Mike Trim Art

UFO - The Fan Film

2012-01-24T11:22:00.000-05:00

Chris Thompson and Andrew Clements' latest project is a UFO film featuring Mike Trim's original moonbase interceptor! Have a look and make sure you let them know how much you enjoyed it.

The Eagle Has Landed - Mike Trim Box Art

2011-11-02T17:17:00.004-04:00

Don't pay the ransom, we escaped! Sorry its been so long since an update, I'll try and do this more regularly. I (Anthony) have been hard at work writing an original, fully licensed Thunderbirds novel for FTL Publications called "Arctic Adventure!" Not sure exactly when it will be out, but I'll post a link for pre-order as soon as one is added to the publisher's website. In the meantime, why not check out the site and the other original Thunderbirds novels available there at Thunderbirds.com!

But onwards and upwards - literally! Here's a piece of Mike Trim model box art for Hornby of the first Lunar Landing. Mike has this to say about it:

Apollo 11 on the lunar surface, with Armstrong and Aldrin deploying the scientific experiments. This was view that had never been photographed for obvious reasons and therefore, I though it would make a good choice.

Here's a link to see the final box design or order the model kit.

Airfix Lunar Landing Model

The Golden Hind - Hornby Box Art Series

2011-07-28T18:18:00.001-04:00

Once More 'Round the Horn!
Next up in the box art series is Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind. Mike has this to say: Drake's Golden Hind shown under almost full sail, in good weather. The original box art for this kit had shown her in action, so I was looking for strong contrast.

Here's a link to see the final box design or buy the model kit.

http://www.megahobby.com/goldenhindgiftset172airfix.aspx

Apollo 11, You Are GO for Launch! More Hornby Box Art

2011-06-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

Mike says: The Saturn V Rocket, carrying Apollo 11 on its journey to the Moon, shown shortly before the first stage separates.

What a great piece of art, and a great moment in history. As we approach the final Space Shuttle launch, its great to look back and see where we've been... and where we should return.

As always, here's a link to view the finished box art or order the model kit:

HMS Warspite Model Box Art

2011-06-08T00:35:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay, here's the next box art from Hornby/Airfix! Click on the image to make it bigger.

Mike says: HMS Warspite served in both word wars. At Jutland, she was hit no fewer than 13 times and later, after extensive modernisation, served with great distinction in the Mediterranean during WW2. She is depicted take part in the bombardment of the Normandy coast on D- Day in June 1944.

Here's a link to see the finished box art and buy the model kit!

TV21 Convention Video - Mike Trim Interview

2011-05-19T02:46:00.001-04:00

Here's a shaky but essential hour-and-a-half or so of video shot last October at the Fanderson TV 21 Convention in Bristol. Mike Trim is interviewed at around the 56:30 mark.

Not a very long interview and the audio is a bit poor, but its good to see and hear Mike talk about his time at Century 21 Films under almost any circumstances!

HMS Iron Duke Model Box Art

2011-05-18T17:25:00.002-04:00

Here's the next image in our great Hornby/Airfix box art bonanza!

Mike says: HMS Iron Duke, the flagship of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet at the 1916 Battle of Jutland. She is depicted late in the afternoon when the full fleet came into contact with the distant German High Seas Fleet and opened fire at last.

Here's a link to see the final box design and buy the model kit.

Titanic! Hornby Model Box Art Series

2011-05-03T16:27:00.000-04:00

Mike takes on a legend in this painting - the R.M.S Titanic. Sunk by an iceberg on April 15th, 1912, the Titanic is almost certainly the most well known passenger ship in history, and went down with a loss of 1,517 souls.

Mike has this to to say about the image: The Titanic shown early in her tragic maiden voyage. Everyone else seemed to have depicted her on that fateful night, surrounded by icebergs and lifeboats. I was looking for an illustration the would set this one apart from the rest.

I think he succeeded. Below is a link to see the finished box art and order the model kit.

Vickers Wellington Mk 1C - Model Box Art

2011-04-26T16:41:00.000-04:00

Third in the Model Box Art Series! Mike has this to say about it:

Vickers Wellington Mk1c, the WW2 bomber designed by Barnes Wallis (of Dambusters Bouncing Bomb fame) which was the mainstay of Bomber Command until the arrival of the big four-engined heavies. The illustration shows N2980 on her fateful flight in December 1940. Having developed engine trouble she ditched into Loch Ness, although almost all of the crew escaped. Discovered in 1976 on the bottom of the Loch, she was successfully salvaged in 1985 and is currently being rebuilt.

As always, here's a link to see the finished box and purchase the model.

USS Thomas Model Box Art - Airfix/Hornby

2011-04-17T14:14:00.003-04:00

Here's the next in Mike's box art series, The USS Thomas.

Mike says: "Another flush-deck destroyer, serving as the USS Thomas following the first world war. Transferred to the Royal Navy as a Town class destroyer, but spent most of the war serving with the exiled Norwegian Navy in the North Atlantic. Shown on a typical convoy."

Below is a link to order the kit and view the box art in finished format.

Mike Trim's Airfix Model Kit Box Art Series - HMS Montgomery

2011-04-06T17:58:00.001-04:00

In 2010, Mike Trim completed a series of illustrations for Hornby Hobbies, which would find their way onto model kit boxes released by the Airfix Company. I'll try and post a new one at least once a week until I run out.

First up is the HMS Montgomery, above. Mike had this to say about it:
"HMS Montgomery, formally the US Destroyer USS Wickes, she gave her name to a whole class of flush-deckers. Commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1940, she served with distinction escorting numerous convoys with the 7th Escort Group, mainly in the Atlantic. Shown discharging depth charges. As with all the artwork, this was done using Gouache Designer's Colour and coloured pencils."

Here's a link to buy the kit at Amazon.com!

TV21 Photos

2010-11-23T17:56:00.010-05:00

Mike appeared at the recent TV21 convention in Bristol, as a guest of Fanderson who organized the event. Aside from bringing the remaining original art he created for the Anderson shows (which is for sale, see the main website), Mike spoke about his time with AP Films and Century 21 Productions and sketched at his table for fans.

Here's Mike sandwiched in between C21 colleague Alan Shubrook (barely visible in upper right corner) and Graham Bleathman, the king of cutaway illustration.

Mike sketches his War Machine from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds™ for a fan.

Mike at his table, surrounded by some of the amazing art he was able to save from his days working on Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, and UFO.

Mike and his wife Linda, enjoying the weekend.
If you'd like Mike Trim to appear at your convention or event, please drop a note to ltrim@hotmail.co.uk.

Photos courtesy Linda Trim, ©2010

Happy Birthday, Mike Trim!

2010-08-25T23:21:00.002-04:00

Mike Trim turns 65 today (August 26)! To celebrate, Mike's finally shucked his Luddite ways and bought a computer for the house. Hopefully this will result in more frequent updates of this blog.

The FAB TB2 cake above is from The Cake Works in Darlington Co., Durham. Do give them a shout if you need a cake and are in the area, they do lovely work.

Thunderbirds 2010: New Fan Film

2010-08-25T13:02:00.003-04:00

Here's a pretty sweet fan film created by a couple of Irish fellows. Obviously a labour of love, and with very little budget, they've managed to create a more watchable adventure than the 2004 feature film, though I have a new appreciation of Fermat's acting abilities now. Russell Brand for Scott if this goes viral and gets optioned for the big screen!
Yes, that *IS* Shane Rimmer voicing Jeff Tracy in the introduction and epilogue, and doing a fine job.

