It's About Time/Gilligan's Island Scorpio E-X-1 Space Capsule 1/48 Scale Model Kit

It's About Time/Gilligan's Island Scorpio E-X-1 Space Capsule 1/48 Scale Model Kit:

In 1964, producer Sherwood Schwartz hit paydirt with his now-classic sitcom Gilligan's Island. Two years later, Schwartz attempted to duplicate his success with the slapstick sci-fi comedy It's About Time. This time out, instead of stranding seven castaways on an uncharted desert isle, he marooned two American astronauts in the Stone Age. When the series failed to catch fire, he twisted the premise again, transporting his astronauts along with two cavepeople back to 1965. The gambit failed to move the Nielsen needle, and the show was canceled after 26 episodes.

Moving Schwartz's characters to the Stone Age and back was the  "Scorpio E-X-1," a two-man spacecraft that unexpectedly broke "the barrier of time" during its re-entry. Actually, the full-sized mock-up, based loosely on NASA's Mercury capsule, first appeared in Gilligan's Island's Season 2 episode Nyet, Nyet, Not Yet, in which two Soviet cosmonauts crash-landed in the titular island's lagoon. For It's About Time, Schwartz dusted off this expensive prop, repainted the original orange exterior blue, added four rocket engines to its base, and the "Scorpio E-X-1" was born. (The ship's "landing" was achieved through the creative use of an off-screen crane.)

Never to let a good piece of hardware go to waste, the "Scorpio E-X-1" made one last appearance in Gilligan's Season 3 episode Splashdown, which was basically a rehash of Nyet, Nyet, this time with American astronauts crash-landing amongst the castaways. For this appearance, the Scorpio remained unchanged from how it appeared in It's About Time.

Scale: 1:48
Number of Pieces: 15
Pattern: Scott Lowther
Casting: .JPG Productions
Decals Designed by JBOT
Decals Printed by CMR Productions