saw that Alfred Wong is mastering a new kit based on it. So what is the big deal about it and the movie?

Here is the link: http://www.alfredsmind.ca/commissions/samples34.html

Edited March 15, 2007 by Knight26

[wwwmwww]

I love the landmaster. I see the remains of the real thing once and a while off the 101 here in L.A. Haven't seen it in a while, I wonder if it's still there.

Hello Exo,

I love the thing too. Back in 1999, I saw the same two picture you see here:

http://www.allenagenda.com/alley.htm

At that time the guy mentioned on the site something about it being for sale. Looking at the shape it was in at the time I figured I'd better look into it further. This thing is too cool to end up in a junk yard. So I tracked down Dean Jeffries and inquired. He said yes it was for sale and he wanted $40,000. I lived near Houston Texas at the time and planned a trip out to CA with the family to take a look. We spent a day with Dean and his wife at his shop just off the 101. This was taken Nov. 12, 1999: (That is me on the right.)

He was a fascinating guy to talk to. Aside from making the the Landmaster, he made the vehicles for the TV series Logan's Run which were there at the site, inside he had some motor cycles he had made for a Power Rangers movie. He was also a stunt man at one time in his career and his wife told the story of how he broke his back during a stunk and he was still giving direction to the camera guy as he was being wheeled to the ambulance. In short, the Landmaster wasn't really for sale. It was clear that it was his baby and the for sale sign was just to attract attention and to get people to stop and inquire. He did tell me there were 3 RC minuratures made for the movie and that he only had one left himself. A director and I forget who else made off with the other two and he didn't seem happy about that. He was in the process of fixing his up and I learned about a year later the the RC model was finished and better then new in a museum there in LA somewhere. I don't know if the RC model is still on display out there or not. I hope so as I haven't seen it yet. Dean was also working on an autobiography at the time and I'd sure pick it up, but to my knowledge it hasn't been published yet. If anyone knows otherwise PLEASE let me know. In truth, I'm sure my wife was happy it wasn't for sale but she too found the conversations fasinating. My boys loved all the cool vehicles but were two young to really appreciate it all. I even made the mistake of letting one of my boys wear Star Wars shoes that day and believe me Dean has no love lost for Star Wars. It coming out the same year as Damnation Alley I think was only part of it. That movie ushered in a new era that maked an end to full scale vehicles that were actually able to do all they could do on screen.

Even though I didn't get the Landmaster the family really did enjoy that trip. The next day I took them all to Lego Land which had just opened up that year and we all had a blast. I need to get the family back there again one of these days.

Looks like Dean has now fixed up the real thing too. I'm so glad its being taken care of. See this:

http://jalopnik.com/cars/auto-shows/landma...pair-224946.php

Anyone know anything about the San Francisco Rod, Custom & Motorcycle Show? When is it? Are there pictures on line anywhere?

After some looking I found this:

http://www.sfcustomshow.com/newsletters/oct20PR.html

Hmmm... who is Eric Sharp of Campbell California? The way Dean talked I could never see him selling the land master.

Ok... after more looking.

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/pr/07sflandmaster/

Very interesting stuff... I couldn't find any pictures of it from the show itself though. I wonder how hard it would be to find an email address for this Eric Sharp.

Off to try...

Carl

Edited March 30, 2007 by wwwmwww

[wwwmwww]

Never heard of it before, but I think I saw that Alfred Wong is mastering a new kit based on it. So what is the big deal about it and the movie?

Here is the link: http://www.alfredsmind.ca/commissions/samples34.html

Any true Sci-Fi fan NEEDS to watch Damnation Alley atleast once. The real star of the movie is the Landmaster itself. The plot is so... so... but I could watch the Landmaster all day. Here is a good place to start:

http://www.teamdroid.com/archives/2006/10/25/the-landmaster/

The kit looks great on the outside. Thanks so much for tracking down the link for me. The inside has problems however. The actual vehicle has no suspension and the front wheels can't turn. To accommodate steering the whole vehicle pivots in the center. It also can twist in the center to keep all four sets of wheels on the ground.

