| KIT: | Tsukuda 1/72 Nausicaä - |
| KIT # | GC-03 |
| PRICE: | ¥700 or $11.95 |
| DECALS: | None |
| REVIEW & | |
| NOTES: |
|
| HISTORY |
My knowledge of Animé is almost non-existent, so I went to theweb and typed in Nausicaä into a search engine. I was rewarded with quite a bitof stuff, much of it in Japanese! Apparently there is a movie as well as a magna(comic book) based on this character. No where in my reading did I see anythingabout this craft, so I am not sure if it is part of the movie or the magna onwhich the movie is based.
Here is a brief synopsis of the character shown on the box art.
NAUSICAÄ - She is the daughter of Jiru, the chief of a small kingdom calledthe Valley of the Wind. After Jiru was killed, Nausicaä and her troops joinedthe Torumekian force according to a treaty signed long ago. Nausicaä meanwhilediscovered that the Decayed Sea cleaned up the contaminated world, and bycommunicating with the Ohmu, the giant insects, she foresaw the coming of agreat disaster. She fights bravely and hopes to witness the coming of a newworld.
Confused? Me too. If you want to find out more about it, here is a linkthat should be of some help. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/nausicaa/
Anyway, I thought the kit looked pretty cool and since it is obviouslysci-fi/fantasy, it is only right that an eclectic modeler such as myself wouldbe interested in building such a thing.
| THE KIT |
Though for some reason my scanner didn't pick it up, this kit is molded in agreenish grey plastic. All the parts come on two main sprues with a third forthe clear bits. Since this is an aircraft of some sort, it has a cockpit foreand aft. In the front there is a seat, side consoles and control stick as wellas an instrument panel. However, there is no floor or any fore or aft bulkheads.There is a full figure of Nausicaä to fit into the pilot's seat. The rearcompartment has only a seat and instrument panel. There is a figure to fit intothe seat as well, though only the top half. Like the front, there is no floor orfront/rear bulkhead so the figure really needs to be in there to fill the space.
The gunship can be built either wheels up or down. It has moveable wing flapsand a positionable main and tail wheels. A flight stand is included.It has been a long time since I built a Tsukuda kit and though this one hasall the requisite engraved panels and details, there are sink marks in a fewlocations were locator pins areplaced. Parts are relatively flash free, but somedo require cleanup before use. The clear bits are really distorted and scratchedfrom floating around in the bag. The clear sprue has also managed to scratch anumber of the parts in the kit.
Instructions are almost entirely in Japanese. This includes the color guide,so I hope you know your colors from all those Hasegawa and Tamiya kits! There are cautions and warnings in English (don't stick plastic parts in yourear; stuff like that). One very helpful suggestion was "Before assembling,read instructions carefully". Thanks! Actually the instructions are verygood despite being unable to read them. They inform the unwary of any possibleparts misalignments or misplacements.
Overall, it looks like a very interesting kit and one that you definitelydon't see at your local club very often!
Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet!! If any of youmanufacturers or shop owners want to send products for review and building,please contact me.