My son was really excited when he saw that a model of the Stratos 4 was being put out by Airfix. He is an avid Anime fan and wanted us to build this model together. Before the kit even arrived, he had already brought out his DVDs of the Stratos 4 series. The Stratos 4 series was done by Studio Fantasia and Bandai Visual and directed by Takeshi Mori. The story is about the comet defense system that was formed when, 50 years earlier, scientists discovered that a group of comets was on a collision course with the Earth. The defense system comprises a two-tiered plan – the primary a space-based comet blaster group and the secondary a ground-based meteor sweeper group. The idea is for the space-based Comet Blaster ships to blow up the comets and the ground-based meteor sweeper group cleans up any chunks that remain too big from the initial explosion.

Most of the series follows the female pilots of the ground-based units that are on Shimoji Island in 2024.

The Parts

You will recognize the molding as it goes back, to my knowledge, to at least 1999. On several of the pieces in the box, one can find the original copyright inscription of “Revell 1999”. It has also been released under the Monogram label as well, as is the case with this review item. This is not a problem, since the kit was a good kit in 1999 and is still a good kit in 2011. That having been said, there are some signs of age on the finished parts. On several pieces a tan-colored stain appears, and upon inspection with a fingertip, this substance appears to be oil. The location of the stains indicates that it might be a mold-release agent that simply was not cleaned up properly before packaging. It is advisable, therefore, to wash all of the pieces thoroughly prior to assembly. A sign of an aging or ill-fitting mold is flash, and there is some flash that will need to be cleaned up.

Acreation is one of several aftermarket companies that offers Pan Am decals for the new Moebius kit of the Orion III Space Clipper.

The small sheet is well printed and in register. It offers the Pan Am Globes, Pan American titles for the fuselage, and Pan Am titles for the wings. These last are not seen on the model used in the film but I have seen builds with them in the past. Also included are several small markings including "No Step" markings and some that are included in the kit decals, if you don't use them, to depict the panel lines.

The sheet has a continuous carrier film so make sure you cut the images close, especially the globes.

The only thing missing from this set are some instructions to tell you where to place the smaller markings. I even went to their website where they have a space for Instruction Guides, but they are listed as Coming Soon so no help for me.

Fisher Model & Pattern has released a set of parts for the newly re-released Space Shuttle in 72^nd scale. Parts included are single-piece resin parts and include

• 3 Shuttle Main Engine Nozzles
• 2 Orbital Maneuvering Nozzles
• 2 Aft Control Thruster Housings

This item is so new that a set of instructions was not yet ready to be included with the review sample provided, but as the note that accompanied my sample stated, “It isn’t all that hard to figure out where they go.”

Introduction

This release of the original AMT Enterprise commemorates the original TV series episode, "The Tholian Web". In that show, one of the Enterprise's sister ships, the U.S.S. Defiant, is captured by the use of an energy 'web', spun by the Tholians. While Kirk & his team investigate, the Tholians make their move to take the Enterprise as well.

My thanks go out to Round2/AMT for updating and re-releasing this old kit for all us old fans (as well as the new ones) and providing this kit for review. I also thank IPMS USA for letting me do the review.