The Retriever Rocket was one of the classic designs that came out the collaboration of various scientists and engineers, the best known to be Dr. Wernher von Braun, with contemporary artists such as Chesley Bonestell. This resulted in a series of articles in the weekly magazine Collier’s, in the early 1950s, and several books. Later Walt Disney made a series of television programs using the designs, employing the talents of the original teams.
The engine section is fully detailed with the supply pipes from the seven fuel tanks feeding the single rocket motor.
First issued in 1957 by Strombecker, and originally known as RM-1, the Moonship would have been built in Earth orbit from elements of the Three-Stage Rocket (that has also been issued as a Glencoe Models’ kit).
The fuel tanks would have to be added, as would the antenna and the nuclear power source in the nose, the conical shield protecting the crew.
Included in the kit is the Bottle Suit, which would have been a one-person spaceship, rather like the current Manned Maneuvering Unit as used on the International Space Station. It is this particular element where we can be sure of the scale, as model kits of this era, especially futuristic spaceships, were not produced to conventional scales. However, the figure in the Bottle Suit can definitely be said to be 1/72 scale. This wonderful reissue features all new box art by Ron Miller.
Kit # 06002
Scale: 1/72
Molded in White and Clear
Made in the USA
Street Price: $10.95 to $16.95 USD
THE KIT
As much as I like modern models and keep an eye on new releases, I love to build every now and then one of those model kits from yesteryears. Along with the Glencoe Models Jupiter ‘C’, I had this Retriever Rocket from Glencoe Models ”raspberrying” at me every time I entered the stash room.
As stated in the Kit Highlights above, this kit was released back in 1958. That’s 8 years before I was even born ;). So you know that molding, fit issues and flash are part and parcel of many old model kits. To be honest, I was surprised by the fit quality of this model kit considering its age. The parts count is very low so you can make this a weekend build. The decals provided with this kit are of good quality and you can stash the leftovers for suture scratch builds. The price is very affordable in case you like those fuel canisters for other sci-fi projects.
There was a point when I almost added some internal LED lighting but later changed my mind. This is pretty much what you get straight out-of-the-box. After photographing the models for this entry, I decided to revisit the windows and canopy and paint them in black over Tamiya tape. Painting black over tape will make this a non-permanent step. I took a few pictures in front of a chroma key backdrop and I don’t like the look on clear parts a la Vipers from the original Battlestar Galactica.
It was a wonderful project for my taste and. This model kit needs some TLC but not as much as I originally thought. The Vallejo putty I used was very minimal. Would I recommend the Glencoe Models Retriever Rocket to my fellow model builders out there?
If you like the subject, in my case the history behind it, I will most definitely recommend it. For that price, we can not ask for more!
This model was painted entirely with paints kindly provided by
Mission Models US.
-MMP-001 White
-MMP-101 Insignia Red
-MMM-005 Duraluminum
-MMW-003 Transparent Rust
-MMA-004 Clear Flat Coat
