What is in the Box

• 5 pink injection molded plastic sprues [58 parts total]
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 decal sheet with 1 markings options & damage decals
• 1 full instruction page
• 1 FULL color box top diagram

Construction

The construction begins with the exposed Speeder engine parts. These were all airbrushed with metallic paints-Gunze & Alclad various shades. Fairly simple construction but I suggest some dry fitting before painting. The next phase I pre-painted some assemblies before construction. This is in contradiction of the sequential order of the instructions. This will pay dividends in final construction and save some messy masking. There are two colors that require paint mixing [Tamiya paint codes] which I found the darker color closely resembles Tamiya Dull Red [TS-33] which I used straight from a decanted Spray can [TS-33 ].

One thing you can give credit to George Lucas for – he sure knows how to market his products. First seen in the Empire Strikes Back (if the box art is to be believed), the TIE bomber was a fascinating variant of the Twin Ion Engine spacecraft of the empire, designed to launch weapons against capital ships. Featuring a twin pod system, the right pod featured a cockpit (with either one or two pilots, depending on the blueprints you look at) while the left pod featured rotating weapon dispensers. Each pod had it own twin ion engines, but the ship featured no defensive armament to speak of, needing TIE fighters to protect them during their bombing runs.

AMT’s new kit is in the popular 1/48^th scale, which matches other AMT products in this line, and the detail is quite good.

“The History of Science Fiction and Its Toy Figurines” by author Luigi Toiati is a substantial and weighty hardback of 528 glossy pages with 470 pictures (See Photo 1). Although it may feel like one, the author claims in the Forward that it is not an encyclopedia or boring treatise or catalogue, but instead the reader should “consider it a promenade through sci-fi and the toy figurines linked to the subject.” And while the author doesn’t necessarily agree with those science fiction (SF) authorities he cites who trace the origins of the genre back to the ancient times of the Bible, Hinduism, Plato, or Lucian of Samosata (a 2^nd-century Syrian satirist and rhetorician), his review of the aforesaid genealogy is extensive and at times tedious.

Background

Doll and Hobby GA is a specialized hobby distributor focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and comic related model kits. They carry the latest releases from Moebius Models, Round 2 (AMT, Polar Lights, MPC, Lindberg) and more. They focus on subjects like Star Trek, 2001, Space 1999, classic monsters, and comic book heroes. Their warehouse is located in Lawrenceville, GA, just east of Atlanta. Owned by Steve Iverson who purchased the company from Frank and Joanne Winspur in 2018. Steve Iverson might also be familiar since he also owns CultTVman’s Sci-Fi Modeling.

Their first kit was the Land of the Giants Snake Diorama that was originally released by Aurora in 1968. This release featured new box art and a two sided backdrop to display the completed model. Their second release was the Lost in Space Cylops and the Chariot Diorama that Aurora released in 1966. Future releases will include ex-Aurora kits The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Guillotine.

Cozmic Scale Models is a UK- based, passionate maker of high-quality resin model kits, diorama accessory items and other assorted paraphernalia for all things Sci-Fi. Many of their items are designed specifically with either Battlestar Galactica or Star Trek in mind.

A number of these accessory items are 3-D printed which seems to be the case with this 1/32nd scale compressed gas bottle and trolley. The gas trolley and handle are in an off-white resin and both items exhibit excellent detail. These two parts can be assembled with only minimal clean-up of the resin bits. Do exercise some caution when removing the handle from the casting sprue, as it is delicate. The handle is pose-able as the mounting holes are cast into the base of the gas bottle. Nice touch!