1
INTRODUCTION
2
CONSTRUCTION, Antennas, Sphere
3
Interrogations, Moulding, Casting
4
COLD SWEAT, Spine parts
5
Supports, Modules, Castings
6
Vacuumforming, Photoetching
7
Engine block, Short delay
8
Crew, Sphere, Pod
9
ASSEMBLING, Helping hand, Bay
10
Cockpit, Electrical syst, Base, DECORATION, ASSEMBLING
11
CONCLUSION, SOURCES, MATERIALS

INTRODUCTION
December 31, 1997, 22 hours. TNT channel broadcasts " 2001, A space odyssey " and " 2010, the year we make contact ". I record the two films, occasion to re-examine them after many years. Especially 2001, having only viewed it one time in video ten years before.

I admit that with the first vision all is not clear, but the reading of the novels of the series (2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001) and certain declarations of Stanley Kubrick strongly clarify the matter. But at the visual level, it is a pure amazement! Many superlatives were used to give an account of this magic, it's true that the beauty of the images, allied to the temporal stretching of the sequences gives a unique impression, found never again since...

A scene, especially, left me a strong impression: the first appearance of Discovery 1, on the way for Jupiter. Sumptuous appearance, accompanied by the Gayane Ballet music, perfect to return the majesty of this long-limbed ship.

And it is starting from this impression that an idea will be gradually outlined... But for that, it still misses a catalyst, which I will have only two months after the diffusion of the movie. I take advantage from a visit in Paris to go to the Ciné Reflet shop, specialized in the cinema books and documents. I find there a book entirely devoted to 2001, the only one that one can still get: " 2001: filming the future " of Piers Bizony. It is on a bench of Montmartre that I open it for the first (but not the last!) time. Some photographs and a splendid drawing of Simon Atkinson make me out this idea that I did not yet captured, this project which starts to born: scratchbuilding the Discovery on a rather consequent scale!

PROJECT TAKES SHAPE
Without delaying I seek other documents on the ship, but impossible to find anything, it does'nt remain nothing of the original blueprints and the photos of the very large model (54 feet!) built for the movie are very rare. According to the sources, several stories explain this lack of documents.

The first says that Stanley Kubrick realized that a plane having been used for shooting of " Doctor Strangelove " was used on the shooting of a movie of less scale. With fit of anger, he would have said that all the decorations, documents, models... of his last movies and to come be destroyed (according to an interview of Con Pederson - Special effects co-supervisor on 2001 -). the second says that Stanley Kubrick, spiteful that the MGM recalled it in New York before he finished principal shooting in London, ordered this destruction so that the studio cannot use the models in another film any more. The last says that it is a big shot of the MGM which, having seen the invoice of hiring of a hangar or were stored " old " parts of a film, required that all the stock would be destroyed to save the hiring. All that remained of 2001 was obviously stored in this hangar... (these two last stories according to an interview of Mark Stetson in the Cinefex devoted to 2010).

So, the best document than one can find on Discovery is the movie! Other documents possible: a 1970 making-of, hard to find in France; Cinefex # 20 devoted to 2010, but Discovery built by Boss Films is largely different from that of 2001, especially in the details (the model makers had the same problem of document retrieval, they finally felt back themselves on hard copies of a 70 mm negative); various books and publications treating of Kubrick or the cinema of SF (a good source is the " Kubrick " of Michel Ciment, especially in its 1999 updated version).

While discussing the feasibility of the project with Olivier Herman, big passionate person of sci-fi model making and builder of a splendid Boba Fett costume, I learn that Lunar Models launched a 80 cm Discovery resin kit. Too much small with my taste... But it is also by its intermediary that I meet Jean-Marc Deschamps, professional model maker writing at the time articles in the magazine " Maquettes Modèles Actualité ", and as well a big sci-fi passionate person and of 2001 in particular!

After having studied the photos in my possession, I estimate the length of the ship at 393 feet. I meet Jean-Marc Deschamps during the "Salon de la Maquette et du Modèle Réduit" in Paris in April 1998. The project interests him, and he says having the blueprints of a 1/100 Discovery! It is settled, the Discovery scratchbuilt model will be at this scale and will measure approximately 5,25 feet (my measurements on the photographs were hazardous). It will be the version with the pod exiting out of the command sphere, according to the most famous photograph of the ship. It will have to be ready for the 2001 show where it will be exposed on a stand dedicated to the movie.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON DIMENSIONS
The Lunar Models model measures 30 inches for a scale of 1/211, what gives us a length of 527 feet. On the other hand, the novel indicates that the Discovery measures 700 feet! An interview with Mark Stetson in the french magazine "L'Ecran Fantastique" #55 give us a rating of 393 feet, while the Cinefex #20 indicates that the Discovery built for 2010 is 12,5 feet long, without no indication of scale! In the french magazine "Science & Vie" of October 1968, it is indicated that the length of the ship is 590 feet. After reflection, I think that the 1968 model makers had not choose a too much hybrid scale, and that the 1/10 scale for the big version appeared logical. Indeed, the ship to this scale would be 541 feet, that nearly corresponds to the Lunar Models version .

I rest on this rating, the 1/100 Discovery will be 5,41 feet, (nearly) full stop! This version seems corroborated by measures taken on photos of the command sphere.

We will see in the chapter COLD SWEAT that I am not at the end of my surprise for the dimensions!

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