Landmaster

The Landmaster is a unique 12-wheeled amphibious

Landmaster
articulated vehicle constructed by Dean Jeffries at Jeffries
Automotive in Universal City, California, for the 1977 science
fiction film Damnation Alley (itself based on a novel by Roger
Zelazny). Despite the appearance of two Landmasters in the
film (achieved with process photography and models), only one
was built, at a cost of $350,000 in 1976.[1]

History Promotional picture of the Landmaster

A staple of southern California car culture for many years, the from Damnation Alley
Landmaster was parked in full view next to Dean Jeffries' Type Amphibious APC
automotive shop on Cahuenga Boulevard in North Hollywood, Place of origin Studio City,
California from 1977 to 2005. California

The Landmaster was sold to a private owner in 2005 and was Service history
restored to its original condition as featured in Damnation In service 1976 —
Alley. The Landmaster was then on the show car circuit for Used by (Fictional) 123rd
several years.[2] In 2007 it was featured at the San Francisco Strategic Missile
Rod & Custom Show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco[3] as Wing, United
part of special exhibit with other notable movie and TV cars. States Air Force,
Tipton Air Force
Sometime in the late 2000s, the Landmaster was vandalized Base, Mojave
while in storage. The damage was relatively minor, but repair Desert,
and restoration were required again. In March 2014, California,
Landmaster was moved from its storage location in Campbell, United States
California to a new maintenance and storage facility in central
Production history
California (see photos and gallery).
Designer Dean Jeffries
In 2016, the Landmaster was moved to Gene Winfield's Manufacturer Jeffries
Custom Shop on Sierra Highway between Rosamond, Automotive
California and Mojave, California. A 2019 Google Maps image
Unit cost US$350,000
capture shows it can be seen from the road.[4] Gene Winfield's
Produced 1976
website[5] offers classes but makes no mention of visiting.
No. built 1

Construction Specifications
Mass 23,000 lb
Popular Science described the Landmaster:
(10,000 kg)

Three independent drive sources running from a Length 35 feet (11 m)

gasoline power plant. Uses semi truck parts in the Height 12 feet (3.7 m)
drive train. Can operate with the front or rear wheel Crew 4
trinary out of commission. Side and top hatches on
 the main unit and rear and top on the after section.
Full running lights and brake lights for urban street Armor 3
⁄8-inch (1 cm)
use. External video camera is mounted on the steel plate
forward pylon located just behind the front top hatch. Main 2 top mounted
Could also house the antenna. All pylons are armament rocket launchers
hardened and armored. Can operate in water and will 4 side mounted
remain sealed when fully submerged. Can float while autocannons
half full of water.[6] 2 front mounted
retractable
While the film is fiction, the Landmaster vehicle is real. In the bazookas
story, the Landmaster was designed to use as many standard 2 front mounted
truck parts as possible, so that any junkyard would have flamethrowers
whatever was needed for repairs. The real Landmaster is Engine 391-cubic-inch
powered by a 390-cubic-inch (6.4 L) Ford engine, and uses the (6.41 L)
rear-ends of two commercial trucks and an Allison automatic Transmission 5-speed Allison
truck transmission. It features a fully functional, custom-built Suspension 12-wheel tri-star
"tri-star" wheel arrangement, which could actually help it crawl
Ground clearance 2 feet (0.61 m)
over boulders. All 12 wheels are driven, but only eight are
Steering hydraulic rams
normally in contact with the road surface at any one time.[7]
system mounted in the
The vehicle was steered not by turning the front wheels, but by center section
bending the middle section with hydraulic rams to effect a turn, junction
similar to large construction equipment. The Landmaster's
bodywork was made with 3 ⁄8 -inch (1 cm) steel plate, which helped
it tip the scales at over 10 tons. The design's strength allowed it to
survive a 25-foot (7.6 m) jump during testing with no damage.

Gallery
Landmaster features
Front view, just prior to loading on Gantry/entry into cockpit.
trailer. Raises/lowers via a motor driven
cable system.

Close-up of trinary wheel system. Closeup of section pivot and drive

system

Loading and move from Campbell, California to its new facility in central California
(March 28, 2014)
Landmaster was driven under its Landmaster just after driving onto
own power onto trailer shown. trailer

Loaded onto a heavy duty trailer Rear view, loaded onto a heavy
for transport duty trailer for transport

Other appearances
Amoco "the Road Worrier" (1980s) commercial with a Mad Max type character.[8]
"The Wild and the Young" (1986) music video by Quiet Riot.[9]
Highway to Heaven: "Merry Christmas From Grandpa" (1989) TV episode.[10]
The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989) parked on sidewalk about 17 minutes in.[11]
Get A Life: "Paperboy 2000" (1990) TV episode.[12]
A.P.E.X. (1994), time travel movie.[13]
Dino Island (c. 1996), pre-ride video at the Sony MovieGlide Theatre.[14]
Hybrid (1997), post-apocalyptic movie.[15]
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (2001) Manga author paid some respect by creating his own
version in chapter 1 and 2.[16]
 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (2009) video game.[17]

