MOONBASE CENTRAL

Friday, 24 December 2021

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!

Have a lovely Night before Christmas readers!

What are you up to?

Yuletide Yays!

He's taking his teddy bear!

Did you have a teddy?

Here are some pix from a just-completed model, the Aoshima (Aosima) “Thunder Patrol,” released in the U.S. and Canada as “Thunder Jet” in 1969 by our old friend, Paramount Hobbies. I would guess the original release to be anywhere from 1966-1968.

As you can see, it’s just some sort of racing car with fancy decals. Maybe Moonbase readers can identify what type of US automobile this design came from, but it has hints of a Pontiac GTO and a Plymouth Barracuda to me. About 1:16 scale is my guess.

As with many kits of this vintage, the design is bad, the molding is crude, the parts are illl-fitting, and the instructions are less than helpful. But as you know, I like a challenge!

The kit did not come with a driver figure, but I had a roughly 1:20 scale sitting astronaut figure in my spare parts drawer, so he became the Pilot - and where he came from originally I do not recall!

This appears to be one of the earliest model kits from Japan to feature “Remote Control,” that is, a motorized vehicle with a cable leading to a battery box with On-Off controls. I did not endeavor to make this an “Action Powered Kit,” but it must have been fun for those who did!

The RC box is cool, with some intricate lettering on the front, which I tried to bring out via paint. Even cooler, the RC box came with a missile launcher, which I decided to move to the car’s roof, to make this strange vehicle even more ludicrous.

The main highlight of the Thunder Patrol are the decals, really the only thing that makes the kit even marginally Sci-Fi. Sadly, the original decals were shot, and since they were the “star” of the thing, I ordered custom-made new decals from a place called Bedlam Creations. Pricey, but well worth it to resurrect decals that I could not have possibly have reconstructed from available custom decal sets available online.

Finally, I’m sure you’ll notice the glaring typo on all three main decals, which makes the “Thnnder Patrol” even more cool, to me at least. File under “They sure don’t make ‘em like this anymore!”

What do you think?

Rob C

USA

THE ROYAL NAVY SEAPLANE DOCKSIDE BASE KIT

As you said you thought the Flyhawk Sunderland kit sounded like fun, I thought you might like to see some photos of it, with my hand for scale.

Royal Navy Seaplane Dockside Base, by Flyhawk of China, 1/700th scale, copyright date on the box 2019.

This company mostly makes accessories for 1/700th scale warships, and a few kits. Their Seaplane base is clearly intended to fit in with their ship models. The name is a little odd, in that big flying boats, such as the Sunderland, were flown by RAF Coastal Command during WW2, not the Royal Navy.

Inside the box you get a complete, and beautifully detailed, but tiny, flying boat base. There is a dock with launching ramp running down in to the water; a warehouse building; water tower; stacks of oil drums; buoys; a motor launch; a couple of smaller boats; three trucks of different types - all in grey plastic; and a pair of Short Sunderland flying boats moulded in clear plastic.

There is also a sheet of photo-etched brass parts, including 1/700th scale figures. The decal sheet provides plenty of markings for different periods. Printed on the back of the box is the surface of the sea, on which you arrange the models.

In 1/700th scale even the mighty Sunderland, with a wingspan of over 112 feet, only has a wingspan of 49 mm. All the parts are incredibly tiny. It would be a real challenge to build, but done carefully, the result would be a miniature marvel.

The Sunderland was similar to various civil flying boat airliners, both pre-war and post-war, so with a little work this could be turned in to a civil flying boat station.

RAF Sunderlands were used in the Berlin Airlift, and remained in use with the Royal New Zealand Air Force until 1967.

A beautiful kit.

Have you got one?

Paul Adams from New Zealand.