Scale: Not stated; diameter approx. 3“/76mm (station), 2"/50mm (pod)

Parts: 7 resin (station); 12 parts for the pod: 6 Resin, 5 "gems“; plus one small brass hook for each

Instructions: None

Decals: None

Molding Quality: Station: 8 - a lot of thin flesh, some small bubbles; Pod: 7 - the "earmuffs“ are a bit distorted and rough, as is the complete surface of the fuselage

Detail: Station: 9 - very good surface for that small scale; Pod: 7- some details are missplaced, some missing

Accuracy: See text

MSRP: Out of production; eBay is your only hope

Overall Rating: 8 - good price / quality ratio

The company "The 4th Axis“ is offering a nice collection of christmas ornaments from the famous classic movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey“. Christmas Ornaments? No, small, wallet-friendly models! So let us have a look what you can get for your money, but keep in mind that they are not designated to be 200% accurate replicas, but nice Christmas decorations...

The Space Station

The kit contains 6 parts made of white resin, 4 for the two wheels and 2 for the hub. There is a lot of extreme thin flash between the "spokes“ of each wheel, but this can be removed easily with a sharp hobbyknife. More disturbing are a few bubbles in the area of the hangardeck, but there are really just a few. No instructions are available, but you don`t need them. The model comes with a small hook to hang it in the tree - well, I will not need that...

Dryfitting the parts shows that you will have to deal with a very obvious seam along each wheel - patience will be needed to take care of that, especially at the second wheel with all its framework. But the fit of the halves is good. It will be a bit tricky to paint the framework of the nonfinished wheel, but worth the effort.

As far as I can say the model will be accurate, especially for its small size. To compare it with the larger and much more expensive Comet-version would be like comparing apples and pears. Altogeteher a nice two-weekend-project, an interesting addition to any 2001-collection and well worth the money.

The One-Man pod

This kit comes with 6 white resin parts, 4 silver and one red "gem“ for the lights and HAL's eye (take care of them - they are really small, I lost mine before I could make the pictures... modelers, always beware of your cats!), and the hanging-hook. The arms are surounded by thin flash, but this is not a big deal. The other parts are "ready to use“. The kit comes also without instructions or decals.

The casting quality is not as good as the one of the spacestation - the complete surface is a bit rough, the details (especially under the windshield and the exhausts of the "earmuffs“) are not really sharp. You`ll have a seamline in the middle of the fuselage, but this one will be easier to handel than the ones on the spacestation-wheels.

The level of detail is ok, but a few things should be mentioned: The arms are flat on the inner sides and not really 3-dimensional. To get rid off a toy-like look it will be necessary to make some detail on this sides out of sheet styrene. The details below the windshield are a bit out of position (to far to the right), but acceptable. The angle of the windshield-frame is a bit to steep. One really big error is on the back of the pod: The door is raised, but it should be inset! I see no way to fix this yet without very much surgery.

Conclusions

So a non-accurate model, better not to recommend it? NO! As I mentioned above, keep in mind that this is a decoration, not a replica! It would be unfair to compare it with high-level models like the one available from Captain Cardboard. You`re able to add a spacepod to your collection in a price range explainable to your companion, and with a little work it will look convincing. If I would have to choose, I would get it again.

Many thanks to Marco's wallet for providing the review samples. Manufacturers and retailers, interested in getting your wares reviewed and publicized on a site averaging 3500+ readers a day? Contact us!