Mike Trim Auction Photos

2010-06-24T23:22:00.007-04:00

Our friend James Fielding attended the preview day for this past week's auction and shot a few photos for us to share. Thanks James!
If you attended the live auction and have photos, please get in touch at ataylor at mindspring dot com.

All photos are ©2010 James Fielding and may not be used without express written consent.

Mike's Art Sells At Bonham's - Did You Win Anything?

2010-06-23T17:27:00.005-04:00

I think the buyers at Bonham's Entertainment Memorabilia auction today got some real bargains! Several of Mike's pieces didn't sell, but the ones that did went for very reasonable prices:

Sale 17973 Lot 143
Thunderbirds: Carrier Aircraft (Wombat) from the episode 'Duchess Assignment',
Estimate: £1,000 - 1,500

Sale 17973 Lot 144
Thunderbirds Are Go!: Zero-X Control Tower,
Estimate: £600 - 800

Sale 17973 Lot 145
Thunderbirds Are Go!: The Hood's Helicopter,
Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Sale 17973 Lot 146
Captain Scarlet: The London Car-Vu from the pilot episode,
Estimate: £800 - 1,000

Sale 17973 Lot 147
Captain Scarlet: Maximum Security Building from the pilot episode,
Estimate: £700 - 900

Sale 17973 Lot 148
Captain Scarlet: Spectrum Patrol Car,
Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Sale 17973 Lot 149
Captain Scarlet: Spectrum Passenger Jet,
Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Sale 17973 Lot 150
Captain Scarlet: Spectrum Helicopter,

Sold for £720 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 151
Captain Scarlet: Spectrum Hovercraft,
Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Sale 17973 Lot 152
Joe 90: Professor Ian 'Mac' McClaine and Joe's Cottage,

Sold for £450 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 153
Joe 90: MIG 242,
Estimate: £800 - 1,200

Sale 17973 Lot 154
Joe 90: A14 Rocket Launcher,

Sold for £480 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 155
Joe 90: Explosives Truck from the 'Colonel McClaine' episode,

Sold for £540 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 156
Joe 90: Canadian Monorail Train, from the episode 'Breakout',

Sold for £540 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 157
Joe 90: One-man Minisub,
Estimate: £500 - 700

Sale 17973 Lot 158
Joe 90: Western Locomotive from the 'Lone-Handed 90' episode,

Sold for £270 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 159
UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Mobile,

Sold for £720 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 160
UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Moon-Hopper/Moonmobile,

Sold for £660 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 161
UFO: Space Intruder Detector,

Sold for £450 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 162
UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Passenger Jet/Seagull X-ray,

Sold for £504 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 163
UFO: Moon Base,

Sold for £450 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 164
UFO: S.H.A.D.O. Tilt-Fan Aircraft,

Sold for £450 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Sale 17973 Lot 165
Doppelgänger (Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun): Vehicle Assembly Building,
Estimate: £600 - 800

I may be mistaken, but it looks like everything that did sell sold for less than the estimates. I chalk this up to Bonham's generally poor marketing of the sale. The only thing that got mentioned in any press was Christopher Eccleston's TARDIS from Doctor Who, which sold for a bit over $16,000.00 (which also seems low to me).

Wish I'd been at the auction and had a bit more disposable cash; several items would have come home with me!

Auction Lot Listings are Live!

2010-06-01T02:54:00.003-04:00

The auction listings for Mike Trim's Century 21 art are up at Bonham's website now:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THEM!

Mike Trim Century 21 Original Art Auction!

2010-05-13T15:45:00.010-04:00

BIG NEWS!
Mike Trim will be auctioning off twenty-three pieces of original concept art from his days at the Century 21 Productions offices! These are original drawings and color paintings that were the earliest concept art for such iconic hardware as S.I.D. and Moonbase from UFO, the Spectrum Helicopter from Captain Scarlet, and other vehicles and hardware from Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90,The Secret Service, and UFO.
The auction will take place at Bonham's in London - here are their full contact details:

Bonham's
Montpelier Street
Knightsbridge
London SW7 1HH

Tel: +44 (0)20 7393 3900

www.bonhams.com

The auction will take place on the 23rd of June, 2010 at 2pm.
Catalogs are expected to be available in late May with full details on the pieces being offered. The website should have more information after May 23rd.

This is almost CERTAINLY the only opportunity you will EVER have to own one of these iconic originals. Plan to be there or be ready to bid by phone if you must!
Please help to spread the word by sharing this information on any social networking sites you belong to, or with friends who may be interested - just click the button below!

Fine Scale Modeler!

2009-01-06T00:11:00.002-05:00

The current issue of Fine Scale Modeler magazine features a scratchbuilt F-116 jet from Joe 90 as designed by Mike Trim! Check out the Reader's Gallery for this excellent model.
And Happy New Year! I'll try and make a habit of posting here more often again.

Mike Trim in Filmfax, Part 3 - War of the Worlds. Uuuullllaaaa!

2008-05-20T22:32:00.004-04:00

The final part of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim appears in Filmfax issue 117, in stores now. Look for the Shat on the cover! Thanks to Mike Stein and James Wilson at Filmfax for serializing the book, and thanks to all of you who've been buying the magazine and book and enjoying them!

I'll be signing copies of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim at Wrath of Con in Panama City, Florida, May 30 - June 1. Here's the website for more info:
http://www.wrathofcon.org/
Hope to see you there!
Anthony Taylor

It's a Cookbook!

2008-03-18T23:16:00.010-04:00

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man."
Based on a Damon Knight short story, the episode revolves around the arrival of seemingly benevolent aliens, who show up with the intention of serving mankind. Their leader, played by Richard Kiel, even carries around a book with the title "To Serve Man" proudly emblazoned on its cover in alien script.
Just as heroic Lloyd Bochner is about to board the alien's spaceship to take a trip to their home planet, his pal finishes translating the tome and and yells at him not to go; "It's a COOKBOOK!", she screams. Too late, the hatch closes and Bochner is trapped, on his way to the big stewpot in the sky.

I was lucky enough to get a table across the aisle from Richard Kiel as he signed photos and I signed copies of The Future Was FAB: The Art Of Mike Trim in the autograph room at Omega Con in Birmingham, Alabama, last weekend. He's a truly nice man, and a very good sport as evidenced by the photo below.

As always, click to enlarge the photos as needed.
Wow, he really makes the book look small! Thanks Richard, and thanks to all who stopped by to talk or buy a copy of the book at Omega Con. Hope to see you there again next year!

"At all costs, save the World President!"

2008-02-10T00:45:00.000-05:00

Yikes, sorry it's taken me so long to update the blog. Hope everyone had wonderful holidays and has fully recovered by now!

Click to Enlarge

This is an image that Mike's named "At all costs, save the World President!" Combining some of the vehicles Mike's most well known for designing, it's a commission piece for James Fielding, based on an earlier painting for another client. James saw the original on display at the Fanderson Sector 25 convention in October 2006 and fell in love with it. Who wouldn't?

