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I remember reading somewhere that when Red Dwarf was released on DVD, that there was a certain amount of remastering done, including changing some FX and replacing the original ship with a new one.

I've seen two different versions of the Large Rouge One, the stubby version, with parts of an astroid protruding, like this model: Stubby _Red Dwarf_

And I've also seen this longer version of the ship:
Long _Red Dwarf_

I suspect the 1st one is the original design and the 2nd is the design created when they decided to remaster the FX, since it has a sleeker look.

Which one is the original Red Dwarf model?

2 Answers 2

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The first model was the original physical model seen up to the 6th season. The second is a CGI version of the model that appeared in the 7th and subsequent seasons. The CGI model was then retro-fitted into the first seasons when they were re-released (ala Remastered Star Trek TOS)

There is an in universe explanation for the change. In a conversation between the Captain and First Officer after they reappeared: Basically the renegade Nanites were trying to appologize for being off the job and accidentally destroying the Red Dwarf. They rebuilt the ship from the original specs, so it was different than the original which took a lot of short cuts during construction.

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    The original model fell off a shelf and was destroyed sometime between series 1 and 5. Jun 8, 2014 at 11:35
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    That's the first i've heard that the original was destroyed! thanks!
    – SteveED
    Oct 24, 2016 at 23:45
  • @BenWilliams do you have a source for that?
    – AncientSwordRage
    Feb 17, 2021 at 17:18
  • There were actually two original models. One was destroyed for Demons & Angels (they blew it up). As mentioned, the other fell off a shelf.
    – user25730
    Mar 25, 2021 at 21:26
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I think there are 5 versions of the ship. The original for series 1-5. The long digital one we see in Series 8. There is also a redesigned digital one in the Bodysnatcher remastered versions of series 1-3. The 4th version we see is in Back to Earth, and then finally the 5th version in the newer series 10-12.

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    Which one is the original model though? That's what the question is asking: "Which one is the original Red Dwarf model?" Feb 21, 2022 at 21:14
  • In terms of major iterations, there are now three - the original (series 1-5) version, the "pencil" version (series 8, plus remastered), and the Dave version (BTE onwards, which was CG for BTE but physical for the rest, and is actually the unused physical model of the "pencil" version chopped up a bit).
    – user25730
    Feb 21, 2022 at 21:19

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