Zero X Assembly Procedure Reimagined! Compressed
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- Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
- In 1966 the movie version of the Thunderbirds TV show hit the big screen. It opened with a lengthy launch sequence for one of the greatest guest vehicles in the Thunderbirds universe - the Zero X Martian Space Vehicle. I decided to do my own version of the launch, using CG modelling and production. I decided not to update the ship itself much, but everything else gets a thorough make-over.
This started out as a fun project where I could sharpen my CG skills - but then I decided I wanted to see the whole launch, just for the hell of it.
I hope you enjoy this short film - there is no story - its just machinery. But for those who love such things, this is for you.
Dear Lord this must have taken months of work to get right. And the results are totally worth it, because this thing screams attention to detail and a real labor of love.
Thank you. Yes I did get a bit carried away with some of the details and design. But it was enormous fun to do. I would imagine how a scene could look. Then I just had to figure out how to make it.
Lovely - though it needs more Lady Penelope.
Fantastic work
While admiring the obvious work that has gone into this the omission of the wonderful aero shell fairing/nosecone is very noticeable - my toy ZeroX had a marvellous one !
I was thinking the exact same thing, but admittedly, it's kinda useless in the film. It's not necessary for earth atmospheric entry in the slightest and it doesn't make really any sense as to how it can fly by itself. Maybe it could parachute down but it still easily out-accelerates the main body and does a hard left to avoid it so it's also another point of failure (not like the in air docking isn't big enough of one) in the design maybe best eliminated. Does make the craft look better though.
@JimmyBlether Excellent point. I seen to recalll that Gerry had seen an illustration of the X20 Dyan Soar glider at launch and thought it should have had a fairing to protect it at launch .
@@tsr207 That's an interesting tidbit but I guess they got things backwards. The X-20's "windshield" wasn't actually for ascent as the windows would survive that just fine, but for atmospheric entry they'd not survive and as such it required the panel covering the windows.
And then Zero-X just enters earth's atmosphere in a manner that puts maximum strain on the windows and almost nothing else...
I noticed the many many wheels on the transport at first then i realized the reason was that the built in aero shielding replaced the chrome mirror finished21st and one half century shown on Thunderbirds are go news show . It weighs 500 tons estimated .
What.
Fan made Thunderbirds stuff doesn't come very frequently, but when it does, it sure does deliver!
Thank you for that. I'm delighted you enjoyed it.
F.A.B.
It does indeed. Shows what CGI can do. A bit more weathering and it would be a superb opening for a new version of the movie (skip the dream sequence, add some more real rescue from the start)
@@TheoDeKlerk Thanks Theo. Yes I never really liked the dream sequence. I'm certainly planning more Zero X as well as some other Thunderbirds reimagined projects.
I suddenly realized I missed something: where did the nose cone go?
"its just machinery. But for those who love such things, this is for you."
That was the whole CHARM of Thunderbirds, watching all the machinery in operation. Yes, it was all models, but even then, the precision, the grace of how they moved assembled, and disassembled, THAT was the magic, and why it is well-remembered in the US while Stingray, and Supercar are often treated like Pete Best. (Who's Pete Best? He was the first drummer in a little band known as the Beatles, until he was replaced by Ringo Starr.)
And the puppets could have miniature puppets ride conveyors and trolleys easier than making miniature puppets on string walk .
Galaxy quest aliens called thermians were based on thunderbirds puppets walk and movement . Possibly from watching thunderbirds as historical documents .
I totally agree. I loved the machines and the complexity of the launch sequences. Added to that the excitement, danger, explosions, music and great characters. Mainly though it was the machines.
A lot of Gerry Anderson machines look incredibly overcomplicated and impractical, but that really is part of the charm. Why does FAB-1 have ten wheels when four would do? Because GERRY ANDERSON! That's Why!
@@weldonwin I'd argue most of the machines look rather more practical than this CGI rendition (though I do think this is really good) - so much of what GA and the team did was look at what the real engineers are thinking might be possible and worthwhile and then creating it. An aircraft launched spaceship rocket is absolutely a thing people have been researching forever, and if SpaceX hadn't gone and done the nearly impossible rapidly reusable tail landing rockets so well first this very concept might just have happened. And it still might - aerodynamics is alot more efficient than a rocket in the atmosphere.
