YEAR 1970: APOLLO 13 EXPLOSION. YEAR 2013: APOLLO 13 DIECAST FROM BANDAI

Bandai from Japan has pulled out all the stops with this 1:144 scale ready-built model, featuring the various components of the nearly-disastrous Apollo 13 space mission of 1970.

The Bandai 1:144 scale miniature is little short of astonishing. Every last detail seems to have been incorporated, from the damaged Service Module (SM) to a mini-diorama that features a floating Command Module (CM), a pair of divers with flotation collar, and a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter.

Stage treatment
The Saturn V is nicely detailed and coloured. We particularly like the treatment of the tanks within the main stage cylinders.

Stacked for launch
The whole Apollo assemblage can be displayed stacked and ready for flight, or you can separate the various parts into sections. For the latter, Bandai provides a set of mounts so the various Saturn V stages have no chance to roll away. The vertical display option has a base with transparent support arms, looking somewhat like the system used for real-life Russian Soyuz launchers. In launch configuration, the 1:144 scale Saturn V stands some 768mm (30.25in) high, plus display plinth.

Care and attention
We’ll let the pictures do most of the talking from here on, as you need to look and admire the care and attention that Bandai’s product engineers have put into this Apollo 13 model.

About Apollo 13
Apollo 13 was the seventh US manned Moon mission, and the third intended to land on the surface. The huge Saturn V launcher blasted off safely on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, but two days later an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded, crippling the spacecraft.

Deadly danger
The lunar landing part of the Apollo 13 mission was aborted, the issue becoming one of getting the crew back to Earth safely. Despite problems caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of drinking water, and the need to carry out makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system, the Command Module and crew splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean five days later, on April 17.

Summation
An excellent ready-built that is the last word on Apollo 13 at 1:144 scale. Right then, Bandai - what are the chances for a giant-sized 1:72 version?! The Bandai Apollo 13 to 1:144 scale is available from July 2013.

You can pre-order this and also Apollo 11 to the same scale from suppliers such as Hobby Link Japan.

Interesting space stuff from Bandai and others here.

SHIZUOKA 2012 - BANDAI YMT-05 HILDOLFR SUPER-TANK

SMN REPORT:

Shizuoka is ground-zero for model robots and mecha of all kinds, and heading the charge from Bandai are Mobile Suit Gundam models and kits, based on a fictional universe that’s been popular since it first hit the stores in 1979. ‘Gunpla’ are Gundam Plastic models, and here’s an especially neat 1:144 scale sci-fi tank kit, the YMT-05 Hildolfr AFV, a deadly weapon named after a son of the Norse god, Odin. 

Gods of Scandinavia

The name Hildolfr means ‘war wolf’ and we calculate that he’s a brother to Thor, the hammer-wielding god currently wowing audiences worldwide in The Avengers movie. Unlike many Gunpla, and other transformer bots, the YMT-05 Hildolfr can change its shape only partially - you can raise and lower the mighty main gun of course, and the artillery turret too, which reveals mobile suit-style torso hardware and manipulator arms, but that’s about it.

Mega-machine

No matter, the fusion-powered YMT-05 is a pretty convincing piece of fictional AFV design that would not look out of place next to current AFVs, though the relatively small scale militates against most diorama ideas. I:144 scale is a long way from military standard 1:35, or even 1:48, unfortunately. However, as created for Gundam, the YMT-05 measures some 35.3 m (116 ft) long, so you still get to complete a model some 245 mm (9.6 in) long and 102 mm (4 in) wide, which is plenty big enough for the average display shelf.

German rail gun

The Hildolfr could go convincingly next to at least one mighty AFV though, and that’s the Fujimi version of the World War II Dora rail gun. This was a monster weapon that didn’t see much use, but is crying out for a kitbash into a fantasy universe - a sort of steampunk-style sci-fi Luftwaffe 1946 'G-Version', perhaps. There have been several SMN articles on the Dora, starting here.  

Summation

All in all, the Bandai YMT-05 Hildolfr is a fine 1:144 scale model for anyone who’s into robots and science-fiction, and especially Gunpla fans. And as Norse mythology fans, the SMN Crew thinks the name is a good one. 

