Scale: 1/ -24" long when assembled.

Parts: 7 resin and 1 white metal

Instructions: 3 pages-1 for tips, 1 for construction, and 1 with top, side, and bottom view drawings.

Decals: Dry transfer decals for Pan Am lettering and logo.

Molding Quality: 8 - Great! Pre-sanded; Minimal bubbles. Parts came out of the box straight.

Detail: 9 - Panel lines are straight and even. Detail is consistent over the entire model.

Accuracy: 8 - It matches pretty well with the pictures in the hardware reference section of this site and the book 2001: Filming the Future.

MSRP: ° 175 GBP retail from Comet- $315 USD. The review kit was a special order through Rider’s Hobby Shop in Michigan, but the kit is also available from Comet Miniatures and Federation

Overall Rating: Excellent model! It looks like a pleasure to build. A lot of work and resin went into the kit.

What You Get

The parts have clean and even panel lines everywhere. There is a section on the bottom surface of the fuselage where the mold did not line up properly. It looks like this will involve a bit of filling and sanding to fix. There are no bubbles in the raised details. The only two on the model are where the wing leading edges meet the fuselage. These are easy to get at, and do not affect the detail on the model at all.

Dry transfer decals are included. I had a scan that showed them well, but it seems to have become a victim of not saving often. The decals include the Pan Am logo, Pan American and Pan Am lettering. The instruction booklet is written out. It covers assembly tips, painting suggestions and decal tips. The last page has a top, side, and bottom view of the Orion. This pretty well covers decal placement and how the parts should look when assembly is finished.

I do not see any potential problems that could hinder assembling this model. Color separations follow pretty well defined character lines; and then it is mainly a matter of masking panels to vary the shades of white.

Accuracy

On the whole, this model matches documentation very well. However, the booster engines appear a bit tall when compared to drawings and photos. The leading edge of the wing has nine slightly elongated holes. This matches well with the drawing in 2001: Filming the Future. This drawing shows nine holes, all the same width. One of the pictures in the Starship Modeler hardware reference section also shows these openings. In this case, it looks like the four near the root are longer than the five at the tip. Take your pick.