Just to show the scale of the Tri-Star wheel assembly here is a picture of my wife standing next to it.

Is Alfred Wong a member here? That name rings a bell.

Carl

[Graham]

Any true Sci-Fi fan NEEDS to watch Damnation Alley atleast once. The real star of the movie is the Landmaster itself. The plot is so... so... but I could watch the Landmaster all day. Here is a good place to start:

Any true Sci-Fi fan should read the original novel by Roger Zelazny that the movie is loosely based on.

The movie is OK, but the book is far better.

Graham

[Knight26]

Any true Sci-Fi fan should read the original novel by Roger Zelazny that the movie is loosely based on.

The movie is OK, but the book is far better.

Graham

I vaguely recall the book, typical late 60s Zelany IIRC, may have to pick it up again, wonder if it is audio format so I can listen to it in the car.

[wwwmwww]

Well I just received confirmation that it was at the San Francisco Rod, Custom & Motorcycle Show. Here is the proof:

Looks nice.

Enjoy,

Carl

[Phyrox]

I gotta say, that thing looks like poo.

It's cool that it works and all that, but it's hard to get excited about a BTR look-alike with trick wheels. But maybe I'm in the minority.

[Graham]

It's an all-terrain vehicle that in the movie sported machine guns and rocket launchers and had to fight its way across the radioactive wasteland that most of the US had become. What's not to like!

I'm a sucker for this type of vehcle and post-apocolyptic stories as well.

UK group Hawkwind also have a great Damnation Alley song as well.

Graham

[Noriko Takaya]

Damnation Alley rules! Love those flesh eating roaches! I haven't seen this movie in ages. Need to look it up for a nostalgic viewing.

[Graham]

Lyrics to the 1977 Hawkwind song 'Damnation Alley'. The song references the 1969 novel with its mention of serum, rather than the 1977 movie.

i've got the serum

and i'm going to take it

all the way to boston

oh i've got to get through

the going won't be easy

but i'm going to make it

it's the only thing

that i'm cut out to do

ride the post-atomic

radio-active trash

the sky is on fire

from that nuclear flash

diving through the burning hoop

of doom

in an 8-wheeled anti-radiation tomb.

thank you doctor strangelove

for going doolally

and leaving me the heritage

of damnation alley

damnation alley-way.

no more arizona now

phoenix is fried up

oklahoma city

what a pity it's gone.

louisianna's wiped out

and the

mississip's dried up

no more chattanooga

cherokee,

lexington.

ride the post-atomic radio-active trash.

the sky is on fire from that nuclear flash.

diving through the burning hoop of doom.

in an 8-wheeled anti-radiation tomb.

thank you doctor strangelove

for going doolally

and leaving me the heritage

of damnation alley

damnation alley-way.

craters coming at me now

ashes coming at me

radiation wasteland

i've got my anti radiation machine

oh thank you doctor strangelove

for giving me ashes and post-atomic dust

and the sky is raining fishes

it's a mutation zoo

i'm going down damnation alley

well good luck to you......

.........................

armour-plated angel

motor pony express

going down damnation alley

it's one hell of a mess

the sky is raining fishes

it's a mutation zoo

i'm going down damnation alley

well good luck to you.

Graham

[wwwmwww]

I'm a sucker for this type of vehcle and post-apocolyptic stories as well.

Graham

Hello Graham,

I'm curious... have you seen Jeremiah?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290966/

If not you should check it out. It would be right up your alley. The first season is out on DVD but no word yet on the status of the second season. I've got copies of the second season that are currently on loan with another friend but if you are interested I'd be happy to let you borrow them.

Carl

[wwwmwww]

Here is a video made the day before the San Francisco Rod, Custom & Motorcycle Show:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8...&pr=goog-sl

It also looks like the monsters-in-motion Landmaster won't be making a return. I however now know who has the molds and something even better has now got my attention.

Enjoy,

Carl

P.S. I now know who took the above picture and I now also have an answer to this question:

I wonder how hard it would be to find an email address for this Eric Sharp.

And I must say I'm a VERY happy man.

Edited March 30, 2007 by wwwmwww