[Zombie_61]

I stopped by Pegasus Hobbies today and picked up one of each of their NSEA Protector and VOX/Nebulizer kits, so I thought I'd share.

Both kits are injection molded in grey and transparent blue ABS. Detail is clean and as detailed as can be expected with an injection molded kit. If you'll excuse my pathetic photographic skills...

NSEA Protector:

NSEA Protector sprues

More NSEA Protector sprues

NSEA Protector decals

Four sprues of grey parts, one sprue of transparent blue parts (bagged separately); the two fuselage halves and base are separate. Decals are also bagged separately, as are four small magnets (used to hold the "Command ship" to the main fuselage for modelers who want to be able to separate the two). Decal details are sharp, though I noticed after taking the photos that the "E" on one of my "NSEA Protector" decals has something stuck to it; it does not appear to be a defect on the decal itself.

From what I've read, the kit's dimensions were taken from the smaller "television series" filming miniature, so technically it's studio scale. Surface details were taken from the large "Thermian" filming miniature however, so it's actually more detailed than the small filming miniature.

VOX & Nebulizer:

VOX & Nebulizer sprues

VOX decal

One sprue of grey parts for the VOX, one sprue of grey parts and one sprue of transparent blue parts for the Nebulizer; the two halves of the main body of the Nebulizer are separate (the other two loose pieces in the photo were off of the sprue when I got the kit). One decal for the VOX is bagged separately (and, as you can see, isn't particularly impressive). Also bagged separately are two small screws (for assembling the Nebulizer's grip section) and a three-piece spring assembly for the VOX.

As for accuracy, I'll leave that to the experts.

 

[jbond]

I will happily take the build-ups of these. I don't love the designs enough to lavish time building them but I will happily have the completed sets in my garage.

 

[Magesblood]

just a thought but I'm betting someone will be able to take one of these and put it into the center of the Vox with minimal modification to the kit.

 

[robiwon]

just a thought but I'm betting someone will be able to take one of these and put it into the center of the Vox with minimal modification to the kit.

It's been attempted several times on the RPF. The main two problems is that the disk is too thick to fit inside the Vox and the glass disk is also to large. It has to be ground down and usualy shatters. If it was just a bit smaller or the Vox just a bit bigger.......

 

[ClubTepes]

Not really sure why they did the Vox and Pistol.

Probably to emulate the Phaser/Tricorder/Communicatior set AMT did years ago.

But I do like the pistol body for scratch building.

 

[Edge]

Thanks for the pics, my copy of the Protector is on order.

It looks to me like the detail is fairly lacking. What say you?

 

[Magesblood]

why are they sticking with ABS? IMO, it's not as good as styrene.

 

[modelsj]

What's good for glueing abs?

 

[robiwon]

What's good for glueing abs?

Any of the popular liquid glues in a bottle. Although it appears that Tenax has been recently discontinued.

 

[Zombie_61]

Not really sure why they did the Vox and Pistol.

Probably to emulate the Phaser/Tricorder/Communicatior set AMT did years ago.

Could be. The VOX and Nebulizer are very popular props among Galaxy Quest fans and costumers, so I'm sure that was a consideration.

It looks to me like the detail is fairly lacking. What say you?

That's probably due to my poor photography skills and low-end camera. The kit itself is fairly detailed for an injection molded kit--scribed panel lines, windows, even the "honeycomb" pattern on the transparent blue engine parts; the Protector didn't have a lot of detail to begin with IMO. As I stated in my first post, I'll leave the issue of accuracy to the experts, but IMO it looks enough like the ship in the film that the "rivet counters" shouldn't have much to do.

Two things I forgot to mention in my first post. First, part fit on these kits is excellent. They're one step shy of being "snap together" kits, and mating surfaces matched up almost perfectly during test fitting.

Second, on the VOX/Nebulizer kits the licensing information is present on exterior surfaces and will be visible when the kits are built. On the VOX, it's on the back adjacent to the belt clip, and on the Nebulizer it's on a piece that (in a real-world sense) would be an access panel or battery cover on the underside of the main body. Fortunately, these are locations that are not "obvious" and likely won't be seen unless you're really looking for them. For the "purists" (like me) this raised lettering should be easy to remove; it does not include the Paramount logo, the lettering is small, and it's on flat surfaces, so a little sanding with a flat block should do the trick. On the Protector kit, this info is on the underside of the base where it won't be seen.

why are they sticking with ABS? IMO, it's not as good as styrene.

