THE ELM CITY HOBBIES SPRUE VIEW

Posted Aug 21, 2010

Starbuck, what do you hear?.........Nothing but the rain............Then grab your gun and bring in the cat........................Aye-aye, sir!

At long last, Battlestar Galactica fans are rewarded with a new kit from the new series. Moebius’ first foray into the world of BSG brings us the venerable Colonial Viper Mk.II. Like Galactica herself, the Viper Mk.II is old and thought obsolete, however after the Cylon attack on the 12 colonies, the Mk.II is the only thing that stands between human life, and the certain destruction of human kind at the hands of the Cylons.

The kit consists of 50 parts in white styrene, 4 in clear styrene as well as a 2 part resin pilot figure. Great decal sheet with markings for either Apollo’s or Starbuck’s ride. As well as the option of gear down or the inclusion of a 2 piece clear “in-flight” stand. The instructions are a very nice 6 page set of full color instructions that features not only line drawings of the parts assembly, but also color photos of the major sub assemblies of the kit at each stage of the construction, to me this is how all instructions should be, very clear and concise.

Here are photos of the sprues and instruction sheets. The gallery will open in a popup and you can click through to the next and read descriptions.

The kit has great detail all over, from the engines to the sides of the fuselage, and the cockpit. Its greatest detail IMO is the engine exhaust, this is a very beautiful piece and begs for some Alclad colors. Moebius has gone the extra mile, and have provided a clear piece for the main view screen in the cockpit, just in case you want to light it up.

I have heard of some fit issues with the kit, as well the landing gear isn’t as strong as maybe it could be, but having not built this yet, I can’t comment on it. Some complaints have come that it isn’t as detailed as the studio model is, or parts have been omitted from certain shots on the show, but when have we ever had one that detailed? In my opinion, the kit looks the part, and with some careful weathering, this kit can be made to look like the battle weary rides like we have see on BSG. I believe this will build into a very nice kit, and even novice builders should really have no problem with this kit. If I had one negative (and it is a very small one), I would have also liked to have seen markings on the decal sheet to also make a Viper from Battlestar Pegasus which showed up later in the series, this however is a very minor point.

I look forward to what Moebius has in store for us next from the BSG series, with a styrene Battlestar Galactic, and later on down the road a Viper Mk.VIII to go with the Mk.II, as well as a Cylon Centurion figure, and possibly even a Raptor and Cylon Raider down the road.

If you liked the new Battlestar Galactica series, you owe it to yourself to add this kit to you collection!

If you have any questions or comments about this kit, you can post them here:

http://www.scalemodeladdict.com/forum/index.php/topic,1257.0.html

This kit retails for $33.00CDN and can be ordered from Elm City Hobbies

I would give it 3.7 out of 5 Sprues!

Scott Millican lives in Elm City, New Brunswick.
No one is exactly sure where that is.
He owns an awesome hobby shop
and has a really cool website too.