National Air and Space Museum Image Detail

Mother Ship Model - Close Encounters of the Third Kind Detail

Close-up photo of details added to the Close Encounters of the Third Kind Mother Ship Model during its construction. The model makers put together a complex model to convey an overall effect of a city of light. They used various train and other model kit parts and, knowing that smaller details probably wouldn't be visible in the final cut of the film, they added some inside jokes. One example is this R2-D2 which, as it turns out, is actually visible in the film.

Image Number: 2003-2092
Credit: Photo by Dane Penland
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