# Anyone else worried about the large Orion?



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

It's been a while since it was announced but there hasn't been any news on it for a while too. I also notice that on Cybermodeler it's disappeared from their future sci fi releases.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I've always worried that relations with China may go south at any time, and among the more dire (or downright apocalyptic) things that could result from that is a severing of the model kit pipeline.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> I've always worried that relations with China may go south at any time, and among the more dire (or downright apocalyptic) things that could result from that is a severing of the model kit pipeline.




Yes and have to be honest that's certainly something that's crossed my mind. The whole way thing's are going now is very worrying and well......model kits might be the least of our problems. Let's hope things cool down.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

.....got the moving van warmed up.....


2017 Matchbox #33 MBX Adventure City Moving Van by Milton Fox, on Flickr


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## TomicaFan!! (8 mo ago)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> .....got the moving van warmed up.....
> 
> 
> 2017 Matchbox #33 MBX Adventure City Moving Van by Milton Fox, on Flickr


That's cool and interesting that it's in Japanese. Is it right hand drive or something 🤔

Maybe added for deatail....looks generic


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

John P said:


> I've always worried that relations with China may go south at any time, and among the more dire (or downright apocalyptic) things that could result from that is a severing of the model kit pipeline.


At Wonderfest, Jamie Hood mentioned that Round 2 was looking into bringing all of their production back into the US, hopefully they'll do it. Atlantis makes all their kits here including instructions, decals, boxes, etc. If they can do it, every company should be able to.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Salvino's JR models does NASCAR kits and every kit is molded here in the US, down in California in fact and they are priced reasonably too.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

spock62 said:


> At Wonderfest, Jamie Hood mentioned that Round 2 was looking into bringing all of their production back into the US, hopefully they'll do it. Atlantis makes all their kits here including instructions, decals, boxes, etc. If they can do it, every company should be able to.


That would be awesome.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

spock62 said:


> At Wonderfest, Jamie Hood mentioned that Round 2 was looking into bringing all of their production back into the US, hopefully they'll do it. Atlantis makes all their kits here including instructions, decals, boxes, etc. If they can do it, every company should be able to.



They should do. Might be cheaper in China in the short term but in the long term maybe not and of course things can turn sour pretty quickly.


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

SUNGOD said:


> They should do. Might be cheaper in China in the short term but in the long term maybe not and of course things can turn sour pretty quickly.


If I remember correctly, he said that shipping time and cost were the two factors that were making them consider bringing manufacturing back to US. But, if they did, the kits would cost the same, as the savings in shipping cost would be cancelled out due to higher cost to manufacture in US. Still, for me, it's not about cost (though lower cost would be nice), but about making stuff in the USA, like it used to be.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

spock62 said:


> If I remember correctly, he said that shipping time and cost were the two factors that were making them consider bringing manufacturing back to US. But, if they did, the kits would cost the same, as the savings in shipping cost would be cancelled out due to higher cost to manufacture in US. Still, for me, it's not about cost (though lower cost would be nice), but about making stuff in the USA, like it used to be.



Lower costs obviously are always nice but as everyone knows these kits cost a lot to manufacture and of course there's always the danger that things can happen in other countries that will affect production and shipping so even though these kits can be pretty expensive (I paid £180 for the large Discovery over here) but at least it got made.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

There are a LOT of model kit makers in Ukraine. AModel, AMP, Clear Prop, Condor, Dora, ICM, Master Box, MiniArt, Micro-Mir, ModelsVit, Roden, UniModel... It's been interesting. Some have moved their facilities, some have had to pause production, some have cosolidated with other facilities. At least one company president is on the front lines while the company keeps working. They all seem to be determined to not let the war stop them.


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

In their latest YouTube video, R2 announced that their upcoming MPC repop of the 80's Toyota Supra will be produced in Chicago.


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## f1steph (Jan 9, 2003)

spock62 said:


> In their latest YouTube video, R2 announced that their upcoming MPC repop of the 80's Toyota Supra will be produced in Chicago.


Nice....... I used to like that car when it was on the road in the '80's........

And I think that it's time that all North American companies should bring back everything that's produced in China back on this side of the pond.......


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Just saw on Facebook that the Orion is due mid-November, so it seems to be still on track.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> Just saw on Facebook that the Orion is due mid-November, so it seems to be still on track.



Have you got a link?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

SUNGOD said:


> Have you got a link?


Oh heck, I couldn't even say which of a dozen modeling groups I saw that in.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Monsters In Motion say they have it in stock now...









