...SHADO:1960.
The Prime Minister looked up from the disturbing series of images in the glossies before him. He
looked up at the quiet figure in the chair across from him. " And we are sure that this isn't some
Russian hoax, or more of the Germans Antarctic leftovers?"
Clark Yo jr., his face grim, simply shook his head. Beside him, the head of the SIS spoke. " I'm afraid
not. The autopsy on the...pilot...is like nothing seen on earth. But the other bodies
were human,
at least most of them were...and we have determined from dental records that at least three of them
were individuals who vanished without a trace from different parts of England and the US over the
last six months. And in spite of the operations most of them had undergone, they were all alive
when the craft crashed. "
The PM's eyebrows, once described as 'England's last great unspoiled woodlands', rose slightly.
"Good lord. Well, then, we shall want to send these green Devils a message. I've spoken to your
Mr. Kennedy, Doc-"
"Not my 'Mister Kennedy', Prime Minister. I voted for Harold Stassen. " interjected the Man of Modern
Materials with the quiet chuckle that was his trademark.
"Erm. Yes. In any case, the Alien Defense Organization will receive a 'black budget of 300 million
pounds, with matching funds from the United States. I understand you have plans for a more
effective form of interception? We obviously can't rely on luck stray collisions with Rodan to bring their
saucers down in the future."
" I wouldn't be too sure about that, either, Sir. But we have been working on something a little more
effective." Yo reached to his briefcase, and brought out a manilla folder, laying it open on the table
before them. " Thankfully, we already had the basis for it in the work your people had done with the
S.R. 53. Though we'll be building this one out of titanium. Aluminium just wouldn't stand the heat.
Your Mr. Anderson came up with the basing concept, and young Bower's detail design has been
superb, I must say. We're calling it
SeaRiser....
(Other photos and in-progress shots at my Flickr site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/ This started as a project to produce an Enlish antidote to the 'oxcart' spyplane ( the eventual SR-71 )
in an period of chilly relations between the US & UK...but somewhere the notion of Gerry Anderson's UFO
crept into my brain, and the predecessor to SkyDiver took shape. Its one part the the ancient Airfix
SR 53, one part Lindberg Pogo plane, with a pinch of some old box scale Revell or Renwall ship kit and
a dash of Italeri F-19, in a crust of strip styrene and Aves epoxy putty. Much sanding and scribing
remains, but I'm pleased at how quickly its come together. I'm thinking of finishing it in FAA colors,
circa 1960. Can anyone point me at the correct colors in the Tamiya line?