Thank you very much for all that great information! I found both decal company websites and the downloads area for Starship Modeler.
Your Romulan Bird of Prey looks excellent! Back in the day, my friends and I played a lot of Star Fleet Battles and the Romulans were my race of choice. “You just struck a nuclear space mine…and i am firing…”
Now I feel like working on a spaceship.
Thanks.
Happy to help. There’s some good stuff out on the market if you look around.
We just shouldn’t have to. Every single sheet I’ve had in their kits have been brittle, stiff, refuse to shape themselves around curves and disintegrate. No other main stream manufacturer makes decals as bad as Polar Lights for what those kits cost. It’s a known issue and they’ve done nothing to sort it. Can you imagine if the likes of Airfix, Revell or Tamiya made decals as bad as theirs?
Fantastic Plastic has a 1/72 resin kit of the Hammerhead in their online store.
The Round 2 Space: 1999 Eagles are a tad short ( I accept it depends where you go to get dimensions), but according to Round 2’s site, they say their 1/48th Eagle is nearly 22" (559mm).
This would equate to a full size length of approximately 88’ (26.8m), however, the ‘Space: 1999 Moonbase Alpha Technical Operations Manual’ states that they should be 98’4" (30m). This publication was created in conjunction with Jamie Anderson (Anderson Entertainment), son of the late, great Gerry…so that’s the figure I would work to, 
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So the kit should be nearer 25" (635mm), but what’s a few inches between friends, 
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I have one of the older ‘Product Enterprise’ Eagles (see image below), which was quoted as being 23", so a tad closer to the quoted 98’4" (30m) for 1/48th scale, though not a faithful representation as it was based on a US garage kit.
G, 
Thanks for the heads-up Sean, much appreciated, 
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G,
A question for Stephen and Doug, .
I was considering buying the Polar Lights 1/32nd Star Trek Galileo Shuttlecraft with Interior, but, based on your comments above, am I likely to be disappointed, especially given the amount of pocket money I’m going to have to part with?
G,
If you can get the shuttle with the interior, rather than separate, it is worth it. The shuttle itself is a big impressive kit and the interior is gorgeous. The crew figures are very nicely done.
As for the decals, I would coat them first with an acrylic clear to give them a bit more back bone. @Johnnych01 had luck with brushed on Tamiya clear X-22 clear gloss on his Enterprise-E build. Fortunately the Shuttle is all flat sided and the decals do work better on those. It’s going around curves and raised details that can be problematic. The interior control details could probably be painted if you didn’t fancy the decals.
So yes it’s a great kit, probably a bit too expensive for what it is, but forewarned is forearmed. I will be doing mine at some point in the not too distant future so keep a look out.
I do currently own either model of the Galileo Shuttlecraft but built the older one, long ago.
Things usually get very messy when trying to discuss the accuracy of a model based on a movie prop or rendering. In the case of the Galileo Shuttlecraft, there was at least one prop used for filming, a full scale prop for exterior ground shots, and an interior set. They differ in details so which is correct? Matt Jeffries, who designed the thing, also made many comments about the size of the Shuttlecraft. Is he right?
For the newer Shuttlecraft model, the designer scaled the vehicle to fit the interior set with the caveat that the interior set had very high ceilings for filming. He based the exterior dimensions on the full scale prop for exterior shots. If the figures for the newer model are 1/32 scale, and the interior props are to scale with the figures, then the Shuttlecraft must also be 1/32 scale or very close to it.
I have read reports that the new model decals have some accuracy issues in terms of Shuttlecraft names versus numbers. Browsing the original series episodes involving each possible Shuttlecraft will confirm or refute these claims, but I have not done that. I cannot write anything about the quality of the decals themselves. Based on pictures found online, at least some model builders have succeeded with them and produced very nice models.
If your want a Galileo Shuttlecraft in your collection, are not extremely concerned with accuracy or scale, and are willing to replace the decals if necessary, the new model is far superior to the old one. It matches the full scale, exterior shot movie prop far better than the older model. I do not own the kit and cannot offer an opinion on the quality of the molds. I am more demanding in this regard than many science fiction model reviewers, probably because I also build 1/35 scale armor. If you insist the Galileo Shuttlecraft was a certain actual length and will be disappointed by an incorrect model to that length, I would make some calculations before purchasing anything. If replacing the decals will push the project over budget, I would gather some decal reports from people who built the newer model.
I recommend reading online reviews of the newer Galileo Shuttlecraft model and looking at the sprue shots before making any purchase decision. In my opinion, the model itself is significantly over priced and making the interior an expensive upgrade was sleazy. With regard the latter statement, my advancing age is probably part of the problem. I still remember the older model selling in Woolworth’s for $7 US.
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With regards the Eagle…it gets very complicated. The prop dimensions and sets are all over the place. In Season 2, whole sections of the interior set were removed. I want a 107+ foot Eagle. For that one vehicle I will very probably never be happy unless I draw, render, and digitally print the ship for myself.
Thanks to Stephen and Doug for their comments, both were very useful and appreciated.
I’ll definitely be following your build Stephen, hopefully it might even be soon enough to influence my decision, .
A 107’+ (there were drawings for a 111’) Eagle would be good Doug, the ‘Space 1999 Catacombs’ site suggests a 100-102’ would best match all the different studio sets.
Either way, it’s an iconic design, and one of my all-time favourites, .
Thanks again both,
G,
Well I’m not sure yet when I’ll get around to mine. Too many projects ongoing at the moment, but I will make a thread when I do.
Until then, here’s a 3-part build review from Interstellar Modeller.
Hope it helps.
I’d like a 1/144 Rebel Blockade Runner
I grew up loving those designs. I remember several books in the 70s had ship designs like that.
Oh yea!
Yes the Chris Foss starships. The design team on Homeworld were heavily influenced by his work. Especially the use of bright coloured stripes.
With crazy Bruce Dern figure included.
Given the original full-size Galileo 7/Galileo II still exists it must be last word regarding dimensions, as it’s the real thing… It’s a pity so few full-size ships survive the end of filming. Obviously they have some scrap value and the producers will be looking to recoup costs, while some materials used in their construction may not be resistant to wear or degrade naturally. The Galileo 7 restoration actually incorporated upgrades and strengthening. But it’s still a shame the Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi full-size Millennium Falcon was scrapped, I suppose the “Studio Tour” concept was still in it’s infancy. Of the 8 full-size “Rapier” fighters from the execrable “Wing Commander” (1999) movie I understand one survived until at least 2011, but I don’t know what happened to it after the “Cars of the Stars” museum in the Lake District closed, it may have gone to the U.S. with the rest of the collection. They were built from dressed up cockpit sections from Bae Lightning fighters and several were later used in Lightning restoration projects.
It would be nice to have a hangar full of Hammerheads, X-wings, various marks of Viper, a Raptor, and so on. I believe it may have been done virtually, and should be do-able as a long-term scale model collection.
Regards,
M
P.S. One of my favorite Roger Zelazney novels is “Damnation Alley”, which shares little more than the title with the godawful 1977 movie but the latter required the building of the “Landmaster” vehicle which does survive.
Thanks for the Galileo build links Stephen, they’re much appreciated, .
G,
I’m a bit late, but maybe you’ll find this interesting:
I don’t believe the Icarus has been mentioned yet. Pretty cool looking and much more believable in appearance than others from its time.
