UFO Interceptor

To begin, I always wanted a UFO Interceptor (didn't have the time to build one) and one of our members on the RPF (steve48442) was selling a garage kit that he had showed us, fully built/painted.

The kit was $180 + $18 shipping. It arrived pretty fast and I confirmed that all the pieces were there for me to complete the kit.
After a closer look, I noticed that all of the resin parts were pitted, full of holes and that most of the details were "washed up" or missing (especially, the 3 landing gears).
The main body was vacu-formed and badly cut from its main plastic sheet.
As for the decal sheet, the lettering was poorly done and was printed on a white background. It didn't even stick to the model afterward, making it inaccurate to say the least (had to use Letraset sheet to do most of the text).

Now, to give this post some kind of constructive criticism for other builders, wanting to buy this kit, I'll give a few solutions/advice to achieve a 70% accurate model.

First the vacu-form. I would've preferred to cut the whole body from its sheet myself. Some webbing is expected (and it was mainly at the rear of the model) but nothing crazy (cut it, fill it, because Bondo will be your best friend with this build)...so next time, let's ship the entire sheets (top & bottom bodies)

The molds need to be replaced (all of them), they are tired...they're the open kind; pour the resin and put a piece of glass with a de-molder (that's what I do) to make the top surface flat. Please, either invest in a pressure tank or use Alumilite (coating your molds with baby powder is a way to avoid bubbles and holes).
I had to redo the entire nose-cone (holding the missile) Bondo/Putty/sand/adjust every single pieces in that kit!

Landing gears are in metal (is it lead, or an amalgam of metal?) Very poorly made as well: details missing (nuts/bolts, spring, shocks)...other molds need to be made for sure; I kept the main bodies and transformed/added the missing pieces.

Finally the decals...should be on a transparent background, since a few are on a grey colour (label: DANGER EXHAUST) and of better quality: sharper lettering/colour.

I hope that this is not sounding too negative; I knew it was a garage kit from the get go, but, for that price, I feel it could've been better.

Now the pics:

Very nice work. I love that design.

Thanks

Nice recovery! "UFO" was so chock full of cool vehicle designs, it's somewhat surprising there aren't more great builds like this on the boards.

Thanks! Yes, it's a shame that there's not more of those, especially in SS, to build.

You did a great job turning that kit into a nice replica.
I do find it astounding that after paying just shy of two hundred dollars a kit arrived in such a poor condition. Just two issues would be bad enough, but having just about everything needing major work should not have happened. Maybe in the eighties, but this is the twentyf-irst century now and Garage Kits have evolved considerably in materials and quality.
You really made a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
What is the size/scale of this build?

It's 19'' long. Not as big as the Studio Model but a good size.

Great job! I have always loved the show, but never got around to building anything from it. It's good to see so many people still interested in it and making such great models. I think I may just be getting motivated enough to make something after all.

Thanks, I always thought that there would be more to build out there, but it's still a small niche I'm afraid.

You've made a superb job of a 'kit' that should never have left the workshop of it's maker. Good on you for sticking at it.

This has been on my scratch build to do list for forever. Someday, someday...

Nice work on this one.

Shiny!


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Thanks for the positive feedback guys...