@@weldonwin I just assumed FAB-1 was so loaded with spy gadgets (orders of magnitude over even Q-branch) that it NEEDED that many wheels to support it and the 24-cylinder engine required to move the beast.
And of course Parker could handle it with ease, he probably hotwired trucks and light tanks amongst the other escapades of his misspent youth.
Can’t even begin to talk about this. I own the zero x diecast model and omg… lost for words
All I can say is “to Neil… the hero of the day!”
Glad you like it. And many thanks for letting me know. There will be more to follow so keep a look out.
Beautiful work! When you think about shows like Thunderbirds, you think about the XB-70 Valkyrie, the X-15, the Apollo program, and Concorde to name a few. Kids back then were inspired to think "big" and think "fast". It was a different era. The Cold War was going on and it drove countries to do big projects like this to outdo the other guys. Captain Brian Walpole, the last pilot to fly the Concorde said after his last flight, "Now I have to tell my grandchild that there was a time when we used to fly supersonic. Now we don't."
I totally agree. It was always the positive futurism of the Anderson shows that I loved. That huge machines were going to happen in the future. Admittedly almost all of them blew up disastrously - but it was a fun ride. I think we might be in the second wave of sci-fi style tech advance given the billionaires investing in space.
@@NeMoWorksUFO colonel Foster and commander Edward Stryker + Space 1999 Martin Landau (Rollin Hand) & Barbara Bain (Cinnamon) from original Mission Impossible.
@@jayjay53313 exactly. Btw, Barbara Bain was a hottie back then along with the girls from UFO. That was definitely the Austin Powers era.
James May: “There are procedures to follow...
I _like_ procedures…!”
Jeremy Clarkson: *POWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!* (Zero-X Explodes)
@@weldonwinJeremy would probably say to this “GET ON WITH IIIIIIT!”
They plonk the Reliant Shuttle to the nose of that thing instead of the normal forward module, you can tell it's not going to go very well from there...
I know nothing about CGI but this is amazing.
Worthy of the original conceptualisation and definitely a great tribute.
F.A.B.
Just imagine what Anderson's legacy would have been if he'd had access to computer generated imagery.
Hard to say - I'd argue that the stiff, clunky SuperMarionation had a lot to do with the original's charm, just as much as the literally toy-like miniatures.
I totally agree. We have a suggestion of it with New Captain Scarlet - but that was a while ago and things have come a long way since.
@@NeMoWorks There was also a re-booted series of Thunderbirds too, which combined puppetry with CGI
@@weldonwin TAG wasn't an "official" TV21 production, and was made after Gerry passed away. But it was great, and featured Sylvia Anderson (as Lady P's mum), Shane Rimmer, and a returning David Graham as Parker, so I think we can count that as an endorsement from the old guard. It also had a reimagined version of Zero-X in its final series.
@DaddyStoat , well it did have the full blessing of Gerry Anderson Productions and is sort of a continuation of the IR stories.
Happy memories. Just goes to show how forward thinking the original was!
I'm with you there. I always thought it seemed plausible as a launch system. And now it is happening, in the small scale at least with Virgin Galactic.
A very well put together piece, there's only one thing missing, the nose cone. I loved this movie as a Kid and it still holds up as an adult.
Thanks Christopher. Yes I thought about the nose cone - but decided to leave it out as I figured it wouldn't be necessary to escape the atmosphere. It would, however, be useful on re-entry - so there may be a place for it yet.
@@NeMoWorks I always thought it odd that if it didn't need it for re-entry, then why have one for take-off🤔
I'm with you there.
It's all due to the aerodynamics on take-off and climb you need to be as streamlined as possible to get maximum speed on re-entry it is the opposite.
It's a launch escape tower I think, though what scenario it's supposed to be used in that the escape pod isn't I don't know.
This is amazing - so many beautifully matched moving parts and mechanisms Its like a ballet of engineering.
My only critique is that the buildings make Zero-X look small, whereas in the original the aircraft dwarfs basically everything except its main hanger, and even that is only just long enough to contain it. The new building that holds the main body is colossal!
