Woodsy,
It’s been awhile! Believe it or not, this is my first model build of the year. The Glencoe Mars Liner, a 1990s reissue of the legendary Strombecker Kit, “Disneyland Rocket to the Moon,” from 1955.
This iconic rocket ship was a main attraction at Disneyland in California for about twenty years, and there are several webpages devoted to this great vehicle and its history.
Disney also had the famous “Man in Space” program, with many groovy spaceship designs by Wernher von Braun and others.
This kit was pretty crude to begin with, being basically a toy, and the repop was still quite rough. Lots of sanding! As you can see, the worst part were the crummy ink jet decals, but I did the best I could.
Still, a fun example of the golden age of impossible spaceship design...
Rob C
USA
Really nice. It is good to see these classic kits from the early days of modelling, from the 1950s and 1960s, being re-issued by several of the smaller US companies such as Glencoe and Atlantis.
ReplyDeleteIts great to have these "golden age" space models available again, since the originals are rare and pricy. I've also built the Strombecker Nuclear Space Station and the 3-Stage Rocket, and I have the Retriever Rocket in the stash to build someday. Nothing takes you back to better days than an old-school rocket ship!
DeleteI agree Rob, great to see an old classic back on the launchpad and great that your modelling again! Super job and thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThis was a bear to build, but it was still fun, almost like going back to being a teen again!
DeleteYou say it's from 'an age of impossible spaceship design', yet it looks remarkably similar to Spacex's re-usable launch rockets (which land themselves on landing pads out at sea, on spindley legs) to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with the Spacex designs, as I don't follow the current space program, but I think this "Rocket to the Moon" qualifies as impossible if only for the giant windows in the pilots' canopy! Still, a great design, even if only for sci-fi buffs!
DeleteCheck out SpaceX's 'Starship' rocket, intended for trips to the Moon, Rob.
ReplyDeleteIt may not look exactly like Disney's 'Rocket to the Moon', but it's certainly in that 1950s 'Destination Moon' or 'Rocketship XM' style.
I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love those old Glencoe Models. I've got a bunch of them I bought in the 90s but never got a chance to build.
ReplyDeleteThe neat thing about them is their lovely silhouette with interesting shapes, back in the days before every space ship was an ugly box with pipes sticking out of it to make it look futuristically ugly.