18 More Things You Didn't Know About The Terminator
12. The Exploding Truck Was Fake
In the climax, Kyle Reese places an explosive in The Terminator's truck, blowing it to kingdom come. What makes this scene more amazing is the vehicle that blows up was 100% fake.
Because James Cameron is known for his perfectionism, you'd be surprised to learn that he didn't just blow up a real truck. However, that was exactly what Cameron wanted to do. Unfortunately, there was one major problem; the shot was meant to take place beside a police station. Because the facility had guns, helicopters, ammunition, and many other things that could go boom, they informed Cameron that there was no way in hell he would be allowed to blow up a large automobile beside their building.
While brainstorming, Cameron cast his mind back to the movie that inspired him to become a director; Star Wars. When he saw the film, he was blown away by how realistic the miniatures looked. After discussing the idea with his team, the crew built a miniature tanker truck that was six times smaller than a regular vehicle. Despite the fact the exploding truck looks humungous, it's only one foot-and-a-half tall and eight feet long.