See also
Ark II – armored vehicle from the eponymous 1976 TV series, which has been confused with
the Landmaster.
Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) – actual military vehicles related to the Landmaster's film
portrayal.
Category: wheeled amphibious AFVs – A list of related military vehicles.
Sandcrawler – contemporary fictional vehicle with similar purpose.
EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle - a fictional armored personnel carrier from 1981 American war
comedy film Stripes

Sources
1. McComb, Gordon; J. Steven York. "Automotive Fantasies—And The Men Who Make Them"
(https://web.archive.org/web/20110107052409/http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/landmaster/pics/
lanarticle4.jpg). Science & Mechanics (unknown): 66–67. Archived from the original (http://w
ww.snowcrest.net/fox/landmaster/pics/lanarticle4.jpg) on 2011-01-07.
2. Landmaster picture from its recent showing. (http://www.wwwmwww.com/Macross/landmaste
r1.png)
3. 2007 San Francisco Rod, Custom and Motorcycle Show Event Guide (http://www.sfcustoms
how.com/navigation/eventguide.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2009121510300
8/http://www.sfcustomshow.com/navigation/eventguide.html) 2009-12-15 at the Wayback
Machine
4. "Google Maps" (https://goo.gl/maps/q1mu88v4GyAGJHwt8).
5. "Gene Winfield's Custom Shop website" (https://www.winfieldscustomshop.com/).
6. Scagnetti, Jack (March 1977). "Monster vehicle to star in movie" (https://books.google.com/b
ooks?id=KAEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83). Popular Science (March, 1977): 83.
7. "CB Supercar: The Incredible Landmaster". CB Guide (unknown): 12–15.
8. Herold, Steve (June 23, 2013). "the Road Worrier" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9fFh
wGoVNo). YouTube.
9. Quiet Riot (July 1986). Quiet Riot - the Wild and the Young (https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TrtKmjGjhro). YouTube. Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/Trt
KmjGjhro) from the original on 2021-12-12.
10. Landon, Michael (director) (August 1989). Merry Christmas From Grandpa (4) (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20160412112935/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOPaFMhVn9c).
YouTube. Archived from the original (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOPaFMhVn9c) on
2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
11. Jittlov, Mike. The Wizard of Speed and Time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ldOTw60O
zg#t=1032). Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/3ldOTw60Ozg)
from the original on 2021-12-12.
12. Baldwin, Peter (director) (November 1990). Get a Life - S1E06 - Paperboy 2000 - Part 3/3 (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20160419063715/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2v0scUyWf
8). YouTube. Archived from the original (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2v0scUyWf8)
on 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
13. Roth, Phillip J. (director) (1994). A.P.E.X 2/7 (https://web.archive.org/web/20130214181446/h
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ_fwz40CEE&NR). YouTube. Archived from the original
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ_fwz40CEE&NR) on 2013-02-14.
14. Stokes, Trey (January 4, 2002). "Dino Island" (https://archive.today/20090419223858/http://w
ww.trudang.com/simulatr/dinosim.html). Motion Simulators. The Truly Dangerous Company.
Archived from the original (http://www.trudang.com/simulatr/dinosim.html) on April 19, 2009.
15. Ray, Fred Olen (director) (1997). "Hybrid" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119339/). IMDb.
16. Kishiro, Yukito (2013). Battle Angel Alita: Last Order Omnibus Vol. 1. Kodansha Comics.
pp. 12 & 17. ISBN 978-1612622910.
17. "007 – ¿Sabías Qué… (Did You Know?…)" (https://nijiko.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/007-sa
bias-que/). 2 December 2013.

External links
Hallock, Richard (2003-04-15). "Damnation Ally: Landmaster Web Page" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20050305143804/http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/landmaster/). Snowcrest.net/fox.
Archived from the original (http://www.snowcrest.net/fox/landmaster/) on 2005-03-05.
Dreddmanz13 (December 30, 2006). "Landmaster for Trainz" (https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=4PKZK9ggRQA). YouTube. Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/202112
12/4PKZK9ggRQA) from the original on 2021-12-12.
Rosloot, Hans (2008-05-11). "Landmaster" (https://web.archive.org/web/20180516010751/ht
tp://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/L/landmasterspecial/landmaster.html).
AmphibiousVehicle.net (archived). Archived from the original (http://www.amphibiousvehicle.
net/amphi/L/landmasterspecial/landmaster.html) on 2018-05-16.
Youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuC_mcWKn8o) of the Hawkwind song
'Damnation Alley' with video of the Landmaster from the movie
Youtube Amoco commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9fFhwGoVNo) featuring
Landmaster

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