Babylon 5: The Crusade
Babylon 5: The Crusade was an interesting project. I was working for Gene Young FX in Glendale, and Gene was a “vendor” for Babylon 5. Gene had made several pieces for the original show (guns, hand communicators, etc) and by the time I got there, most of what I did for the original show was just pouring up some parts from molds that were already made. One thing I do remember about Babylon 5, is I was told that anything we make for that show had to be “Bullet-proof” because “If it can be broken, those actors will figure out how”
Then came the spin off series Crusade. We did a lot of parts for Crusade. I made dozens of “fire extinguisher valves” (for a scene where the ship catches fire). We also made a bunch of wall panels, and the back packs and helmets for the space suits.
The Back packs and helmets for the space suits made for a unique challenge. We needed to make them so you could see the actors faces so a light was rigged inside. we also needed the actors breath to not fog up the over-sized face screen. We built fans into the backpacks that would blow air up the hoses and into the basks. they were aimed at the face screen to keep off the condensation.
Unfortunately for me, I never made it down to the set to see any of this stuff being used. I was just a shop grunt. I do have stuff still laying around from this shoot though. A couple of “futuristic grenades” a few hand communicators, and even the mold for the blaster rifle… As I find pictures of this stuff, I will update this page
In the photo set above, there is a shot of some “Bad Pours” those are props that were poured up and not actually sent to set (because of a flaw in the pour). Those are in my personal collection. I have a few of the Blaster rifles also (a couple different types), but I can’t find those at the moment. when I do, I’ll post pics for you.