Kit: No. 30117
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: AMT/Ertl, Highways 136 & 20, Dyersville, IA 52040-0500, 800-553-4886
Price: $12.25
Comments: Injection molded, 20 parts, decals
Pros: Easy assembly, same scale as Droid Fighter kit
Cons: No landing gear
One of the stars of "Star Wars: Episode I," the sleek, brightly-colored Naboo Starfighter is quite a departure from the drab, "guts on the outside" spacecraft of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
One of the first three "Episode I" kits released by AMT/Ertl, the 1/48 scale Naboo Fighter kit features snap-together construction. So I was surprised to find a large chrome-plated sprue with the ship's forward wing, engine nacelles, and fuselage underside, and a two-piece R2-D2 head. The rest of the kit's 20 parts are molded in bright yellow and clear plastic, with markings provided on a tiny decal sheet. A two-piece display supports the model; no landing gear is provided.
I decided to break the rules a bit and glue my kit together, so I started by removing the snap lugs with a sprue cutter and a razor saw. Following the kit's four-step instruction sheet, I started assembly with the fuselage. I glued the rear half of the wing (part No. 2) to the upper half of the fuselage and installed the three-piece engine-exhaust cones. A little work with a sanding stick and some gap-filling super glue filled the seams between the parts.
Although it's molded as part of the fuselage, the cockpit is adequately detailed and looks even better with the painted pilot in place. The canopy fits well; I glued mine in place with white glue.
I masked the canopy with self-adhesive chrome foil and airbrushed the fuselage Testor Insignia Yellow. While it was drying, I moved to the forward section of the wing and engine nacelles.
Although I was tempted to use the chrome-plated parts right out of the box, the plating would have made it difficult to fill the seams between the engine-nacelle parts. I soaked the parts in bleach to remove the plating, filled the seams with gap-filling super glue, and airbrushed them with SnJ Spray Metal. When they were dry, I added them to the fuselage with super glue.
The kit decals are a little too thick, but snuggled down after a dose of Micro Sol. A final coat of Testor Dullcote sealed them. I airbrushed the display base flat black, then removed the paint from the raised lettering with a medium-grit sanding stick. I added a little Bare-Metal foil to dress up the triangular emblem, then added the clear support.
To put the kit's straight-from-the-box snap-together qualities to the test, I gave another kit to my 12-year-old nephew Zachary at a family gathering. Armed with only a hobby knife, he tore into the kit and had it flying proudly on its display stand in no time.
I'm pleased with my Naboo Fighter, too. Mine took only a few evenings to build, and even with its simple construction, it builds into a good-looking replica of the film ship. "Star Wars" fans of all ages will be able to handle it easily.
- Matthew Usher