1/72 Astronauts (3) & Spacecraft (2)--LAST TWO!
$12.99
Item Number: HB22
1/72 Astronauts (3) & Spacecraft (2)
Date Released: 2012
Material: Medium Consistency Plastic
Scale: 1:72
Color: Gray
Average Height: 24mm = 1.73m
In this set, the model of the Shanzhou from (HB21) is replaced with a model, in an even smaller scale, of the Long March 2F rocket used to send the spacecraft into orbit.
The other craft element in this set - the re-entry capsule, but this time separated from the rest of the craft and in true 1/72 scale. This comes as just two pieces - the base/internals and the shell. A large cutaway shows the inside of the capsule, with the two crew lying inside. The outside is quite plain, as it should be, but the inside is quite nicely detailed, although it should be repeated that the two crew are part of the piece and not separate.
Lastly we come to the three separate figures in this set. They all wear a pretty good representation of the Shenzhou IVa spacesuits worn on the earlier missions, although changes have been made in more recent missions. The poses are OK, although the astronaut with the flag is rather jumping the gun as it suggests such astronauts have landed on a foreign body (e.g. the Moon) where they could plant a flag, which at the time of writing has yet to happen. Once again, the Caesar soft plastic has let the flag down somewhat, but otherwise these are nicely detailed figures that look pretty good.
So, concentrating on the separate figures, they are nicely done and simple enough, with good detail and no flash etc. With only the old Airfix NASA figures available before now this is something fresh for the hobby, although other companies have modelled elements of the Chinese space programme before. The figures are fine, but the bendy craft and the cutaway capsule did nothing for us - give us a man armed with a musket any day!
It appears that this version is not widely available, and we have only seen it for sale in Asia.
