When setting up the launch configuration for the shuttle, the whole ordeal is actually quite stress-free surprisingly. The nozzles on the engines attached to the back of the shuttle are all affixed to the model with a ball-joint and can be articulated, swivelled around as demonstrated in the pictures below. A small nitpick and really an insignificant one, just like how a collector of military aircraft would occasionally complain about the lack of environmental wear on the fuselage of the jet. The real shuttle has patches of tiles on its exterior that have yellowed over time or greyed or blackened. The only thing I can complain about here is the overly white nature of this model. The molded plastic details with both the black and white re-entry tiles are just an awesome touch that almost no other model can boast about. Extendable and collapsing landing gear is an extra sweet touch. The mold on the shuttle is faithful in every way. Bandai’s rendition of the Endeavour Orbiter truely is a masterpiece to behold. This set would not be complete without it. Of course.the real highlight of this set is the Endeavour Orbiter. The insulation rings near the bottom and even extra nozzles are replicated faithfully. Details abound on the SRBs and for the most part they seem really faithful to their real-life counterparts. Where it is metal is the rocket nozzle near the bottom. The Solid Rocket boosters are fairly light and mostly composed of plastic. I would assume this was done to replicate the texture of the insulation foam found on the real external fuel tank used in shuttle launches. I have noticed that the surface of the tank is very sand paper like. Making the external fuel tank extremely top heavy. The top cone above the tank’s ring seems to contain solid metal inside. The External fuel tank is by far the largest and heaviest component in the set. What follows are the components of the Shuttle set The attention to detail with just packaging alone is just pure awesome! The plastic stands for the whole shuttle and the orbiter even have separate boxes for their respective pieces.
Inside the box everything is packaged very well with both foam covers and casing as well as plastic for the smaller more delicate parts. Encased in a cardboard box with an exterior cardboard sleeve, the whole package is fairly large as seen in the comparison shot with the coke can.
It would probably have been cheaper to get if I had ordered from another seller off Ebay, but i wanted to buy from a reputable seller that could get access to spare parts should any QC issues appear in my set that required an exchange or request for extra parts.Īnywho, I must say the design of the packaging for this set is extremely well thought out. I ordered this from Hobby Link Japan, a model kit and figure distributor located just a few hours outside of Tokyo. With taxes and shipping, this shuttle cost me just about $640 to acquire. It didn’t cost nearly as much to buy this beauty of a set, but as far as aircraft/aerospace models go, this thing cost a bundle. This set was a monster to pay for as it was for the actual Space Shuttle program which cost the U.S government billions upon billions of dollars to develop and run.
Please look forward to reading through all of these parts with plenty of pictures to go around. Part 3 will cover re-entry preparations and landing.
Part 2 will cover the features of the orbiter itself when up in orbit. Part 1 will cover the individual components of the shuttle from orbiter, to external fuel tank to solid rocket boosters. Bandai Space Shuttle Endeavour Review Part 1Īlright, so here I am with the first part of a multiple edition review of the new Otona No Chogokin Bandai Space Shuttle Endeavour.