At long last, a newly-tooled styrene model of the original Battlestar Galactica from the 1978 television series has been released. Moebius Models has produced a TOS Battlestar Galactica that is in scale with its offerings from the updated 2004 television series. Builders can now have a TOS Galactica, new Galactica, and a Battlestar Pegasus, all in 1:4105 scale.

I bought this kit at WonderFest 2014 in Louisville, KY, and I have to admit that I paid a lot less than retail for it. There was a vendor over in the smaller Dealer’s Room that was offering these kits for $50, so for what I would have paid retail ($69.95) for just the Galactica, I ended up with both a TOS Galactica and a TOS Colonial Viper Mk. I. This was not a deal that I could pass up, and it gave me an extra $20 to spend somewhere else.

The Moebius kit is beautifully molded in off-white styrene that is free from flash or voids. The molding appears to be crisp and clean, and the detail (when compared to the old Monogram/Revell kit) is outstanding. A clear insert is provided for the engines, so those who wish to light the kit may do so.

Unlike the old Monogram kit that had the upper and lower hull halves as two main parts, Moebius has broken the kit down into smaller component parts that are much more detailed. Construction is now done in subassemblies: head/neck, center section with landing bay arms, engine section, and landing bays. Even the “coffin” on the underside is attached separately. For those that want to light their kit, this will make it a lot easier to do fiber optic runs, and easier to route wiring and mount LEDs for lighting.

This kit has one major flaw, and it is one that is, unfortunately, highly visible. The bridge, to put it mildly, stinks. It’s too high, too square, and it doesn’t have the flattened appearance of the bridge on the filming model at all. The kit part looks like a box that was tacked on at the last moment. I don’t know how a company that did so many things right on this kit could have botched this major detail so completely.

There is hope, however. At the time this review was written, an aftermarket resin replacement part was being developed but was not yet available.

In addition, there is an excellent photoetch set from Paragrafix that includes brass detail parts for the bridge AND includes an illustration that shows how the kit part needs to be trimmed to make it look the way it’s supposed to. The Paragrafix photoetch set also includes forced-perspective landing bay inserts, mesh engine grates and other detailing from around the ship that wasn’t included as part of the model master. The set can be obtained either through a number of aftermarket vendors or from Paragrafix directly.

http://www.paragrafix.biz/product_detail.asp?PPartNum=pgx183

All things considered, though, it’s great to have a new kit of the classic Battlestar Galactica, and to have it in scale with the newer capital ships is even better. With a small bit of work, the kit can be made into something that will shine. If you are a fan of Battlestar Galactica, in any incarnation, this is a kit worth picking up.

The completed model will be over 17 inches long, according to the model box.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: June 23, 2014