Brian working on a Gerry Anderson production
Brian H. D. Smithies was born on the 5th of December, 1941.
He is a senior model maker and special effects technician, best known for his work in a number of Gerry Anderson productions.
After refining his skills as an artist, his career in model making began in the 1960’s, working under Derek Meddings on the productions of “Thunderbirds”, “Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons”, “Joe 90” and “Crossplot”. He specialised in adding the finishing details to models that were used, as well as performing repairs, set dressing duties and preparing explosive charges.
In the 1970’s, Brian became a freelance technician and worked on his first James Bond film, “Diamonds Are Forever”. He also worked on “Zeppelin” (1971), “Frankenstein: The True Story” (1973), “The Land That Time Forgot” (1974), “Aces High” (1976) and “Superman” (1978). The other Bond films that he worked on were: “Live & Let Die”, “The Man With The Golden Gun”, “The Spy Who Loved Me”, “Octopussy”, “The Living Daylights”, “Goldeneye”, “Tomorrow Never Dies”, “The World is Not Enough” and “Die Another Day”.
Throughout his extensive career in film, accumulating many major credits, Brian Smithies has been regarded as one of the finest model makers and special effects technicians in the industry. He has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award for his work on “The Dark Crystal” (1983) and for “Goldeneye” (1995).
After retiring in the early 2000’s, Brian has appeared at some film events and enjoys giving talks about the successes during his career.
In "Live & Let Die", Brian Smithies was part of the special effects team, working under Derek Meddings.
Specifically, he was involved with the rigging and explosion of Kananga's poppy fields during the film's climax.
The James Bond composite photo displayed below was signed by Brian Smithies for The Bond Archives at the Operation Midas event hosted by Shaken Not Stirred on the 25th of August, 2024.
The second autograph was signed (mistakenly to a gentleman called 'Morten') at the "LALD" 45th Anniversary party at Pinewood Studios, hosted by Bondstars, on the 24th of June, 2018.
Despite attending some fan events, Brian's autograph is rare and does not come onto the market often.
This is Brian's second James Bond film, having previously worked on "Diamonds Are Forever".
Brian would go on to work under Derek Meddings again on the following 007 adventure "The Man With The Golden Gun".
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