Tinplate6 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Two days ago a very special parcel arrived at my house, which came all the way from the UK, it contained an item I have waited years to get, and took over three months to commission. I am now the proud owner of my very own replica of the Fireball XL-5 Robert the robot marionette! This amazing item was hand crafted by a professional prop artist named Vaughan Herriott, and a nicer, honest and professional businessman you would be hard-pressed to find. He has his own website Supermarionettes.com : http://supermarionettes.com/ where he manufactures full-sized replicas of all the Gerry Anderson puppets. This all started quite some time ago when I noticed he had put up a commission offer on eBay for a Robert replica. At that same time I made a post here on Alphadrome about Robert and the unfortunate lack of toys in his likeness. After my post, I discovered that many Alphadromers were also big fans of Robert, and one member in particular; Eagle, decided to build his own. As talented as he is, I'm quite sure his Robert will be nothing short of perfection, as he is attempting to build an exact, historically accurate replica, made from all the original materials used by the Anderson studios. As I do not have the skill or tools to take on such a task, I decided to have Vaughan create one for me. Now, whereas Eagle's will be an exact replica, mine is a reasonable facsimile; that's not to say mine isn't accurate, but the internal parts in mine are hand made to resemble the original materials. I could not have afforded the time, or cost that would be needed to find all the elements which were originally culled from old radios (resistors, tubes, rectifier screens and other bits). Robert measures in at 21 inches tall to the top of his antenna. It stands on a very heavy Perspex base that contains a battery box and switch in order to light up the eyes like the original. It is mounted on a steel stand and the arms, legs, and neck are bendable. He is also jointed at the waist and the claws open and close. There were some surprises with this, as there were details that I didn't recognize on the original puppet, so I asked Vaughan why he made some of choices he did. First, I noticed the shape of the feet and the odd openwork metal plate on the bottoms. He told me that to begin with, there were two different Roberts used in production, and they were not exact copies of each other. He was working from a very good color photo of the one mine was modeled after. The feet are egg-shaped, and he said this was verified by archival photos, as is the rectifier screen soles on them. He said there was a scene in one of the shows where Robert was pushed into a trash chute where the bottoms of the feet are clearly visible. My next question was about the head, which I assumed to be clear like the rest of the body, but mine is lightly frosted. He said that this is also incorrect; the original head was the same type of frosted plastic drink cup the the prop man was drinking from, which eventually became Robert's head. Although this is not a historically accurate marionette (and Eagle, I can't wait to see how nice yours will come out! ), I am very happy with this fantastic replica. Now for a public service announcement...if you are interested, Vaughan will make a Robert for you as well, you can contact him on his website and tell him I sent you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Whoa, that's a great addition! One of my first and all-time favourite robots one that I relate with very well, watched Fireball XL5 over and over before I started school. Loved his voice and I do recall that episode where he's tossed about and another where he was 'lost in space' floating all over. Congratulations on another focal point of your Halodeck as I'd call it, wonderful wonderful wonderful!!! LOVE IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric Robot and Son Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Wow Brady, very nice one of a kind addition to your collection. I wish it had arrived in time to see it at Botstock. Does he come with no strings attached? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robot polishing his rocket Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 interesting piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinplate6 Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Actually, it was slated to Arrive in time for the Botstock visit, but the shop that mills the Perspex bases had their machinery go down, and by the time the base finally arrived, it was too late. I guess they were pulling the strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennetzel Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 This is awesome. I have been wanting one of these for a while. I just have to find one I can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roboto Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Excellent XL-5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I say these posts keep a duplicatin'...keep a duplicatin' themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 He did a very nice job. It's a tough piece based on a lot of interpretation. I'll get back to mine after I get back from school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Toyman Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 That's "Fireball XL....lent" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robotnut Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Eagle, now I know what you needed the Selenium rectifier for. Believe it or not, I actually forgot that you asked me for one. I guess my memory was compromised at 3:30 am ... Mark, I will go through some boxes this weekend and get back to you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Wow, great addition to your World Class Collection Brady; good job keeping it under wraps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinplate6 Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 By the way Eagle, I have discovered that the second version of Robert had a broader clear plastic head (cup) and actually had a small fan blade mounted inside the head at the base of the antenna, it actually looks pretty cool. It seems mine is based on the first version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 That is a great piece!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Tv Theme Fireball XL5 Don Spencer Just can't get enough of that ending theme song. Stuck in my head over 50 years until I re-discovered it here on the 'drome about a year ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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