The Continuity GuideTechnical Facilities
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide |
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The most distinctive storage were the hexagonal boxes, first seen in Black Sun and featured prominently in The Last Sunset, The Testament Of Arkadia, All That Glisters, The Mark Of Archanon, The Seance Spectre, The Immunity Syndrome.
The boxes were 61cm square (with a 40cm square base), and were constructed with moulded plastic over a wooden frame (wooden bases were sometimes visible in the series). The props could not be opened- a special one was made for The Testament Of Arkadia with a lid.
In Breakaway there are various boxes with octagonal profiles. Regular plastic crates are visible (and used throughout the series). The yellow bins by the laser barriers are grit (rock-salt) storage bins, commonly found on UK streets (usually in the same yellow colour) to salt roads against winter ice. All three types of boxes also appear in The Last Sunset (the grit bin is seen from behind in the Eagle, and in Paul's shack it is the table).
A very battered one is seen in the survey equipment room in The Taybor.
The Thermal Spec/ Short Field box appears in The Taybor and The A B Chrysalis.
The yellow trays (Hampa-Pak picnic tray sets) usually appeared in the shelves of the Eagle Passenger Module, and was used for its intended purporse in The Full Circle. It also appears elsewhere in Alpha.
Sandra's case in Matter Of Life and Death is decorated with red and black lines; Koenig has the same case in Another Time, Another Place. These bags are often seen in travel tubes and on the shelves in living quarters.
The "Red cross" case seen in Matter Of Life and Death, Ring Around The Moon and The Immunity Syndrome; it seems to be the same design as the case above.
Koenig's case in Guardian Of Piri is a little different design.
Film cases were seen in some episodes (one is dropped in a corridor in Guardian Of Piri). They have handles in one corner, and sometimes a shoulder strap. The yellow central spool hub with winding handle is clearly visible. The size corresponds closely to the 9 track 1/2 inch magnetic tape reels used for computer backups, common from the 1960s until the 1990s (the last 9 track 1/2 tape was produced in 2001; smaller cartridge formats have become more popular).
Koenig's box, decorated with red lines, seems to be a toolbox with cantilever trays inside. In Matter Of Life and Death it contains Helena's water testing kit. The box is seen throughout the series.
A black case carried by Shermeen in A Matter Of Balance.
Koenig's case in Seed Of Destruction.
Various boxes are stored by the Eagle doors, as in this shot from A B Chrysalis (exactly the same boxes are in Seed Of Destruction). On the top shelf is Helena's water testing kit from Matter Of Life And Death. The second shelf contains a pack with a green "5". This 14" x 11.5" x 2.75" box is actually a polystyrene swimming float decorated with letraset- the original prop sold for $415 in 2009.
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Copyright Martin Willey