RETRO ROCKETS #72 3/10/09
Visit the Retro Rockets Archive
Reposting a vintage Retro Rockets…
Lots to share tonight…
WONDERFEST IS COMING!
The clock is ticking! We’re about 9 weeks from Wonderfest, the bright center
of the fantastic modeling universe! Anyone that has been reading this
newsletter over the years knows that I am a big supporter of this model show.
If you have any interests in science fiction subjects, monster models, fantasy
kits, classic plastic like Aurora, then this show is for you. Modelers from
around the country and all over the world meet up every year in Louisville
Kentucky for this great event.
This year’ show is back to mid-May, so mark your calendars and make your
reservations NOW! The show will be held May 16-17, 2009 at the Crown Plaza
Hotel (formerly the Executive West). The guest line up offers a lot of variety
this year. CultTVman will be sponsoring the appearance of Veronica Cartwright,
one of the stars of the 1978 classic Alien. From the FX industry, Tom Woodruff
will attend and he has worked on many of the Alien movies. Steve Wang, designer
on Predator will be there and John Eaves will return with info on the new Star
Trek movie. Pat McMclung, another Alien vet will return as well. There will
be several artists including Ken Kelly, Frank Dietz, William Stout and Mark
Schultz. And of course, Bob and Kathy Burns will return, sharing their
treasures and stories of the film industry.
Activities include a special theatrical screening of Alien on Saturday night!
There will be screenings at the hotel of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and The
Lost Skeleton Returns Again. During the day, you’ll have demos for figure and
hardware builders, presentations by the guests, plus presentations of the Rondo
Awards. Displays will be devoted to Alien props from Bob Burns’ collection,
the Witch’s Dungeon life size monster display and more.
The Model Show is certainly the center of attention. The best in figures,
spaceships and other subjects will be on display. This is your opportunity to show
your kits off, and see your models side by side with your fellow builders.
I always tell people that this is a great way to judge your own work, see how
your models compare to others and find ways to improve your own work. It is
both humbling and rewarding. The Wonderfest contest judges each kit on its own
merits, so there are often multiple gold, silver and bronze awards in each
category. Bring your best kits!
The show kicks off on Friday night with the Meet and Greet in the Lizard Lounge,
sponsored by our good friends from Federation Models. Tracy will be showing off
his newest kits and buying the keg. This is a great time to hook up with old
friends and meet a lot of the people you know from the internet. It’s relaxing
and fun.
Sunday night always unwinds with the Banquet, featuring great food and unique,
wonderful presentations that you will probably not see anywhere else. After a
long, busy weekend, this is a great way to end it all.
As usual, I will have the CultTVman Suite open each night for getting together,
showing off kits, meeting fellow modelers, and tossing back a beer or two.
We’ll most likely do a Veronica Cartwright film fest on Saturday night, after
the Alien showing.
From what I understand, the hotel is almost full for this year’s show. If you
have not made plans, I suggest you do it now. I strongly recommend staying at
the Crown Plaza, as that is where many of the people are staying and there are
plenty of social gatherings all weekend.
Visit the Wonderfest site at http://www.Wonderfest.com
SCI-FI UNIVERSITY
Sci-Fi University returns to Wonderfest this year for an all day seminar on
Friday, May 15. This workshop is sponsored by CultTVman and Federation Models.
It is designed to help improve your model skills, providing overviews on various
aspects of hardware modeling. The sessions begin at 9am and run through the
afternoon. We generally have four different presentations and demos going on,
and the groups rotate through the various classes as the day progresses. Right
now we plan to focus on the following subjects: The Tool Box, Airbrushing,
Scratch building, and Lighting. Pre-registration and a small fee is required.
Space is limited. You can register at the Federation Models website.
PEGASUS HOBBIES’ WAR OF THE WORLDS REVIEW
Brian Ludden put this out of the box review together. You can read the complete
review with pictures on the CultTVman website
Who the heck is Pegasus Models? From their website, it looks like they are a
California hobby store that has somehow begun manufacturing sci-fi model kits.