Still Nerdy after all those Academy Awards

2007-11-29T15:59:00.001-05:00

Click To Enlarge

Richard Taylor sent me this photo today. He's wearing the Miketrimart.com t-shirt I gave him last year at the San Diego Comic Con. Richard is of course the owner of Weta Workshop along with Tania Roger, Jamey Selkirk, and Peter Jackson. He also wrote the foreword for The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim.
The funny bit about this is that I saw another photo from this shoot which was released by Weta Workshop as an official press image in which the t-shirt was partly visible. Richard's been doing his part to get the word out about Mike's work!
Alas, the t-shirts aren't available for sale, they were promotional only.

More Fabulousness for Filmfax Funsters

2007-11-07T10:06:00.000-05:00

Click To Enlarge

Part 2 of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim will appear in the Fall '07 Issue of Filmfax Magazine, which should be in stores at the end of November! Up this time around are art and stories from Mike's tenure on Joe 90, The Secret Service, and UFO - all three series for which Mike designed almost every futuristic vehicle or building seen onscreen! Less so for UFO, as Derek Meddings had finally finished with Doppelganger, but Mike still got to design S.I.D., SHADO Moonbase, the SHADOmobiles, Seagull X-ray, and almost every other aircraft that appeared in the series.
Filmfax is packed with other great articles and images as well - grab one the second they hit store shelves! And of course, most of the amazing art of Mike's you see in the magazine is printed in full color in the book, available at the links on the right side of this page.

More Thunderbirds Movie Concept Art

2007-10-13T11:12:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple of concept renderings by Mike in marker for the Telehandler, a vehicle that doesn't seem to have made it into Thunderbird 2's hangar area in the film.

Click to enlarge

The Mark 1 version may have included the Caterpillar graphics as an attempt to lure the company into paying some money for product placement in the film, or to try and entice them into making the vehicle for the production company. Working Title created a partnership with Ford to create FAB 1 and featured other Ford products in the film, so this is a fairly likely assumption.

Click to enlarge

Mark 2 has been streamlined and the CAT graphics have been removed. The forward windscreen is reminiscent of Grand Prix racing vehicles of the 1960's, though I'm guessing the Telehandler would never make much speed. More likely, the windscreen was designed this way in order to feature the performer driving the vehicle.
I've looked through Thunderbirds: The Making of the Movie by Andrew Darling and can't find any shots of this vehicle from the film, so I'm guessing it was abandoned in the concept stage. Anyone have proof otherwise?

By the way, I came across the FIREFLY art below in the Darling book, so it was definitely from Mike's work on the film.

Firefly - Not Serenity

2007-09-22T00:16:00.001-04:00

Click to enlarge

Here's a marker rendition of a design for an updated FIREFLY, I'm guessing it's from Mike's tenure on the Universal Thunderbirds movie, but it's marked 2002. Mike sent me a disc full of images without captions, so I'm not sure exactly where this is from. It certainly fits in with the design aesthetic of the feature film.
There are several other updated TB2 container vehicle images on the discs, I'll try and get some details on them and post the images soon.

My Favorite Photo - Mike Trim and Anthony Taylor

2007-09-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

Click to enlarge

Here's a wonderful photograph of Mike Trim and myself at our book signing last October at the Sector 25 Fanderson convention. Many thanks to Tamsin Semrau for not only shooting it, but for digging around and finding this copy for me. Tamsin gets several pints on me the next time we meet.

Happy Birthday Again Mr. Trim!

2007-08-25T23:28:00.000-04:00

Click to Enlarge

Sunday, August 26th... Mike Trim turns 62 years old! Happy Birthday Mike, and many happy returns. To celebrate, here's an image from a disc Mike just sent me a week or so ago. I don't know anything about it except that it moves me. Nocturnal landscapes are usually rarely seen outside of horror genre paperback covers, but I like this one a lot. Nothing about it seems menacing, despite the full moon looming over the countryside. Indeed, I find the pastoral night comforting, and alluring. I'd like to look into those illuminated windows and see what's going on in the house... maybe there's a family gathering or perhaps it's just a routine evening for the inhabitants.
Either way, there's something about this painting that draws me in.
And you thought he only knew how to draw spaceships.
Have a great day and eat lots of cake, amigo!

Here's my schedule for appearances next weekend at Dragon•Con here in Atlanta:

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - The Gerry Anderson Phenomenon
With Mark Berry and Anthony Wynn
Cairo Room - Hyatt - Brit Track

Saturday 11:30 a.m. - Dressing The Future (on SF Costume in tv and film - how'd I wind up on this one?) with Rob Yancey and Ron Nastrom.
Piedmont Room - Hyatt - Classic SF Track

Saturday 2:30 p.m. - Building the Future in Plastic (with Frank Winspur from Moebius Models and Ron Nastrom - check it out, this will be fun)
Piedmont Room - Hyatt - Classic SF Track

Saturday 5:30 p.m. - Book Signing
Imperial Ballroom - Marriott - Auto Track

Sunday 1:00 p.m. - Non-Fiction for SF and Fantasy
With Mark F. Berry, John L. Flynn (m), Anne Petty, Anthony Taylor, Jean
Marie Ward, Martha Wells.
Manilla/Singapore Rooms - Hyatt - Writers Track

Sunday 7:00 p.m. - Full Boost Vertical: The Supercar Story Screening
Piedmont Room - Hyatt - Classic SF Track

Dragon•Con takes place in Atlanta from August 31-Sept 3rd.

Click here for more info on Dragon•Con.

Hope to see you there!
Anthony

Filmfax Fans Flourish Fab Future

2007-08-10T23:14:00.001-04:00

The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is being serialized in the next 3 or 4 issues of fan favorite FILMFAX magazine! That's right, the entire text of the book (and many of the illustrations) will be in upcoming issues of Filmfax, the magazine of unusual film, television, & retro pop culture, beginning in mid-August with the Summer '07 issue, above. The magazine has elected to include several images not included in the Hermes Press edition of the book, making the issues must-have items for completists and collectors. Filmfax publisher Michael Stein is offering a special subscription deal for Mike Trim loving fans. Mike says:

The Trim article will probably run in three parts (at least) over the next several issues. If fans wish to start with the first issue now and insure
the following installments, we are offering this special subscription deal:

For $30, they would get the first Mike Trim issue FREE, plus four more
issues (and a $10 Coupon for any products purchase of $50 or more). That's
the same price for five issues of Filmfax as for just the three issues with the three installments of the Trim article at retail price.

They can subscribe by sending name, address, and credit card information
(number & expir. date) via email to filmfax@speedsite.com , or by calling us at 847-866-7155. We will send the first issue (with part one of the Mike Trim article) out to them immediately, plus the $10 Off Coupon.

That's a pretty excellent deal, folks. Filmfax sells for $9.95 per issue at bookstores, so you can see the substantial savings.
Now the disclaimer by me - Filmfax is a great magazine, one of my favorites, but they don't publish any interior color pages. All the art in the magazine except for the covers are black and white, while the Hermes Press edition is full color throughout.
My suggestion? Buy the book and subscribe to the magazine as well. You get your full dose of futuristic design/illustration everyday that way.
But then, I might be biased.

I will continue to add unused images from the book as time allows - sorry I wasn't able to maintain a more rigid schedule on this. I'll put new stuff up soon, I promise.

