STELLA STAR’S SPACESHIP - from the 1978 sci film film ‘STARCRASH’ Produced by Nat and Patrick Wachsberger / directed by Luigi Cozzi

‘Starcrash’ is a space fantasy made in the wake of ‘Star Wars’. The Italian production features lost of low budget action, space battles and giant robots. It does not take itself too seriously and stars the gorgeous Caroline Munro as Stella Star. (although hse is dubbed by an American actress).

All the spacecraft make use of extensive kit bashing for the hull details. Unlike Star Wars where this gave the hardware a credible functional feel, the kit parts - and sprues! - used here are so obvious and the models so rudimentary that they are totally unconvincing. But they are fun to look at. This is the main ship flown by Stella Star as she and her associates fight the evil Count Zarth Arn.

Like most of the models this was painted gray or silver in colour and ‘illuminated with various coloured lights’, giving the ship a colourful, sort of disco feel. No model kits were made at the time, but this painting imagines a ‘what if’ kit made by Italeri (the Italian model kit company). The film is mainly rememebered because of the beautiful Munro in various ‘Barbarella-esque’ costumes and co-starring David Hasselhoff in a secondary role. A fun film.

Production Designer Aurelio Grugnolla

I am not sure of the designers as evidentaly the small VFX team all did a bit of everything; Armando Valcauda and Simone Gallina were responsible for the first models and props. Germano Natali, Paolo Zeccara and Matteo Verzini joined the production at Cinecitta Studios in Rome.

Here is link to a small piece on the miniatures and visual effects in general with Paola Zeccara. From the excellent ‘sense of scale’ series from Berton Pierce.