MOEBIUS ROCKET MOON BUS

 The Moebius Moon Rocket Bus from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As many of you know, former A.P. Films man Brian Johnson left to work on 2001 and took particular inspiration from the front of Rocket Bus when designing the Eagle Transporter seen in Space 1999. 

There’s a brief scene in Space: 1999’s opening episode, ‘Breakaway’ which shows a view through a window of an Eagle landing at Disposal Area 2. This is very reminiscent of a similar scene in 2001, were the Rocket Bus is landing at Tycho.  It’s also been noted that the Tycho excavation site has a similar feel to 1999’s Waste Disposal Area. 

The Rocket bus transports men and supplies across the airless lunar surface, using rockets underneath which maintain an equal distance with the ground, coupled with occasional bursts giving forward thrust.

It has three curious looking landing feet dubbed ‘walkers’, which I imagine are used to maneuverer the landed Bus over short distances. 

In the film, the Rocket Bus travels from Clavius base to the Tycho excavation site were the strange anomaly has been discovered.

The actual filming model was apparently two feet long, and there were rumours that following filming it was stored away at the studio. Sometime later it was subsequently taken home by a crew member, and given to the crew member’s son.  Sadly, so the story goes, it was eventually destroyed by fireworks.  

This is the pre-made 2001 Moon Bus released by Moebius in 2011.

It’s more or less a straight reissue of the vintage Aurora kit released in 1969, although Moebius have altered the front screens to make them more film accurate. Modellers getting the actually Moebius kit are given the option of either using the original Aurora sloping aerodynamic front screen if they desire, or the screen accurate version.

The pre-made Moon Bus might be a bit too conservatively painted for some modellers who strive for  more accurate weathering, but it  has more than enough detail to make it interesting, and is a perfect display model, not unlike the Product Enterprise range.

Like the original Aurora kit it has a removable top, although I’m told that on the original kit this was prone to warping. The top on the Moebius doesn’t appear to suffer this and fits very well.

Inside, there are six astronauts along with their supplies, as well as a pilot and co-pilot. (The original kit appeared to only come with four astronauts)