Although, I don't know why a young Gallagher would be holding it...

Larry


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

LGFugate said:


> Monsters In Motion say they have it in stock now...
> View attachment 340381
> 
> 
> ...



I see they're advertising it on Ebay though it's obviously not out yet. I hope it's out in time for Xmas especially as it will arrive over here in the UK later. I want it as an Xmas pressie.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

It's starting to show up at online stores. Starship Modeler, Cult, etc. I just ordered mine from Megahobby.
Anybody making scale crew figures?


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## Warspite (Aug 3, 2013)

John P said:


> It's starting to show up at online stores. Starship Modeler, Cult, etc. I just ordered mine from Megahobby.
> Anybody making scale crew figures?


John,

There are a number of 3D files for 2001 figures as well as some printed figures on Shapeways including two sets of crew and passengers for the 48th scale Aries Moon Shuttle. Being as they are 3D generated you should be able to get them resized in 72nd fairly easily.
1/48 Aries 1B Crew Passenger Set by MaxGrueter on Shapeways
2001 ARIES MOEBIUS 1/48 CREW KUBRIK CLARKE by TonyRR on Shapeways


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Warspite said:


> John,
> 
> There are a number of 3D files for 2001 figures as well as some printed figures on Shapeways including two sets of crew and passengers for the 48th scale Aries Moon Shuttle. Being as they are 3D generated you should be able to get them resized in 72nd fairly easily.
> 1/48 Aries 1B Crew Passenger Set by MaxGrueter on Shapeways
> 2001 ARIES MOEBIUS 1/48 CREW KUBRIK CLARKE by TonyRR on Shapeways


I should have gotten them for my Aries!
I'm sure somebody will do a crew for the Orion, I'll wait.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

I will pick up my large Orion at the local hobby shop on Saturday. I plan on reprinting the 1/48 Aries figures scaled down for the 1/72nd Orion and see how they work out.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Trek Ace said:


> I will pick up my large Orion at the local hobby shop on Saturday. I plan on reprinting the 1/48 Aries figures scaled down for the 1/72nd Orion and see how they work out.



Great news. Didn't expect when I first posted this thread that it would be out so quickly (over your side of the pond anyway). Give us a run down on it when you get it.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Got it. It's HUUUUUUUUGE!


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> Got it. It's HUUUUUUUUGE!


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Youtube review ........


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

46 minutes? Yikes, never mind. 

My quick observations - 
The 1/350: The windshield requires a degree in physics and genius level spatial orientation abilities to insert. I can think of a few better ways to design the part. The various raised panels could be less raised, they're probably a foot thick in scale. The door rivets must be the size of human heads. Personally, my fumbly fingers had trouble with the kit's tiny size. And one single dog hair in the paint job caused me to have to strip the whole thing. The mini Aurora stand is neat.

The 1/72: Again the surface paneling is WAY too thick. They didn't recreate the ribs inside the exhaust channels. There are intakes on the sides that they're using decals to represent - at this size?? The wing paneling is very nicely inscribed.The interior is very well done, but there are NO PAINTING INSTRUCTIONS for the interior!! I love the classic Aurora stand super-sized.

On both, there's the eternal question of whether those things at the wing roots are landing lights or reverse thrusters. Ian at Stargazer Models believes they're thrusters, Moebius went with lights.


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

Here's my take based on what's shown in the video:

1/350 Clipper:
The raised panel, that wraps around the fuselage, just before the passenger windows, is too pronounced (as is every other raised detail), it should be reduced in height.
The ribbed area (where the circular Pan Am logo goes) is flat at the top, instead of curved as it should be.
Just as on the 1/160 kit, the included panel decals are incomplete, and some of the fuselage decals seem to be inaccurate.

1/72 Clipper:
Every raised detail is too pronounced. Some look like they're not even on the original filming model.
The two raised panels, that wrap around the fuselage, just before the leading wing edge, don't exist on the original filming model as far as I can tell from the photos.
Missing panel lines in engine exhaust area.
Panel lines that just dead end without connecting to any other panel line.
Raised panels on top of wings that don't exist on the original filming model (looks like they got the panels on the lower wing surfaces right, if a bit too pronounced).
No clear panels for lights in passenger compartment.
No instrument/video panel decals for either flight deck or passenger compartment.
Bare bones painting instructions, just white (probably more of an off white) with black exhaust area, nothing for exterior panels. Nothing for the interior.

