I had long heard about Argonauts kits, and wanted to get my hands on one. At long last I acquired an Imperial Star Destroyer, and eagerly opened the box when it arrived. My initial thoughts were “wow!”, but those quickly faded to be replaced with disappointment when I considered what I had paid to get this kit.

The kit has a total of 17 parts: Main hull halves, bridge, neck/deckhouse, forward deckhouse, main engines (3), secondary engines (4), deflector generator mounts (2), upper sensor platform (on top of the bridge), main hangar, and a Blockade Runner. A single sheet of instructions is provided, but being all in Japanese, I couldn’t read them. The instructions themselves are shown as an exploded diagram of the model, with a small parts map in one corner and a detailed call-out section of the bridge in an inset in another corner.

While the casting was well done, with no bubbles or voids, there are spots that are completely devoid of any detail whatsoever. There are no indicated panel lines anywhere on the model, and what detailing is included is in the form of small raised panels scattered here and there over the surface. The sides of the neck which supports the bridge where smooth with absolutely no detailing. The main deckhouse has even, parallel lines on the starboard side, but on the port side it looks like part of the mold sagged, as the lines actually almost run into each other.

The main hull consists of upper and lower halves, with the seam running smack through the middle of the engine section. Placement of that seam will make it very difficult to cover, although parts of it will be underneath the main engines. The sidewalls are designed with the port walls cast into the upper hull half, and the starboard walls cast into the lower hull half. On my kit, the forward section of the upper and lower hull halves were noticeably warped, so some heating would be needed to get this thing even close to lined up.

Also, only the main hangar is represented with interior detail. The forward hangar is just a blank space, and it is very small (less than ¼ inch square).

The blockade runner can either be docked in the main bay, or if desired, mounted on a stand below the Star Destroyer. However, no stand is included with the kit, so one will have to be fashioned by the builder.

For what is supposed to be, according to one website, “the most accurate Star Destroyer kit available”, I am not very impressed with the size or the detailing on the Argonauts kit.

The completed kit will be approximately 10 inches long by 5.25 inches wide.

There were supposed to be other kits in the Argonauts kit line, including an X-Wing, TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, Y-Wing, and a Millennium Falcon. I hope that the other models were more detailed, based on the cost of the kits. As for my Imperial Star Destroyer, it will probably find its way onto an auction website in the next few months. Hopefully I can at least recoup part of my investment.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: December 9, 2012