San Diego Smackdown Part Deux! Plus Filmfax

2007-07-12T14:34:00.000-04:00

Booth 506. 506, 506, 506. Why can't I ever remember that Hermes PRess' booth at the San Diego Comic Con is ALWAYS number 506?
So, I'll be signing The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim at booth 506 throughout the convention at various times. Check the booth itself for a schedule.

Just got this via email:

Click Image to Enlarge

Plus 10 more very similar pages.
Look again, that's not from the Hermes Press edition of the book...
It's from Part 1 of the serialization of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim in Filmfax Magazine.
That's right, the venerable cult and genre film mag is running the whole damned book! It's going to be laid out differently of course, and everything will be black & white (the Hermes Press edition is full color throughout) but if you're a regular Filmfax reader you'll soon enjoy the ass-kickingly cool art and passable prose of Mike Trim and yours truly, respectively. If you're not a regular reader, you should be.
Starts in the Summer issue, out next month.
Be there. Aloha.

Jaff Wayne's Musical WAR OF THE WORLDS Tickets - New Zealand

2007-07-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

Giant War Machines descend on New Zealand and Australia when tickets for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds Tour go on sale today!

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of
The Worlds, Live on Stage! is set to land in Auckland's Vector Arena
on Friday 28th September 2007.

The first arena spectacular to be produced in New Zealand. This staged
musical and multimedia production of the classic HG Wells 1898 science
fiction story is a once-in-a-lifetime epic extravaganza, out of this
world entertainment, unlike anything to have hit these shores ever
before.

The production features ground-breaking special effects including a 30
foot Martian Fighting Machine (designed by Mike Trim) firing Heat Rays at the audience, 100 foot wide screens showing cutting-edge CGI-animation and Jeff Wayne conducting the 10-member Black Smoke Band, plus a 40-piece String
Orchestra.

The My Ticketmaster Internet only presale will commence at 2pm on
Friday 6th July 2007 until 2pm Saturday 7th July 2007 or until the
allocation is exhausted.

Public sale: Monday 9th July 2007, 12 noon.

Don't miss out!

Get your ticket today: http://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/promo/dfbp9i

Photo by Jeremy Pardoe for the Birmingham (England) Mail

The Art of UFO

2007-07-03T15:51:00.000-04:00

Angelo Finamore's ART OF UFO website has a fine selection of photos and drawings of SHADO equipment, including many of Mike Trim's designs. In addition, Angelo has diagrammed every set, costume, prop, and model he could find in the show - excellent work, exhaustively researched and compiled. The ART OF UFO website is a must see for any UFO fan.

Keeping Up With The Dickens

2007-07-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I'm late again getting a new image up and you must be starting to doubt my commitment to this little project. Fear not, I've returned and with a wonderful photo (shot by Mike) of fellow model shop "new hire" Roger Dicken and Stingray! Roger and Mike answered the same newspaper advertisement and were hired to work in the shop on the same day. Click the picture to enlarge it.
The company was just winding down post production on Stingray, but the boys were hired to start pre-production on Thunderbirds. This photo must have been shot fairly soon after Mike and Roger (and James Channing as well) were hired, as one of the Stingray models was obviously still laying about the shop. Another photo from this sequence (with both Mike and Roger holding the model) did make it into The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim and appears on page 20.
Roger went on to be nominated for an Academy award for Best Special Effects in 1970 (along with Jim Danforth) for When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth. They lost to Bedknobs and Broomsticks!
Roger also worked on 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien, for which he created the facehugger and other creepy creature effects.

San Diego Comic Con is fast approaching, and I'll be at the Hermes Press booth signing copies of the book again this year. The convention runs from July 25th through July 30th at the San Diego Convention Center. Here's the convention's website:
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/
Check back here for a booth number; I'll post it as soon as I find out what it is. Hope to see some old friends there and make some new ones. Please do say hello if you're going to be there!

The Whole Captain Scarlet Gang

2007-06-19T22:45:00.001-04:00

This week's image that didn't make it into The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is the full crew photo from Captain Scarlet. The entire crew of Thunderbirds had gathered for a black and white group photograph during production of the series, and it proved a very popular image with all involved. A year or two later, everyone (sans Gerry and Sylvia this time, for some reason) posed for a color shot to commemorate the production of Captain Scarlet.
Mike Trim can be seen in the rear, beneath the puppet bridge. I've added a red arrow pointing him out. Click on the image to see it larger, of course.
Posed in front wearing Spectrum finery is The Spectrum themselves, the pop group that recorded the music for the closing credits of the show.
Many thanks to Chris Bentley of Fanderson for an enormous gaggle of images he sent me for use in the book. This came from the Fanderson archives.

Prospector Illustration

2007-06-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get a new image up, I've been crazy busy recently on new projects. I hope to continue adding one image per week here that didn't make it into The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, but occasionally I'll falter - I'm imperfect like that. Click the image to make it bigger.
This is a vehicle designed for the CABS project. Mike and CABS creator Sean Robinson both have great love for the NASA Lunar Excursion Module from the Apollo program, and the Prospector is an homage to that venerable craft. Designed for mining the asteroid belt, the influence is clear, though this would have been a larger vehicle than the L.E.M. Unfortunately, the model was never created and CABS remains in limbo at the moment.

Just a heads up to let you all know that Mike's colleague and fellow Century 21 model maker Alan Shubrook has a book coming out later this year, which promises to be very exciting. Alan had his camera with him almost every day while working on the Anderson programs, and his book will include more than 200 photographs that he shot behind the scenes. Century 21 FX Unseen Untold can be pre-ordered by clicking here.

Intercepted Design Made Real

2007-05-29T23:25:00.001-04:00

Just back from Wonderfest in Louisville, had a good show and lots of fun meeting fans of Mike's art. We sold a healthy number of books, thanks very much to everyone who bought a copy last weekend.
A real highlight of the weekend was seeing the above model, which was based on Mike's original concept art for the Moonbase Interceptor from UFO!

Scratchbuilt by B.P. Taylor, the model won the FAB Gear award for Best Gerry Anderson Inspired Model, and also a Silver medal from the judges of the Wonderfest Model Contest. More photos will be posted soon.
Enjoy,
Anthony

Jackie Stewart Grand Prix Car Illustration

2007-05-19T13:04:00.000-04:00

This is an illustration Mike Trim created for Profile Publications in the early 1970's of the Ford MS 80 racecar. This car won the French Grand Prix in 1969, driven by Jackie Stewart of Team Matra-Ford. Here's a link to a photo of Stewart's car during an earlier 1969 race, the Nurburgring.
No new image next weekend as I'll be in Louisville at Wonderfest, but check back and I'll try to get one up as soon as I return.
Have a great Memorial Day!
Anthony

Wonderfest! May 26-27, Louisville, KY

2007-05-15T23:16:00.000-04:00

Once again, I'll be spending Memorial Day in Louisville, KY at Wonderfest. This is my 13th year attending the toy and model show, and I always enjoy myself. I'll be signing copies of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim at the FAB Gear booth all weekend, I hope some of you will stop by and say hello.
For more info on Wonderfest, stop by their website here:
http://www.wonderfest.com
This year's guests include Robert Picardo, Denise Crosby, Lori Nelson, Zacherle, David J. Schow, Greg Nicotero, Bob and Kathy Burns, Pat McClung, Bill Stout, John Eaves, Mark Schultz, John Goodwin, Vincent Di Fate and more.
Hope to see some of you there next weekend!
Anthony

Things to Come - Making the Transition to Long Pants

2007-05-11T22:50:00.000-04:00

Here's a portrait of the artist as a young man - very young. A photo of Mike Trim at the ripe old age of 5 years old, outside the family home in Fulham, London. Yes, I know it's hard to believe that this image didn't make it into The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, but we had to include the one of him in his pedal car - that was non-negotiable!
Mike's obsession with Dan Dare and the art of Frank Hampson was only a year or two away when this photo was taken.

