Breaking Bad was filmed on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico (32nd in population, number one in statues dedicated to fictional meth-makers!), but one of the show’s most iconic props now resides in Los Angeles. The Krystal Ship — the RV used by Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to cook meth on the go — is part of the Sony Pictures Studios tour, along with a Jeopardy! podium and the Ectomobile from Ghostbusters.
From the outside, the Krystal Ship still looks the same as it did on Breaking Bad. But inside, it’s “completely gutted,” set designer Ashley Marsh told Variety. This proved to be an issue for the latest episode of Better Call Saul, which was partially (and thrillingly) set during the Breaking Bad timeline, but Marsh had a time-consuming solution.
To recreate that set for Better Call Saul, Marsh “religiously rewatched Breaking Bad” and took “8,000 screen grabs.” With careful attention to detail, the team had to replace every beaker, tub of methylamine, round-bottom flask, and more. Everything we see inside the RV on Better Call Saul was new.
Marsh got in touch with Frank Sandoval, an Albuquerque resident who runs Breaking Bad RV Tours. “After signing an ‘ironclad NDA,’ Sandoval was happy to lend some parts of his Bounder — which shuttles tourists around Albuquerque to Breaking Bad locations — to the Better Call Saul team,” according to Variety. Even the window coverings on Saul are the same ones that appear on Breaking Bad. It’s a small detail that most shows wouldn’t bother with. But most shows don’t get turned into statues, either.
(Via Variety)