Gunpla kits aplenty here.

Visit Bandai (Japanese) here.

1:10 SCALE ISS SPACESUIT KIT FROM BANDAI

Mat Irvine reports:

Factual space modelmakers are having a rather good time of it at the moment, with reissued Apollo kits from Revell, updated launchers from Airfix, brand new kits from Aoshima and Dragon - and now Bandai have released this fascinating 1:10 scale ISS Spacesuit kit, featuring the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).

Acronym heaven

Made to 1:10 scale, the Bandai ‘Exploring Lab’ kit provides the EMU suit, occupied by an International Space Station (ISS)  astronaut, plus the end-section of the robotic Canadarm with foot restraint, named in typical NASA acronym fashion, the Articulated Portable Foot Restraint (APFR). Most of the near-200 parts in the kit are moulded in white, with some in silver, some flesh, and some grey. There is also a black runner of vinyl parts that are mostly push-connectors, to allow limb movements. Clear parts make up the base, and helmet glass, and lastly, there’s a single gold-plated helmet sunvisor component.

LEDs add a glow

A nice touch is that the EMU lights up, as Bandai supplies two LEDs to fit in the lamp units either side of the astronaut’s head. These need three button batteries for power, and fit in the suit’s backpack. So, snap off the lights off in your display zone for an atmospheric model display. Fitting at the base of the backpack is the Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue (SAFER) unit (another acronym!) which is in effect a cut-down Manned Manoeuvring Unit (MMU) that can be used to steer a safe return if the astronaut loses grip with the foot restraint. Two sheets of decals are provided, though these are the peel-off/stick-on type, not the more conventional waterslide variety.

Excellent instructions

The Bandai assembly booklet runs to 20 pages, and although the majority of written instructions are in Japanese, it uses detailed illustrations, so assembly should be straightforward. Colour photographs show the finished model, and the real EMU for extra detailing. The only slight compromise is the fact that the limbs articulate, which leaves somewhat non-scale areas around knees and elbows, but this is a small price to pay, and if you were really worried, the joints could be blended in for a fixed figure position.

Bandai background - kits or ready-builts?

This is an interesting departure of Bandai, as, although the company has been a major player in model kits since the early days of the Japanese kit industry, in recent years it has cut back on traditional construction kits, bar a multitude of robots. Instead, Bandai has gone into producing ready-made scale models, excellently done, but obviously no good for those of us who actually want to build something. This change has become so ingrained, that when the EMU was first announced, we assumed it was a ready-built model. But it isn’t - it’s a kit and a very detailed kit at that! 

Summation

All in all, a very intriguing model that I will build in the hopefully not too distant future. Watch this space for future reports.

Thanks to Hobby Link Japan for the sample kit.

More space kits here.

Trip back in time

And how about this for an old-vs-new comparison? It's a detailed drawing made more than half a century ago by Frank Hampson, creator of the classic British comic strip Dan Dare 'Pilot of the Future'. Hampson still stands among the all-time greats for his prescient work.

COMING SOON - DEEP DIVING SHINKAI 6500 SUBMERSIBLE IN TWO SCALES

SMN report:

The Japanese Shinkai 6500 is the world’s deepest-diving crewed submersible. It’s capable of going down 6500 metres (4.03 miles), carrying two crew and a researcher inside the titanium pressure hull.

And now there are two upcoming kits of this interesting DSV (deep-submergence vessel), one at 1:48 scale from Bandai, and a 1:72 scale kit from Hasegawa. Both should be available soon.

Bandai kit features

Of the two, the Bandai kit is interesting for the wealth of detail that has been incorporated into the model. Among the features included are manipulator arms, detachable ballast, LED floodlights, removable maintenance panels, detailed interior. Several figures are included, and give an excellent sense of scale to the model.

Figures a useful plus point.

Manipulator arms used for grasping underwater objects.

Submersible in space?

The exotic looks of this DSV may give sci-fi modelmakers pause for thought, as it’s not unlike the space pods from the classic movie 2001 A Space Odyssey, and could easily be pressed into service in a fantasy diorama - for submariners read astronauts, for deep-sea fish read weird-looking aliens!

