SHADAIR MOBILE TRANSPORTER - from the 1970 TV Series ‘UFO’ created by Gerry Anderson

The Mobiles are the front line of SHADO’s ground based defences. Seen only briefly in the series the SHADO Mobile Transporter was a massive aircraft.

This painting was done for a ‘What If..’ fantasy model kit box top. As the role of the aircraft is similar to the giant United States C5 Galaxy aircraft or Russian Antonov An 205 that were coming into service around the time the show was being made. The Hercules C130 was one of the largest transporter in operation at the time and Airfix did a splendid kit of this, that came complete with Bloodhound Missile and trailer. The box art was really sensational - the great ROY CROSS - so I have used that as an inspiration for this artwork. Based on a scene in the episode ‘The Computer Affair’, the Mobiles are deployed somewhere in Canada and you see the plane land and the Mobiles exit the rear. This painting imagines that scenes in more detail. I have included the guard and his dog - a fun little extra included in the Hercules kit.

I think the aircraft is about would be about 195 feet in length – capable of carrying 4 Mobiles!  

The model that featuted in the shiw was adapated from the VTOL NASA passenger aircraft from the film ‘Doppleganger’ / ‘Journey to the Far Side of the Sun’, another Gerry Anderson production, with vfx supervised and directed by Derek Meddings.

Designed by Derek Meddings