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Apollo 11 Saturn V Rocket (03704) 1:96 Revell You may have heard that it is the 50th anniversary of Man walking on the moon, which was kicked off by JFK's speech and their collection of German rocket scientists that were brought back to America under Operation Paperclip at the end of WWII, most notable of whom was Werner Von Braun, who had dreamt of going to the moon since his childhood. The monstrous Saturn V rocket was the result, and at the very tip of that particular spear was the Lunar Module (LEM) under a protective cowl, and the Service Module (SM) with the Command Module (CM) at the very top under the Launch Escape System (LES) rocket pack that was destined never to be used (thankfully) if the early launch process went awry. There were earlier manned launches of the smaller Saturn 1 and 1B rockets, after which the Saturn V was the sole launch platform for the Apollo missions, totalling 13 launches by the end of Apollo 17's trip there and back again. An adapted Saturn V was also used to launch the Skylab space station into orbit, although it eventually made an uncontrolled re-entry once the mission was over and the station-keeping thrusters had exhausted their fuel. The Kit This is a re-release of Revell's 1970s vintage kit in 1:96, and it's a monster. The original boxing stated that it's almost 4 feet tall, while this new 50th edition gives us a length of 114cm. The box is substantial, and has a captive lid that folds over the side and is secured by two large tabs. Inside the box is divided into two portions, one containing the silver plastic parts and the paints that accompany the model, and the larger section with all the white styrene in there. There are also two flat sections of card, which have shapes pre-cut, and can be used to store the completed model minus the third stage once you've finished. The box contains 183 parts, and surprisingly to the uninitiated, there aren't any large diameter big long tubes for the various stages, as those are supplied as flat styrene sheet with the markings printed directly on their surface. These sheets are wrapped round to form a tube, which is then pinned in place by the umbilicals and held to shape with the styrene end-caps. Inside the box are the following: 11 x top/bottom fairings for the three stages in white styrene 4 x sprues of white styrene parts for the Saturn V Rocket 5 x sprues of silver styrene parts for the LEM/CM/SM 4 x white styrene sheets with printed markings for the Saturn V stages 1 x sheet of decals 1 x large silver styrene base 1 x bag with four thumb-pots of Revell acrylic paint, small Contacta glue, No.2 paint brush Add to that the instruction booklet, and that's everything inside the box. The kit is a product of its era, but detail is pretty good and any flash seems to be mostly adhering to the sprues rather than the parts. There are some well-documented inaccuracies in this kit, but in the marketplace of larger scale Saturn V kits (1:144 and above) that can be said of them all, so if you want to go BIG but not HUMONGOUS, this is still the kit for you. I'm reliably informed that when complete it will fit into one of those floor-standing Ikea cabinets if you remove all the glass shelves. There are probably three main ways to approach this project. Build it as is and just enjoy it, build it and improve it as you go along, or build it with the aid of aftermarket and try to improve the accuracy and detail. Most casual observers wouldn't notice the difference between each approach, so it's entirely up to you as usual how much effort, time and money you put into the task. Construction begins with the base, as the model needs some support as it grows taller, so it makes sense. Four triangular supports are glued to the base plate and painted red, which gives the model a little anti-topple protection. The five big F-1 engines are next, made up from two halves with two additional parts making up the complex tubing above the bells. These are depicted bare, but the actual launch vehicles were covered with batted insulation that gave them a different look, so here you can decide to leave them as is, scratch some insulation from foil or similar, or go all out and purchase the aftermarket engine sets that are available. The completed engines are fitted onto a flat bottom plate, which then slips into the underside of the first styrene cap, resting on a small ledge at the bottom. The narrow black and white sheet is then rolled up to form the bottom tubular section of the stage and pinned together by umbilical parts inside and out, fitting to the top of the engine assembly using a keyed mating surface. The four conical engine cowlings are added all round, and another styrene ring is added to the top of the growing structure, with the longest styrene sheet sat on top of that, then the top of stage 1 with its domed tank clearly visible inside. The connection between the top of stage 1 and 2 is a cylindrical part that you often see being incinerated as it tumbles away in footage of the launches. This covers the stage 2 engines, which consist of five Rocketdyne J-2 units, again with small parts added above the two-part engine