That aside its amazing work. I especially like the swing-out and drop mechanism of Lift-Body 1
brilliant now all we want is a full remake of the film. would be great
As long as it doesn't have Cliff Richard in it!
@@keithscott1957Aw. I love sering a puppet version of Hank Marvin.
@@dalethelander3781Hank can stay. Cliff can go and ....
Gerry and Sylvia would have been proud of this! It captures the flavor of their great work!
Thank you - I hope so.
Apart from the lack of the nose cone, a very good reimagining - the main thrusters could have have a slightly smokier look (to be closer to the original), but that's just a minor quibble.
Glad i'm not the only one who missed the nosecone/heat shield
It was the only element that was 'missed off' the original, so was more noticable.
Heat Shield when leaving earth makes as less sense as the Wheels integrated into the Turbines....
You do realise you're trying to scientifically critique a 55-year-old Science Fiction PUPPET FILM?
@@MRTransportVideos jopp :-)
Great job! Absolutely great capturing of that sense of the 1960's space fantasy, while also very modern!
1st class video 👌 This plane has to be the most over engineered moving object in history 😆
You're not wrong! A lot of Anderson stuff was necessarily complicated to minimise the walking of the puppets. I over engineered things, because I like complex engineering.
@@NeMoWorks- I thought Thunderbird 3 is a single stage to orbit vehicle? In which case, isn’t this obsolete as well as over-engineered?
@@hyau512 Thunderbird 3 was single stage as you say. But its range was limited - well technically, though it did make it most of the way to the sun in the episode Sun Probe. Zero X was designed to get to Mars and land there, explore and return.
i have no idea what this is but that was honestly one of the coolest things ive ever seen!
It’s a fan made version of part of Thunderbirds episode.
This is a brilliant CGI rendition of the original Zero X, I remember the original, well done, it's fantastic!
Thanks Brian - I appreciate the support. I also have great love and affection for the original which is largely why I wanted to have a go at it myself.
My own memory of this episode is vague at best, but I do remember LOVING watching this beauty come together! And this is coming from a 2000's kid.
I saw this episode when I was 8. In 1975 and the space shuttle was just being built. And it would not be to hard to build Space-X in real life and a crew of 15 traving to Mars. Great video!!!!! Hope to see more
Thank you. There will be more.
I love the usage of the Microgramma / Eurostile font, the same way as in the film. Great attention to detail.
Thank you. Yes I went with Microgramma - I have always loved that font. And its just so Gerry Anderson / Derek Meddings et al.
Seriously excellent work. I remember about 53 years ago (or so) watching the original for the first time sitting with my sister and cousins and being completely enthralled! Bravo!
Ah! That music still grts me so hyped up! The original scene knows exactly how iconic the design is and milks it for everything its worth. And this manages to it make it even better! The amount of passion reqlly shows! I particularly like the realistic engine exhausts. Id love to see more of that on other thunderbirds ships that used the little solid fuel rockets while filming.
Many thanks. Yeah that music does it for me too. It was a lot of fun to create and I think I got a bit carried away. But hey, it's Thunderbirds, so it has to be a bit over the top.
Truly great piece of work that showcases why as kids we were riveted by GA and his team. I salute you!.
Thank you - I appreciate the support. There is more to come too. I'm also just doing a bit of a 'making of' film which will come out very soon.
This is an astounding labor of love. Thunderbirds needs to be revived LIKE THIS!
Thank you. And I agree.
While this video lacks the charm of the original practical model-work; it absolutely nails the ludicrous scale and wastefulness of the TV21 Universe. Lovely stuff.
Of course, half the fun of a Gerry Anderson production was marvelling at the models, and knowing, that, by the end of the story, everything would be destroyed in a satisfying miniature demolition.
Hah hah! Yes I can never quite capture the beauty of real models. But I certainly can find ways to do ludicrous scale and waste tons of space investment. In my imaginary world anyway.
This is lovely work; and captures the colour and tone of the originals. @@NeMoWorks
This is really great. Made me smile throughout! Love the textures, modelling, shadows…. Fantastic!
