Space Shuttle Discovery with Booster Rocket

I have built four versions of the Space Shuttle in my life and this one was the worst. There was excessive trimming of extra plastic and pieces that fit together very poorly. Then, one of the hook tabs on one of the booster rockets broke off and I was forced to glue both booster rockets to the external tank. The tabs on the gantries that hold the shuttle to the external tanks did not work right so I was forced to glue the shuttle to the gantries that attach it to the external tank. The final problem was the shuttle bay doors were poorly made and wouldn't stay closed so I was forced to glue the shuttle bay doors closed. Then, when I stood the model up on the moving gantry base, the pins on the base that were supposed to hold the model upright were all broken off so the complete assembly kept on falling over. I was forced to glue everything to the base. What a nightmare Don't even bother getting this model. It was just one problem after another and not worth making. I am now forced to buy another version of the shuttle for my space model collection because this model was nothing but a waste of money.

After doing a number of airline models I decided to pick up this one. I debated going with this version or the Airfix version but eventually settled on this one. I was happy with the quality and the pieces are pretty well molded. Overall the model is well detailed and includes extensive decals. Pieces are included for displaying the orbiter in either launch or deployed position with cargo in the cargo bay, and even an astronaut and the maneuvering arm. However, there were some significant problems with the fit of the pieces especially with the payload bay doors on the orbiter. If you are planning on building this with the doors closed it will take a fair bit of work to align them and make the seams flush. The doors come with pins so they can be opened and closed but this leaves a considerable gap along the pivot edge. In addition the cutout for the windshield piece was not symmetrical and again had to be filled and sanded extensively. The model includes the 'crawler' transport vehicle which can be used to display the model in launch position; I especially liked this even though it was far from an accurate depiction. Overall I was happy with the model but it would have been better with more precise molding.

After about 20 years off from building models, I bought this on a whim to pick the hobby back up. It was a challenge, but fun. The molded parts didn't fit all that well together, so it took a lot of scraping and carving to get everything right, but now that its together, it looks great. I would recommend this, but I probably should have started with an easier model. It takes patience, but you'll enjoy building it.