Agent Crush - New Images

2007-05-05T11:54:00.000-04:00

The Agent Crush website has been updated with TONS of new images. New behind-the-scenes galleries have been added, and the existing ones have been updated and expanded.

There are new photos of Mike Trim and the crew building models of all stripes, as well as many examples of pre-production artwork that haven't been seen before.

Mike even managed to find work for some "old friends", as evidenced in the image above! The movie is really shaping up and it looks to be "Puppet Soup for the Soul" for all Supermarionation fans.

No word yet on a release date, but I'll post something as soon as I hear. In the meantime, have fun exploring the website - and tell a friend about it!

All images ©2007 Agent Crush Productions

Mike Trim Space Art - Vintage 1973

2007-05-05T00:39:00.000-04:00

Another week, another piece of art that didn't make it into The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim.
This is one of the sample pieces Mike did when he decided to go freelance in 1973. Given his earlier science fiction experience, he imagined he'd end up doing a lot of that sort of work. As it was, Mike did very little Sci-Fi work during his years as an illustrator. This led to an increasing sense of frustration and the eventual emergence of The Unknown project in the late '80's. This was an original stab at a sci-fi themed puppet production Mike developed with his friend and former student, Mark Munroe. The project remains unfinished.
Click on any of these images to make them bigger. You knew that, didn't you?

Ranch Of The Future: Cattle Not Included

2007-04-27T23:09:00.000-04:00

Here's this week's "Unseen" image from Mike's time on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

Designed in 1966 for an episode of the series, this was yet another opportunity for Mike to play at being an architect. Felt tipped pens were a new innovation at the time. Unlike conventional ink pens, they offered a clean and easy media, with the added advantage that the ink was not completely waterproof and could therefore be blended with a wet brush, as shown here. Although the original paper has faded over the years, even when new it had a slight tint and that's why the white gouache highlights and tones were added.

Another new image goes up next week - be there! Aloha.

Welcome, Starfighter!

2007-04-18T23:44:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Unseen Mike Trim, week 2!
This is another image that we didn't have room for in the book, a gouache illustration of a Starfighter jet that Mike created in the early 1980's. This image is a combination of airbrush and good old-fashioned detailed brushwork, and was created at a rather small A4 size. Working in such a diminutive aspect means that the illustration demanded great accuracy in every respect. Mike's love of aircraft really shows through in this piece.
Another image will be posted next week, so stop back then!

Obscured By Crowds - The Unseen Mike Trim

2007-04-11T23:27:00.000-04:00

As promised in my last entry, here's an image that we didn't have room for in The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim. This shot was taken in the Winter of 1964-65, outside the AP Films Studios in Slough (you can see a bit of the giant smokestacks and crane gantries of the industrial estate in the background). Mike and fellow modelmaker Roger Dicken are having a bit of a larff with a "pal" that's been frozen in the ice.
I'm happy to report that the fellow was lucky and only suffered slight frostbite.
Just kidding of course - obviously these are some fake legs from a mannequin that the duo set out the night before expressly for this photo.
More unseen images to come in the weeks ahead.

Mike Trim gets WIRED

2007-04-11T13:49:00.000-04:00

The Thunderchild diorama featured on the Miketrimart.com webpage has been immortalized today in WIRED magazine's blog, here. It's also at Neatorama, and a nice photo of S.I.D. and a link to the website made it onto Stephen Years Dot Com.
Thanks for the mention, folks!

I'll be posting images here on this blog that didn't make it into The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim due to space limitations beginning in the next 48 hours or so. I hope to post at least one new image every week until they're all up. Keep checking back, there's some excellent stuff that didn't make it into the book!

More CRUSH!

2007-03-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

The spiffy new website for AGENT CRUSH is now online, featuring an interview with Mike Trim, plus loads more of his designs for the film!

There's even an edited, scored preview sequence available, which looks fantastic.

It looks as though Ioan (Mr. Fantastic) Gruffudd has signed on the voice Crush, replacing Ewan MacGregor.
I'm really looking forward to the finished film - hope it gets a real theatrical release here in the States.

All images COPYRIGHT © 2007 AGENT CRUSH PRODUCTIONS

Hearts of Glass in Canyons of Steel: New York Comic Con 2007

2007-02-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

The photo above shows the Jacob Javits Center, the New Yorker Hotel, and the Empire State Building. I've just returned from spending several days in two of those places - didn't get to the ESB this trip. The New York Comic Con was a much better experience this year than last; at least I was able to get inside for all three days. Last year, the Fire Marshal shut the doors at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, causing a giant logjam of frustrated fanboys unable to get their four-color fix... me among them.

I was there to sign copies of The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, and enjoyed spending time with Hermes Press Publishers Dan Herman and Louise Geer in the booth (that's Dan above), as well as meeting fans of Mike's work. It was very cool to meet fellow HP author Ron Goulart who made an appearance on Saturday to sign his new book on the pulps. I've been a fan of Ron's work since I was very young and read his novel, "Nemo," as well as his Vampirella and The Shadow books. Ron's written more adventurous prose than just about anyone on Earth, and he was a truly nice fellow as well.

I also had a fun and productive time with Christopher Jones and Melissa Kaercher, my friends from Minnesota. Chris is one of the most talented artists in comics today, and we're working together on a graphic novel. It was great to be able to hammer out some details of the project in person, and we hope to have the book out sometime early next year. It's a period mystery, set in Hollywood in 1966 - lots of pop art atmosphere along with some noir-ish touches. I'll post more details in the future.

One of the coolest things about my trip was staying in the New Yorker, the hotel where mysterious genious Nikola Tesla spent his last years, and died in 1943.

If it weren't for Tesla, we'd most likely be sitting around making blog posts on difference engines by the glow of gaslight; he worked out the power delivery system that brings electricity into our homes. He most likely worked out a great deal more than that, things that may take years or centuries for us to rediscover. To say that he was eccentric and a bit troubled is an understatement. The plaque above is affixed to the New Yorker on the 34th Street side, commemorating his residence there.

I've got my spine, I've got my Agent Crush

2007-02-08T12:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a bit of art from Mike's current project, AGENT CRUSH. He's working at the studio full time at the moment, and commuting home on weekends. Find more information by Clicking here. Here's a fairly extensive set of behind the scenes clips and footage from the film. New commissions will have to wait until shooting is finished, most likely.

My book signings at the John's Creek Borders Books and the New York Comic Con are still GO - hope to meet some blog readers at both.
Anthony

Upcoming Book Signing Appearances

2007-01-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick rundown of some upcoming events where I'll be signing copies of The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim. Hope to see some of you there!

