It seems as if Polar Lights has gotten the go-ahead to do a bunch of Aurora kits that were based on old Irwin Allen shows. This includes the Seaview from 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' and now the spaceliner 'Spindrift' from 'Land of the Giants'. Call me radical, but that was one of the dumbest shows ever put on television. It had about as much appeal to me as the show of the guys going back to the Stone Age called 'It's About Time'.

The premise was interesting in that these folks in this space craft went through some sort of a space warp and ended up on a planet just like Earth, though the beings on that were huge. It was also some sort of totalitarian state that was running things, but everything seemed very much like Los Angeles in the early 1970s! Plots and story line were diaphanously thin, but it did have some cool special effects and undoubtedly some huge props. It was enough to keep the show on the air for, I believe, two seasons.

What it did do was to generate several Aurora kits, one of which is the spacecraft 'Spindrift', the subject of this kit.

The kit fills the box and is molded in two rather garish colors of orange and light green. All of the exterior parts are in orange, undoubtedly to assist in painting. Interior bits are in the 'puke' green color as are the three figures supplied. A nice clear sprue includes a stand that will be immediately recognized by those of my generation who grew up with Aurora kits. Since there is no landing gear, a stand is a logical inclusion.

The overall detail of the parts is actually quite good. There is no real flash and what detail is on the fuselage is engraved. Actually, this is for the silver-grey cheat line shown on the box art as there are no decals other than one for the stand. Most of the parts are also totally devoid of ejector pin marks.

As you can see, there is a full interior for this beastie. Painting info is given in generic terms, though I'm sure that many modelers will be altering the coloring of things to suit their own needs.  The instructions are the usual exploded view so popular with Aurora. None of the kit looks particularly tricky to build, however the proof will be when the glue is applied.

Who would have thought ten years ago that we'd get the chance to build these kits and not have to pay outrageous collector's prices for them. I very much appreciate what Polar Lights has done and suggest that you pick up some of their kits so that they can keep things going. Recommended for all who have an interest.

Kit courtesy of the MM kit dungeon.

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