I'm a styrene guy from way back and these will be the first ABS kits I've built, so I'll have to reserve my opinion until after I've worked with it. Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) is a specific type of styrene (used for piping systems, automotive parts, protective gear, and Legos, among other things), and is actually stronger than the "traditional" polystyrene used for most model kits. The owner at Pegasus prefers ABS because of it's strength and even coloring (i.e., none of the "swirling" that can occur with polystyrene), and I think the added strength and durability ABS offers will be appreciated by costumers looking to use the VOX and Nebulizer as props.

 

[Zombie_61]

What's good for glueing abs?

Any of the popular liquid glues in a bottle. Although it appears that Tenax has been recently discontinued.

A member on another forum recommended Plastruct's Bondene since it's designed specifically for ABS and, since Pegasus carries this product, I picked up a bottle when I bought the kits.

I have a question for those of you who have worked with ABS: While I was there I wanted to verify the kits were made from ABS, and while I was waiting for the "official" answer one of the employees told me he had built most of Pegasus' ABS kits using good old Testors styrene cement and didn't have any problems. But I've heard from several modelers that their kits fell apart when they tried to use regular styrene cement on ABS. Can anyone familiar with ABS share their opinions and/or experiences?

 

[Edge]

Thanks Zombie. Didn't mean to pick nits, looking forward to receiving mine.

Do you live in the Upland area? I grew up in North West Ontario.

 

[Zombie_61]

Thanks Zombie. Didn't mean to pick nits, looking forward to receiving mine.

My pleasure. If I had only my photos to go on, I'd probably have asked the same question.

Do you live in the Upland area? I grew up in North West Ontario.

No, I live in Whittier, about 25 miles west of Pegasus' store; lived here all my life (so far, anyway).

 

[Marco Scheloske]

But I've heard from several modelers that their kits fell apart when they tried to use regular styrene cement on ABS. Can anyone familiar with ABS share their opinions and/or experiences?

Well, I can only say: It depends.

It depends on the amount of Styrene (the "S" from ABS) in the used ABS formula. The more styrene was used the better is the glueing result with regular styrene glues.

There are special ABS glues available, at least here in Germany, from the Company "Ruderer":

BUT this stuff is really, really nasty - if you want to buy some you have to give a copy of your personal ID card for record, and you have to be 18 years old.

 

[robiwon]

I don't think I have built a model just using regular Testors tube glue in ten years or so. I may use it in spots where I need extra setting time to position parts. I find "liquid" glues much easier, cleaner, and faster to use. Really I don't know why people are concerned about a model made of ABS. In some cases, yes, it may need a different type of glue, but it paints, sands, accepts putty, looks and builds just like any other "plastic" model.

 

[Marco Scheloske]

I find "liquid" glues much easier, cleaner, and faster to use. Really I don't know why people are concerned about a model made of ABS. In some cases, yes, it may need a different type of glue,

There is no such thing like liquid glue for ABS. I use liquid glue since ages, too... but as mentioned before: If to less Styrene is in the ABS of the model it may hold for a while, but over the time the parts will simply pop away from eachother.

 

[PerfesserCoffee]

Thanks for the pics and info, Zombie!

I've ordered the pistol and vox kit and hope I get it today or tomorrow.

 

[Trek Ace]

I can't understand this aversion toward ABS. ABS is so much better than styrene in so many ways.

If you use one of the professional-type liquid cements for all of your plastic kits (Ambroid Pro Weld, Plastruct Plastic Weld, Tenax, or just plain MEK), you never have to worry about whether a joint will keep or not, because the plastic will be fused, or welded together, not just "stuck" together like you get with most tube glues.

 

[Marco Scheloske]

If you use one of the professional-type liquid cements for all of your plastic kits (Ambroid Pro Weld, Plastruct Plastic Weld, Tenax, or just plain MEK), you never have to worry about whether a joint will keep or not,

But with ABS you HAVE to worry about... that`s what I`m talking about the whole time.

The mentioned glues will ONLY glue the Styrene of ABS together. It seems a strong joint at first, but over time (some times months, some times years) those joint will simply pop up.

 

[robiwon]

I understand what your'e saying. When gluing ABS it is only the Styrene in the ABS that is being bonded together. The higher the styrene content the better the bond.