Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1517535
from WWII were scouted, but the cost to make them production-friendly and safe just wasn't worth it. So, the series decided to split the base into two, and build the admin/housing on a derelict site near Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire. This allowed us to create our own version of the base as a large composite set backlot with the interiors all together on location. The hardstands and runways with the control tower were built fifty miles away at an old, decommissioned RAF airfield at Abingdon (Oxfordshire). The two sets would be joined together with VFX to form the world of the 100th Group. When designing the airbase, a similar challenge came up as with the plane interiors: Since nearly all the buildings were military Nissen or Orlit huts—how would the audience identify the various locations? The Art Department had to give each space a unique feel, given the considerable time spent in these areas. We decided to construct a village of Nissen and Orlit huts of various sizes, dressing and redressing them as the schedule allowed for all twenty sets needed. In reality, the main administrative areas of the camp were grouped together in one area near the runways and hardstands where the planes were based, while the housing was situated on the edges of the base. This layout ensured that if the site was bombed, it was less likely to wipe them all out. We built everything together to give us a denser-looking backdrop, while also saving on CGI. The footage was edited in a way to give the impression that the spaces were apart. We found a location that was almost surrounded by trees, helping to disguise the fact that the location of the runways was in fact fifty miles away. This also applied to the airfield, especially during scenes when the planes were taking off, revealing the airfield in its entirety. The scripts also required us to show how the airfield was essentially dropped into a farming environment that hadn't changed in a hundred years. The local population of around one hundred people quickly embraced the hundreds of visiting airmen into their world, offering a range of services. The resulting commerce, which still exists today, was unimaginable. The pubs became a significant part of base life, where everyone mingled and connected. D. THORPE ABBOTTS AIRBASE. PRODUCTION STILL. E. "THE LONG MARCH" OF THE POWS. SHOT AT WINDSOR GREAT PARK. PRODUCTION STILL BEFORE VXF WAS ADDED. F. GERMAN BOXCAR AND MARSHALLING YARD. DIDCOT LOCATION. BEHIND THE SCENES. G. GERMAN STREET BACKLOT. BUILT AT BOVINGDON AIRFIELD. PRODUCTION STILL. E F G