- Landmaster
The Landmaster is a unique 12-wheeled amphibious
articulated vehicle constructed byDean Jeffries at Jeffries Automotive inUniversal City, California for the 1977science fiction film "Damnation Alley". Despite the appearance of two Landmasters in the film (achieved with process photography and models), only one was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1976 ($1,200,000 in 2008 dollars, adjusted for inflation). [cite journal |last=McComb |first=Gordon | coauthors=J. Steven York |title=Automotive Fantasies—And The Men Who Make Them |journal=journal unknown |issue=issue unknown |pages=p.66–67]Construction
Popular Science described the Landmaster:: "Three independent drive sources running from a gasoline power plant. Uses semi truck parts in the drive train. Can operate with the front or rear wheel trinary out of commission. Side and top hatches on the main unit and rear and top on the after section. Full running lights and brake lights for urban street use. External video camera is mounted on the forward pylon located just behind the front top hatch. Could also house the antenna. All pylons are hardened and armored. Can operate in water and will remain sealed when fully submerged. Can float while half full of water." [cite journal |last=Scagnetti |first=Jack |title=Landmaster |journal=
Popular Science |issue=March, 1977 |pages= |publisher= ]While the film is fiction, the Landmaster vehicle itself is real. In the story, the Landmaster was designed to use as many standard truck parts as possible, so that any junkyard would have whatever was needed for repairs. The real Landmaster is powered by a 391 cubic-inch Ford industrial engine, and uses the rear-ends of two big trucks and an Allison automatic truck transmission. It features a fully-functional, custom-built " tri-star" wheel arrangement, which could actually help it crawl over boulders. All 12 wheels are driven, but only 8 are normally in contact with the road surface at any one time. [cite journal |last= |first= |title=CB Supercar: The Incredible Landmaster | journal=CB Guide |issue=issue unknown | pages=p.12–15]
It also used an innovative steering mechanism which guided the vehicle, not by turning the front wheels, but by bending the middle section with
hydraulic rams to effect a turn. The Landmaster's bodywork was made with frac|3|8-inch steel plating, which helped it tip the scales at over 10 tons. The design's strength allowed it to survive a 25-foot jump during testing with no damage.History
A staple of
Southern California car culture for many years, the Landmaster was parked in full view next to Dean Jeffries' automotive shop onCahuenga Boulevard inNorth Hollywood, California from 1977 to 2005.The Landmaster was sold to a private owner in 2005, and has been restored by Jeffries to its original condition as featured in "Damnation Alley." Currently, the Landmaster is on the show car circuit. [ [http://www.wwwmwww.com/Macross/landmaster1.pngLandmaster picture from its recent showing.] ]
It was also at the 2007 San Francisco Rod & Custom Show at the
Cow Palace in South San Francisco, CA. [ [http://www.sfcustomshow.com/navigation/eventguide.html 2007 San Francisco Rod, Custom and Motorcycle Show Event Guide] ]Other appearances
* “The wild and the Young” (1986) – Music video by
Quiet Riot
* "Get A Life": “Paperboy 2000” (1990-11-04 episode)
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109144/ A.P.E.X.] " (1994) – a time travel movie.
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119339/ Hybrid] " (1997) – a post-apocalyptic movie.
* " [http://www.trudang.com/simulatr/dinosim.html Dino Island] " pre-ride video – "Sony MovieGlide Theatre"
* A television commercial forAmoco titled "The Road Worrier." Fact|date=February 2007
*The Morrow Project RPG featured the "M.A.R.S. One", a lengthened version of the Landmaster. The "M.A.R.S. One" was twice as long, and had four sets of tri-star wheels—two per hinged segment—rather than the two sets used on the real vehicle. The artwork used for the game also altered the front of the cab, drawing it to resemble the cab of theArk II , with which the Landmaster is often confused.ources
External links
*
*
*
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
