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Imperial Star Destroyer - Rogue One 1:4000


Mike

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Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer - Rogue One

1:4000 Revell

 

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Star Wars is a little-known cult series of films about two 'droids called R2-D2 and C-3PO, that some of you may have seen.  In line with the latest film of the franchise, which goes by the name Rogue One, Revell have released a number of new Star Wars kits with newly Rogue One themed boxart.  The Star Destroyer has gone through a number of variants/versions for the various films, and quite frankly I get a bit lost as they're all huge and cheese-wedge shaped, so I hope the purists will forgive me.

 

If you've not seen Rogue One, you should perhaps check it out, as if enough people watch it, they might make another one.

 

The Kit

Right from the start I feel the need to state that this is a Level 1 Make & Play "kit", and not the newly minted (and huge) Zvezda kit that is soon to be reboxed under the Revell brand.  The kit is snap-together, using pillars and tubes that friction-fit together, locking the parts in place to all but the most determined fingers.  It measures 400mm long, and comes in 46 parts, some of which are quite small, and could get lost if you (or a child) open them a bit too enthusiastically.  The parts are all pre-cut from the moulding sprues, so there's less to throw away, and they are held loosely in place within the box by clear vacformed mouldings, which do go in the bin.  It has light and sound, which is always a fun aspect of these kits for the kids, and my 6 year-old was cock-a-hoop when I demonstrated it to him, scurrying off to show mummy in a very excited manner.

 

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Everything clips together easily, with only the small clear blue liners to the engines a little tricksy in places, and the purists will have literal kittens when they see the three "landing gear" panels that hinge down from the lower hull to allow it to be stood square on the shelf when not in use.  Small fingers find those a bit fiddly, but after a few operations, they slacken up a bit, and familiarity helps too.  In step 4 and 5 the instructions show the rear detail area being constructed from two main parts that encompass and trap the exhaust bells in place behind the heavy light & sound module.  The lower section is fitted to the lower hull, the exhausts mounted, and then the upper section is placed on the lower part, after which the upper hull is added.  This turns out to be a bit fiddly, so install the upper rear part in the upper hull to make your life easier.  The rest of the kit builds up very quickly, and if you're familiar with construction kits, you could have it ready for action in 10 minutes or less if you're that excited.  The other moving parts are the small gun emplacements on the flanks of the superstructure, which clip in place and rotate quite freely once inserted.  They have been moulded in a slightly darker grey styrene to help them stand out, as have the golf-ball shield generators and the lattice structure between them.

 

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On completion of the build, pulling out the little plastic tab on the underside allows the three 1.5v LR44 batteries to make contact with the circuit, and pressing the small square button on the underside will then play one of two sound clips from one of the movies (It sounds like A New Hope to me), which you will be able to hear if you play the video clip that I've embedded from Revell.  The rear exhausts also emit a baleful blue light, but it doesn't extend to the smaller pairs of exhausts, even though they have clear blue inserts of their own.  It's a minor omission, but it makes you wonder why they bothered with the inserts.  Nevermind.  Also on the underside is a small compartment for the batteries that you access with a small Phillips screwdriver, and if you can't be bothered Googling the alternative codes for the LR44, they are AG13, AG14, LR1154, AG76 and many others.  It's about time battery manufacturers did something about that!  Finally, there is a small grille near the button that allows the sound from the speaker to escape from the hull.

 

 

Whoever put the kit together in the video needs more finger strength.  My example had none of those massive gaps between the parts once the parts had been properly squeezed together.

 

 

Conclusion

Little Johnny or Jemima will love this, although the detail compromises that have been made to facilitate play will have the perfectionists rocking back and forth in a corner, but they should rest easy, as they're not the intended market.  As I have said in the past, this series of kits is aimed squarely at kids, who don't care that Star Destroyers don't have landing gear, and that the panel lines are over-scale, and they certainly can't wait for the kit to be painted before they start whizzing it round the living room.  My son still regularly plays with the other kits from this series, and this one has become a firm favourite with him too in the short time he's had playing with it.  If they were to do a Make & Play Kylo Ren's or Krennic's shuttle, he'd be one happy boy, but if they did a new shuttle Tyderium with light & sound, he'd go ballistic, as he's inherited his love for that design from his old man.  One of the many reasons I remain a proud dad.

 

Very highly recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

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I've got this kit as an avid Star Wars fan, and I've got to say I think it's an excellent starting point for a decent Star Destroyer model. I've glued up the 'landing gear' and I'm at the stage of filling the large gaps up around them plus the sound vents, and then I'll rescribe/add plasticard as necessary, and I think it'll look like a decent model when it's all painted. Plus it's so tough I can chuck around the man cave making Star Wars noises without breaking anything off it!

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:lol: I don't blame you one bit... I was playing with it (the ISD) myself to annoy a few friends the other day, which seems to have worked, as one of them's just threatened to mention it in this thread :rolleyes:

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1 hour ago, Mike said:

:lol: I don't blame you one bit... I was playing with it (the ISD) myself to annoy a few friends the other day, which seems to have worked, as one of them's just threatened to mention it in this thread :rolleyes:

 

Glad I'm not the only one then! :rofl: #stillabigkid

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7 hours ago, Val said:

I've got this kit as an avid Star Wars fan, and I've got to say I think it's an excellent starting point for a decent Star Destroyer model. I've glued up the 'landing gear' and I'm at the stage of filling the large gaps up around them plus the sound vents, and then I'll rescribe/add plasticard as necessary, and I think it'll look like a decent model when it's all painted. Plus it's so tough I can chuck around the man cave making Star Wars noises without breaking anything off it!

Same here... although I'm fitting mine with 20 fairy lights and trying out some fibre optics.

It might not be very advanced as a model kit but looks good under a coat or two of paint and all in for £25 or so.

I'll have a nice shelf sized Star Destroyer!

Edited by SMD70
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