1/110 Aoshima,Space:1999 Eagle Transporter,COMPLETE!!!

I have to agree with you.I always thought the Eagles looked like something that would actually be built.

Dodgy kit or not, it makes me smile. I thought that was one of the coolest space ships ever when I was a kid, still do actually. One of the few that really looks like a functional spacecraft instead of a spacified jet fighter.

I had a couple of diecast Eagles when I was little, Dinky Toy or Corgi. They did a regular transporter and a cargo version with a crane pod. I hope with all the Star Trek kits Round 2 is re-issuing, they eventually bring back the Eagle, I'm sure many of the same people buying the original series Star Trek kits would jump all over that.

Ok, well it looks good for a first try with a new type of kit and new techniques.

Let me give you some tips, dont use black for a wash for pannels and such, use a darker gray, it looks a bit more realistic in that scale, for the deep crevasse use black, like on  the top.  The detail on the top looks nice the wash really does make it pop there.

Thanks for the tips Smeagol.This kit has a lot of accuracy issues that are beyond my talents to correct.I also have no quick access to required modeling supplies.I decided to do the best I could with what I had.I know the weathering is over-scale,but my intent was to make the detail pop.

I used Tamiya soot powder over a gloss coat for the shading.Removing the excess is a real PITA! I used Q-Tips and an old t-shirt to remove it.It has a tendancy to just smear a lot.I had to constantly go over ares I had previously wiped clear.

This was also a bit of a practice run.I've never used such an extensive wash on a kit before.

Overall I am happy with the build.

Ahh... welcome to the world of scifi kits. 

here you will run accross something that is... sort of lacking in most other genres, except on aircraft and a tiny bit on figures.

SEAMS!!!!

When working on scifi kits you really need to take time, a lot of time making sure you seams are filled.  You missed quite a few, most prevalent are those on the nose of the kit, as well as some allignment issues that are in the molding, it could be fixed but would have been ALOT of work.

Also, with all scifi remember the second major issue people forget, and is NOT prevelant in any other genre except for ships

SCALE!!!

Your ship there is a MASSIVE ship, in a very small scale.  Any weathering you do, like your pannel lines, has to reflect that, the shadow of that Corner would not be as dark as you have it.

I would suggest if you want a CLEAN pannel line, to either use a paint marker with a fine tip, like the gundam marker designed for pannel lining, or something like a pencil then dull coate it.

you could also go the rout of using washes and wiping off all except the very inside crack.

On the cockpit part im not sure if you tried to pannel line those thick stripes or color them, it looks sort of like both, in the future decide one or another. 

If you wanted to get fancy you could even take the base coat, put a drop of gray in it to darken it just a bit, and do the recessed areas in the darker color to give it a textured appearance as to break up the monotony if your keeping them unfilled in.

Remember the scale though, a kit 1/110 is very small a person in that scale is less then half an inch tall, keep that in mind when you weather and detail.  Look at the shading and lining you did and imagine it 110 times larger, does it seem realistic to you then?  if not, re do it

It appears the original kits were motorized toys.Still not too bad.

That's a shame about the bodgy manouvering thrusters.

Thinking back, I believe this kit was originally by Imai - I recall seeing them aplenty in a shop I used to frequent about 25 years ago.

Oh well, we can hope and dream can't we? If they can put out a new kit of the Spindrift from Land of the Giants, surely they can do a new model of something as iconic and popular as the Eagle.

AH HA!!!!!

As I suspected!

Much is explained!

http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-IMAI-EAGLE-1-SPACE-1999-WIND-UP-MOTOR-1977-/300531089756?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f90c815c

Look closely and you'll see that the manuevering thrusters are part of the decals.Kinda bogus.

The thrusters located under the hull are there,but are simplified.They should look more like the exhaust nozzles.

BTW,I did see a resin kit on Ebay of the booster pack.I don't recall which kit it was for however.

This kit captures the overall look of the Eagles,but I did become a bit disappointed while researching it.

Lotta good stuff missing.

Also,I mentioned to doog that the kit is really sturdy.I believe it was meant to be played with upon completion.The cockpit,engines and cargo bay are all removable.

Nice job. Love the Eagle.

It's interesting to see the different approach compared to the old MPC kit with regard to the moulded details (top and bottom) which aren't present in the other kit and the separately moulded framework on the front cabin and engine modules.  It's a shame about the tubular engine mounting as Karl noted, it seems to detract from the overall look.

Just curious, are the manouvering thrusters (which should be on the outboard side of each of the side pods) provided in the kit? It's a curious omission if they aren't as they are a rather prominent feature of the original.

I too would love to see a new kit of the Eagle and its variants like the hotted up version with the booster packs, and the extended pod.

The legs are too tall,but the cargo area extends well below the rest of the hull.The pods containing the landing gear are on the small side as well.Those two factors leave little room for improvement.Not to mention,I have no raw materials to work with.I'm lucky the LHS has paint when I need it let along brass tubing or plastic card.My old LHS has just about everything you could want,but that's a 60 mile round trip through miserable Chicago traffic.

I'd love to see an updated Eagle from a company like Fine Molds.That would be awesome.

Ed, you're a man of few words, lol... ha ha

Nice job on the kit nonetheless despite the simplified moldings compared to the AMT kit. I notice that the engine mounting is...hmmm.....interesting on this kit? There's also some different molding on the top of the body front and rear.  Still, it looks the part, and the model turned out pretty nicely.

One thing that strikes me is the "legs"--they seem pretty "tall" compared to mine, and seem to sit high?  It might improve the look of the build to maybe shorten them if you get the gumption?