# Mobius 1/350 Discovery XD-1



## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I am very surprised that no one has posted about this neat little kit yet! I got mine from Cult a couple of days ago and it's got over 200 pieces for a model that is only about 17-inches long! I have the larger Discovery as well, but haven't had time to build it yet. It would be very interesting (to me, a least!) to see a comparison of this new kit with the Round 2 1/350 Original Series Enterprise. A storyline where the two ships coul dmeet is a fun notion.

So, how about it? Anyone building this currently?

Larry

Larry


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

So far have resisted this one. The bigger one is just too big but this one looks to be just right. 

If you don't mind my asking:

What is your impression of the kit particulars? 

How big is the command module?

Does it seem amenable to lighting?


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I haven't picked this up yet either.

I have the big one that I haven't started yet.

Like the good PerfesserCoffee asked, how is the kit? Will you be doing a build thread?


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Picked this one up at a hobby shop this past weekend and the very same shop had the larger one last time I was there but it wasn't there this time around. Already lost a couple of cargo module pieces, just need to find them.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

irishtrek said:


> Picked this one up at a hobby shop this past weekend and the very same shop had the larger one last time I was there but it wasn't there this time around. Already lost a couple of cargo module pieces, just need to find them.


But would they really be missed?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I think I'm gonna start this little sucker next. trying to see if it can be spray painted after complete assembly, or if I'm going to have to paint all those damn little modules separately and scrape a lot of glue points bare.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

The Command Module looks to be pretty small. (I'm guessing about 2 inches across.) I haven't taken any parts out of the bags yet, becasue I'm trying to finish all of the projects in my craft room before starting a new kit. I took it and the larger kit back downstairs to my stash in the basement until I can get to it. I'm going to assemble it first, then spray it one general color. I can then go back and pick out any details with bush-on paints as needed. As far as lights go, I'd recommend there be two separate sets - one set in the Command Module and the other in the Propulsion Module. It will be VERY difficult to run wires thru the spine, especially with the wire reinforcer installed.

I was just blown away that Mobius came out with a new kit and there was absolutely no mention of it on HobbyTalk! I've been here a long time, and it used to be that if Mobius sneezed there'd be a weeks-long discussion about it.

Larry


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Good lighting ideas LGFugate.

It was mentioned here, but I think got lost in the chatter about the aries1b and astronaut kits.

I've only seen, I think 2 builds here of the big XD-1. I might have to start the big one soon.


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Paint it with a under coat of flat black then a top coat of flat white to bring out the details better. I too am going to wait until it all get glued together with 1 exception, the 350 does have a clear piece for the windshield.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I am curious about the Aries 1b and the Astronaut kits... Wasn't the Astronaut supposed to out by now? I know Aries 1b is next year, but I thought for sure the Astronaut was due by now. I want two - one to put in the Pod, and one to put in the arms of the pod as it was when Poole tried to bring the dead Bowman back to the discovery afer HAL killed him.

Larry


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

Isn't the Aries 1B the sphere type small craft that is kept behind those 3 hatches on the bow of the discovery?? If so it's already out, saw one at the past weekend at the local Hobbytown for about 185.00.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

irishtrek said:


> Isn't the Aries 1B the sphere type small craft that is kept behind those 3 hatches on the bow of the discovery?? If so it's already out, saw one at the past weekend at the local Hobbytown for about 185.00.


No, the Aries 1B is the spherical transport "liner" that brought Floyd from the space station to the moon. The spherical space pods in the Discovery space pod bay are just called space pods. What you saw is the large space pod kit that came out recently. Did I mention space pods?


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

This is the Aries1b:


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## irishtrek (Sep 17, 2005)

John P said:


> No, the Aries 1B is the spherical transport "liner" that brought Floyd from the space station to the moon. The spherical space pods in the Discovery space pod bay are just called space pods. What you saw is the large space pod kit that came out recently. Did I mention space pods?


 forgot about that.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I checked Cybermodeler Online (https://www.cybermodeler.com/special/kits/kit_space_manuf.shtml) and they say the Astronaut is coming 1st quarter 2021 and so is the Aries 1b. On the same note, they show the Moebius Batgirl kit is due 2nd quarter 2021 and the TV Wonder Woman kit is 1st quarter 2021. It was last updated on 11/2/2020, so I guess that is the latest word on the subject(s).

