UNBOXING THE DRAGON 1:72 SCALE APOLLO 11 SPACECRAFT

Mat Irvine looks inside:

Model companies can spring surprises, and such was the case when Hong Kong-based Dragon recently announced brand new 1:72 scale kits in of the Apollo craft. Anyone familiar, even in passing, with kits of space subjects will be bound to know of the Airfix Apollo Lunar Module. It was first released many years ago, but was recently reissued with updated painting instructions and details (by me!) to correct the colour scheme, which since the very beginning has been wrong. (Or maybe ‘not quite right’…)

Complete Apollo spacecraft

However, with the first Apollo Missions now 40-plus years old the idea of new kits of may come as something of a surprise, though on the face of it no-one turns a hair at the announcement of another Spitfire or Bf109, so on that logic why should spacecraft be different? What makes these Dragon issues especially welcome is that we don’t get just a Lunar Module (it has long been one of those modelling mysteries as to why Airfix made only the LM) as this time you have a complete Apollo spacecraft, consisting of the Lunar Module Eagle and the Command/Service Module Columbia. 

Base of the 'Lunar Landing' box shows details, decal positions and complex colour scheme. 

Correct type

And in case anyone is asking: “Surely Tamiya made a similar kit?”, yes it did, but firstly this was to 1:70 scale, not 1:72, and secondly - and more importantly - the Service Module was the Block I type, only used for unmanned test flights, not the Block II that carried astronauts to the Moon. So although the subject matter is maybe a blast from the past, at least half of the Dragon kits are brand-new so far as  models of the full-size machinery is concerned. 

Dragon cgi images show development details - note the photo-etch parts shown gold.

Approach and Landing kits

Dragon’s Apollo comes in two versions, duplicating major stages in the flight. The 'Approach' kit represents Apollo on its way to the Moon, in that the CSM and LM are attached, The 'Landing' kit shows LM on the Moon, with a support rod to show the CSM in orbit overhead, though this obviously not at a scale distance. Dragon supplies an excellent lunar surface base for this one, which seems a pretty accurate representation of the landing site, plus nicely sculpted figures of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Good stuff in the 'Approach' box.

Lots of components

Both kits are comprehensive, with well over 100 parts each. Moulded in light-grey plastic, with photo-etch brass parts for the high-gain antenna dishes carried by the Service Module. Even the ‘crunched foil’ look on the LM is reproduced neatly enough in plastic. 

Well-engineered chunk of lunar terrain gives the LM somewhere to land on. 

More on these excellent-looking kits when I’ve built them!

Thanks to the Hobby Company, the UK importer and distributor for Dragon for the samples.

APOLLO 11 - TAMIYA 1:70 SCALE RE-RELEASE

This Tamiya rerelease has an excellent IWOOT factor, apart from its rather exotic 1:70 scale. Still, it can sit next to a bunch of 1:72 scale models without too many misgivings.

The kit is unusual for including the Lunar Module’s Saturn V container section, and things get better - the Command/Service Module has a swing-out section that reveals neat interior detail, there are two display bases, and gold foil is included for the LM’s insulation blanket. The LM itself separates into two sections, allowing the Ascent Stage to be docked with the Command Module.

Two astronaut figures - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - and a US flag complete the mini-diorama lunar surface. Very nice too, Tamiya - it’s just a pity this very complete model hasn’t been available for so long.

APOLLO 11: “THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN...”

Speech researcher Chris Riley declared the other day that his studies prove that Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong really did lose the ‘a’ in “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for Mankind”. This despite Armstrong’s insistence that he actually said it! Other research has come to a similar conclusion, but SMN doesn’t really care - Armstrong put the first bootprint on the Moon, and that’s what counts.

Of the two Apollo 11 Moonwalkers, Armstrong has always been the quiet one; the second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin, has been a lot more communicative. And that shows up in the memorabilia available - so Dragon produced a Buzz Aldrin astronaut model, not one of Neil Armstrong. This 1:6 scale figure is something of a collector’s item these days, with eBay auctions asking $250 USD (£155 GBP) or more. SMN Towers has one in the vaults (see pictures above) and the package is very well done, with an open-out box, a fascimile signed letter from Aldrin, and some very nicely detailed equipment.

The Aldrin figure would look terrific in any Apollo model display, as would the Revell 1:48 Lunar Module kit (bottom picture). You might also enjoy the great-looking Buzz Aldrin site, which has a fascinating intro video.

Visit Revell here, and Buzz Aldrin here.