Blade Runner Miniatures For Practical Effects

Miniature Spinners parked on the landing pad.

In only a couple more days we are going to see the new Blade Runner which is receiving some incredible press and positive feedback. I can't wait to see it, but it made me nostalgic for the original which I have seen hundreds of times now. I happened to run across this interesting article on SYFY about the miniatures used in BR that I hadn't seen before. So I will share some of this here, and then you can see the rest of the article on their site. In addition to that you may not have seen the other miniatures that were used in the original. Here are 172 photos of miniatures used in the film.

BLADE RUNNER HAD MIND-BOGGLINGLY SMALL MINIATURES FOR PRACTICAL EFFECTS

by Ian Failes

Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner is a landmark in the history of practical miniatures, matte paintings, and optical effects. Intricate models were used to bring the massive Tyrell pyramids to life, as well as views of future Los Angeles and the iconic flying Spinner vehicles.

In visual effects, miniatures are, of course, small-scale replicas of much larger objects, like buildings or vehicles. But on Blade Runner, a couple of the miniatures that were built were particularly small. Like, really, really small. You might have to squint to see them, but these pint-sized models are there in the film, and here's how they were made... MORE