What can i add that hasn’t already, other than a big thank you, I’ve grown up with thunderbirds being a huge part of my life, it holds a special place in my heart, all the models & machinery were incredible, zero x, along with the crablogger 1. & the fire flash were particular favourites, I’ve been collecting the models for years … many many thanks 👍
Hi Jonathan. I was just at my computer when your kind message came through. So I thought I'd get back to you straight away. I'm delighted you like the film. I guess I made it for people like us. I always wanted to see more of this and the only way to realise it was to make it myself. Had to wait a while for the technology to afford me that privilege. But finally here we are. Stay tuned for more later!!
BIG THINGS GOING VERY FAST VERY NOISILY!
Love it. I always felt somewhat in awe of Zero-X because of the sheer scale of the monstrous great beast.
I totally agree. It was one of my favourite Anderson vehicles. Along with the Crablogger. I might revisit that too in the future.
It was impossible to build in Lego without part of it falling off when you tried to pick it up.
I had this episode on video. I must watched it dozens of times.
As soon as I saw the yellow Markers Universal truck, I knew this was going to be great! I’ve watched it at least half a dozen times in the last 24 hours. Loved all the wee details carried through from the original! Shared with other Anderson fan friends.
Awesome! You are the first one to recognise that truck! I hoped someone would spot the connection. Thank you so much for sharing the link with other enthusiasts. There is a lemon squeezer hidden (not very well hidden) in there too.
This brought back a few memories, bang up to date and as far as I'm concerned, well worth it!
Fantastic animation :-) I loved this so much when I was a kid, I remember I building a large Lego recreation of the Zero X.
The algorithm sometimes gets it right. From my hazy memories of Thunderbirds VHS Tapes this seems seems like a perfect recreation
Fantastic work
Thank you. I appreciate the support. It's lovely to hear from other Thunderbirds fans.
Great job! I love the Zero-X, such a cool design
Totally awesome work. The attention to detail is incredible. I really love the running along the runway, and flying shots that have really emulated the original puppet minature style with the 'moving background, static model'. It just "looks" Thunderbirds! This is more than just a fancy computer 3d animation, its clearly had a lot of effort and time in the small details to recreate the original 'look and feel' of the original series!
Amazing work!!!
Thank you. Comments like this make it all worthwhile. We Thunderbirds fans know what we like I guess.
Brilliant, absolutely Brilliant! Supermarionation was wonderful, but this, this is how it always looked in my mind.
Very nicely dine. Takes me back to my childhood…
I think would be a succes as a series…
I remember watching the T-birds show reruns when I was a kid, and I could not get enough of it, it brought be to think about the Space program and NASA, and how the rockets we were making were reaching ever higher and Astronauts were staying in space longer and longer, and even though Apollo 1 had a huge tragedy we saw the program have success after success and of course, a year later "Buzz" Aldren and Niel Armstrong Walked on the moon, and the world was a different place afterwards. The Thunderbirds was showing a future I SO wanted to happen. I loved the Thunderbirds show, it was one of the best kids shows ever created for its time and beyond, I even saw it in reruns into the seventies. I even had all of the toys, thunderbirds 1 through 4, thunderbird 5 was either too hard to get or was too expensive for my parents, I can't remember. Thunderbird 3 was my favorite. Later my Favorite switched from Thunderbird 3 to Thunderbird Fireflash Seeing this was a serious throwback, I can tell you that! It brought up memories I had almost forgotten as a child. Thank you so much to everyone who played a part of this reimagining. I think it would be SO COOL to see the Thunderbirds entire series completely redone in CGI like this little movie, but updated and redone for today's kids, but, then again, it's likely not to capture the imagination of kids today as it did with my generation because we had the added benefit of a real-world effort going on to put man on the moon! And we all talked about it in school and every one of the boys was talking about the Thunderbirds and brought toys with them to school to play with during recess. Great work you guys and gals, great work!
Thank you so much for your detailed and fascinating comment. I'm glad you appreciated it. You are right that Thunderbirds captured the optimistic narrative of space development in the 60s. That and the epic scale of the model builds, story telling and production value. There was nothing to approach it at the time. And it still stands up in my view. Keep looking out on this channel - there will be more.
The detail is unbelievable. Excellent work
this looks like the beginning animation to one of those old moving video rides that you would see in movie theaters or theme parks
Fantastic work, very,very well done F.A.B.
I gotta say as someone who grew up with this show, this is a very pleasant surprise to see in my recommended that's recent too. Great work!
