Agora Models is out of England, and they specialize in large-scale, highly detailed and illuminated/automated models of all genres. This goes from figures such as Alien and Optimus Prime to ships like the Constitution and Bismarck to vehicles such as Aston Martin DB 5 and Lotus Esprit to military vehicles such as a Leopard tank and aircraft like the Japanese Zero. All are large scale from 1/2 for some figures to 1/200 for the ships. The kits are made of everything from die cast zinc to wood to plastic. Due to their size and complexity, they are expensive, but Agora has softened that by selling them as very reasonable monthly subscriptions. And when you are done, you have a showstopper.

Occasionally, a model comes along that is just that special. I think as modelers we all have that one thing. For me, it was the T-800 Terminator from the 1984 movie. While it was great looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the end of the movie with the robotic chrome monster was chasing Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton - wow. Big impact on me and I have been a fan of Stan Winston ever since and his creations.

Agora was at the IPMS USA National and we had an opportunity to meet its team and look at all the wonderful kits which led to the opportunity to review this wonderful kit. The finished T-800 will stand about 37 inches tall and has the following features once complete:

• Over 650 parts
• Remote control red LED eyes
• Remote control jaw
• Articulated joints
• Sound effects and a detailed base
• Lighted base

Packs 1-10 arrived packed perfectly in 10 boxes. I attached a picture of their packaging and a couple pages of instructions for reference. This is top notch in both cases with the pars sandwiched protectively in plastic and the instructions, very detailed and perfectly illustrated.

Let’s dive into the process a little more. First, you go to the Agora Download site and get your instructions. These are highly detailed with each pack having a set instruction broken down into stages. Inside the box for that instruction is a plastic holder broken into and labeled for each stage. Each stage contains its own screws and parts. Each stage then starts with instructions showing the area you are working on colored red, a pictorial parts list and list of pieces. A list of tools is needed and expert tips where associated. The stages are then worked though both written and pictorially in very minute detail and each screw is specified by size in mm. I will say that to build everything so far, I had two small long Phillip’s screw drivers WITH magnetic tips. The magnetic tips are needed to help reach recessed parts and are really a requirement. Super glue, sprue cutter and hobby knife are also helpful. I did find a nice set of tweezers to be convenient also. At the end of every stage, you get a “Stage Completed!” picture showing what the parts should look like and if there are any carry over parts.

This review will cover Packs 1-10 and Stages 1-40 which will assemble the front of the head, the right arm and hand and the shoulder component and lastly the tying all the parts into one piece. My first recommendation is to read through the stage first, confirm your parts and then proceed through the steps. I also kept a small millimeter size ruler to confirm bolt lengths as I went.

• Stage 1 assembled the LED eyes
• Stages 2 and 3 assembles the upper arm, battery pack and one finger (which is 13 pats each). You also check the eye LEDs functioning
• Stage 4 Components for the upper arm
• Stages 5 and 6 build the neck and lower jaw (see note on the teeth below)
• Stages 7 and 8 are more components for the upper arm, fingers and hand.
• Stages 9 and 10 work on head assemblies, hand and fingers
• Stage 11 Assembles the neck and jaw joint.
• Stage 12 assembles the forearm parts and hand
• Stage 13 Finishes the neck and lower jaw (More on the neck later)
• Stage 14 More head assemblies
• Stage 15 is assembly of the forearm and hand components
• Stages 17 to 20 is assembly of the head parts and motors
• Stages 21 and 22 finish head assembly with detail parts
• Stages 23 to 33 finish assembling the right arm and shoulder including he shoulder blade.
• Stage 34 through 40 build the assembly to tie the head, vertebrae and shoulders into a single unit

And we are done with the packs for now. The completed upper torso, head and right arm are huge and heavy (finished weight is about 13 pounds).

I did make two changes to the kit after reviewing the film.

1. The teeth are an ivory color and there is a seam line. I scraped the seam line clean with the back of a knife, primed with Tamiya fine primer and went with a more white look and washes to show off the individual teeth Better but I may give it a another go around
2. The neck below the head is formed by two pieces on each side and has a seam down the front and if you look at the movie, there is no seam. Easy fix, glued things tightly and then puttied and primed several rounds. Once reasonably happy, primed with Tamiya fine and coated with Tamiya Gloss Aluminum. In hind sight, I should have done this before adding to the head but live and learn.

In summary, this is spectacular. It has wowed everyone who has seen it and I even took it to work and got of stares. This may be expensive but if you look at it as how much cost per hour and enjoyment you get, it is so worth it. I can’t wait to finish it

My profuse thanks to Clare Foltynie and Agora Models for making such a great kit and giving IPMS USA a chance to review this wonderful item.