The Eagle was first seen in TV show Space 1999, the final production from the creator of Thunderbirds

Gerry Anderson’s iconic spaceship, The Eagle was painstakingly recreated by a team at Pinewood Studios for a feature documentary.

The Eagle Obsession, produced by Sean Stuart and Anne Marie Gillen is all about the spaceship that was seen in the TV series Space: 1999, Anderson’s first live-action show.

The decision to rebuild the Eagle Transporter cockpit began with director Jeffrey Morris, who grew up as a huge fan of Space: 1999.

Morris wanted to try to construct a fully professional, studio-grade duplicate of the Eagle cockpit, built to the same spec as for a feature film; not a fan replica.

Makinarium UK, the practical-effects and fabrication studio based on the Pinewood Studios lot, came on board as a partner for the project. Working in the N-Block workshop, the Makinarium team – led by long-time Pinewood craftsman Robin Lawrence – executed the build using a blend of CNC machining, 3D printing, engineered fabrication, and hand-finished detailing. Even the iconic ‘dentist chair’ pilot seats were recreated entirely from scratch.

The designer of the original Eagle for Space: 1999, Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor Brian Johnson, visited the workshop early on, giving his official approval and support.

The cockpit itself was designed from newly-drafted technical plans created by Hollywood production designer Timothy Earls, known for his work across science-fiction franchises. Under Morris’ supervision, Earls assembled full architectural schematics based on extensive research into:

• Keith Wilson’s original 1973 production designs
• Archival set photography
• Frame-by-frame episode analysis
• Surviving blueprint references

The build took place from December 2023 to February 2024. Once finished, the cockpit was transported to the TV2 Stage at Pinewood Studios – just yards away from the M Stage where Space: 1999 had filmed 50 years earlier.

Filming took place in late May/early June 2024 during a one-day shoot. Actor Nick Tate – who had played astronaut Alan Carter in Space: 1999 – flew in from Los Angeles to reprise his role inside a cockpit rebuilt in painstaking detail.

Gerry Anderson’s son Jamie, now CEO of Anderson Entertainment, also visited the production, as he had done years ago when looking round the Space: 1999 sets as a boy.

The reconstruction and filming were completed under standard fair-use documentary guidelines.

With thanks to director Jeffrey Morris and producer Sean Stuart for their contribution to this article.

Build photos credit: Makinarium. Other photos credit Sean Stuart.