# Revell Viper and Cylon new kit reviews...



## BrianM (Dec 3, 1998)

Straship Modeler has nice reviews posted about these upcoming kits. Can't wait for them.......


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## CaptFrank (Jan 29, 2005)

*Revell Colonial Viper In-Box Preview*

By *John Lester*

The original Battlestar Galactica came out when I was in my early teens. My brother and I watched it religously (no pun intended!) every Saturday night, and were crushed when it was cancelled. Fortunately, there were models of the main ships from the series, and if we couldn't watch new episodes we could swoop our Vipers and Raiders around the living room and imagine them instead.

It was a pretty good kit for the day. Alas, it disappeared from shelves fairly quickly and it would be 20 years before it was reissued (in 1998).

And now, ten years later, it's back again. This time, however, Revell has made some changes that enhance the kit.

Inside the box are three bags of parts (clear, stand, and Viper) plus a largish decal sheet and instruction booklet. The molds are in good shape; my kit doesn't have any flash and only minimal mold seams - it's actually better than the 1998 reissue I have been plugging away at on the workbench. Detail on the older parts is pretty standard for late-70's Monogram kits: finely raised panel lines, slightly soft detail. The new parts are more crisply rendered. The clear parts are quite clear and distortion-free. 

The new parts and revisions to the old parts include a new stand, new "afterburners" with clear inserts, a cockpit and pilot. The four part stand fits into the kit in the same spot as the old "clawed" one we all hated; the old triangular divot there has been made into a hole instead. The stand has a pear-shaped top that tightly fits into the hole. It enables you to pose the completed model at a variety of angles.

The engine exhausts/afterburner piece has been completely redone. The ribbing around the outer edges is thinner and more closely spaced. Gone are the old "bowls"; now each exhaust is a cylinder open at each end, with a star-pattern of bracing towards the inner edge. Clear inserts fit on top of this. The whole thing is set up to facilitate lighting.

The original kit had a solid cockpit canopy and no cockpit. Now, the original canopy is moded in clear and a newly-tooled cockpit tub and pilot are provided. Detail here is crisply rendered. A clear panel is provided for the front computer screen, again as a lighting aid. The pilot comes in four pieces: helmeted head, arms (one gripping the stick) and body. The head fits on a pear-shaped bulb similar to the stands, which enables you to position it a bit more dynamically.

Otherwise, the kit is the same as the previous issues, right down to the hole in the nose cap for the rubberband-powered missiles that were included in the original kit (but in neither of the following reissues).

Decals are bright, glossy and perfectly registered. They include all the orange and grey striping, three different computer screens, markings for Pegasus' "Silver Spar" squadron, and a variety of non-canon Colonial badges (including pilot arm patches) and pilot names. These decals are better than in other recent Revell/Monogram sci-fi releases, but look closely and you'll still see the small circles/dots that mar all Revell/Monogram's non-aircraft kits.

Instructions are typical Monogram/Revell: clear, well-drawn and comprehensive. Paint guides are provided as necessary in each step; paints are given as generic colors ("semi-gloss black", "light grey", etc.) instead of FS numbers or particular manufacturers' brand names.

So ... is the new issue any more or less accurate than the old ones? Somewhat, is my qualified answer. It depends on what you look at: the hero filming miniature(s), the pyro models, or the 1:1 set piece.

The cockpit was patterened after photos of the 1:1 set piece. Some will say the instruments and sidewall consoles are fantasy, and others will say they're fairly accurate. It depends on which particular pictures you look at. The new engine exhausts/afterburners look closer to one of the hero filmining maquettes. The detailing on the back surface between the exhausts is much sharper than the original kit's, and it is quite a bit closer to the original filming model (but not the set piece). I've not seen any images of the original model's afterburners when they worn't all lit up, so I won't comment on the inserts' accuracy. The cockpit canopy is the same as the original kit's, except for being clear, and retains the slight shape and proportion errors of the original (too tall and too thin). 

The pilot looks OK, but detail on his face and uniform is fairly soft. The helmet is fairly good, though, so you could certainly drill it out and insert a replacement resin or plastic one. His jacket is buttoned/buckled closed - I don't recall if that's the way they flew or if it was open, as it was when the Colonial Wariors were running around the ship.

