As I enjoyed building my large Imai Zero X kit a few weeks
ago, I thought I’d have a crack at putting the Aoshima UFO Moonbase together.
As many of you will know this particular kit was released in
October 2002 and is one of several re-issues of an earlier Imai kit apparently
originally called a UFO Secret Doom Centre which I'm assuming appeared at some
point during the seventies.
Several variations of the Imai kit, which have been talked about on the blog many times were also
released featuring some of the vehicles, two or more of the five spheres’, a couple of corridors, with one having supporting legs and a flip up door at the end. The legs and doors are included in the reissued kit,
along with some other surplus parts; however they are naturally excluded from the
construction.
While it’s quite a detailed kit, the downside is its
gimmicks and less than accurate look. As with a lot of Japanese kits it has to
have play value. These involve a spring –loaded missile in each of the linking
corridors’ which are raised by turning a large imposing wheel connected to a
gear cog on the side. Although I have installed the launch mechanisms inside, I
left the wheels off as I thought they looked awful.
The Central Park has a sliding platform, which incorporates
an elastic band powered launcher. This is covered by a flip-over clear plastic
dome. A nice touch, but totally inaccurate.
The Lunar Shuttle launch gantry is also spring loaded, so
you can easily lose the tiny Shuttle that comes with the kit.
Each of the five spheres has a flick down door which can
house some of the little models that come with kit.
It’s a shame that the model’s look is altered by these
gimmicks as I imagine it could look fairly accurate without them, even though its more a variation on a theme . I've seen
several attempts by fans to convert this kit making it look more like it was in
the TV series, some more successful than others.
Generally, I prefer to stick to with what’s on offer and
just tweak a few things here and there to get them how I want them.
Overall, it’s a pleasing kit, simple to build, but quite
fiddly as there’s a lot of small parts, plus as there’s five spheres and
linking corridors it can seem a bit repetitive.
Beautiful Scoop! It looks fab and your photos are as usual superb. Did you paint the small vehicles? The SWORD miniatures look great. Any chance of a close up on those three?
ReplyDeleteAll the kit parts come in plain white so it all has to painted, Woodsy. Don't worry, I've got some more photos of all the miniatures which I'll post later.
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DeleteWould the SpaceX sized vehicles fit in the bays Scoop?
ReplyDeleteAfraid not Ed, the bays are quite a bit smaller. Even some of the little toys that come with it struggle to get in. : D
DeleteGreat moonscape Scoop. The model looks superb in this stunning setting.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony : D
Deletelooks brilliant, Id love one even with the gimmicks.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem to divide people, Bill, but unless you're prepared to radically alter it its the best commercially available Moonbase toy we've got so far :)
ReplyDeleteHey scoop love your moonbase layout. I just bought one and was curious where you got your moonscape or did you build it? Did you find it necessary to paint all of the buildings that were already white or did you leave them alone? Thanks scoop!
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Hello 1. The kit is spray painted with a Matt white. It gives a better key for any other hand painted detail.
DeleteI made the moonscape, which is painted plaster covered over shaped expanding foam on a plywood board.
What scale do you supose the minis are or do they cange with the subject??
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