The Airfix Starcruiser Interceptor Kit by Paul Adams

Again featured before on MC, the second Starcruiser kit from Airfix was the Starcruiser Interceptor. 

By the time this model appeared, Airfix were facing hard times, and cost-cutting was the order of the day.

As a result, the Interceptor kit was simply an enlarged version of the Interceptor Unit from the Starcruiser 1. The parts count increased from eight for the small version, to eleven for the larger model.

The pilot was now in two halves, rather than one piece; and the engine bells were separate parts. The kit was moulded in white plastic, with a clear canopy, and colourful decal sheet.

The Interceptor was released around 1980/81 - two or three years after the Starcruiser 1. It was in the catalogue from 1981 to 1984, as model number 05174-5, in Series 5.

This was a Snap-Fix kit, a fact which was promoted on the box top. The copyright date on the side is 1980.

This time there was only one style of box for the British release, and there was no cartoon strip along the bottom. There was a copyright notice on the box top 'The World of Gerry Anderson, © 1980 Century 21 Merchandising Ltd., Licensors of the Starcruiser Trade Mark'.

In America, the kit appeared in the USAirfix catalogue of 1980, as model number 7080, alongside the Starcruiser 1. However, I have not seen any examples of an actual USAirfix kit of this model.

As mentioned previously, the USAirfix name was short-lived, and Airfix kits were soon back in MPC boxes. Both the Starcruiser 1 and Starcruiser Interceptor were listed in the 1982 MPC catalogue, under the heading Space Snaps, referring to their It's A Snap construction.

The Starcruiser Interceptor was now moulded in black plastic, with a clear canopy, and carried orange NASA markings. Matching the Starcruiser kit.

The Interceptor was numbered 1-1801. There was a copyright date of 1982 on the page, referring to both models, or at least their new colour schemes.

Given how few listings there are for either of these all-black NASA versions it does not look as though they were big sellers. Neither of the models made it in to the 1983 catalogue.

There were also versions of the Starcruiser Interceptor from Lodela of Mexico (better known for their Revell re-issues), and Kiko of Brazil. After that, both Starcruiser kits disappeared, and have not been re-issued by anyone.

Catacombs Space 1999 provides a good deal of background on the craft, including a 1979 article from Starlog magazine.

https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/models/w2mstarcruiser.html

Six photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

THE AIRFIX STARCRUISER KIT BY PAUL ADAMS

Covered before on MC, Starcruiser was one of several Gerry Anderson television projects from the 1970s that did not make it in to production. However, it did lead to a comic strip in the weekly Look-In magazine (1977-79), and two plastic kits from Airfix.

I recently came across a pair of unusual, and short-lived, American issues of these kits, which I thought deserved an article. Along with a quick look at the various boxes.

The Starcruiser 1 kit appeared in 1978, and was last listed in the 1984 Catalogue. It was followed by the Starcruiser Interceptor around 1980/81.

The Starcruiser 1 was a large ship, which broke down in to four separate units - Command Module (nose section); Main Unit (central fuselage with wings); Command Base (like the Eagle pods, a simple box-shape); and Interceptor Unit(atop the fuselage). It was a Series 7 kit, number 07170-9.

This was a clip-together kit, although Airfix barely mentioned the fact. There were 44 parts, in white and clear plastic, with a colourful decal sheet.

The first box (copyright date 1978) had a comic strip along the bottom. 

The second box (copyright date 1979 on the side) deleted this, and made the main image larger.

Airfix kits had been sold in America under the MPC name for a number of years, but in the late 1970s this changed to USAirfix, which was a single word. The USAirfix version of Starcruiser 1 had a new box, with a photograph of the built-up model.

Kit number 7100 was shown in both the 1979 and 1980 USAirfix catalogues, and even made the cover of the 1979 edition. Both can be found under Airfix, on the Box Art Den site.

The kit was still moulded in white and clear plastic, but came with a new decal sheet. This time the model was clearly referred to as a Snap-Fix kit.

USAirfix was short-lived, and Airfix kits were soon back in MPC boxes. Including the Starcruiser 1 and Starcruiser Interceptor.

Shown only in the 1982 MPC catalogue (which can be found on the Internet Archive site), these two kits got a major re-vamp, with new colour schemes, and decals. The box top said 'It's A Snap Model Kit'.

MPC kit number 1-1802 Starcruiser (the number 1 had been dropped), was now moulded in black plastic, matching the new colour scheme, with NASA decals in orange. Given the Interceptor Unit, it seems NASA now has a combat role.

According to the catalogue, the various units making up the model had been re-named. They were now the Control Ship; Power Module; Transporter Pod; and Interceptor.

The catalogue says copyright Gerry Anderson Marketing Ltd., 1982. Given that the kits only appeared in one catalogue, and the fact that there are very few sales listings for them, they do not appear to have been big sellers.

The moulding of these kits in black plastic reminded me of the Revell Alien Invader, which was a normal Space Shuttle kit in black plastic, with clear red parts and red decals. An attempt to get more sales from an existing kit, with a minimum of effort or expense.

Do you own any of these models?

Next up, the Starcruiser Interceptor.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

THOMAS SALTER STARCRUISER MISSION KIT MYSTERIES

I've blogged about this before.

The Starcruiser Mission Kit by Thomas Salter Toys, 1979.

Although arriving in toy shops over 10 years later than Project SWORD toys I have often wondered whether a SWORD version of this would have worked. Would you have wanted one readers?

The Starcruiser toy itself appears to be a generic Thomas Salter design as they used it again for Buck Rogers [I wonder who the kid is on the Starcruiser box? A Salter?]

I sometimes also compare Starcruiser with SWORD in terms of project evolution over at Century 21. SWORD was a toy range backed up by a comic 'strip'. As far as I know it was never considered as a TV show and certainly not developed as such in any way.

It began and ended as a toy line with associated comics and books. Pure and simple.

Starcruiser appears to be the reverse. Formed as a TV concept, it failed to materialise as a show and only then spawned the toys, models and comic strip. Is this right? Was this a way for Gerry to make at least something out of it? Did it work: were the toy sales driven by the strip?

A final Starcruiser thought is simply one of toy identification

This is the Dinky Space Battle Cruiser.

Is it the same as the Airfix Starcruiser Interceptor readers?

Does the Dinky toy mention Starcruiser on the box? If not, why not?

Anyone got both of them?

MARTIN BOWER'S STARCRUISER

Here are some photos I took at Cosford of the Starcruiser model built by Martin Bower.

The Starcruiser started life as a TV series idea, proposed by Gerry Anderson and Fred Freiberger  which ultimately failed to get the go ahead.

Gerry then approached Airfix and persuaded them to produce a model kit of it.

Martin Bower developed the design, making several alterations along the way, presumably to accommodate the plastic manufacturing process.

This is presumably the final result, and very similar to the manufactured Airfix kit.

I did speak briefly to Chris King, the organiser who told me it was one of several exhibits last seen at the Alton Towers exhibition which ended in 1990.

I don’t remember ever going to the Alton Towers Exhibition, but I do remember seeing it several times at Space City in Blackpool during the seventies. 

It's good to see it's back on the exhibition trail.