Decals in general look good ... aside from the printing issue. Included is the weird silver/grey panels that go on the forward fuselage - these are visible on the 1:1 set, but not on any of the smaller models of which I've seen pictures. Badges for Silver Spar squadron and the original series' Colonial symbol are provided, along with the names of most of the pilot characters. These are not strictly canon, but nice if you want to dress the model up more in the syle of the new BSG.

The original kit builds up nicely - I've built several over the years and never really had any problems. It's a good base for superdetailing. The new parts look like great additions for this old warhorse. There are still aftermarket sets available from MMI (cockpit and pilots) and Moonbase Models (cockpit, engines, rear deck) if you would rather use them, and I understand MMI will also reissue their landing gear, Scarlet Viper and launch rail kits in the future, if those things appeal to you - or the kit's "inaccuracies" bug you enough.

If a fumble-fingered 12 year old could build it back in the day, any one who has ever snipped a part from a sprue tree should have no problems. Highly recommended for all skill levels.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Glad to read a good review. Now all we need is for Revell to start shipping the frakkin' things.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

And here I am with three of the '98 issues complete with expensive MMI cockpits and landing gear yet to build!


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## Bradleyfett (Jan 22, 2003)

Wasn't there talk a while back about this Viper having landing gear?

Still, the updated kits look great! I can already hear the fan-boy rants about the viper still not being proportionally as long as it should be, and complaints about raised panel lines, etc. I for one have always loved the original kits just as they were, and the improvements make them that much better. I consider it a minor miracle that these 30-year-old spaceships are being made available once again, so I say enjoy!

Mark


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Bradleyfett said:


> Wasn't there talk a while back about this Viper having landing gear?
> 
> Still, the updated kits look great! I can already hear the fan-boy rants about the viper still not being proportionally as long as it should be, and complaints about raised panel lines, etc. I for one have always loved the original kits just as they were, and the improvements make them that much better. I consider it a minor miracle that these 30-year-old spaceships are being made available once again, so I say enjoy!
> 
> Mark


I think that's all it was--talk, an Internet rumor, wishful thinking from BSG fans and modelers. I don't think Revellogram ever said it would possibly include landing gear, but I could be wrong. There's also "talk" that, based on the success (sales) of these kits, Revell may re-tool the Galactica or produce styrene kits from the new series. Personally, I hope it's more than just talk.

As far as the "complaints and grievances" crowd, ya' can't please everyone. Revell never said they would completely re-tool these kits (which is why the Galactica isn't being re-issued), only that they were re-tooling a few pieces to make them more accurate. They never even bothered to close the holes for the rubber-band-powered projectiles included with the first issue of these kits.

Like you, I like the kits for what they are, and I'm pleased Revell took _any_ steps to improve them.


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## Guy Schlicter (May 3, 2004)

I want the Cylon Raider,I never built one of those.I loath putting those giant hull halves together,I've heard they were a headache and a half to assemble.But the kit is retooled so I guess they addressed that problem,if the hull halves did fit together bad,Guy S.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Guy Schlicter said:


> I want the Cylon Raider,I never built one of those.I loath putting those giant hull halves together,I've heard they were a headache and a half to assemble.But the kit is retooled so I guess they addressed that problem,if the hull halves did fit together bad,Guy S.


It's been a _lot_ of years since I built one, but I don't recall having any assembly issues with either the Raider or the Viper.


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## F91 (Mar 3, 2002)

The Old Raider went together fine.


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## Steve Mavronis (Oct 14, 2001)

I wish they would have redone the engine intakes with the Viper re-issue. I guess I'll will have to file off the heavy rings around the back ends of the intakes just like I did with the original kit. I'll also probably have to mold inner ductwork with putty and thin sheet plastic around the bottom of the center intake fan behind the cockpit.


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

I got both the viper & the cylon raider kits for x-mas around 78 or 79 and even then as a kid i didn't have any problems building and painting them. So they were pretty good quality,as back then i only had marginal hobby skills.To bad they are both long gone,But i'm glad to hear they are coming back out!I would love to have all three of these reissues to add to my sci-fi collection. :thumbsup: I also had the monogram battlestar galactica kit and while it was a little unacurate, i was happy to have a kit of it.To bad monogram has no plans to redo it, since they are doing all the others my collection won't be complete.I could probably get one on e-bay,but they are probably to expensive  Oh well,maby if the other kits get out they will sell good enough to get monograms attention and they will either finnaly repop the gallactica,or do a new more accurate kit.But i ain't holding my breath


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