The Pod Panel Variations

Generally the continuity in 2001: a Space Odyssey is pretty good. The most notable exception is probably the four iterations of the front panel on the EVA pod spacecraft.

The panels

Here are the front panel designs.

A: The front panel as it appears on the full-sized pods in the pod bay. All have machined metal (probably aluminium) cylindrical front cameras, not the black Nikkor camera lens used to depict HAL 9000. Details are simple, and none of the rings have coloured curved lines applied. Photos exist showing the fronts of all three parked pods, and all match this look.

The full-sized pod in the alien hotel room also followed scheme A. Though you can’t tell from the movie itself, since the front of the parked pod is never shown, a continuity Polaroid exists, showing the pod in the hotel. And it was type A.

B: The front panel as it appeared in most of the space scenes. Basically the pod bay pod, but the metal camera lens was replaced with the black HAL lens.

C: The front panel as it appeared during the attack scene and one or two of the space scenes. Essentially it’s the previous version with the addition of curved black and red lines on the rings.

D: Finally we have the superdetailed panel that was built specifically for the closeup shots that flash on-screen during the jump cut sequence. It appears to have the same basic underlying model infrastructure, but all the detail parts have been replaced.

Numerous additional greebly details have been added on or have replaced the ones on the full-sized pods. The lattice object on the port side (right side of picture) has been flipped upside down, cut back on the side, and encrusted with numerous extra details. The curved colour line decals are similar to the full sized pod version, but have numerous differences in detail and geometry.

Note that the narrow strip above the front panel, which has a series of vents cut into it, has a couple of detail differences (not shown here). The main difference between the full-sized pods is a grey rectangular block, inscribed with lines, which is present on one version of the pod. The superdetailed panel has numerous additional greeblies in this strip (though only the lower half is visible in the film) and has some structural differences to the edges of the recess. I’ve never seen any behind the scenes photos of this superdetailed panel.

But why?

I don’t know why these differences exist. I only documented all this nonsense because I am building a replica model of the EVA pod and had to make some decisions about which panel to make.

The usual, and perfectly reasonable, theory is that Kubrick decided during the course of filming to show that the pod front camera was controlled by HAL so that the audience would know that the pod was remote controlled by the computer at that point. But the pod bay scenes had already been filmed, and Kubrick had no desire to re-film them just to have a revised front camera lens.

As for the differences of the closeup superdetailed panel, the usual conjecture here is that Kubrick decided that the standard pod panel didn’t look good enough in extreme closeup and asked the art department to make a new version. And neither he nor the art team were particularly bothered by the continuity error that resulted. Or possibly nobody noticed that the art department/model makers had added extra details until after the scene had been shot and it was too late to change it.

These differences are invisible to most people, of course. Bazillions of people have seen the movie, but very few people will have noticed the pod details. In normal cinema viewings they’re difficult to see. It’s only by relentlessly examining static images that you can figure this stuff out.

Greeblies

The majority, though not all, of the plastic model kit greeblies have been identified. The full-sized pods (ie: not the superdetailed panel) had the following kits:

• Airfix SR-N1 Hovercraft 1/72 287

• Airfix OO Travelling Crane 205

• Airfix OO Locomotive Turntable

• Airfix B-29 Superfortress 1/72 781

• Renwal 1/200 Polaris submarine (I don’t know if it was the “George Washington” 651, the “Ethan Allen” 652, or the “Andrew Jackson” 654; it’s possible they’re all identical in terms of the parts used in 2001)

The superdetailed panel also added:

• Airfix C043 Prestwin Twin Silo Cement Wagon

• Airfix Refrigerator Van

• UPC “Honest John“ “atomic rocket launcher”

• Airfix A3V Sherman Tank 1/76 (maybe)

• Airfix Bristol Bloodhound 1/76\

• Revell Gemini 1/24

Many of these 1960s kits have been affordably re-released by Airfix or Dapol over the years. The Renwal sub remains scarce and extremely expensive, even the Revell re-releases.

Thanks to Martin Bower and Lee Stringer for identifying most of these kits.

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