Scale: 1:1 (full size)

Parts: 13 cream and gray coloured resin

Instructions: Clear line drawings with generic text assembly hints

Decals: N/A

Molding Quality: 9 - Some flash, a few minor bubbles and some rough areas

Detail: 10 - Appropriate for this prop

Accuracy: ? - Not enough reference available to me to make an accurate assessment.

MSRP: $50.00 USD (~$78.59 CAN/ € 51.29 EUR) available from Alberta Industrial Models

Overall Rating: 10 - Satisfies my desire to own what I perceive to be an accurate replica.

What You Get

How accurate is the kit? At the time of this writing I have no where near enough information to make a good comparison (although I know I saw a closeup picture of an original prop someplace- just can't remember where!), but I'm sure that given AIM's usual attention to detail, that the replica is about as authentic as you can get without acquiring an original. I have, for this review, studied the DVD of the movie to check, and I cannot see anything that makes this replica inaccurate. If I was told it was a re-worked original prop casting, I'd have no proof to believe otherwise.

Assembly & Finish

The model will be very easy to build, requiring only some light cleanup work, minor filling and sanding, and assembly with superglue. The hardest part to clean up will be the flash and seams on the "spring coil" parts.

If you will be handling the model a lot, I recommend making some modifications by drilling holes into mating parts and fitting metal rods or wooden dowels to strengthen the joints and glueing them together using epoxy. This will make the model able to stand rougher handling better than the brittle superglues that would normally be used.

As far as colour scheme goes, the instructions state that the prop should be painted metallic charcoal gray with silver "wear-and-tear" highlights and red barrel tips and trigger. This appears for the most part to be accurate, but upon studying the DVD it looks in some shots like the cluster of rods around the rear and front of the main twin bodies may be high gloss silver or chrome, with the rest of the gun either high gloss black or very dark gloss metallic gray. The "springs" on the barrel coils are definitely silver or plated. However this is pure conjecture on my part since as we all know things look quite different in the film than they may in real life. No question about it though, the robot S.T.A.R.'s pistols were entirely chrome plated!