bells. These are glued into another tapered styrene cylinder, which fits into the top of the interconnect, and has the mostly white sheet used to create the body, with umbilical parts used to hide the joins again. Another domed fuel tank top is inside the top of that stage, and a conical cowling fits into the top of that too. The narrower third stage has a conical underside with one J-2 engine at the bottom, with another styrene tube made up and inserted into the top, and joined by another domed fuel tank on top. Attention now turns to the LEM, CM & SM, which are also available as a separate kit, reviewed here recently. The sprues are the same, the decals are all amalgamated with the kit markings, and the only thing that isn't included is the gold foil for the LEM, which you can easily replace by treating yourself to a chocolate bar or similar. I won't re-tread old ground, suffice to say that all three sections are built up, although the LEM is fitted with its legs folded up so that it slots into the tapered cowling that it rides into space inside, one section of which is transparent for easy viewing of the completed model. The CM and SM are installed on the top, and the LES sits on the very top of a short tower, to lift the CM clear using emergency rockets that can be seen under the flared base. Also included is the lunar surface base and goose-neck stand for the kit, so the instructions give you some suggestions on how to use the parts if you feel like it. I think most people will probably leave the three modules at the top of the stack though, as it's all about the going up part. Please note that the gold foil pictured above is NOT included with this model Markings There's only one option for the markings, as you might expect, and much of the main body is either self-coloured or pre-printed on the flat styrene sheets that go to make up the blank tubular sections. The decals are printed for Revell by Zanetti, and are in good register with plenty of sharpness and colour density. The key part is to match up the black sections with the printed parts, and to paint the complex chequer pattern on the tapered cowling correctly. The other decals are pointed out on diagrams on the rear page, which also shows you how to store the model in the original box once you have built it. Given its sheer size, this is a very useful capability. The diagram shows an in-built handle, which doesn't seem fitted to my box, which is a shame. Conclusion The kit might also soon be celebrating its own 50th anniversary, but considering that it is still quite an impressive kit, not just for its size. It has the undiminished appeal of the raw power it used to get men to the Moon, and can be built by a child with minimal paint, an adult with care and some precision, or a detailer with the assistance of aftermarket that's available from companies such as Realspacemodels.com and New Ware Models. Beware your wallet if you go down that route though. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Apollo 11 Astronaut on the Moon (03702) 1:8 Revell On the 20th July 1969, a man by the name of Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of his flimsy spacecraft and onto the Moon's dusty surface, uttering the words that would become famous "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind". His name and this quote, plus the likeness of the Saturn V rocket that got them there, and the Apollo 11 spacecraft that consisted of the Command Module (CM), Service Module (SM) and Lunar Module (LM or LEM if you add "excursion" into the mix) also became amongst the most recognised images of their time. Leaving many footprints in the dusty regolith of the Sea of Tranquility where they landed, they soon clambered back onboard and blasted off for home, paving the way for another six missions, only one of which didn't quite make it but became almost equally famous because of their accident and subsequent return to earth that was fraught with danger. Maybe they should have skipped the name Apollo 13? The Kit Following the 50th year since we walked on the Moon theme, we have more from Revell on the subject, which again is a new edition of a previously released kit from the same era as the Apollo 11 CM & SM that we reviewed recently here. The kit arrives in an end-opening box, with four sprues in white styrene inside, some of which have been cut to fit the new box. There is also a yellow tinted clear part for the visor, a small sheet of decals and the instruction booklet, which is printed in Revell's new colour style. As it's a special edition, there is also a pack of four thumb-pots of Revell paint, a small tube of Contacta semi-liquid glue, and a paintbrush, which as always with these sets has had its hair parted by the bag. The kit is clearly a product of its day, but has good detail throughout and a simple method of construction. The completed model stands at 258mm tall, a little over 2m in scale, out of which you must take the bulk of the suit, helmet and base to account for the difference between Neil's 1.8m height and that of the model. I'd say that scales out pretty well. The astronaut's face is moulded into the helmet area, with the yellow tinted visor added after