FX Show - The Florida Extravaganza
Friday-Sunday, January 26-28th
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida
Creator's Alley
http://fxshow.com/

Border's Books, John's Creek - Suwannee, Georgia
February 17th, 7-9 p.m.
3630 Peachtree Parkway
Ste 100
Suwanee, GA 30024
678-417-1425
Map

New York Comic Con
February 23-25th, Jacob Javits Center, Manhattan
Hermes Press Booth in the Dealer's Room
http://www.nycomiccon.com

Unfortunately, Mike won't be able to attend any of these signings as he's in a different country entirely! We hope to get him over to the U.S. for a signing this year. Watch this space for more information.
Anthony Taylor

Thunder Child Prints Still Available

2007-01-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

St. Paul's Gallery still has several of the Thunder Child Giclee prints available via their website - Just Click Here for more information.
Signed by Mike Trim as well as Jeff Wayne, these enormous and beautiful prints make a real impression. The print has been created directly from the original artwork that is owned by Jeff Wayne himself. The original measures only 18 x 29" and so it was agreed that the print should be bigger in size (22 x 40") as it would highlight the detail difficult to see, especially in Vinyl or CD format.
These prints are in short supply with an edition of just 295 pieces worldwide. This might be your last chance to get one.
(Photograph is presumably ©2003 St. Paul's Gallery, as I cribbed it from their website.)

Those Wonderful Toys...

2006-12-20T23:26:00.000-05:00

The article I wrote about Mike and the toys and model kits that have been created from his Anderson designs has finally made it into Toy Shop Magazine.

The article, curiously named "The Future was FAB", appears in the February 2007 issue of Toy Shop. It includes text and photos that are not in the book, so you'll want to pick it up to get the scoop on the Dinky, Imai, Product Enterprise, Rosenthal and other toys and model kits based on Mike's designs.
The magazine should be available now in comic shops, bookstores, and newsstands everywhere.

All we hear is Radio Ga Ga...

2006-12-15T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to an audio MP3 file of a radio interview I did about the book a couple of weeks ago:
http://www.scifizoneradio.com/podcast/SFZ120206.mp3
Yes, you can make fun of me for mispronouncing the word "Mysterons."
I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season!
Anthony

Meanwhile, Back At The Lab...

2006-10-17T14:06:00.000-04:00

Here's another photo of Mike from Sector 25, standing in front of the display of Brains' Lab in the model room. I'll post more pictures as I find them.
Thanks to Tony Barnes for the photo.

Fanderson Sector 25 Convention Wrap Up

2006-10-16T12:20:00.000-04:00

I'm back from London and starting to get over the jet lag. Sector 25 was an amazing gift of a weekend from Fanderson, the Gerry Anderson Fan Appreciation Society. Mike and I spent most of the weekend in the hotel bar, signing copies of The Future was FAB, as evidenced below.

All told, Fanderson sales moved about 60 or 70 copies of the book over the weekend, and had a record breaking £5,000.00 in overall sales. Mike and I enjoyed signing every one of the books, and seeing a hotel full of people walking around with copies.
My heartfelt thanks go to Stephen La Riviere for picking me up at the airport, lugging me all over London and Borehamwood and finally back to Gatwick so I could catch my plane home last Thursday. Thanks also to Chris Bentley, Martin Gainsford, Marcus Hearn, Len, Stephen, Nick, Ralph, and the rest of the Fanderson committee for doing an outstanding job in organizing the convention, and for their excellent hospitality. I'm looking forward to the next convention, hopefully in 2008.

I had a wonderful time meeting so many new friends at Sector 25, as well as seeing some old ones. More thanks to James, Duncan (who shot the photos in this entry), Louise, Ralph, Richard, Aimee, Tamsin, Hilton, Elliott, Mark, Sam, Tony, Tony, Tony, (sounds like a hip hop group) Chris, and especially Mike and Linda Trim (Linda's in the photo with me) for making the weekend very special for me.
For more photos of the models and puppets on display at Sector 25, take a look at the message boards at FABGearusa.com.

Typographical Errors as Metaphor for Life

2006-10-02T17:10:00.000-04:00

I'm starting to get packed for my trip to London this week for Fanderson's SECTOR 25 convention in Borehamwood. Grabbing things to take to England, I picked up my personal copy of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, so I can have Mike sign it for me when I see him. It's still too new for me not to flip through it everytime I pick it up, and in doing so I found two more typos. On the first page of the chapter on Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, David Essex is misidentified as "Davis Essex", and Thin Lizzy becomes "Tin Lizzy."
Sheesh.
I checked my manuscript; they were correctly spelled there.
In fact, most of the typos in the book aren't present in the original manuscript.
This is disheartening, as the book was proofed several times by eyes other than mine, but I never saw a final galley before it went to press.
That won't happen again, no matter how close we are to the release date.
If by some chance the book goes into a second printing, all the typos will be corrected. I just hope that in doing this, new typos aren't created.
Ah well, I think of it like a Top Secret Classified document - maybe the typos are there intentionally, to identify which printing your copy of the book is from.
That's what I like to call "adventure rationalizing."
Hope to see some of you at the Fanderson convention this weekend. Bring your books for Mike and me to sign.
We'll try not to mispell our own names.

Danger is his middle name...

2006-09-13T09:41:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of title sequences from great 1960's TV shows like I Spy, Danger Man, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and the like, I've created a short promotional video trailer for The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim.

Here's the direct URL if you'd like to let a friend know about it (and please do let a friend know about it!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87gMzod2Rq8
Special thanks to Gerry-Lynn Fore for his unequalled editing skills, and Ralph Titterton and Rob Fellowes for music and image permissions.

Mike and Linda Trim Upcoming Exhibit

2006-08-30T11:14:00.000-04:00

Creativity is contagious! Mike and his wife Linda are busy preparing for an exhibit of his paintings and her original beaded jewelry at a very small venue in Kent next month.
Linda tells me Mike is planning on showing around 20 paintings, mostly still lifes, ships, and landscapes - though he may take an original SF piece and some sketchbooks for interested parties - to display at the Bay Art Gallery in Kent. She'll have a whole slew of new jewelry designs showing as well. The exhibit runs from Monday, September 25th through Sunday, October 1st. The following weekend, they'll be at the Fanderson Sector 25 Convention, of course.
On Monday the 25th, the gallery will be open from 2 to 4pm and the rest of the week from 10am to 4pm. Mike and Linda will both be there during opening hours all week long.
The Bay Art Gallery is located at 47a William Street, Herne Bay, in Kent.
Click here to peruse the gallery's website and get directions.
This is a great opportunity to see some of Mike's non-sci-fi work and spend some time talking with him and Linda. Almost all of the pieces shown will be for sale, and he will be taking commissions as well. If you're near Kent, please stop by! And if you can get a photo or two, how about emailing them to me so I can post them here?

Some people juggle geese...

2006-08-29T15:37:00.000-04:00

Dragon*Con prefers to juggle panel schedules.
Once again, the Supermarionation panel has been moved from 1:00 p.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Convention rules don't allow us to sell books during the panel but if you catch me right after, I'll have some available.
Any guesses as to the source of the quote that headlines this entry?

Happy Birthday Mr. Trim

2006-08-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

Mike Trim turns 61 today - Happy Birthday, Mike!
Many happy returns.

San Diego Comic Con Photos

2006-08-25T00:24:00.000-04:00

Dan Herman finally sent me a few photos from San Diego Comic Con.