Bandai stern thruster looks good.

Hasegawa kit

The new-tool Hasegawa kit will be to 1:72 scale, and have 55 components. A clear plastic stand will be part of the package, too. More on this when details are available.

Other Shinkai models

The Shinkai 6500 has been modelled elsewhere too - there’s a rare Takara model (above) to 1:144 scale, and a much bigger Lego item. This looks pretty convincing as Lego kits go, though the restrictions of the popular block-builder system mean that it can be only an approximation of the real thing.

Lego kit includes a strange underwater rock formation.

More on the Bandai sub at the excellent Japanese Hobby Search site here.

Various submarine kits here.

Two views of the real thing, an impressive research tool.

AIRFIX TSR2 SCI-FI VERSION NOW AVAILABLE

SMN report.

The 1:72 scale Airfix TSR.2MS, a rocket-boosted, missile-equipped aircraft designed to destroy deadly space rocks, is now available. And the good news is that if you change your mind and decide against the sci-fi version - based on the Japanese anime series Stratos 4 - then the box still contains the decals that allow you to finish the aircraft as an epitaph to British aerospace achievement and while you’re at it, a blaming finger at the sadly misguided politicians who cancelled so many brilliant projects in that era.

Stratos 4 the series

As an asteroid-killer, the TSR.2MS is an interesting concept - especially the reaction-thrusters used for attitude control at peak trajectory - and when we get our hands on one, we’ll pass judgement on fit and finish of the kit. SMN featured the TSR.2MS in late 2010, but the world of ‘what-if’ models makes the standard TSR2 a strong interest for anyone interested in advanced aviation from the 1960s.

A TSR2 that might have been

Over at Gregers.7, which styles itself ‘The Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum’, there’s some fascinating stuff, including the superbly made 1:48 scale Airfix TSR2 in full camo markings we show here, renamed the Eagle GR.1 by model maker 'Viper'. The real thing never got further than white paint, RAF roundels, and a few flights before cancellation, but had the beast gone into squadron service, who knows, we might be seeing her in the Gulf rather than the Panavia Tornado.

Visit Gregers.7 here.

Viper's 1:48 scale TSR2 build is here.

Agape Models has another what-if TSR2 here.

More TSR2 stuff here, including Edouard cockpit details.

The pictures show, top to bottom:

1  Airfix 1:72 scale TSR.2MS.

2  Prototype TSR2 at Imperial War Museum Duxford, finished in nuclear strike anti-flash white.

3-5  Very neat build of the 1:48 scale Airfix model, complete with underwing stores.

Many thanks to Viper for the build pix - we’d love to see more of your stuff in future. 

1:144 SCALE APOLLO SATURN V COMING FROM BANDAI

Ready-built models get bigger and better, and Japanese company Bandai’s 1:144 scale Apollo Saturn V just has to be the largest space item ever produced. The ‘full-stack’ Saturn is due in March 2010, and should have all space enthusiasts reaching for their credit cards, though it’s fair to say that the cost will likely be in the wallet-shredding $500-550 USD (£300-330 GBP) price band. Still, for something like this specialist mixed-material item, who’s complaining about price - after all the new Airfix 1:24 Mosquito is north of £120 GBP ($200 USD).

So what does Bandai supply with this 768 mm (30.25 in) high Apollo, produced in cooperation with the Apollo Maniacs website? Firstly, all sections separate like the real thing, including the cylindrical interstages. The Lunar Module (LM) can be linked to or separated from the Command/Service Module (CSM). As for display, the stand is mirrored so you can inspect the detailed Rocketdyne F-1 engine cluster at the base. There’s also an optional lunar surface base for LM, US flag and astronaut figures. A third stand allows the separated rocket sections to be displayed horizontally.

This looks like it’ll be a landmark product, and one we’ll be fascinated to see in closeup when it’s released.

Thanks to Apollo Maniacs for the video.

Visit Apollo Maniacs here.

Amazon Japan is taking discount pre-orders here.

Hobby Link Japan also features the rocket here.