paint, but here there is a slight deviation that stands out to the average Joe. The bottom edge of the visor is a little flattened when compared with those famous photos of Neil after touch down, so if it bothers you, you'll need a little putty to make that more to your liking. The suit is a pretty detailed rendition of the one that Neil wore, with some slight differences from the real thing such as the central panel on his chest and the lack of umbilical ports on the left of the chest plate. There are also some straps hanging around that are missing for obvious reasons, and the umbilicals that attach to the backpack should have insulating sleeves on them that give them a crinkled, faceted look. All of this can be fixed if you're minded, or you can just enjoy the model for what it is and build it to the best of your ability. Construction begins with the head and torso, which are split vertically front to back, with the astronaut's head moulded into the helmet, as mentioned. It's a generic face that's a very nice sculpt, but clearly not Neil Armstrong, and bears more of a resemblance to a face from a Captain Scarlet puppet. Whether that was for copyright reasons, I guess we'll never know. The legs and arms are next, with the former split the same way, and the latter split to give maximum detail to the gauntlets. The backpack is similarly split front and back, attaching to the torso with a central pin and two realistic-looking strap-ends, with a good amount of surface detail. On the front is another much smaller pack that resembles a claymore mine in shape, but has more to do with environment regulation. The fixed video camera glues into a slot on the front of the pack, and at this stage you are also instructed to install the visor into the helmet. If you've been brave and adjusted the shape of the lower edge, you'll need to reduce the glazed part to match. These things are gold-plated to protect the wearer from excessive sunlight exposure, as there is no atmosphere to speak of on the moon, so the light is undiminished by atmospheric backscatter. This has been mimicked by the clear yellow tint, but you could experiment with gold leaf of gold chrome paint if you feel the need. To complete the figure, the two umbilicals (umbilicii?) are routed from the backpack to the chest and chest pack, with the aforementioned caveat of them requiring insulating sleeves. The base consists of a chunk of the moon's surface with a depression for the lander's leg, and another flat-spot for the figure's left foot, then a raised flat area with that famous phrase engraved on it for posterity. You get a portion of the lander's leg, which has a section of the ladder added to the front, and the big dished foot at the bottom. This portion of the lander was covered in a golden mylar layer for insulation too, so treat yourself to some Cadbury's Bournville or other confection with a golden inner wrapper, and have a go at making it look suitably wrinkly if you feel up to the challenge. The completed figure is attached with one foot on the base, the other in the dished top of the landing pad, with two flat tabs ensuring a good join. Markings The majority of Neil's suit is white, with grey used mainly on his gloves and overshoes that protect his boots from damage, which incidentally debunks another of the deniers' arguments about the tread pattern on their boots being different. I digress. The moon is very dusty, so after even a few steps the suits got covered in an incredibly fine grey dust that was hard to shift. Check your references, and enjoy replicating some of it. There was a #2 Revell paintbrush included in the pack, but as the bristles were bent over, I decided not to photograph it. Ok, I forgot! The decal sheet is small and consists of a couple of American flags, two NASA meatball logos for the backpack and his chest, and a stencil for the water reservoir at the bottom of the backpack. There's no name tag for the suit, but that's hidden away under the chest pack, so hardly an issue. Decals are printed for Revell by Zanetti, in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a fun model that will give a lot of pleasure to a lot of folks if they approach it with the right attitude. If you treat it as a blast from the past, or a desktop model you'll have fun building it, but if you want something accurate, there are some alterations you can make and still have fun. Considering the age of the moulds there are some really nice cloth effects, with creases, seams and so forth giving a realistic landscape for you to paint over and weather. A fitting tribute to the late, great Mr Armstrong, may he rest in peace. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Does anyone know if someone has produced a set of decals for the new Red Arrows 50th Anniversary livery for the 1/32 Revell Red Arrows Hawk? I've got one in the stash and fancy giving it a go this year. Thanks in anticipation! Andrew

Does anyone do decals/masks or anything for this scheme in 1/32: http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/British-Aerospace-Hawk/1672660/L/&sid=2d721312e5e96b613f24da4eb4a75c41 I have looked in the obvious places, but can't find anything. Thanks, Andrew