Kit Ref: 04988
Price around: €21.53, £18.00 or $23.71
In-box review by Geoff Coughlin (July 2016)
Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model stores. For details visit www.revell.de/en
Background
The Colonial Viper is a fictional spacecraft in the Battlestar Galactica science-fiction franchise. It is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in this fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard Battlestar Galactica and are the humans’ main tools of defence against the fictional universe’s antagonists – the cybernetic Cylon race.
The popularity of the original Battlestar Galactica series resulted in United States Air Force pilots nicknaming F-16 Fighting Falcons “Vipers”. When the reimagined series was created, the Viper was one of the elements that the designers wanted to carry through with minimal alteration.
A note from Geoff…
Although not new – this is a re-release of the original and very good Moebius kit, This Revell boxing of the strikingly good-looking Colonial Viper Mk.II is very impressive. 1:32 scale is a perfect size for this model. Perfect too because when you look at the parts you just want to get cracking and get on with the build as there aren’t too many parts but what there is looks clean, well tooled and adequately detailed – for most.
That’s just what I did – got the model onto my workbench and got stuck in – the whole project was done in a week and all when I have much on!
Here are a couple of photographs of my completed build to show you what’s possible when you just want to have fun and maybe add a few details here and there. This was and is a great project for anyone who wants a quick build of the Colonial Viper fighter ship. Good too if you just want a break from your usual area of scale modelling.
Don’t forget to check out the full build in Finished Now – a straight in-depth build covering all the how-to, step-by-step :)
Closer look at this kit
The model offers a simple breakdown of parts that are thickly moulded giving the model a heavy, weighty feel but that doesn’t detract from the finesse of the detail that is cleanly moulded and well-defined. This is good for later painting and weathering.
The cockpit features some nice raised detail for the main instrument and side panels with some decals supplied to add some colour. If you wanted to go further and add lighting, this will make a great subject and scale in which to do it.
The seat lacks belts and I will add those to the model, along with metal buckles and also some additional details around and behind the seat to busy this whole area a bit more.
A dry-fit of parts shows that everything goes together well – great!
Landing gear
Notice that the undercarriage legs are cleanly moulded, fit together well and look great when assembled. I don’t know the ship so well in close-up that might show up some additions you could add but that’s your call – what you get is just fine for me in this area.
Canopy
A nice clean clear plastic canopy is provided that will mask up well and allow you to see plenty of internal detail, even if you close it as I probably will – to help preserve the good looks of the Viper Mk.II. No defects apparent in the moulding.
Pilot figure
Nice touch to include him and to include a resin figure too that allows for much sharper detail and as we plan more than one build of this kit, he will probably have to wait for the second mission before being included! Very well moulded though and when I do include him in another build, we’ll try and make sure there are more interesting additions too like lights and LEDs – maybe even sound (like the great Smart-FX sound boards that we are using in some of the projects).
Markings
A good decal sheet is included with all the red panels and some unit markings too – check out the decal photo to see exactly the range of markings on offer.
Instructions
Different to the original Moebius sheet given that this is a Revell boxing and so what you get the basic exploded view layout and references to Revell paints. The box art is pretty good for use as a painting guide and assembly is very straightforward. So much so in fact that I will build most of the model before painting any of the exterior and you can see why when you read all about this one in Finished Now in your Sci-Fi area.
SMN Assessment status Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | **** |
| Level of detail | **** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Instructions | *** |
| Decals | **** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Overall | **** |
Geoff C.
