BEHIND THE SCENES: RAIDER SUPERVISION!

At Apogee, Joe Johnston and colleague look towards a Cylon Raider in what was likely its original colour scheme, presumably for test footage filming? A similar colour scheme was later used by Mattel toys with its modelling of the craft for Galactica merchandise. An intriguing behind the scenes image.

BEHIND THE SCENES: GUN READY!

At Apogee, model maker and technician Jon Erland manipulates the lower cannon of one of the Galactica's formidable weapons bays, either for the filming or as a test, in this great behind the scenes image for Saga of a Star World.

THE CONTINUING SPACE JOURNEY...

Another great, rarely seen angle of the massive Galactica model from the series' opening episodes, as one of its impressive landing bays prepares to receive an inbound shuttle.

I wonder how much more unused Apogee shot footage of the Galactica resides in the Universal Studios Archives...?

BEHIND THE SCENES: TUNNEL VISION!

At Apogee, effects legend Richard Edlund handles the camera for the background shots of the Viper tunnel, to be used as back projection for the launching pilots, in this great shot from Saga of a Star World that I'd never seen before.

BEHIND THE SCENES: BASESTAR DESCENDENT!

The Apogee team were hard at work blue screen filming lots of models in mid 1978, and the impressive and formidable Cylon Basestar must have been one of the most interesting, as seen here in the great image.

BEHIND THE SCENES: A CYLON ARMADA!

Another great, sadly unused effects shot image from Saga of a Star World, this time showcasing an armada of Cylon Raiders coming in for the kill on Colonial targets. Interestingly, bar one model on a Blue Screen support pole, the other craft images are all seemingly cut out images assembled together on a glass sheet backing. I would love to have seen this shot completed!

BEHIND THE SCENES: VIPER TRAIL!

Making the most of all the effects filmmaking talent at their disposal, refining their past work seen with Star Wars, and creating all new ideas and techniques, the Apogee team would bring Galactica to spectacular life for the small (and big) screen, as seen here with the unique Colonial Vipers fuel blasting into action and battle.

BEHIND THE SCENES: SPACE LUXURY THE 'RISING STAR' WAY...

Before but also during the Cylon War, the humans of the Twelve Colonies would carry on enjoying the realms of commercial space travel where they could, and what better way for them to begin their vacations than boarding the beautiful and luxurious Rising Star passenger vehicle (created by the people of Scorpio), which, with the original TV series pilot launcher, would become a home to women and children refugees for the most part. It would ultimately return back to a more leisure-related existence with the regular series, once the Galactica's Rag-Tag fleet had become more organised and efficient for its surviving peoples.

Enjoy these behind the scenes images from the Apogee filming for Saga of a Star World in Summer, 1978.

Concept design.

Jon Erland works on the model at Apogee.

Model filming.

Photographed by Richard Edlund with the Dykstraflex camera. Interesting that the model is quite small but looks bigger on screen. The same visual trick was used with the original Star Destroyer model used with the beginning of the first Star Wars movie of 1977.

Rear view of the impressive model ultimately sold at auction.

BEHIND THE SCENES: THE ARTISANS OF 'GALACTICA'!

Bringing the same kind of high quality model making and filming to the Galactica saga as they did to the launch film of the Star Wars franchise, producer John Dykstra and colleague Doug Smith look to a specific section of the detailed Battlestar model, for a great posed publicity image linked to Saga of a Star World.

BEHIND THE SCENES: CRAFTING MOVIE EFFECTS MAGIC!

One of the finest talents in the Hollywood and world effects business, the legendary Dennis Muren puts his keen eye towards filming the ever-impressive Galactica model on the Apogee/ILM blue screen stage at Van Nuys during middle 1978, for Saga of a Star World. 

Presumably this camera work is for the point of view scene where a Cylon Raider, amidst Colonial protective fire, dives down to attack the vessel's hull, in what would become a memorable stock footage image used across the series.

