I had heard about this kit, but had never seen one, so when one became available for sale, I decided to buy it. In light of the more-recent resin kits that have been produced, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed when I received it in the mail. It was a great kit for the time it was produced (late 1980’s), but it is not a kit that is able to hold its own against more modern kits.

The kit is cast in off-white resin that has aged to something closer to beige. The parts were still in their original heat-sealed plastic baggie when I received the kit, but some of the parts appear to have been broken over the years. The kit has over 50 resin parts, and four lengths of wire to use for cables, support rods, and axles. A neat cast lunar base is included, with grooved “tire tracks” in the surface. There are also three craters to give the base the appearance of the lunar landscape.

Because of the issue with broken parts, I will probably end up using as many of the major kit parts that I can, and scratchbuild replacements for the broken parts using styrene. Even with the major parts, there is room for improvements. The four main wheels (my kit actually has five wheels) are solid-cast rather than hollow. Also, the high-gain antenna is cast as a solid piece. I will probably end up replacing this with mesh to simulate the wire construction of the real item.

This is a small kit. The chassis of the Rover measures about 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. The lunar base that it sits on is about 6 inches wide and 7 inches long.

While being disappointing, the kit is a good place to start from when building a Lunar Rover. The existing resin parts can be used as samples when building replacements. Overall it’s not a great kit, but it’s not the worst kit I’ve ever seen either.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: February 26, 2010