When I opened up the box I was severely disappointed. Not only was the model very inaccurate to the movie version but the casting was terrible. Several pieces were mis-shaped, crudely cast blobs that look like they were removed from an old worn out mold before comepletly setting and allowed to remain that way. There is zero quality control over the casting process with no inferior parts being replaced. If you are used to the hi-quality castings available for aircraft and other models you will be sorely disappointed in this kit and half tempted to throw it away or build a better one. This is what I am attempting to do, to scratch-build a 54" Discovery. If you have $3000 lying around then Captain Carboard, who makes the Aires shuttle and the EVA pod, will make one for you.

The bottom line is that if you absolutely, positively have to have this kit and you think the British 18" is even worse, which it is, then buy the kit and be prepared for a lot of heartache and work to get it presentable.

I purchased this model directly from Lunar Models in December of 2000. I thought it would be fun to commemorate the movie. After 5 months of e-mails to Phil at Lunar Models and promises to send the missing parts/instructions I have yet to see any of it.

Fortunately I have the skills to scratchbuild the missing parts and with the help of the movie and pictures on this site I will be able to do so.

It's a shame that some companies give the hobby a bad name (at least in my opinion). I was prepared to purchase quite a number of models from Lunar Models however $150 for a grab-bag does not make a pleasant modeling experience.

I've almost bought this kit several times in the past and broke down and won it off a recent eBay auction. First off, my kit came in a soft white box almost like a square shoebox and all the parts are molded in a brownish resin. Many of the parts have very soft detail, especially the little boxes, most of which were broke off their stems/sprues. The sphere is hollow and has the pod bay door removed- and it appears it wasn't cut out but actually made this way instead of being "molded" in place like the other two doors. There is also no metal rod unlike other kits of this item I've looked at.

While I was looking forward to building this kit, after going through the mess in the box, I am seriously thinking of reselling it or paying someone to build it as I have literally dozens of kits in various stages of construction before it and the likely aggravation this kit will give me isn't worth it.

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