Add to the above list: soft detailing, certain raised panels that inaccurately have angles at their edges in order to facilitate part removal from molds, and uneven panel line width/depth.

In other words, a typical Moebius kit, generally accurate, but only about 80% of the way. At the price this kit costs, these issues shouldn't exist. It's bad enough to have these issues on a $30 kit, but it's unacceptable on a $150+ kit. 

Also, I can't figure out why every Moebius Space Clipper is different, like they keep trying to get it right with each release, but can't quite make it. I thought I read that the guy they consulted with is some sort of expert on 2001? In fact, I believe he wrote the book that shown in the video. If this is the case, why all the errors? When the original molds where damaged for the 1/160 kit, you would think Moebius would have taken the opportunity to get the new tooling right. While they did correct a few errors, the kit is still off in a lot of ways. Here, they have a chance to do a definitive kit in 1/72, and while it's the best one they have produced, it's still got a lot of errors. While it's great that they make kits like this, they really need to dial the quality control up a few notches.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Also, as Paul at Paragrafix noted on facebook, the interiors are more like 1/100 than 1/72. You're not going to get a 1/72 figure to look right in there.


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

John P said:


> Also, as Paul at Paragrafix noted on facebook, the interiors are more like 1/100 than 1/72. You're not going to get a 1/72 figure to look right in there.


So a 1/72 kit has a 1/100 interior? 

I found this 1/72 Clipper resin kit by Larson on Modeler's Miniatures & Magic, it looks like some of the details are almost exact match to the Moebius kit (particularly the raised bands the go around the fuselage just in front of the wing): KIT ALERT! NEW from Larson Designs/Lunar Models! 2001: A Space Odyssey – 1/72 (24″/60.96cm) ORION Space Plane Kit!

Reason I bring this up is that Moebius has used other companies resin kits as the basis for their own, the original series Battlestar Galactica being a good example. Unfortunately, they just copy the original, mistakes and all, and don't bother to correct mistakes. Not saying this is what happened with the Clipper, but it is odd that both companies kits have many of the same errors (based on original film miniature photos).


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I didn't use the clear windows on the 1/350th Clipper. Instead, I used cockpit glue to make the windows. Worked great!

Larry


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> 46 minutes? Yikes, never mind.
> 
> My quick observations -
> The 1/350: The windshield requires a degree in physics and genius level spatial orientation abilities to insert. I can think of a few better ways to design the part. The various raised panels could be less raised, they're probably a foot thick in scale. The door rivets must be the size of human heads. Personally, my fumbly fingers had trouble with the kit's tiny size. And one single dog hair in the paint job caused me to have to strip the whole thing. The mini Aurora stand is neat.
> ...


Strange how they didn't do the ribs as they're quite prominent.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

spock62 said:


> Here's my take based on what's shown in the video:
> 
> 1/350 Clipper:
> The raised panel, that wraps around the fuselage, just before the passenger windows, is too pronounced (as is every other raised detail), it should be reduced in height.
> ...



Interesting (but a bit depressing) reading that. As for the dead end panel lines. Is there many of them? I noticed there's some on the topmiddle forward of the fuselage


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## spock62 (Aug 13, 2003)

SUNGOD said:


> Interesting (but a bit depressing) reading that. As for the dead end panel lines. Is there many of them? I noticed there's some on the topmiddle forward of the fuselage


The top-middle is what I was referring to. There also seems to be a few by the main engines, but it might be that my screen-grap is a bit distorted.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

spock62 said:


> The top-middle is what I was referring to. There also seems to be a few by the main engines, but it might be that my screen-grap is a bit distorted.



I haven't noticed the ones by the engines but it's puzzling about the ones on the top and why it was tooled like that. Not so bad if that section's mainly white and I know it's fairly easy to paint them a light grey if they're supposed to be but part of the appeal of engraved panel lines is having them engraved all the way and not partially engraved so the light falls on them differently part of the way along.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Wash your parts, kids. Looks like Moebius failed to, and my paint job is blotching.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Welp, the heck with the passenger cabin interior on this thing. The windows are practically bottle glass - impossible to see in through. And it's nearly impossible to get the interior aligned with the windows on both sides at the same time. They shouldn't have made the fuselage bottom solid where it mounts to the wing, so you could get in there to manipulate it. I built it, but I'm going to leave it out.

How about that huge seam down the middle of the top? I may just leave it, rather than try to fill 2 feet of seam evenly.
I was hoping this was gonna be a fast, easy end-of-year build, but it has a few... annoying problems.


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