[Carson Dyle]

About a year ago I happened upon my old Voyager kit. I built it back in the mid-70's, and the thing had been in storage for about twenty years. The glue was so brittle the model practically fell apart in my hands -- almost as if it was begging to be restored. Well...after much sanding, paint removing, puttying and re-painting, the model looks better than ever. The only changes I made were a pair of scratch-built intake fans (kit-bashed jet intakes), rear exhaust ports fashioned from brass sheeting, and custom decal-enhanced control panels. Oh, the "miniaturizer" display stand was scratch built as well (yes, I still have the original clear plastic stand, but I like this one better).

The most helpful discovery I made during this project was clear sanding resin. I wanted the windshield to be absolutely, positively flush against the hull -- no seams. My local Plastics Supply Company recommended their own brand of sanding resin, and it really did the trick; it dries super hard and really clear, and most importantly, it won't craze or melt the clear plastic. After sanding and polishing, the seam was completely sealed.

This model will make a nifty counterpart to my Lunar Models Proteus... once the latter is finally complete.

 

[DR. PRETORIOUS]

Excellent job!!!!!!!!!!

 

[falcondesigns]

Wish I had one,great job!!

 

[kaos]

very nice! hint hint polar lights

 

[Otto69]

Just one more thing needed

A scale diorama to match the original box art. It featured "molecules" made of painted styrafoam balls with toothpick-like things stuck in them .

That's a beatiful buildup . Fantastic smooth paintjob. I wish I had one of these to build again.

 

[Ray A]

Just out of curiousity, what show was this from?

 

[Carson Dyle]

The ship pictured is the Voyager from the Filmation animated TV series "Fantastic Voyage," which was part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup in the late 60's/ early 70's (the show was loosely based on the 1966 film of the same title).

It's a fairly rare kit; initial sales were poor, and relatively few were produced. Also, I believe the original mouldings for this were lost in the imfamous "Aurora railway disaster" in the late 70's (or is that a model making myth?).

 

[Steve CultTVman Iverson]

Most of the molds were melted down by Monogram... not lost in the train wreck

Steve

 

[Carson Dyle]

Thanks for clarifying, Steve.

 

[Nightingale]

I used to be obsessed with that design those many years ago as a kid and no matter how hard I tried I could not find one in Minnesota. I still like it. Nice job.

Didn't someone post some nice pictures of a similar garage kit?

 

[John P]

GOD, I love that little ship!!
Beautiful.
Hello, Polar Lights? A Space Coupe but no Voyager?

 

[Carson Dyle]

GOD, I love that little ship!!
Beautiful.
Hello, Polar Lights? A Space Coupe but no Voyager?

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the development guy at Polar Lights goes to his new boss and says "Hey, how `bout we re-release that spaceship model nobody bought when Aurora released the first time -- you know, the one from the not-so-successful 1970 Saturday morning cartoon series based on that old Stephen Boyd/ Edmund O'Brien picture..."

Hey, I'd say yes in a heartbeat, but you have to admit it's a tough sell.

Speaking of the Voyager, did anybody happen to pick up one of the kits Lunar Models released ever-so-briefly back in 2001? I think Monsters in Motion offered it as well (it may even still be listed on their website). Randy Cooper did the pattern work, and as usual, he did a great job. Having seen Randy's original model, I jumped at the chance to pick one up when I stumbled across it on ebay.

Yikes, what a mess! Definately one of those life's-too-short situations. The execution was so sloppy I'd still be trying to clean it up. Pity too, `cause Randy's model was gorgeous.

 

[heiki]

Most of the molds were melted down by Monogram... not lost in the train wreck

Steve

Dean Milano has the inventory log that indicated that the mold for this was still around. It may be a money issue that keeps it from being brought back. Talking with Dean's boss and one other manager brought little hope that they thought this would sell. Polar/playing mantis knows about this. They were the ones to tell me that R/M needs to be addressed about this.

 

[john guard]

how about Lunar Models? will they reissue this kit??

