TIME TO MUSE MORE WITH AOSHIMA VARIATIONS ON THE HAYABUSA MUSES-C SPACE PROBE TO 1:32 SCALE

MAT IRVINE REPORTS
On August 14, 2010, SMN featured a 1:32 scale kit of the Aoshima Japanese Hayabusa asteroid sample-return mission space probe, originally known as MUSES-C. Since then, Aoshima has issued two variations of this model.


The first kit adaptation came as the Next Generation Asteroid Probe Future Creation Model (pictured top) a title that may roll off the tongue better when spoken in Japanese! The NGAPFCM is a future mission concept that uses the Hayabusa bus (‘bus’ being the general name given to the main body of a satellite or space probe), and the kit is more or less identical, the only real difference being that it lacks Hayabusa’s large high-gain antenna.

New parts
The original Hayabusa kit has some 40 parts, moulded in light grey, as shown in our previous article. The NGAPFCM has a new runner with just three new components, two of these being for the new stand. Size is around 200 mm (8 in) across the solar panel ’wings’.

Hayabusa movie
There’s also a third variation (above) from Aoshima, this time with a movie connection. It is basically the same as the first-issue Hayabusa, but the box also features a large image of the Japanese actor, Ken Watanabe. He is best known to English-speaking audiences from appearances in such movies as Inception, Letters from Iwo Jima and Batman Begins. Here however, he stars as the lead scientist in the release Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home, released earlier this year.

Long voyage home
The movie is a dramatization of the Hayabusa mission, following the seven-year flight of the probe to the distant asteroid 25143 Itokawa, and its sample-return trip back to Earth. Japan is rightfully proud of the probe, and the mission has spawned at least three Japanese films: one documentary and two features. However, the only real kit-movie connection is the box design, plus a postcard slipped inside!

Sample kits courtesy Hobby Link Japan.

SMN Note
If you like LEGO, here are pictures and instructions on how to build a blocky-look Hayabusa.

Aoshima Hayabusa Muses-C available here, as well as heaps of other Aoshima stuff including (drool) a rather pricey but fascinating diecast Zero-X spacecraft, as seen in Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

ATTENTION CAPTAIN SCARLET FANS - AIRFIX ANGEL INTERCEPTOR APPROACHING CLOUDBASE NOW!

SMN update:

It’s good to report that Airfix have reintroduced an old sci-fi classic kit, the Angel Interceptor from the Gerry Anderson supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet, first shown in the late 1960s. It’s to 1:72 scale and is an ultra-simple build, with just 23 components to assemble. From canard-equipped anteater nose to Spectra-Fan air ramjet tail, the model measures some 185 mm (7.3 in) long.

Female pilots

As portrayed, Angel Interceptors were fast, being able to fly from their Cloudbase HQ at more than Mach 4.5 - approximately 4800 km/h (3000 mph) - at altitude. They were flown by a group of female pilots, codenamed Destiny, Harmony, Melody, Rhapsody, and Symphony, who sat in what must be the biggest cockpits ever made. A glance at a closeup shot revealed room inside for a grand piano... or maybe a male admirer or two, as those girls were rather dishy, even if they were only puppets.

The Airfix Angel story

The kit has a long history, going back more than four decades. It was first on sale from 1968-1984, with a concurrent Snap’n’Glue version added to the list in 1981. There are other versions of the aircraft around, notably various Imai kits, but the Airfix model seems to be the most accurate. However, the scale is a bit difficult to work out, and that enormous cockpit is the giveaway. The Airfix kit has a pilot figure that fills the cockpit more effectively, but it also has the effect of reducing the theoretical 1:72 scale of the Interceptor by maybe 20 percent overall. However in other respects the kit is neat enough, and questions of scale aside, looks good when built. 

Farewell puppets, hello computers

The New Captain Scarlet series first aired in 2005, and was a massive upgrade in terms of technology, with no more puppets. Instead, impressive cgi was used for animation - now called Hypermarionation - and all the vehicles were redesigned, mostly with great success. Watch out for a closer SMN look at the series and available models, especially a pair of Corgi diecasts - truly excellent stuff.

Heaps of Gerry Anderson stuff here including the White Falcon, the updated replacement for the Angel Interceptor.

