Not just the model. You have to build a full shuttle on the planet set every episode. Want to do an episode with on location shoots? Oh boy, that’s going to be fun to haul out there. Almost might as well leave it at Vasquez Rocks permanently.
It was a 3/4 size model, wasn’t it? Surely they could tow it on a trailer?
Edit: from wikipedia
Art director Matt Jefferies originally envisioned a sleek, streamlined shuttle based upon his background as a pilot. The curved shape proved too expensive to build for the first episodes.[3] AMT offered to build a full-sized shuttlecraft at no cost in exchange for rights to market a model kit. The final design of the mockup, by Gene Winfield,[4] is 24 feet (7.2 m) long and weighs one ton, has a plywood hull, and was built in two months by a team of 12 people. A separate set was used for interior scenes as the mockup was too small for filming.[5]
Not just the model. You have to build a full shuttle on the planet set every episode. Want to do an episode with on location shoots? Oh boy, that’s going to be fun to haul out there. Almost might as well leave it at Vasquez Rocks permanently.
It was a 3/4 size model, wasn’t it? Surely they could tow it on a trailer?
Edit: from wikipedia