Woodsy
This is one of my holy grails, and I can’t believe my good fortune in finding this rare kit on eBay a few years back. Even with several parts missing, it was worth every penny.
This is the Midori KSN Space Command Tank, first issued in 1967, and released in the US in 1969.
I bought the kit when it came out back then, built it very badly and soon tossed it in the trash (!) so it was terrific to have a second chance at it. Originally motorized and battery operated, but mine is strictly a static display model.
The clunkiness of the design is what really grips me - that, plus the fact that the tank section appears to be standard 1/35 or 1/48 scale, while the unit on top is much closer to HO Scale, 1/87 scale.
In fact, the figures in the cockpit are HO railroad figures, repainted. And you gotta love that goofy little space truck that comes with it.
I had to fashion a few parts and buy some new metal axles from China. I tried to match the cover illustration paint scheme as closely as possible, but the decals were a bust, so I had to improvise using existing generic ones.
That was a shame, because the decals were excellent, including a full-color Japan Space Command logo. The silver fuel tanks on the top were my addition, from an old Russian tank kit I had laying around.
Enjoy!
Another very rare vintage model in your collection, Rob. The general shape at the front seems to share something with the SHADOW mobile? You've done a first class job with both paint and construction :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments. I really took my time with this one, and tried for a good (or at least better than usual) paint job. I do agree that the front of SC5 looks alot like the Shadow vehicle, but considering the SC5's vintage of 1967, I wonder if it came first? Which is not to say that the Shadow vehicle wasn't on the drawing boards at C21 at the same time. But the constant overlap between C21 vehicles, Triang and other space toys of the era, and the world of Japanese SF is a continuing fascination to me. I first bought a Space Command Tank kit in 1969, and built it very badly (I don't think I even bothered to paint it), so I always wondered if I would get a second shot...
Deleteso glad you got a second shot Zigg. Its a real stunner, Youre paint job is really terrific and its almost toy like, at least to me. A superb job Zigg and thanks very much fir sharing this second wind.
DeleteThanks again Woodsy, I really appreciate this forum to show off my new toys. And I absolutely do try to build these models as the "toys" they were originally meant to be. I don't go in for weathering or realistic paint schemes or any of that jazz - things which any self-respecting SF modeler would insist upon - for a couple of reasons, one being that I'm no darn good at that stuff, but mostly because I like to try and bring these things to life as the "unassembled toys" they were intended to be, for space-minded Japanese youth to build during their summers off from school. Real-life space vehicles would never be "bright and shiny" like these models, but I think they work better as impossibly cool toys from an unattained future.
DeleteYou did a great job on this for sure Zigg and the small figures are just perfect!
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