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Aliens (1986): Miniatures technical supervisor Pat McClung working on the USS Sulaco model, designed by Syd Mead

Ok, let's make it a short thread to celebrate the 20 million users Bsky milestone. #TSSThread Syd Mead: "I originally designed a spherical ship. Cameron corrected me with the comment that the model had to go past the lens, without pulling focus." 2/8

Syd Mead: "I sketched several designs cued by the script’s description of ‘a forest of antennae enters frame, followed by the enormous bulk of the SULACO'. (...) A spherical design would have meant variable focus, something he didn’t want to deal with". 3/8

Syd Mead: "I followed that cue and came up with the SULACO." 5/8

And this is how you create an iconic design (abridged version 😁). 6/8

So none of the design elements were carried over from Sark's Carrier in TRON?

It's obviously not over for this design, but it's a story I'll be continuing later on my Patreon. 😁 7/7