Jump to content

Star Wars The Mandalorian – Razor Crest (06781) 1:72


Mike

Recommended Posts

Star Wars The Mandalorian – Razor Crest (06781)

1:72 Carrera Revell

 

boxtop.jpg

 

Firstly, some minor spoiler alerts.  If you’ve not seen the series and plan on doing so, skip this section and go straight to text below 'The Kit' heading, where I’ll try to keep the spoilers to the minimum.

 

We’ve all heard of Star Wars, the three trilogies, the spin-off films and now under the auspices of the massive Disney corporation, we are being treated to some television series on their streaming service Disney+ that are bringing back some of the magic that perhaps had been lost, or at least dulled over the years under the helmsmanship of J J Abrams.  The Mandalorian reached our screens in 2019, right around the time the Covid-19 pandemic first hit, and it has helped keep us Star Wars fans entertained for two seasons now, with a third in the offing for 2022.  It has brought us new characters into the much-loved Star Wars universe such as the Mandalorian, Din Djarin himself, Grogu the baby Yoda, and it has reintroduced the previously reviled but strangely popular Boba Fett, who seems to have mellowed during his time in the Sarlacc Pit, and has now got his own series on the strength of his performance in season 2.  Even Luke Skywalker has made a brief appearance at the end of season 2, heavily de-aged to fit in with the show’s timeline of post Return of the Jedi Star Wars.

 

The Razor Crest is an ST-70 Assault Ship that has seen better days since its service with the Republic, having survived the rise and fall of the Empire, to become The Mandalorian’s transport around the Outer Rim of the Star Wars galaxy catching bad guys for bounty.  It was originally a scout ship, but is armed with a pair of laser cannon in the nose, and is capable of faster than light travel thanks to hyperspace engines that are presumably hidden inside the same twin nacelles that house the sub-light engines.  Inside the ship is an extensively glazed cockpit and a large hold with a well-stocked weapons locker and a carbonite freezer chamber to store recalcitrant criminals that he’s taking back for bounty.  Yes, it’s a Mandalorian thing, apparently.  She survived several space battles, being stripped down to a bare chassis by Jawas, and a drowning on Trask, only to be thoroughly atomised by a blast from Moff Gideon’s cruiser at the end of season 2, much to my disappointment.  I really liked that ship.

 

 

The Kit

Revell have the license for Star Wars model kits in Europe, and have released a mixed bag in unusual scales, some toy-like kits for the younger audience and reboxes of a few of the Bandai kits.  This kit is none of the above, as it is firstly a kit in a recognised scale of 1:72 so will sit perfectly next to your more “serious” Star Wars kits, it is well-detailed, and most definitely not snap-together.  Fabulous!  We’ve been treated to some of the pre-production photos in the run-up to release and they have been appealing to say the very least, so I’m pleased and more than a little relieved to say all that promised detail has reached the moulds, as well as giving us a true sense of the real scale of this medium-sized ship, which will tower over an X-Wing in the same scale.

 

The kit arrives in a deep end-opening box with an appropriately dramatic painting of the Razor Crest banking to one side with an X-Wing following behind.  A Beskar masked Mando is looking on from the top right, and there is the usual Skill Level slider on the left that puts this firmly in the middle at 3, with 101 parts that make up a model that will be just over 33cm (13”) in length once complete.  Opening the box reveals five large sprues and a lower hull part in their usual light grey styrene, a clear sprue with some really nice thin parts, a decal sheet and the instruction booklet with colour profiles to the rear.  As already mentioned, detail is good, and a small stand is included in case you want to pose your ship in flight, but there is also a full set of landing gear; detailed cockpit and Mando figure; rear interior; pivoting laser cannons, plus opening side and rear hatches with ramps.  I guarantee there will be some people creating figures of Jawas, Grogu, Kuiil on his funny-looking ball-lizard, and maybe even a Cara Dune if that’s still permissible.

 

hull1.jpg

 

hull2.jpg

 

sprue1.jpg

 

sprue2.jpg

 

sprue3.jpg

 

sprue4.jpg

 

sprue5.jpg

 

clear.jpg

 

 

 

detail-cockpit.jpg

 

detail-interior.jpg

 

detail-hatch.jpg

 

detail-mando.jpg

 