Larry


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## ExLunaScientia (Mar 25, 2020)

irishtrek said:


> Paint it with a under coat of flat black then a top coat of flat white to bring out the details better. I too am going to wait until it all get glued together with 1 exception, the 350 does have a clear piece for the windshield.


'Cause there's all kinds of wind in space.


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## Ross Bailey (Sep 24, 2019)

ExLunaScientia said:


> 'Cause there's all kinds of wind in space.


Hey, solar winds...that's how the Body Snatchers got here...


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Ross Bailey said:


> Hey, solar winds...that's how the Body Snatchers got here...


Ha! I'd forgotten about that. It works for the 1978 movie, for sure.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

I guess in this case, the windshield keeps the wind (air) in instead of keeping the wind(air) out...

Larry


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

LGFugate said:


> I guess in this case, the windshield keeps the wind (air) in instead of keeping the wind(air) out...
> 
> Larry


 Yeah, the emphasis would be more on the shield than the wind!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

"Viewport" is probably right, but we're used to our conventional terminology.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

John P said:


> "Viewport" is probably right, but we're used to our conventional terminology.


I've never been able to figure out how there can be portholes on the starboard side of a ship.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> I've never been able to figure out how there can be portholes on the starboard side of a ship.


Well, now that's gonna keep me up all night! 😁


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Yeah I guess they'd be "Starholes"..........


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)




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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

I too would like to see builders of the small Discovery post a few images.
Moebius models are reasonably rare down-under here in New Zealand. I am not sure why the importer doesn't import more of them and with COVID that will certainly not change anytime soon.
So, I would have to ship one in from the US so I want to know it it is worth it for me. International postage is a right pain.(In the wallet, that is.)


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## electric indigo (Dec 21, 2011)

Hobbysearch has lots of pictures of the kit:

2001: A Space Odyssey Discovery XD-1 (Plastic model) Images List


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

Looking at those pictures on Hobbysearch I was amazed how much detail they retained on the small model, only the antenna dishes and pod bay doors stood out as being different from the 1:144 model.


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

Thanks for the links to the images. Much appreciated.
I think that I will take the plunge and order one. I was given an Amazon voucher for christmas so I don't want that burning a hole in my wallet.


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

I tried to get hold of this before Xmas but got outbid and couldn't find another one so I ended up buying the 1/144 kit instead. I think I'm glad I did go for the larger kit now though. The detail on the smaller kit looks nice but it just doesn't have the presence of the larger kit.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Outbid?? You can buy it at online hobby shops.





1/350 2001 Space Odyssey: Discovery Spacecraft


1/350 2001 Space Odyssey: Discovery Spacecraft plastic model kit from Moebius Models.




starshipmodeler.biz












2001 Discovery - 1:350 scale from Moebius Models-Moeb-2001-






www.culttvmanshop.com












2001 Space Odyssey: Discovery Spacecraft 1/350 Moebius Models


2001 Space Odyssey: Discovery Spacecraft 1/350 Moebius Models




www.megahobby.com


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## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> Outbid?? You can buy it at online hobby shops.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I could but those are in the US and I'd probably have to pay a nice big import tax of about £50. There's probably online shops in the UK where I could get it but I had the larger kit quite a bit cheaper because I put a bid in on Ebay. The cheapest buyitnow I could see was around £190 but because I outbid 2 others I had it for £152.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Okay, I see. Never mind.


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## modelmaker 2001 (Sep 6, 2007)

Is there a detail kit or set of decals for the pod bay and the flight deck (bridge?) I've seen some gorgeous detail sets and decals for the big 1/144 scale model, but not any for the small 1/350 scale model.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Yes, Steve at CultTVMan has a resin spacepod bay for the smaller Discovery for sale. Discovery Pod Bay detail parts 1:350 from Paragrafix -Para-2

Not bad at $45.99. It even includes three Pods!



















