The Spacex II R6 Rescue Craft is probably the smallest of all the second range craft, but very possibly one of the best. With a detachable fuel tank and ejectable capsule, its a little cracker.
But, as often occurs with the new toys, theres a disparity between the card back illustration and the model. The card shows the ship jettisoning the tank, but seems to show a globe in between the tank and the ship. Also, the R6 has a nice chrome engine, which is not present on the final toy. Instead, when the tank is removed, we see a two pronged assembly protruding from the rear. Close inspection reveals it to be a cast from an Airfix Saturn V second stage J2 engine! Quite why the designers used a rocket engine backwards is beyond me!
Kevin kindly sent me a shot of the J2 from his Dragon model for comparison, but the back of the R6 is almost exactly the same size as the Airfix kit part. Go figure!
Ah, it all makes sense now! Cool toy.
ReplyDeleteBootiful toy Bill. That's a great condition example too. Lovely photo at the top. Any chance of a close up of the R6 engine to compare with the Dragon engine? As for the silver tube, it always makes me think of an old light bulb base! Could be the bottom part of a rocket?
ReplyDeleteClose Up added. I do wonder if the vehicle in Marooned influenced the design at all ?
ReplyDeleteI was just going to comment that the toy had a strong likeness to the rescue ship in the film, Marooned.
ReplyDeleteNice tight photos too !