This is a re-issue of an older kit, with this being a Limited edition kit featuring a new display stand, Hubble, Shuttle, and three resin astronauts. It is an excellent kit in the Hasegawa range and is very easy to build as long as you watch the instruction details carefully.

In the box is:

• 2 x black sprues
• 2 x white sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 clear blue stand
• 1 grey sprue
• 1 chrome
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 wire
• 1 stand thick curved wire
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are extremely well molded with no flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the shuttle in three different shuttles.

Construction

Stage 1 Assembly begins with the fuselage and cargo bay. This is very easy, I would suggest adding hatches to the Docking block as it looks wrong without them as they are not included in the kit. There are some ejector pin marks inside the cargo bay which need removing. Also you need to paint the interior of the cockpit black at this stage as this makes the completed kit look better.

Stage 2 is the nose and cockpit glass. The nose parts had some fit issues so some filling will be needed.

Stage 3 and 4, adds the lower wing sections to the fuselage, remember to drill out the hole for the stand at this point. Next the upper wing sections are added. At this stage I spray painted the white and black sections of the main body and other parts still on the sprues to make the assembly and painting a little easier later.

Stage 5 and 6 builds the engine nozzles to the rear engine bulkhead, then this is assembled to the rear of the main fuselage.

Stage 7 and 8, the vertical stabilizer is assembled and then added to the main fuselage and the landing gear bay doors are fixed in place.

Stage 9 This stage adds the cargo bay components into the bay, also the Canada Arm is installed.

Stage 10 and 11, these stages assemble the Hubble Telescope, the telescope can be made in two versions 1 - operational, or 2 - maintenance mode. I selected the later so I could attach it to the Shuttle.

Stage 12 is the attachment of the Hubble to its own stand or to the Shuttle, which I did. Then you attached the three resin astronauts as required.

Summary

This is excellent kit from Hasegawa. This is not a difficult kit to build so any standard of modeler can enjoy assembling this kit.

Thanks go to Hobbico/Hasegawa for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.