After a black monolith was uncovered on the moon, scientists were able to trace the direction of the pulse of energy it sent into deep space to the moons of Saturn. The research ship USSC Discovery One was built and dispatched to see what was 'out there'. With a crew of five, Discovery was highly automated by an artificial intelligence designated as HAL. During the long trip to Jupiter, the three scientists were placed into cryogenic sleep to preserve resources, leaving pilots David Bowman and Frank Poole to tend to operations of Discovery. Since Discovery is over 140 meters long, the ship was equipped with three extra-vehicular activity (EVA) pods which any of the crew could 'fly' and tend to exterior repairs of the ship.
Moebius Models has released three other kits from the movie 2001, including the reissue of the venerable Pan Am clipper, the moon bus, and more recently, the Discovery. Even though the Discovery kit is 1/144 scale, the assembled model is still over 36 inches long. So, in keeping with their last huge model, it is only fitting that this one-person EVA pod be produced in 1/8 scale. If they'd bumped the scale up to 1/6, you could place a GI Joe figure inside, but the model would be even larger than this one. I knew I was in trouble when this kit was delivered by forklift. Okay, I exaggerate, but there is some serious plastic inside this large box!
This kit is molded in white styrene and presented on 19 parts trees plus two trees of chromed parts and a tree of clear parts. The detailing in the parts reveal a great deal of research into the original designs that were not readily seen in the film.
Features:
- Straightforward assembly
- Poseable/movable arms
- Poseable/movable crew hatch
- Decals included