Interior construction begins with the cockpit on the top level, and there are copious colour call-outs all the way through to help you get it right without freeze-framing too much of the show.  The floor is full length and slightly wider than the cockpit space, which is marked off by the side walls after they have been detail painted, with the interior separated into two compartments by a pair of bulkheads with closed doorways moulded into each one.  Three seats are glued onto boxes moulded into the floor, then Mando is made up into a full seated figure by adding arms and a small insert in the middle of his back that has a peg moulded into it to fix him to the more comfortable looking pilot seat.  The front of the cockpit is blocked off by the addition of a single part making up the instrument panel and side consoles, which might sound disappointing, but the detail there is excellent and there are decals to spruce it up even further.  There is another compartment under the cockpit, which is built up on the lower floor around what looks a bit like a toilet, would you believe?  A front bulkhead with moulded-in netting and a rear bulkhead with doorway and central wall are added along with some paint, then the side walls are also painted up and decaled before they are mated to the lower floor, which is also painted in blue/black/metallic panels, which makes for a pretty drab interior.  The upper floor/ceiling is detailed with shackles (for frozen criminals?) and paint, and a ladder is fixed to the wall between the levels.  Inside the hull tub, the rear access door and frame are fitted, with the ability to leave it mobile if you wish, a task that is repeated with the side hatches, which have C-shaped hinges that are trapped in place by the interior in the next step.  Oddly, Revell have chosen to emboss the product name, code and manufacturer on the rear door as you can see above, which seems a bit of a step back, but is easily remedied with a sharp blade and some light but careful sanding.

 

detail-hull1.jpg

 

detail-hull2.jpg

 

detail-upper1.jpg

 

detail-upper2.jpg

 

With the interior ostensibly complete, the two laser cannons are made up from two halves each for the breech and barrel, and an angled outer cover for each one.  They can be fixed in place with a plastic washer to remain movable, or glued in place, which would appear to be the most sensible option to prevent them dangling straight down once complete.  With that, the top of the hull can be glued in place, securing on a series of five turrets moulded into both sides of the lower hull.  Speaking of the lower hull, the detail here is excellent, but there are two small sink-marks on my example on the nose detail panel due to the thickness of the plastic there.  Happily, these can be rendered invisible by careful application of putty and equally cautious sanding once dry.

 

detail-engines.jpg

 

detail-nacelles.jpg

 

The next step is to make up the twin engines, which also have a short internal section of the stubby “wings” incorporated.  The three detail inserts per engine that represent the internals are painted up first, after which they are trapped between the two nacelle halves.  The wing lower is covered with a detail panel that fits on a pair of turrets, and a short sponson fairing for the main gear is added to the bottom of the lower hull in a shallow recess on each side, then the two engines are affixed to the top of the wing on another two turrets that slot into holes in the top of the wing for a strong join.  The engines are both top-and-tailed with intake lip and exhaust petals, and the connection with the wings is hidden by the detail moulded into the topside.  The canopy is multi-part with thick frames between curved panes, each fitted separately with a suitable adhesive that won’t fog the clear parts.  There is another detail insert in the belly of the hull between the main gear, and you then have the choice of closing the bays with their doors and placing it on the stand for an in-flight pose, or continuing with the landing gear.  A stand is included on the sprues, which is made from three parts, and attaches via two pegs to holes under the hull.

 

detail-gear.jpg

 

The front landing gear reuses the bay door as the foot of the leg, with a two-part set of struts and tiny front door attached to the edge of the bay.  The main gear each have a three-part strut with a foot that has an additional “ankle” part and the bay door captive over the leg.  These both fix into substantial slots in the bay, and should hold the legs at the correct angle once the glue is set, but it might be as well to tape them both to a light straight-edge while the glue sets up.  The two side hatches can be opened up and have additional lengths of walkway added, plus two retraction jacks on the sides, which is a job best done with the model flat to the ground to ensure they sit true once dry.  The aft hatch has a short end lip added, and just one retraction jack on the left side as you look into the ship from behind.  There are small recesses moulded in, so it should be obvious where to put the jack, but scrap diagrams walk you through the process.  That’s it.  Time to take it for a fly round the room with some suitable Star Wars noises!

 

 

Markings

The Razor Crest belongs to the same visual school of design as the Millennium Falcon, the “What a Piece of Junk!” School of ship design, but rather than starting as off-white, it began life as a beautiful shiny natural metal finish, which can still be seen in places, along with some yellow markings on the sides of the hull around the doors.  The heat discolouration of the engine exhausts and the general wear and tear of the ship will be key to creating a realistic (a silly word for an imaginary vehicle) finish, so check your references for streaks, grime, scuffs and general grime to smear on the surface.  Whether you start the process from a base of shiny silver or not is up to you, but it will certainly need several layers of dirtying down to look the part.  There was only one Razor Crest (may she rest in atoms), so from the box you can build her, unless you wanted to go all whiffy and give vent to your creative process.

 

decals.jpg

 

Decals are by Zanetti, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

Revell have made me very happy twice in a week.  Firstly, their new 1:48 SR-71 Blackbird, and now the Razor Crest in a decentr scale!  It’s a great-looking model, and should build up into an impressive replica of this soon-to-be iconic Star Wars ship.  Buy one.  It is the way.

 

Great detail, some fun movable parts for customisation, and clear instructions.

 

Extremely highly recommended.

 

Currently, Revell are unable to ship to the UK from their online shop due to recent changes in import regulations, but there are many shops stocking their products where you can pick up the kits either in the flesh or online.

 

bin.jpg

 

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

 logo.jpg t_logo-a.png or facebook.gif

  • Like 23
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Mike featured this topic
  • 3 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...