Kind of weird, but who am I to complain?
Their first releases include a 1/48 scale Martian War Machine from the 1950s
sci-fi classic “War of the Worlds”. This is the kit I ordered right here at
CultTVMans hobby shop. Some people are absolutely nuts about the design of this
ship. I’m a bit ambivalent about it, as I’ve always been a much bigger fan of
the HG Wells novel, and the great rendition of the original “Fighting Machine”
seen in the fantastic Jeff Wayne “War of the Worlds” album of the 1970s. But
saying that, the design of the craft is pretty cool and carries the idea of
cold, calculated, merciless destruction well. Pegasus has released this subject
as a kit, as well as in a “pre-finished display form” for ten bucks more.
The box is very well printed, with a great picture of a War Machine floating
down a street of a destroyed city. It is your standard 2 piece box, much better
IMHO than the one piece boxes some companies are putting out these days. There
are 18 parts, including a metal screw and several parts molded in translucent
green, as well as a clear red (Heat Ray!) and clear…clear part. The main parts
are molded in a cream colored plastic that might remind you of the Mystery Glow
in the Dark UFO / Leif Ericson kit from back in the day (that’s supposed to be
re-released this year!) Just an odd color, really, but perhaps that what plastic
looks like without color added? You also get a nice, clear monochrome
instruction sheet that is basically one piece of paper folded to make 4 pages of
instructions.
The clear parts are keyed to fit in the correct direction, and the fit of the
main hull halves is really great. One trend continuing in this kit from some of
the great Polar Lights stuff we have seen recently – lots of big locating pins.
The thickly molded hull halves contain no less than 10 locator pins! And they
are big! But they fit perfectly, and the pins make this model feel a lot like a
snap fit kit. The “eye” of the machine was also test fitted, and it came
together so well that I am going to have to be real careful pulling them apart
again! This must be how they can sell the “display form” models for just 10
bucks more – just chrome plate the kits, paint the bases with friskets, and slap
the parts together.
The kit comes with a base representing the Earth with the movie logo
superimposed on it. The final page of the instructions go into great detail on
how to paint the Earth – but nowhere are directions given on what color to paint
the #$%^! War Machine! It’s a shiny copper color, and the Testors metallic
copper will probably be great on it, but some information on that kind of thing
with the kit would be great. Maybe I have gotten too used to PL/R2 and their
great fanboy color documentation….
This kit appears to be very easy to light – VoodooFX is coming out with a
lighting kit for it, but the design should be simple enough for most people with
an interest in lighting to figure out.
All in all, the great fit, the interesting subject matter, and the ease of
construction make this a nice weekend project – two, if you decide to light it
up. The price is reasonable compared to other modern kits, but the subject
itself does not really have much fine detail that needs to be replicated, and
the low parts count probably means lower mold costs. If the Galaxy Quest ship is
as nice as this one fit wise, but with more appropriate detail and some nice
decals (as well as painting instructions!), I am sure it will be a winner too.
Brian Ludden
RETRO NEWS!
NEW KITS (SORTA) FROM MOEBIUS MODELS
Moebius Models will be releasing “mini-kits” of the Lost in Space Robot and the
Flying Sub. These are repackages of the Robot from the Chariot kit and the
Flying Sub from the Seaview kit. These “mini-kits” will come in special
mini-Aurora boxes, which are reproductions of the boxes from the 1960’s. The
Flying Sub will also come with the Diving Bell and Minisub, along with a color
insert for the interior of the Flying Sub. Look for these later this spring!
In other Moebius news, the Flying Sub and Conan kits are out and selling like
hotcakes. The two Iron Man kits should be out in early April. The Mummy will
come after that.
Moebius has a lot of great things in the works so expect some new announcements
from them soon. Exciting things are happening.
