Scale: 1/24 - about 5"/13 cm long when completed

Parts: 15 white resin

Instructions: 1 page

Decals: peel-and-stick, laser-printed markings

Molding Quality: 9 - very little flash, few pits or other defects

Detail: 6 - the filming miniature had very little detail

Accuracy: 10 - this is a recast of the actual filmining miniature

MSRP: $80.00 USD, available from Small Art Works

Overall Rating: 8 - a simple build and a neat little piece of s/f history.

As dumb as the premise of the show was, Space:1999 had some cool and well-thought-out vehicles. One of the minor ones, seen in the background of many episodes, was the "Moon Buggy". This six wheeled one- or two- person transport looks quite a bit like the ATVs that would become popular in the US in the 80's and 90's.

What You Get

Small Art Work's kit, developed with the assistance of professional film industry model maker and Space: 1999 model expert Chris Trice, was pulled from the original 1/24th scale Moon Buggy studio SFX model. It appears a bit crude because the original, built to be seen briefly on low-resolution TV screens, wasn't very polished. Everything the original had is faithfully reproduced here, including the remnants of the mounting points where wires (to tow the model across the set) were attached.

The kit consists of fifteen resin pieces, a set of markings and a basic instruction sheet. The resin is somewhat soft, so it should be easy to work with. Casting quality is quite high; there are very few mold defects, pits, bubbles or other flaws evident - in fact, on this particular copy, the only actual flaws I see (besides a little flash) is a pit in the faceplate of one of the astronaut figures and a few small pits on the rear of the body. One astronaut figure, complete with back-pack, chest-pack, and peel and stick decals is supposed to be included; the particular kit I received has two. No axles for the wheels are provided - if you want them to turn, you can use wire or small nails (otherwise, you just glue the wheels to the chassis).

The original SFX miniature had very little surface detail, and so does this cast. There are a few ribs on the "hull" of the vehicle, inset headlights, and a roughly shaped backrest for the driver and passenger. Hatches and other details appear to have been drawn on the original, and are not present in kit form. The figure(s) is solid resin and is molded with a smooth faceplate.

The instructions are really, really basic. Besides a short blurb on the model and a note to use superglue when building it, they contain a color image of the orignal model that you can use as a guide for assembly. It's all that's really necessary - there's just not that many parts to the kit, and it's pretty obvious where they go.

All the basic markings the original wore are provided on a small square of self-adhesive label paper. Laser printed, the images are sharp and in register. You'll need to carefully cut around each one to separate and apply them.

Conclusions