Thank you.
This has been done so superbly, it gave me goosebumbs! I saw the original TAG movie as a child when it came out and this took me right back! WELL DONE! 👍🏻👏🏻🏆
Thank you - I really appreciate the enthusiasm!
One of my favourite toys as a kid…
This is brilliant-I am sure Gerry will be smiling down on you.
Thank you. Here's hoping. :)
It's that rolling runway side shot at 5:48 that makes it for me :)
I just had to do it. :)
My favorite Gerry Anderson design has never looked better!
Thank you.
One word and one word only: Magnificent.
Thank you so much.
MAGNIFICENT WORK! EXCELLENT SKILLS! You make the ZERO-X look like it could work!
Yeah, I actually think maybe it could. :)
This is an IMPRESSIVE bit of work!
Great Job!!!
Thank you. I appreciate the support.
I love this though I can't help but think how colossal all the hangars are as depicted due to zero X being such a monster of a vehicle.
Will just compare it to thunderbird 2 in the film it dominated the scene
Just went floating back to being a 6 year old, thank you.
Nice concept!
I watched Thunderbirds in the 70's and now conceptual videos in the 2020's. Way to go Nasa!
Thankyou for the effort you put in on this video, It brought to mind that there was a time when it was ok to imagine anything was possible and dreams were only a short way off. I want my childhood hero's back. Wonderful music too, it really made it come to life for me.
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Always wished Zero-X had its own series, like the stories in TV21.😃👍🏻👍🏻
Glad you like it. And watch this space - more Zero X coming.
This gave me goosebumps! Amazing work! Thank you!
Absolutely stunning piece of work, well done!
Many thanks. Its really heartening to get this kind of support.
Sweet!!😮
Now I want an unofficial remake of the whole movie! 😅
Me too! And... you never know. There will be more.
Hmm! Thoughtfully done! And almost accurate - no nose cone.
Awesome work. Some real 'wow' camera angles during launch, and I love your assembly machines: very Andersonesque but also look like credible modern robotics. I love such things, and this *is* for me. Thank you!
Thanks Rob, I appreciate the support and am glad you like it. More Zero X in the works so keep an eye out.
I was always amused how over complicated vehicles in this universe were, having said that though it's wonderful and I love this.
Very cool.
Great work, well done!
Absolutely loved it. Brought back great memories.
Truly excellent! Bravo! Derek Meddings was a truly gifted conceptualist and aerospace designer. His designs really excite my imagination and make me appreciate and love the Century21 productions even more today.
Thank you. Me too. I find the work of Derek Meddings and Mike Trim to be inspiring even now.
Everything about this reminded me of a Thunderbirds/Space 1999 mix…very well done. I remember Thunderbirds fondly from my childhood.
This is pure animation genius. Thank you for making this. 👍
Thanks for that. I'm delighted you like the work. There is more coming - though it takes a while to make. Keep tuning in.
Wow absolutely stunning! Congratulations for this great film!
Thunderbirds reimagined? Cool animation.❤
Thanks for the love. Go Tbirds!
Bloody fantastic I loved it I was 8 years old all over again
That was definitely for me. What a skilled production. It has all the essence of the original series. I love the attention to detail in some parts such as the marks on the wheels and the weathering on the lamp frames. Great work.
Thanks for the support. Much appreciated.
This is a seriously well made animation. And many of the assembly aspects are really well thought out. Having the MAV on the transporter is very realistic, and the LB1 building rotating out was really cool.
I made a model myself from scratch about 3 years ago (there's a test render on this account of it) and was hoping to do a launch sequence remake but I didn't (and still don't) have the computer power to do so.
I feel like alot of effort could have been saved if each vehicle wasn't stored 20ft above the tarmac
True but this takes place within the same universe where a cargo plane hides within a mountain and is somehow able to get to any emergency sight around the world.
A co-worker that recently passed told me about another show called Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons. Another very good show similar to Thunderbirds.
That........was.......EPIC!!!!! You did the big blue banana proud my friend. As an OG fan who has lived through all iterations this is imho definitely the best. Your choice of camera angles and redesign of the assembly process is inspired and you did what the original movie failed to do - made it interesting enough to watch over and over again. Thank you so much for all your hard work and time!!!
