The Aries 1B arrived a couple days ago now. And, as per hinted 'request' (
), I took some photos for an 'official' "unboxing". I've never done an unboxing before, so you'll have to forgive my amateurism.
First off, the package itself is pretty hefty. According to the shipping information, it weighs in at about 7lbs. And Monsters in Motion (MiM) did a decent job of protecting the kit and its box:
You'll note that they added an interior insert (from the original Moebius shipping boxes) around the interior frame to secure the kit box from rattling around inside MiM's shipping box:
The dimensions of the kit box itself are 18"x11"x7"
(The kit did come plastic wrapped - I just removed it and checked the contents before doing this 'unboxing'):
When you first open the kit box, you'll immediately notice the unsealed and unattached "Upper Dome":
Here are some details of the dome's exterior and interior:
Beneath the Upper Dome, also unsealed and unattached, are the four "Engine Bases":
It would seem they were originally molded with the other engine parts etc, then removed so the packaging would be much more compact (this is a very snugly packed kit - when I went to put all the pieces back in the box, I had to recall exactly how they were originally all stacked so everything would fit back together again. There is hardly any wasted space inside the kit box):
The third things beneath the Upper Dome are the packaged "Body Sides":
There are four in all, each with differing details (ie they are not merely duplicated shapes):
It would seem they were moulded in pairs, then one side roughly clipped off. The clipped pieces are all pretty thick so it appears one will need to really do some work to remove them without causing damage to the model pieces themselves:
(I would note that the dual indentations that ran around near the top of this part of the assembled prototype are nowhere to be found on this model.)
Next we get into the larger packed pieces.
First in is the package of the "Engine Plate Assembly", the "Floor Assembly" and the "Interior Ceiling Assembly":
Nestled below them is a package of some of the interior fiddly bits:
Thirdly, there is a package containing all the clear pieces (note: one of the "Nozzle Clusters" came loose in the package):
Finally, there is the package of engine and landing gear parts:
At the bottom of the box is a small sheet of decals:
Held up to a light, these are some of the details one can make out (don't want to open the packaging just yet, sorry):
Also at the bottom is a nice, magazine-style booklet of directions:
And that is the entire content of the Moebius Aries 1B kit box.
You'll note that the kit contains no figures or lights. However, as I previously noted, MiM indicated there will be a "light kit, photoetch detail kit and accessory kit". So I am interested in seeing what those will add to this model overall.
Also, I will be interested in discovering an easy way of displaying this in 'flight' mode rather than on its landing gear. Hopefully someone will come up with one.