PEGASUS HOBBIES’ MODELS
The four new kits from Pegasus Hobbies are out and they are proving to be very
popular. The two War of the Worlds kits are well received and are virtually
sold out everywhere. The War Machine features clear green parts, perfect for
lighting. It is also available as an assembled, copper chromed display piece.
The Area 51 UFO and Apollo 27 models are original designs that should appeal to
everyone.
ROUND 2 REISSUES
The next batch of kits from Round 2 should be out in May and will include the
1:350 refit Enterprise, Robby the Robot and the Glow Aurora Witch. The
Enterprise E is in stores now and selling quite well. The AMT Enterprise in the
collectible tin box is reportedly sold out at the manufacturer level.
REVELL NEWS
Frankenstein and Dracula reissues are supposed to be out in April. The Dracula
kit features a new head that looks a lot more like The Reptile from the Hammer
classic than any Dracula from the Universal movies. Apparently they could not
or didn’t want to get the rights to the Lugosi likeness. These will be in new
photo style boxes, NOT Aurora style boxes.
Also, the Babylon 5 reissues are reportedly canceled, however, their customer
service department will tell you they are still coming out. Go figure.
PARAGRAFIX
Paragrafix has released a new photoetch set for the 18″ AMT Enterprise. This
includes a detailed bridge, grills for the warp engines and pylons, impulse
details and buSSard details. It is a beautiful set. You can order at their
website or through the CultTVman Hobbyshop.
ACREATION MODELS
Acreation Models has expanded their line of decals with Aztec Panel decals for
the Enterprise E. You can get decals based on the Nemesis or First Contact
appearance of the ship. These are available in both 1:1400 and 1:2500 scales.
They have several other decals designs in the works. Visit their website or
order through the Cult Shop
http://www.acreationmodels.com
VOODOOFX
Randy at VoodooFX has been busy. He has released light kits for the Moebius
Chariot, as well as the Viper and Cylon Raider from Revell. Expect lights for
the Flying Sub very soon.
Also new from VoodooFX is the first in their line of DuroBases. This is a great
textured resin display base that you can use for your Chairot, Pod, dinosaurs or
other cool kits.
Visit their site or order from the Cult Shop
THE BRIDE OF KONG
The Bride of Kong is a new resin kit cast off the original Aurora pattern for
the unproduced Monsters of the Movies kits from the mid-seventies. The kit has
eight parts, including the base and movie clapboard and comes with a Monsters of
the Movies styled instruction sheet. The kit is cast by Alchemy Works. This
kit is limited to 50 castings. Contact molemento@aol.com for ordering
information.
FANTASTIC PLASTIC
Fantastic Plastic has some great new kits. The Naboo Royal Starship is a 1:288
scale model from Episode 1. It has 23 parts with landing gear, ramp and a base.
Also new is the “Swallow” SST Concept Model, a 1:144 scale kit with “swing
wings” and adjustable engines and cockpit. They have also reissued their 1:72
USAF Flying Disc kit. Look fro the Broken Arrow B-3 Stealth Bomber in March.
http://www.fantastic-plastic.com
STAR TREK MOVIE NEWS
Well, the bad news is that there are no models announced yet. The good news is
that there are quite a few toys coming. Mattel will have a line of diecast
ships. Playmates will have a toy ships and props. Quantum is showing pictures
on their site of a nice Enterprise, but no word if they will actually produce
it.
NEW WARE MODELS
New Ware has introduced a few new kits in the 1:144 scale. Diamant B, Little
Joe II, and Diamant BP4 are now available.
FINE PRINT:
CultTVman’s Retro Rockets is a news and information newsletter which supports
the CultTVman SF Modeling website. All material is © 2009 Steve Iverson. All
rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. CultTVman, CultTVman’s
Retro Rockets and CultTVman’s SF Modeling Guild are trademarks owned by Stephen
J. Iverson.
