Battlestar Galactica

"There are those who believe... that life  here... began out there. Far across the universe. With tribes  of humans... who  may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians...  or the Toltecs... or  the Mayans... that they may have been the architects of the Great  Pyramids... or  the lost civilizations of Lemuria... or Atlantis...  Some believethat there may yet be brothers of  man... who even  now fight to survive... somewhere beyond the heavens."  

And thus began the saga of the Colonial  battlestar Galactica and her rag tag fleet each week. The  story behind this powerful  character-driven epic began on September  17, 1978 on ABC-TV (U.S.A.). The story  unfolds in a distant galaxy  as Mankind has reached its Seventh Millenia of  recorded history.  Twelve (12) worlds in a multi-star system are home to the  Twelve  Colonies of Man. According to the ancient writings, the Twelve Colonies  were settled by those who journeyed from a mother world, Kobol.  Of particular  note: a thirteenth tribe of humans moved across  the stars to settle another  world: Earth. By the present Colonial  day in the series, Earth was considered a  myth and little was  known about the Colonials' true origins, save for the  writings  in the Book of Kobol (the Colonials' "bible"). It is unknown how  the  Colonials came to know about Earth, since they did not appear  to maintain  communications with their distant brethren.

 The above text from the Battlestar Galactica web site: http://www.battlestargalactica.com .

 When I was a kid, I loved the show and wanted to have all the models from the show, but the only one I was able to get was the Cylon Raider, now as a collector/builder I have been attempting to correct that. I was able to get 2 Battlestars, a pair of Vipers, and a Cylon baseship, ( I still need a Cylon raider or 2).

    With the new version of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci-fi channel, there has been a renewed interest in the classic Battlestar Galactica kits. These were reissued several times since the series original airing. The first was by Monogram in 1978, and again by the new merged company of Monogram Revell in the late 90s. I am fortunate to have a Battlestar Galactica from both issues and I will try to explain the differences between the releases. 

At first glance both kits appear to be the same, as they should, but when you start looking, there have been some changes over the years,

The 1978 release kit number 6028 is moulded in Silver plastic and comes with decals for the Galactica and Pegasus and a single red circle that goes on the top of the Battlestar. The kit was in a box that measured about 20x10x2.5 inches. The box art is a photo of the model against a star field

 The 1997 release kit number 85-3618 is moulded in Grey plastic and comes with decals for the Galactica, Pegasus, Atlantia, Pacifica, Triton, Rycon and Columbia and has a various stripes and bands and the  red circle. The kit was in a box that measured about 18x11x3.5 inches. The box art is a painting, done by FX Models, of the Galactica with 2 other Battlestars in the background under attack by Cylon raiders, while over the home world of Caprica.

 When you open the boxes, the most notable differences between the 2 versions are the boxes themselves, the original is the typical thin cardboard for both top and bottom, where as the new has a corrugated bottom box. The part layouts are the same except the newer release has the sprues cut to a shorter length and placed in a sealed bag.

 On the Upper hull outer details are the same except the finer details seem to be crisper on the 1978 version due to the molds being new. On the inner surfaces of the upper hull there are several changes, while the part number remains the same, the kit ID number has changed as has the location. The 70s version has 6028-0620 in raised numbers between the 1st and 2nd strut. The 90s version has 3618-0620 also in raised numbers, located in the same area but on the opposite side from the 70s version, also you can see where they scratched out the earlier part number. It also has a MADE IN THE USA stamped into neck, where the 70s version does not.

  The lower hull is the same as the upper in details, the only changes were part numbers and locations 6028-0610 located next to the 2nd strut on the 70s pressing and 3618 0 0610 on the 90s version located on the opposite side.

  Looking at the remainder of the parts, all the part numbers and ID stamps are the same on both versions, with the finer details appearing to be better on the 70s kit. 

 The directions from the original kit consist of 11 steps printed on both sides of a single piece of paper with no color call outs. The newer kits directions are 8 pages complete with part names and the last page covering painting and decals.

    If  you are a rivet counter ( do they use rivets in the Colonies ?) These are not exact copies of the Battlestar from the TV show, they had to simplify for ease of production, but it still a nice kit, just be warned if you want one, they are getting rarer and because of that, more expensive. I have seen them going for anywhere from $50-200 on Ebay. You might find a better deal at kit swap meets, that is where I found mine for $20 and $30 over the last 2 yrs.