Here's Dan manning the Hermes Press booth at a rare quiet moment - this must have been before the convention opened, because there was never a time after that when the booth was this deserted.

Here's one of me, next to the spiffy banner I brought to help promote the book.

This is a shot of me talking with Special Effects director Albert Hastings. Albert's supervised effects for Polar Express, Monster House and is the CGI director for Spiderman 3. He's also a big fan of UFO and Mike's work.
If you have any other photos from San Diego Comic Con of the booth or the panel we did on Friday night at the show, please send them!

Dragon*Con Update

2006-08-24T12:32:00.000-04:00

As I suspected, my Supermarionation panel has been switched to Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the Science Fiction Classics Programming Room. Check your schedule or this blog at the convention to see if they shuffle me around again!
It looks like I will be able to show the presentation of Mike's art that was so popular at the San Diego Comic Con. And I'll have a Miketrimart.com T-shirt or two to give away as well - be there!
Aloha.

Hope you've been saving your pennies...

2006-08-24T12:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a small image of the original art that will be auctioned off for charity at Fanderson's Sector 25 Convention. Of course, it won't say Miketrimart.com on it - that's just for this blog.

This is a color pencil piece on paper and was a rough for the original cover of the book. Unfortunately, Mike's work schedule on Agent Crush prevented him from creating a finished image, and we wound up using existing art.
This was created before negotiations with Jeff Wayne were concluded - the finished art would have included the Fighting Machine and several other Anderson vehicles.
Expect the bidding to be heated!
Once again, check the SECTOR 25 website for information on the convention.
See you there!

Dragon*Con!

2006-08-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

The Labor Day weekend is full of traditions for me. Living in Atlanta, one of those traditions is watching asphalt melt on the roads.
The other is Dragon*Con.

Since I just got word that The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is now in-stock at Hermes Press's warehouse, Dragon*Con seems like a fitting venue to release it into the wild. San Diego was the official premier, but D*Con will mark the book's availability to the public.
It should be on its way to distributors and larger accounts before the end of the week.
I'll be moderating a panel on Supermarionation and Anderson television shows in the Science Fiction Classics Programming room on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 11:30 a.m. (I believe, check the program schedule at the convention) and hope that anyone reading this who will be at the convention will stop by and say hello!

Futuropolis

2006-08-10T11:58:00.000-04:00

I found an interesting article online from England's The Guardian newspaper here:
http://tinyurl.com/hxamc
about the Future City Architectural exhibit currently at the Barbican through September 17th. The author examines the effect of cinematic design on real world architecture, and mentions Mike Trim by name, as well as Derek Meddings. Of course, Mike designed most of the buildings beginning with Thunderbirds through The Secret Service, and many of his original drawings are in the new book.
More information on the Future City exhibit is here:
http://tinyurl.com/zlzs9
Unfortunately, I won't be in the U.K. until October and will miss it.

This is Space Intruder Detector...

2006-08-08T09:47:00.000-04:00

Mike is now accepting commissions for original art in all mediums! If you've flipped through The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim (and I realize that not too many of you have been able to do that yet), you've seen several pieces that Mike did as commissions. The SHADOmobile piece on page 109 is one that he created for me a few years ago in colored pencil on Canson paper, and every time I look at it I enjoy it anew.
If you have an idea of what you'd like Mike to render as well as an approximate size and preferred medium (pencil, colored pencil or marker, full color painting, etc.), please email the information to us by clicking here and we'll get back to you with a price and delivery estimate as soon as possible.
SHADOMobiles, Martian Fighting Machines, Maximum Security Vehicles, S.I.D., Moonbase - whatever subject you'd like, be it Anderson, War of The Worlds, or original - you *can* own a piece of Mike Trim original art.
How cool is that?

Comic Con Wrap Up

2006-08-03T00:55:00.000-04:00

This is a bit late, as Comic Con wrapped up on July 24th, but I was up in Hollywood for a week working on other projects and I'm just now getting around to catching up on my blogging duties. Ahhh, Hollywood... where else can you see an Asian Granny wearing a Hustler t-shirt eating chili spaghetti at Bob's Big Boy at 3 a.m.?

Comic Con was an enormous success! I was ensconced in the Hermes Press booth for most of the convention, meeting Anderson fans and signing copies of The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim. Publisher Dan Herman busted a hump to get 120 copies to the show (the book should be in stores by the end of the month), and we sold out of them by 2 p.m. on Saturday! If you stopped by the booth and bought a book, thank you VERY MUCH. Dan was astonished that we sold out and now has a newfound respect for the sales potential of the book.

I was finally able to meet Richard Taylor from Weta Workshop, who graciously wrote the forward for the book. He's a terrifically nice guy and loved the signed, limited edition hardback and Comic Con exclusive MikeTrimArt.com T-shirts I gave him. Hopefully, Mike and I will be working with him on a future project - more on that if it develops.

The Mike Trim Art panel on Friday night at the convention went surprisingly well, save that I forgot the punchline to a story from the book and totally made a new one up off the top of my head. Oh, and I corrected legendary Hollywood model maker Greg Jein about the use of Chartpak tape on the models from Thunderbirds and felt like a dolt for the rest of the night. Greg was very kind to appear on the panel (as were CFQ's Jeff Bond and Robert Meyer Burnett) and I felt bad that I'd bothered to call him out on such a small issue. Greg, mea culpa. Thanks again for sitting in, it's always great to have you around! Public speaking is scary stuff, folks. Don't attempt it alone.

If you bought a copy of the book at the convention, please write a review at Amazon.com! The more information there is available to potential buyers, the more copies we sell, which may mean a second volume of Mike's art in the future!

Finally, if you shot any photos of the Hermes Press Booth or at the Panel, please send them to me by clicking here. I'll post them in the blog and give you a photo credit.

Own a piece of Mike Trim art!

2006-07-31T16:16:00.000-04:00

Mike has generously donated an original piece of art to be auctioned for charity at the Fanderson Sector 25 Convention in October. Here's a link to the convention's website:
http://www.fanderson.org.uk/s25p1.html

Good stuff - start saving for it now!

Shuttle Foam and Space Haggis

2006-07-06T14:02:00.000-04:00

There were several delays, but the shuttle Discovery finally lifted off on July 4th, the traditional day for Americans to launch rockets. Apparently it's a new tradition in North Korea as well, as Kim Jong Il sent a few missiles flying himself. While the shuttle wound up docking with the International Space Station, KJI's (as I like to call him) birds took an early swim in the Sea of Japan. Just goes to prove that there's a yin to every yang.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson wants to launch commercial space journeys from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, starting as early as 2010.
From the BBC:

The company made the announcement on the day its test pilot, Brian Binnie, received an honorary degree from Aberdeen University.

Two years ago, he became the first Scot to fly into space.

And last year the rocket plane SpaceShipOne shot to an altitude of more than 100km for the second time inside a week to claim the $10m Ansari X-Prize.

The vehicle raced straight up into the sky over the Mojave Desert in California, US, with Mr Binnie at the controls.

President of Virgin Galactic Will Whitehorn told BBC Scotland there was a system in development based on the prototype flown by Mr Binnie.

"We are designing it so that we will be able to tour it around the world. So we will have a main base in New Mexico and we are looking at three bases outside there to be able to operate from," Mr Whitehorn said.

