The original 1:100 scale MPC Pilgrim Observer model kit was released in the 1960’s and quickly became a fairly rare kit. According to Wikipedia.org, "The MPC Pilgrim Observer Space Station Model kit was a speculative design for an interplanetary manned explorer. It features a NERVA engine as its main form of propulsion and its instructions included a description of the Pilgrim being launched by an "uprated" Saturn V. Though out of production, examples of this kit are available from various sources."

The kit is scheduled for reissue by Round2 models in mid-2010. The box text of the upcoming release says: “This is the spacecraft of the future as seen through the eyes of the 1970s, the result of America's space authorities' best thinking on the nation's first interplanetary space station. The Pilgrim Observer is a complete, self-sustaining community space station, able to make deep probes to far-reaching planets, carry 12 crew and passengers and their supplies, send out and receive an E.B.A. space taxi and an Apollo module, and maintain itself and its passengers for extended periods of time. Molded in white with clear parts, this is a true blast from the past!”

This kit is only marginally smaller than the giant 1:96 scale Revell/Monogram full Saturn V Apollo stack, and can probably be displayed alongside it without too much of a difference in overall appearance.

The review sample is from the original release. I obtained it from a member of the Starship Modeler community. The kit is molded in white styrene, and the molding definitely shows 1960’s-era modeling technology. Flash is not readily apparent, but there are ejector marks and some sink holes on parts that will have to be taken care of during construction.

The kit can be built and displayed in either Launch Configuration or Deployed (In-Orbit) Configuration. The Launch Configuration includes two Outer Protective Shrouds that cover the nose of the spacecraft and the small Command & Service Module (which is based on the Apollo Block II unit). In theory, the model can be switched between Launch Configuration and Deployed Configuration by swinging the crew quarters, nuclear power system, and hydronil farm into their stowed positions. Given the age of the kit, and the possibility of brittle parts, I will probably build this kit in the Deployed Configuration and leave it that way. I can always purchase a second kit from the reissued production line if I want to have one displayed in Launch Configuration.

The kit has raised panel lines and detailing is very simple. No interior detailing is provided for the living spaces, many of which will be viewable through the portholes. A moon landscape base is included, and holds the Pilgrim Observer in its Launch Configuration. The Deployed Configuration is designed to be hung from a ceiling. If the builder desires to use a base for display, the builder will have to scratchbuild one. A close friend of mine is in the process of building his copy of the kit, and he has added a huge amount of super-detailing to it, including using magnets to attach the CSM so that it can be docked at different locations, or taken completely off the model. He has also built interiors for the crew quarters and for the hydronil farm.

The original kit also included some additional items – a sheet of iron-on transfers with the Pilgrim Observer patch and two American flags (my sample copy is no longer usable) and a 15-page informational handbook about the Pilgrim Observer and the NERVA engine.

Waterslide decals are included, but they are yellowed and I don’t know how well they have held up to the aging process. I will most likely end up obtaining new decals from an aftermarket supplier.

The completed model is about 17 inches in overall length.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: May 27, 2010