Effects

The revelation that the series' outer space sequences would again be carried out by the use of models rather than CGI was another hugely popular move with fans, and seen as a further sign that Red Dwarf X would be taking the show back to its classic roots.

The art department dug out the so-called "pencil" model of Red Dwarf - originally constructed for use in Series VIII but ultimately only used as the basis for a CGI rendering - and performed a significant weight-loss operation, trimming out around a third of the length from the middle in order to more closely resemble the original ship. The later-model Blue Midget was also retrieved from storage, and both models given a brand new paint job; while an original Starbug was brought in on loan from Mike Tucker's Ealing-based Model Unit.

Unfortunately, the decision to shoot the models while Doug was elsewhere engaged filming pickups proved problematic, despite the experience of Director of Photography Peter Talbot. Close-up passes of the ship model with the high-resolution cameras were simply unusable, showing flaws and detail that had previously not been discernible under the lower-tech cameras of a decade previous; and the various secondary ships and space objects used were also deemed unsatisfactory.

A second model shoot was therefore mounted in April - calling on Series VIII model maker and friend of the show Bill Pearson to produce replacement models both brand new and foraged from the shelves of his workshop, as well as sprucing up the Red Dwarf model itself to look better in HD. There was also the welcome addition of a "bigature" panel, mocking up one side of the main ship, for use in the now greatly-improved flyby sequences.

The second unit's DoP Deane Thrussell had attempted to recreate the iconic overpass shot from the original series' closing credits, but without an expensive motion control camera to hand, the results were unconvincing, and it was considered better to do without than to use an below-par take. As a curiosity, however, the resulting shot was featured as a DVD extra.

The changes made for the second model shoot also ended up having an effect on the scripts themselves. Where Trojan had originally been scripted to have the titular ship stowed away in Red Dwarf's cargo bay, the replacement ship borrowed from Pearson's workshop was ultimately instead "towed" behind. This necessitated the removal of an already-filmed joke about Rimmer only being able to show Howard and Sim the side of the Trojan that faced out into space.