"As far as the UK is concerned the only area that we have found that has all the right conditions is the north of Scotland.

"It has relatively little overflying by aircraft, there are not people on the ground who could get injured and RAF Lossiemouth is an ideal location."

He said that test flying of SpaceShipTwo would begin next year and be completed in 2008.

Mr Whitehorn added that commercial operations could begin in 2009, with flights from a Scottish base such as Lossiemouth or Machrahanish the following year.

The Golden Age of Commercial Space Travel is very close.
There's an enormous profit to be made for all mankind in exploration and colonization of the Solar System. It's good to see some actual movement in this direction by people with the courage and the financial means to make it happen.
Let's just hope they leave the Haggis on the ground.

See it? Saw it. Good!

2006-06-26T14:54:00.000-04:00

Ever been to England? October's a little cold and wet, but it's a great time to make the trip if you're a Mike Trim fan. Mike (and I) will be appearing at the Fanderson Sector 25 Convention, October 7 & 8, at the Holiday Inn - Elstree in Borehamwood (right next to the film studio). Not that both of us appearing and signing copies of the book isn't remarkable enough, but if you truly need more to get you on a plane, in a car, on the back of an Ostrich... whatever it takes to get to the convention... Mike will be bringing the surviving artwork from his days as a designer on Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, Doppleganger, and UFO with him to display! Look, here's a piece now:

Of course, most of this art appears in The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, but there's nothing like seeing it in person. I'm sure it will be displayed in such a manner that touching it will be out of the question, but attendees will be able to get very close to the art and examine it in detail.
For most people, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Mike's original designs - don't miss it!
There'll be plenty of original models, props, costumes and other widgets on display as well - well worth a look for fans of the series. If you've never been to a Fanderson convention to see these items in person, what's holding you back? Expensive airfare? Saving for a rainy day? C'mon, if this stuff is important to you - if it fills you with a sense of wonder and excitement that makes you feel like a kid again - don't you owe yourself the experience?
Other guests include Gerry Anderson himself, Nick Tate and Zienia Merton from Space: 1999, Shane Rimmer, Dominic Lavery, Francis (Captain Scarlet) Matthews, Art director Keith Wilson, and plenty more.
Hope to see you there!

June Press Roundup!

2006-06-24T16:44:00.004-04:00

As any author will tell you, writing a book is one thing, but if you want it to sell, people need to know the book exists. Publishers do what they can to get the word out, but authors must do their part as well.
My efforts in this area are beginning to pay off, with two magazine pieces currently on the stands. The first is a mention of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim in CFQ Magazine, which I mentioned on www.miketrimart.com last month. Here's the cover if you're trying to find it.

I had a devil of time locating a copy; I finally found one at Barnes & Noble, after trying two other stores that were already sold out. CFQ is a great magazine, and many thanks go to editor Jeff Bond for including us in this issue. To order it online, stop by their website at http://www.cfq.com.
Also on newsstands now is ImagineFX issue #5, the magazine of Fantasy & Sci-Fi Digital Art. This is a very slick, all color British magazine devoted entirely to the creation of digital SF&F art. Definitely recommended, even if you aren't an artist yourself because of all the gorgeous color paintings. Here's the cover for the issue that contains a nice article on Mike and the book in their news section.

Many thanks to editor Rob Carney and writer Ed Ricketts for covering the book.

In July, the September issue of Toy Shop Magazine will include an article on Mike's designs that have been released as toys and model kits. This issue will be distributed for free at the San Diego Comic Con, so stop by the Comics Buyer's Guide/F&W Publications booth on your way to see me in booth #506, signing copies of the book.
In September, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller 'Bookazine" issue #3 will feature a 10 page interview with Mike Trim as well as a review of the book. More info on these when they hit the streets.
If you see any coverage of The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim in magazines or newspapers, please drop me a line at webmaster@miketrimart.com so that I can include it here.

San Diego Smackdown!

2006-06-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Do I even need to tell any of you that the San Diego Comic Con International is the largest pop culture gathering in America?
Surely you know that last year more than 100,000 fans of comics, movies, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, anime, and more descended upon the San Diego Convention Center, creating a crowded but exhultant gestalt that transcended the term convention and burst into a convergence...? Ok, flowery prose aside, the SDCCI was one big honkin' con last year, and 2006 promises to be even bigger. Click here to visit their website.
What better place to premier The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim? No place, of course.
This year the convention runs from Wednesday, July 19th to Sunday, July 23rd. I'll be in the Hermes Press booth (#506) most of the weekend, but I will make it out for this panel:

The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim
Friday, July 21
6:00 - 7:00 P.M.
Room 2
Mike Trim began his career as a designer and model maker for Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, UFO, Journey to the Far Side of the Sun, and Space: 1999. In 1978, he designed the Martian fighting machines and illustrated the album cover for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, which has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. A new book of Trim's work is being premiered at Comic Con this year by Hermes Press (Booth #506). Join author Anthony Taylor (The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim), CFQ Magazine Editor Jeff Bond, director Robert Burnette (Free Enterprise), and legendary model maker Greg Jein (Star Trek, CE3K) for a peek at the new book and a discussion of Trim's influence on the current generation of filmmakers. Presented in association with www.miketrimart.com.

Pretty cool lineup! We may even have a special guest who's name I won't mention (Richard Taylor), but you might be able to guess if you know who wrote the foreword for the book. Come see us at the booth and the panel and let me know I'm not writing this stuff only to have it vanish into thin air.

This is the beginning...

2006-06-22T00:20:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the blog! I'll be posting updates on Mike's projects regularly. Let's start with the press release for the new book, The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim, shall we?

In 1964, young Mike Trim answered a newspaper advertisement seeking modelmakers for a film production crew and began an odyssey that would last for more than 40 years. Beginning in the final days of Stingray, Trim would work as a modelmaker and designer for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's television series Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, and UFO, as well as their feature films Thunderbirds are Go, Thunderbird 6, and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (a.k.a. Doppleganger).
Starting out in the model shop, Mike eventually became Special Effects director Derek Meddings' assistant in designing the fabulous futuristic vehicles, buildings, and look of the Andersons' imaginitive series. Eventually, he would take on the bulk of design work for the series as Meddings became more involved in feature films.
Contributing a single (unused) vehicle design and model to Space: 1999, Trim then moved into freelance illustration, creating an iconic cover painting for one of the best selling albums of all time; Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds, in 1978.
The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is an in-depth look at the career of this creative and talented man. Featuring hundreds of full color and black & white drawings, paintings, marker comps, and photos from his entire career, the book offers a detailed view of how to foretell the future at the end of a paintbrush. Along the way, Mike relates humorous and interesting stories of his years working with Derek Meddings and the Century 21 Films crew, as well as his experiences as a freelance artist and how the instantly recognizable cover art for The War of The Worlds was designed. With chapters covering his techniques and early influences, unproduced and upcoming projects and more, The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is a fitting tribute to an artist whose work has permeated the pop culture landscape for the last 40 years.
By Anthony Taylor with Mike Trim
Forewords by Richard Taylor and David Tremont of Weta Workshop
Published by Hermes Press
128 pages, Trade Paperback - 8.5"x 11"
Limited Edition Hardcover available separately
Shipping in late July
Now available for pre-order http://fabgearusa.com