Your awesome for doing this Dude, Never thought i see Zero X come up in my recommendations ever again lol
Nice update to my childhood memories! And thanks for speeding this up...as a kid this scene took FOREVER, lol.
Great video! I was a big fan of the Thunderbirds in the sixties, and still am to some extent.
I’d love to see more of this kind of videos.
Thank you. I do intend to make more. Though it is pretty time consuming. :)
@@NeMoWorks I can imagine that, but this video was very impressive.I was glued to the screen like I was to the the television when another Thunderbirds episode was aired in our country in the sixties. I even had a subscription to a magazine called TV2000, which featured The Thunderbirds, but also subsequent productions of the Andersons, like the Angels and Captain Scarlet.
I grew up on all GA productions in original run. Love them all but The Thunderbirds where/are my fav. I love this. Thanks for the great hard work. Fantastic. FAB
Thanks for that. Its lovely to hear from people like me who enjoy this kind of thing.
Fantastic piece of work
Hi, Neil. This is a mind-blowing piece of work. And a work of art. About 60 years ago, I used to watch Gerry Anderson's "Thunderbirds" every Saturday evening. We had not even landed on the moon back then. It was work like this that inspired me to become an industrial designer. Love your work, and you will do great things.
Hey there. Thanks for your kind words. Yeah it was Thunderbirds and the other shows that inspired my love of science fiction and great visuals. Probably one of the reasons I became a filmmaker.
I was looking at the thumbnail and thought it looked like something straight out of Thunderbirds and it is :P
I loved the assembly scene in the Thunderbirds movie.
This was an awesome reimagining! 😄💓💓💓💓💕
This is so cool, thank you for making this beautiful piece of art and childhood fantasies come to life!
Some of the assembly buildings seemed a bit over-large, but that and the absence of the nose-cone are my only issues. You certainly adressed the original sequence's one weakness - the attachment of Lifting Body 1. Very impressive overall!
You're probably right with the buildings. And maybe I got carried away with scale etc. That said, I was thinking that ZX could be a rapid cadence launch vehicle. In which case there would be dozens of them further back in the prepping line. A bit like Space X. Though in truth, I just built it that way because it looked cool to me.
I watched the original back in the ‘70s. I wish all the old shows got the CGI polish. Great job.
This looks phenomenal! I love how the main rockets kick in for the main burn to Apoapsis and not right as the ship takes off.
Thanks. Yes it occurred to me that the lifting body wings would only be capable of relatively slow speed. So the real acceleration comes after the drop.
Wow Neil, this is excellent. At first I thought it was practical models. You really know your stuff. Well done.
Cheers ✌️
Many thanks. I did build a practical as a kid. But filming miniatures needs to actually be massive and Derek Meddings and his team did more than I could possibly do. So CG for me.
Good piece, well executed!
Right in my childhood! Amazing!
Yeah, me too.
Superb job! Two big thumbs up; Gerry & Sylvia would be very proud of your work.
As someone who has endevoured to use 3d modeling programs like Maya and Cinema 4d, you have done a great job here. I like that have not spoilt thr look of Zero X by updating it, as real production ventures might (Thunderbirds movie for example). Your lighting set up is believable as is the animation. Particularly impressed by the some of the camera angles. I rember seeing Thunderbirds are Go in my local Cinema when Eight years old. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you. Yes I love the original design of Zero X and didn't feel I needed to mess with it. I had plenty of other opportunities with the vehicles and buildings for my own designs. I used Cinema 4D and Octane Render, along with After Effects for extra layers like smoke and clouds.
I hit the like button before I watched it. The idea in of itself was worthy.
OOH I LOVE THE ZERO X ❤❤❤❤!!!!
Awesome and magnificent...very well done!
Many thanks.
THIS IS FANTASTIC....
Oh, dang it! Now I’ve got that earworm for the next 24 hours! 😁 This video has a tremendous attention to detail. Incredible work! 👏👏👏👏👏 And you, sir, have another subscriber!
Hah hah! Yeah it's a catchy march. Many thanks for your kind words and support.
This could so easily be the basis for a series of live action films
I have just one word for your work in creating this, Neil: beautiful!
Brilliantly done.. Bravo