re: #231 wheat-dogghazi-mailgate
Many of the models used in film and TV were made by model-bashing. That would be a fun job — hanging around stores selling model kits, buying what you need, and mix and matching pieces to make a one-of-a-kind ship — or whatever.
Or you can “cheat” and use CGI.
There’s a model of the “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” mothership on display at Udvar-Hazy (Smithsonian Annex out near Dulles Airport.) They also list some of the “odd” items on the model that you can find, such as aircraft, R2-D2, etc. And just looking at it and having some experience with plastic scale models I could spot lots of bits that I recognized as being car or ship kit parts.