Continuing its release of exciting (and nostalgic) science-fiction subjects, Moebius presents the Jupiter 2 spacecraft from Irwin Allen’s 1960s television series “Lost in Space.” A huge molding in 1/35 scale, the kit features a detailed interior. As in most TV productions, several models were used to represent the ship, and the sets were updated as the show progressed. Moebius based its interior on the third season’s main command level.
The main saucer is well molded in upper and lower halves. While extra care is taken in packaging to protect the kit’s abundant clear parts, the locating pins for the command console on my main deck were broken off.
A large decal sheet provides many details for the interior. Moebius’ full-color instruction booklet is a big help in painting the model. It’s a bit of a struggle to install the landing gear legs in their bays, but once done, the final assemblies are very sturdy.
I started my Jupiter 2 with the biggest hurdle – painting those large saucer pieces natural metal. It’s been a while since I used rattle cans to spray a model, but I got an acceptable finish using Tamiya’s bare metal silver (No. AS-12). While the saucer dried, I started assembling the landing gear legs. I wanted to fill the small gaps at the base and on the underside of the legs, so I removed the pins for the leg struts (parts 9) and replaced them with styrene rod.
The interior support beams are molded in halves, leaving a nasty seam on the front of each piece that I covered with .010" styrene strip. On the TV sets these edges were backlit sheets of translucent plastic, so before painting the beams the base color I masked them to leave the unpainted white plastic showing to represent this feature.
The bulk of the work in building the Jupiter 2 is painting the interior components. I’m not fond of Moebius’ method of calling out paint colors by letter throughout the instructions, which requires constant referral to the paint guide. But if masking and painting small details is your thing, you’ll love the Jupiter 2. Take time and care and you will be rewarded with very attractive interior. The decals are thin and fairly robust, but a bit brittle. You will want to trim off the excess film from most of them so they fit their locations properly.
Assembly of the interior was relatively easy. I drilled a couple of holes where the floor pins for the command console had broken off, and used self-tapping screws to mount it in place. It only took a few hours, and everything slotted in place as it should. The only difficulty I had was installing the freezing-tube floor units (parts 100 and 104). I had to bend down the ends slightly where they fit into the wall unit.
Sadly, with the top saucer installed you can’t see much of the interior. You could leave the top unglued so you can open up the model to display the interior, but this also exposes the unfinished parts of the model.
Nonetheless, the model is an excellent reproduction of this science-fiction icon. Watching a few episodes of the show confirmed that Moebius effectively captured the essence of the command-deck sets.
I spent nearly 32 hours building my Jupiter 2, with about 80 percent of that time for painting. Several aftermarket products have already been released for this kit, including photoetched-metal details, painting masks, improved decals, and interior lighting kits. Intermediate modelers will be able to produce a good looking representation of the Space Family Robinson’s ride, while adventurous experts will have ample opportunity to superdetail a brilliantly lighted masterpiece.