Fireball XL5 CAD Model Revised August 13, 2010

Blueprints/technical specifications of Fireball XL5 based on this CAD model, along with some of the rendered images used in this presentation can be found at groups.yahoo.com/group/fireball/files.

Update: August 6, 2011- After years of searching, I recently came across a color slide that clearly shows the color of the cabin floor in Fireball Junior at the time of production. The lower level of the floor was red- the same color of red as I show on the semi-circular arc on the rear bulkhead in Fireball Junior. The raised platform is blue- as I currently show it. I will be updating these CAD images in the near future accordingly and will also include this new photo reference. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if anyone requires the latest up to date info regarding this model please feel free to contact me here.

This is the latest version of my Fireball XL5 CAD model presentation- and pretty much concludes my effort to model it. This new version includes details of the Central Control Cabin. The Central Control Cabin was meticulously recreated using DVD frame grabs as reference. Some adjustments had to be made in size due to the fact that the original set was significantly out of scale relative to the rest of the ship.

There is no source of reference that I know of that would indicate the interior colors of the Central Control Cabin. For the sake of continuity, I used the same colors I used on the interior portion of Fireball Junior (where color references are available). Also, I tried to make colors consistent with the corresponding gray scale values from the black and white DVD frame grabs.

I have retained everything else from my previous presentation including images of original, 2-1/4" color transparencies- accurately showing the rarely seen, correct colors of the Fireball Junior interior set (not faded or color shifted as seen in so many reproduced photos). An image taken from another original color transparency of Steve and Venus (on Jetmobiles) approaching a hatch alongside Fireball XL5 is also shown.

This 3-D CAD model represents a 5 1/2 year effort to reproduce Fireball XL5 as faithfully as possible based on what was seen on the show. However, differences in scale and proportion between the interior sets and the exterior of the ship had to be addressed. Additionally, there were several models of Fireball XL5 built and used for production- each one slightly different so there is a bit of subjective license here. Specific exterior details on my CAD model are generally based on the large studio model. Multiple sources of reference were used including hundreds of DVD frame grabs, photos, a Product Specification Sheet as well as the Kitmaster Fireball XL5 physical model (for a number of reasons, probably the best reference for the exterior). The interior colors of Fireball Junior were established using the original 2-1/4" color transparencies for reference.

Anyone that wants to request specific information regarding this model can contact me here or at the above yahoo website.