 

[Seaview]

Then why don't we do an e-mail letter-writing campaign to Revell/Monogram and get this ship reproduced?
Personally, I still have my original Voyager in storage waiting for its day of reconstruction, but having another mint-in-box-ready-to-be-built kit isn't a bad idea, either.
BTW, I'd like to learn more about this sandable clear resin stuff.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Re: sanding resin

Then why don't we do an e-mail letter-writing campaign to Revell/Monogram and get this ship reproduced?
Personally, I still have my original Voyager in storage waiting for its day of reconstruction, but having another mint-in-box-ready-to-be-built kit isn't a bad idea, either.
BTW, I'd like to learn more about this sandable clear resin stuff.

I discovered sanding resin when I was preping my Lubliner Seaview. I knew going in that I wanted the eight bow windows to be absolutely flush against the surrounding hull -- no seams, no cracks, no raised edges... so smooth that if you ran your fingernail accross the bow it wouldn't catch on anything.

This presented a problem. So-called "Crazy Glues" sand OK, but they don't dry clear, and of course they tend to craze clear plastic. Same with filler or putty. When I talked to one of the helpful lads at my local plastics wholesaler he recommended a type of resin which, at least in this neck of the woods, is commonly used to fill dings in boats and surfboards. It's a two-part system that dries very fast, very clear, and very hard -- but not so hard you can't sand it. I was so pleased with the way it worked on the Seaview's bow windows (see "Lubliner Seaview" thread) I used it to fill-in the sail windows as well. The results in both cases were exactly as I had hoped: once the seams were filled, sanded and polished, I was left with perfectly smooth, clear windows with crisp lines and sharp edges that would have been very difficult to achieve by any other means (any other means I'm aware of, that is).

Since the Seaview, I've used sanding resin to achieve the same results on my Voyager canopy, as well as on the clear vacu-form lenses of my Monsters in Motion Martian War Machine. Yes folks, if you're fed up with the heartbreak of embarassing Window Gap, try Clear Sanding Resin! It's Res-O-Rific! (Sorry, got carried away there).

 

[Otto69]

Carson, whats the specific name and manufacturer of this clear "sanding resin" please?

Someone asked if Lunar would re-release the Voyager. I know they're pretty busy right now, but you could ask them if they would consider it. I'd suppose it's the law of supply and demand: projects may get moved up if there's a perceived immediate demand. It would not be cheap though, the original kit is very large (with a detailed interior...I wondered if the instrument panels could be backlit ala the Jupiter 2 panels).

Lunar is at http://www.lunarmodelsonline.com/

 

[Carson Dyle]

Carson, whats the specific name and manufacturer of this clear "sanding resin" please?

Someone asked if Lunar would re-release the Voyager. I know they're pretty busy right now, but you could ask them if they would consider it. I'd suppose it's the law of supply and demand: projects may get moved up if there's a perceived immediate demand. It would not be cheap though, the original kit is very large (with a detailed interior...I wondered if the instrument panels could be backlit ala the Jupiter 2 panels).

Lunar is at http://www.lunarmodelsonline.com/

I honestly don't remember the "technical" name for the sanding resin I used, but I'll find out and get back to you on Monday.

 

[Carson Dyle]

By the way, the Monsters in Motion website lists an Aurora Voyager resin re-cast... is anyone familiar with this kit? At $125.00, it's not the sorta thing I'd care to pay for sight unseen...

 

[Otto69]

I'd be leery of MiM...

My personal experience has not been positive with their ability to deliver in a timely manner or respond to email (in any manner, timely or not). They are not crooks, it's just that they have very poor customer service, particularly on items not yet in stock. 'nuff said.

I just looked up the Voyager ad at MiM. They don't say much about it at all. It could be they're actually sourcing them from Lunar, but there's not enough info presented to know. I do know that there are various vendors out there who resell Lunar kits (one of them is on ebay and reguarly sells the Lunar Proteus for example.)

The Lunar kit is large: the body is about 12" long as I recall, probably longer. If Lunar sells it you would probably pay a price at least at what you quoted (based on their pricing for the similarly sized Proteus, etc.), but you'd be getting something that was first generation and from a good guy, Randy Jarrett, the new owner of Lunar.

By the way, lest my comments be misconstrued, I have no connection to Lunar. I'm a member of a model club that has monthly meetings there on the San Francisco Peninsula, but that's only because Randy lets us gather there once a month. He's a really nice guy, and as best I can tell, very busy and working hard to make the new Lunar a going thing. But no comments of mine pro or con vs. Lunar or anyone else should be considered as anything other than my *personal* opinions.