'ICE PLANET ZERO' AT 45: PULSAR DESTRUCTION!

Doctor Ravashol's pulsar weapon is finally destroyed atop its mountain stronghold, its weak spots used against it to explosive effect by the Colonial heroes, and just in the nick of time, before the destruction of the Galactica...

The spectacular explosion captured outside the ILM premises in Van Nuys.

A spectacular model explosion filmed for the finale, likely handled by the pyrotechnics whizz Joe Viskocil, a veteran pyrotechnics expert who created a lot of the terrific explosions work for the first two Star Wars movies of 1977 and 1980.

'ICE PLANET ZERO' AT 45: CRASH-LANDING!

The Cylon Raider attack has crippled the Colonial shuttle. Nonetheless Starbuck's talents piloting skills alongside Boomer sees their vessel ultimately crash-land on Arcta.

A terrific behind the scenes shot of the crash-landed model landing in a pile of baking soda. Note a mask protected Richard Edlund handling the camera for the scene at Apogee.

As seen in the episode.

'ICE PLANET ZERO' AT 45: RETURNING TO GALACTICA!

The Colonial Viper, forty-five years on, remains one of the coolest spacecraft design/models ever created for US sci-fi TV, as seen here in the model filming set within one of the Galactica's landing bays, for Saga of a Star World back in 1978, and reused with an additional Viper optical element for Starbuck and Boomer's return to the vessel from Arcta in Gun on Ice Planet Zero.

'ICE PLANET ZERO' AT 45: THE PULSAR WEAPON!

An invention of peace for humanity and other life forms in communication turned into a devastating weapon by inhuman Cylons, the Ravashol Pulsar would be an important part of one of Battlestar Galactica's most famous and beloved adventures.

Concept design by artist unknown.

Another unknown artist's design showcasing the intricacies of the weapon, and how it fires its pulses.

The weapon under construction at the ILM facility at Van Nuys during mid 1978.

Apogee technician David Robman alongside the completed model.

BEHIND THE SCENES: A MODEL MANEUEVER!

An impressive model creation from any angle, the Battlestar Galactica is about to be camera captured in a rare back angle, presumably linked to it departing the Colonial Fleet destruction from the opening to Saga of a Star World.

BEHIND THE SCENES: MASSED FOR ATTACK!

The ominous Cylon Raiders continue onwards in deep space, ready to attack their Human prey in this interesting unused Apogee shot for Saga of a Star World , an effect achieved either via the same Raider being optically printed into hordes, or perhaps as a series of cut-out images photographed on one plate.

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE MAJESTIC BATTLESTAR!

Impressive on screen but equally so as a model ready for filming in the ILM blue screen stage in Van Nuys in mid 1978, the Battlestar Galactica, last hope of human kind, remains one of US TV sci-fi's greatest space vehicles...

BEHIND THE SCENES: MODEL PIONEER!

It's a busy day at the Apogee model shop during those halcyon years of 1977/78, as effects industry legend Lorne Peterson is immersed in two ambitious, genre-changing cinematic franchises: Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, supervising and building the superb varying sized models used for blue screen filming and pyrotechnics across both.

Conclusive proof that, in life and work, you can have too much cake and thoroughly enjoy eating it! 

CLASSIC ART: GALACTIC-A WARES!

Not only were the artists of ILM/Apogee great at concocting storyboards, concept art and matte paintings, they were also a dab hand at designing T-shirts for internal use by company members. Joe Johnston, in particular, was a talent for it. These intriguing and exciting image ideas, artist unknown and found online, bearing one of the original unused series logos, were surely concocted for the original Apogee filming of Galactica, but whether they made it to final in-house usage is unknown.

BEHIND THE SCENES: (BATTLE)STAR TREKKIN'!

Always enjoying his work in the realms of diverse model making and special effects, the late Grant McCune flies with the superb vehicle creations of the classic series in this terrific 1978 behind the scenes image composite.