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1/6 Nomad Kit Preview


By Mel Williams - images & text © 2004

Scale: 1/6 - about 10"/254mm tall when built
Parts: 9 resin
Instructions: None - the boxart should be sufficient
Decals: N/A
Molding Quality: 9
Detail: 8.5
Accuracy: 8
MSRP: $35.00 USD (~$43.40 CAN/ € 26.73 EUR) available from Starship Modeler Store
Overall Rating: 8+ - see review

When I found out that Starship Modeler was offering a model of Nomad I wasted no time in placing an order. This is one of my grail kits. I have liked Nomad ever since I first watched the episode "The Changeling".

[Boxart]

[Click to enlarge]

^What you get

Image: Antenna parts

Image: Cap

Image: Body

The order was confirmed and paid for on Friday and was delivered on the next Monday.

What You Get

What I received was a nice heavy card board box with foam packing peanuts inside to protect the model. There was no shipping damage and I was delighted to find the light blue castings.

The main parts are the base, body, a detailed plate that goes between the body and the head, the head, and the cap. In a small plastic bag was the antenna for the top and the antennas for around the head. One thing that I noted was that the resin had a nice smell, almost sweet.

On my first look I was very impressed. It looked to have all the right parts and the casting was very clean. There are some pour stubs to be removed but not anything that can’t be handled with some sand paper. I did find a repair to the body that seemed to fill in some small detail. When I got to my computer to compare it with some screen captures from the DVD I found several differences from what was shown on screen. The plate that makes up the top of the body looks close but has some of the details missing. There is also what looks like a slight mold tear. This is very small and will not be a problem to fix.

The good:

  • Nice crisp casting
  • Minimal flash
  • The cap is thin and complex. Almost looks like it was injection molded.
  • The antenna for the top of the cap is a beautiful small casting.
  • Easy clean up

The not so good:

  • Missing details
  • Some details were filled in by a repair.

Conclusions

Overall this kit is very nice. I had to pick a few nits to find any problems with it. It is well worth the price. For the person that wants a good likeness of Nomad without a lot of scratch building it is good. If you want to go nuts finding new details there is room for that as well.

Many thanks to Mel's wallet for providing the review sample. Manufacturers and retailers, interested in getting your wares reviewed and publicized on a site averaging 3500+ readers a day? Contact us!

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the reviewer.
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This page copyright © 2004 Starship Modeler™. First posted on 20 April 2005.