By John Lester - images & text © 2002

Image: The piece that goes behind the cockpit

Image: Bottom fuselage half

Image: "Wings"

Image: More detail parts. Not shown, base and battery box cover

Image: Everything needed to light the model up is provided

Image: Instructions are comprehensive and easy to follow.

Miscellaneous Models has followed up their studio-scale Colonial Viper with what is billed as an exact replica of the Cylon Raider filming maquette (sans holes for the filming armatures).

All I can say is .... wow. This is the model Monogram should have made ..... it is in scale with their Viper, too.

What You Get

The kit consists of

• 27 resin peces, including a base
• acrylic rod
• a strip of styrene rod
• battery holder
• LEDs
• decals
• detailed instructions
• reference photographs

The resin pieces are superbly cast - I had to look real hard to find any flaws. Major pieces are top and bottom halves of the hull, two solid "wings", the canopy and the cover behind it. Smaller peices are provided in two bags to flesh out the details. Detail is everything you'd demand from a model that costs as much as this one does; raised relief is sharp and free of flaws, while engraving is consistent and straight (though I did find a couple spots where it just "trails off" - in places where that will be covered by another piece though). The only real problem I found concerned the engine "vanes" - one was warped a bit (which should be easily fixed, though care must be taken not to snap the piece apart), and the other had an "arm" broken off, no doubt during shipping.

The instructions include a list of colors, marking instructions, and a detailed, step-by-step assembly guide. They are well-written and consise, with clear photographs illustrating each step. Also included are several photographs showing what the completed ship should look like, and what colors go where.

Everything one needs to light the engines and navigation lights is included (well, except batteries!). This includes yellow and white LEDs, wiring, resistors and reflectors, plus a battery box that is covered by a resin "box" that slides onto the lower hull piece.

Assembly and Finish

Test-fitting the parts straight from the box shows few problems. The fit of the pieces is pretty darn good. Some clean up will be required, but I really don't foresee difficulties. For all it's size, the kit looks like it should be a relatively straightforward build.

Big models can be tricky to assemble - there's more surface area to get misaligned, for one thing. The instructions suggest joining parts with superglue but I'd use 5-minute epoxy, especially on the join between upper and lower hulls. It's stronger than superglue, and the slower curing time gives you some time to make sure everything is perfectly positioned.

Overall Impressions

Like I said at the start ... wow. This is a really impressive model. Built up, it should draw a crowd. The quality of the castings and fit of the parts, not to mention the clarity of instructions, make this a model that just about anyone with a few kits under their belt should be able to handle. If you have the money, and the interest ... and the shelf space! - I highly recommend it.

You can read more about the development of this kit over at Starship Builder.