THE VULTURE from SALVAGE 1 (TV series) 1979 Created by Mike Lloyd Ross
SALVAGE 1 was an offbeat TV show shown in the UK in the 1970s. I think this was broadcast in the same time slot as ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ - a tough act to follow!
The Vulture was a single stage spacecraft designed and built by Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith), the owner of a scrap and salvage company. He made the ship from scrap including discarded NASA rocket motors parts, and a cement mixer! It is powered by a unique fuel - Monohydrazine. The mission is for the improbable spaceship to go to the moon and collect the ‘scrap’ that NASA has left up there, bring it back and sell it! A fun idea. My memory of the show is a bit vague, but I recall the Vulture was rarely featured in later episodes which featured more traditional scrap or salvage driven storylines.
The Vulture was built as a full size prop which stood in the scrapyard and was seen in the launching scenes. A miniature was used for shots of the ship in fight. The visual effects are serviceable.
The ship is not huge, it looks to be about 55 feet tall, so in 1/48th it would stand approx. 14” tall. A nice size and the model kit would include standing figures of Harry, Skip and Melanie, and possibly a detailed control cabin.
At this time Monogram did kits of the ships from ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and were also doing a number of very good 1/48th scale US bomber - so it seems like a good candidate for this all-americab spaceship and tv show.