TSR.2MS rocket bomber

And not forgetting another notable Airfix sci-fi kit here, the TSR.2MS, which can be built either as the RAF supersonic bomber that never was, or as a rocket-boosted sci-fi asteroid-killer - take your choice! 

A QUESTION OF SCALE

Here at SMN Towers, we’re always discussing the importance (or not) of scale, a subject that’s hardly surprising bearing in mind the title of the website. But it really can be a trying issue - back in the early days of plastic kits, when manufacturers were in fit-the-box mode, it was hard sometimes to get any two models to match up, let alone assemble an entire collection.

Happily things have changed dramatically since then, and few new releases these days are in anything but one of the popular scales. However, scale mismatches do still go on, and not only in plastic kits, as the examples above show. The red Cheetah car is from the Gerry Anderson TV series ‘Captain Scarlet’ as is the grey Rhino pursuit vehicle. They are both diecast releases from Corgi and are pretty fine castings, with working parts that add to the sci-fi qualities of the popular show. The Cheetah has flip-out spoiler and wings, while the Rhino features extending front and rear rams, with a pop-up door revealing the good Captain himself. So far so good...

However, the two vehicles are to different scales - the Cheetah is about 1:43 scale, while the Rhino is half that size at roughly 1:87. Grrr! So it boils down to the Cheetah being able to sit with a collection of model cars, while the Rhino can do its work in an H0 gauge model rail setting. The locomotive here btw is a fairly elderly custom-painted US diesel made by AHM from the former Yugoslavia. The pity with the two road vehicles is that the manufacturer, in this case Corgi, could have improved things by perhaps releasing the Rhino as a pair with a matching-scale Cheetah.

On the plus side, these models are attractively made and need little in the way of tweaking to make them suitable for display. The Rhino had its rather garish metallized badge taken off and was treated to a coat of satin-spray, plus grey weathering to give it a calmer, used look, in keeping with its chase-the-bad-guys TV role. The Cheetah still awaits something of the same treatment, though the badges look better with the red paintwork. In both cases, the driver figure is well done.

A range of Captain Scarlet merchandise is available here.

SCREEN MACHINES - FOUR MASTER MODELS FROM THE MOVIES

Here is some eye candy for you - four nicely made model-show stars, featuring well-known subjects from the cinema and TV. From the top:

The Ghostbusters Cadillac, based on the long-wheelbase ambulance version of the gorgeous yank-tank original. This model is to 1:24 scale, and is missing only a wailing siren and some oozing ectoplasm. At upgrade time, it could be improved by adding a set of flashing LEDs, and maybe a multi-voice sound chip.

Everyone’s favourite peacekeeper, the star of Robocop. The movie franchise may have died a little in recent years, but it’s still a popular subject. This one is to 1:6 scale, and comes on a nicely made piece of future-city paving.

Star Wars is a hardy perennial, and one that’s been given yet another boost since the release of the recent anime series. The various ‘walker’ combat machines are still state-of-the-art on the model-making scene, and don’t forget the AT-AT walkers from The Empire Strikes Back - we’ll be showing off our post-war civilian version soon.

To the small screen now, with a Gerry Anderson TV series called Captain Scarlet - and flying these Angel Interceptor skycraft were the prettiest* pilots ever seen, the Harmony Angels. Just one thing - the Interceptor might look better on a more modern stand - how about perspex or steel?

* Editor's note: not quite true - that honour presently belongs to the Russian gals flying aerobatics for real in their Sukhoi single-seaters, at air shows around the world.

Must-go factor: Magnificent model shows

Most model makers are specialists, at least to some degree. Whether you prefer to make aircraft, cars, sci-fi or militaria, it’s easy to stay within your zone and ignore what’s happening outside.

The best way to get a “helicopter view” of the wider model world out there is to go and visit a few model shows – even better, to enter your own works, and see if you can take home a medal or two.

Apart from the sheer range of entries at a big show – the pictures here were taken at Britain’s National Exhibition Centre – there is also the inspiration factor.

Seeing how others go about tackling problems (weathering and metal finishes are just two examples that spring to mind) can be a tremendous helping hand to improve your own stuff.