Atlantis Models 1/193 Willy Ley Orbital Rocket, previewed by Chris Campbell

Atlantis Models 1/193 Willey Ley Orbital Rocket

KIT #:	M46
PRICE:	$35.00 or so
DECALS:	One option
REVIEWER:	Christopher Campbell
NOTES:	A blast from the space age past

Willy Ley was a most interesting individual. Born in Germany in 1906, he once told a teacher that he wanted to be an explorer. He certainly explored many concepts and ideas in his life. By the time that he was at the University of Berlin he was a student of physics, astronomy, zoology, and paleontology. It was during this time that he developed an interest in the potential of rocketry after reading Herman Oberth’s book Die Rakete ze den Planetenraumen (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space).

From that point onward he was intensely interested in rockets and their potential use for space exploration. He began contacting others interested in promoting rocketry and exploring its potential for transport and space flight, including Oberth himself. By 1926 he had written his own book on the subject: Travel in Outer Space.

Subsequently, he would become a leading member in the Verein fur Raumsciffart (Spaceflight Society), an amateur rocket group. He would write numerous articles for its publication Die Rakate (The Rocket). This would lead to his being published extensively in other magazines and newspapers as well.

Ley would even serve as a consultant to Fritz Lang on his science fiction film Die Frau im Mond (The Woman in the Moon) in 1929. He would have great input on the design of the model rocket as well as advising on the orbital and space flight mechanics depicted in the film. His work in this respect was so visionary that the Gestapo would later confiscate the model and related material eight years later.

However, public interest in rocketry began to wane in no small part due to the fierce economic depression that Germany was in the grips of. During this period, Ley returned to other scientific interests, particularly zoology, even though he now found himself working as a banker.

Ley was vehemently opposed to the Nazis, especially the violence that he had witnessed during their rise to power along with the pseudo-scientific ideas promulgated by them. As a result, he found himself increasingly uncomfortable in his native country. In 1935 he fled initially to England, ultimately making his way to the United States.

Here he would find a most receptive audience for his writing. He became a regular contributor to science and science fiction magazines alike. In 1949 he wrote Conquest of Space, strikingly illustrated with artwork by the legendary space artist Chesley Bonestell. He would also work with Werner von Braun on Conquest of the Moon in 1953. His straight science column (if sometimes fanciful) was a regular feature in Galaxy Science fiction beginning in 1955.

Ley would also occasionally appear on television, most notably in Disney’s Man in Space program in 1955. Almost expectedly, he would go on to design several space themed models. These were produced by Monogram in 1959.

These would include the Space Taxi or Space Buggy (released at various times under both names). This was something of an orbital space “truck” to be used for servicing and supplying spacecraft and stations in orbit.

There was also the TV Orbiter. This was a three-stage rocket featuring a reconnaissance satellite, something that would become a very thing real soon after. There were also two other kits, the Passenger Rocket and Orbital Rocket.

These were very much an early space shuttle concept. They shared the same manned, winged heavy booster. The passenger rocket featured a swept wing, T-tail “space liner” with a row of passenger windows down each side. The Orbital Rocket is a military variant in U.S. Space Force Markings (visionary, again, it would seem), though featuring a different space craft with wings not unlike those of the X-15.

Doubtless these kits were popular at the time and continued to be, with the Space Taxi being released several times, most recently in 1996. Meanwhile Willy Ley would continue to very often accurately envision the not so distant future. He predicted a tunnel beneath the English Channel, linking England to the European Continent. Additionally, he was an early proponent of solar and wind power as alternative energy sources.

Ley also dabbled in what could be called fringe science, becoming a keen cryptozoologist from the 1940’s onward. He was also interested in the Alantropa project. This was a very farfetched scheme to damn the Mediterranean Sea at the Strait of Gibraltar. The sea would then be drained and the land in the basin reclaimed, linking the continents by land. (A fanciful proposal, at best.)

Still, there is no doubting Ley was brilliant in his own way. He was fascinated by the world in which he lived as well as the vastness of space. He was intrigued by new and developing technologies and how they might benefit mankind. He saw possibilities everywhere, almost always with an interesting optimism.

In his lifetime, he would author or collaborate on more than fifty books. The subjects of these ranged from rocketry and space to genuine natural science and speculative pieces on subjects such as cryptids and Atlantis. There is no doubt that his work touched and inspired many who would later become scientists, engineers, and astronauts, as well as those in many other fields, even today. He passed at the age of sixty-two in 1969, a mere twenty-six days before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would walk on the moon, something that he doubtless would have delighted in seeing. It makes one wonder what he would think if he could see the world today, where so much of what he postulated has become reality.

I have seen the Space Taxi kit many times over the years. I still plan to pick one up at some point, as my Atomic Lounge just sort of needs it. I had also seen the Passenger Rocket once, even before it was rereleased by Revell-Monogram in 1996. However, I had never seen the Orbital Spacecraft and was only vaguely aware of it until Atlantis Models resurrected it this past year. This makes me intrigued by what other forgotten goodies might yet come forth from Atlantis.

In December of last year, one of my best friends and I were tossing around Christmas gift ideas, and I threw this one out. Now, I quite happily have it in my stash, though I suspect it will not be there for long. I am quite geeked to build this. Thanks, Alex!

Inside the box, the parts are bagged up nicely, though due to the nature of these older sprues, some have fallen loose. The parts are molded in red, white, and blue, as, I suspect, on the original kit. The red is for the second stage booster, with the blue being use for the main booster fuselage/external tank section. White plastic was used for the spacecraft, the wings, and the stand components.

There are clear windscreen sections both for the piloted booster and the spacecraft. Five figures are provided with the kit. Two are pilot and copilot for the booster, while a third is the astronaut pilot for the spacecraft. Two more small figures are provided for the stand area, listed a “fueler” and “radioman” in the instructions.

The instruction sheet is well printed and looks very much like an older kit sheet with photos rather than drawings. Having not seen the original Monogram sheet, I cannot say if it originally looked like this or not.

Quite interestingly, there are operating landing gear for the booster, which I had not expected. This is considered rather toylike today, though it does offer the possibility of displaying the model in runway mode. That lends itself to a number of diorama possibilities for those of us so creatively inclined. There is also a reprint of a little booklet by Willy Ley detailing how the spacecraft would operate.

Decals are well printed and in register. These include U.S.S.F. markings for the wings and fuselage, yellow panels for the wings, a placard decal for the base, and national insignia that are an interesting variation. These feature red bars with a blue star and border on a white background. Presumably, like the Space Force, something that had not happened yet when the kit was first released. Hey, the got Space Force right. So, give it a minute.

The kit looks very well molded with no flash that I could see. I personally cannot wait to get into this one. You can bet that this will be a future build review submitted by me, just as soon as I can find the time. I cannot wait to display it in my “What If..” section in my Atomic Lounge. Now I need to go and buy the Space Taxi and perhaps the Passenger Rocket as well. Thank you, Atlantis Models, for bringing this back. Give us more, please!