Larry


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## modelmaker 2001 (Sep 6, 2007)

LGFugate said:


> Yes, Steve at CultTVMan has a resin spacepod bay for the smaller Discovery for sale. Discovery Pod Bay detail parts 1:350 from Paragrafix -Para-2
> 
> Not bad at $45.99. It even includes three Pods!
> 
> ...


Excellent! Now, if I can find a bridge/cockpit kit or a decal for the front viewport.


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

My Discovery arrived on my doorstep yesterday. Yippee!
A great use of my Christmas Amazon voucher! (Even though Amazon now charges local New Zealand Tax on purchases. 15% GST - Goods and Services Tax, better known as Grab, Snatch and Take. Low cost items used to come ito the country tax free as it cost too much for Customs to recover the tax money. I am sure that you all wanted to know this!)
But, it looks great and I will try not to go mad building up all the little cargo modules. (At least no more madder than I am already. )

I am glad I opted for this small model as I am almost finished my large Moebius Seaview sub and I still don't know where I am going to put it as its soooo big.

I think that I will need to build some sort of space diorama for the Discovery as I don't particularly like those three display stands.
Maybe a field of fibre optic stars, and an image of Jupiter, with a monolith in the foreground. Hmmm!!

So come on folks and post some build stories. Especially all the hints and tips and any traps that you find.
*I always want to learn from other peoples mistakes. After all, it is all about me.*


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

I wouldnt dream of it, you go ahead and go first! 🙃

Can you still get a Noble for finding the Center of the Universe?


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Great to hear!  That's one neat little kit. If I get a Discovery kit (still unsure as of now) that will be the one for me.


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

Guys,

I have a plan so cunning that you can put a tail on it and call it a ferret.
I want to make a background for the Discovery. Full of stars and an image of Jupiter, of course . In the past I have used a product called Duratrans. This is a photographic material that has a white translucent coating and is designed for backlighting. (Like what McDonalds used before they went hi-tech with LCD screens to display their food and pricng.)
This stuff is extremely high resolution and makes inkjet prints look rubbish. And the 'blacks' are totally opaque.
Here is something that I made, staying on the 2001 theme. 











So, I am thinking of getting an image of Jupiter on a star field printed. It would be around 400mm wide, to be slightly longer than the model, and maybe about 200mm high. It could be lit by a couple of lengths of LED strips placed in a box behind the transparency.

I would also make a monolith (That will test my modelling skills.) and have it suspended on a thin rod.

Anyway, is there anyone out there interested in a transparency like this. If I am going to get one made for me, I can get some made for others. I am not wanting to make a profit on this but I am happy to get some extras made (The more, the cheaper.) and as they are paper flat the postage will not be outrageous to ship from New Zealand to the COVID affected rest of the world. I don't have price yet as my local large photolab burnt down and didn't rebuild, so I am talking to another company. 
Once I have made the image then any one will be able to download it, and maybe get a local company to print a Duratrans or just get a large photo print done.(Maybe thread fibre optics for the stars through the photo.)

The possibilities are endless.


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## Alien (Sep 5, 2001)

I have been plodding along with my Discovery build and I have built up about a third of the containers and I thought that I would have a go at the antenna module, Moebius includes nice laser cut or etched metal cross braces for the antenna dishes. This is great but the cross beams seem a bit wide to my eye. (See image.)
I decided not to use the metal part and to use some Plastruct 0.3mm (.010" in the old money.) styrene rod. It was really fiddly to do but the image shows the result being lots thinner than the metal parts.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Great work!

The Aries 1b and the Astronaut are now scheduled for 4th Quarter 2021...(Batgirl, too). I think it was a mistake for Pegasus to buy Moebius from Frank. There have been no "new" (planned before the perchase) kits since Frank sold Moebius. I do not blame Frank for selling, as his health was being affected by the business, but I think Pegasus was probably not the best buyer for it.

Looks like Wonder Woman is no longer on this list - anybody have any news on her?


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