Hasegawa 1/200 Hubble Space Telescope & Space Shuttle Orbiter w/ Astronauts Kit First Look

By Chuck Holte

First Look

The first Space Shuttle launch was April 12, 1981, with Columbia on Space Transportation System Mission # 1 and the final landing was 30 years later with Atlantis STS-135 on July 21, 2011.  In those three decades, the Shuttle Program placed satellites in orbit, did on-orbit service calls and helped build the International Space Station (ISS).  The four remaining Shuttle vehicles were dispersed for display at museums across the country:  Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Florida; Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia; Endeavor at the California Science Center and Enterprise at the Intrepid Museum in New York City Harbor.  More information on the entire Space Shuttle Program.

One of the satellites placed in orbit by the Shuttle was the Hubble Space Telescope aboard Discovery on April 21, 1990.  Named for famous astronomer Edwin Hubble, HST allows a unique look into space and time and phenomenal images of our universe and beyond.

The Hasegawa Hubble and Shuttle kit reviewed here is a growth product stemming from the 1/200 scale kit of the Orbital Vehicle (OV), External Tank and Boosters kit issued many years ago.  The OV has been available separately and also with the Boeing 747 Carrier Aircraft.  This iteration of the OV kit includes all the original sprues (58 parts) wrapped in one clear plastic bag. A second bag contains  one chrome plated sprue  for the Hubble Telescope (14 parts), the unique shuttle payload adapters used to service the HST (8 parts) and three tiny Astronauts, one of them wearing a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) to pose with the telescope in the open shuttle bay.  Although nicely molded, there is considerable "flash" on the Astronaut figures and will require careful cleanup prior to painting.

Among the features and options in this kit:

• Great box art
• Hubble Space Telescope
• New shuttle payload bay adapters for the HST
• Three resin crew figures
• Over 100 nicely detailed parts.
• New decals
• New instructions and painting guides

The kit provides water-slide decal markings for the HST, astronauts, and options for three shuttle Orbital Vehicles:

• OV-103 Discovery
• OV-104 Atlantis
• OV-105 Endeavour

I like the level of detail shown in the parts for the HST and the payload adaptors.  The decals are nicely done and capture much of the shuttle detail and include shoulder patches, flags and stripes for the astronauts in 1/200 scale!  Two stands are provided; the HST can be mounted in the payload bay or mounted on a stand by itself. 

My sincere thanks to Hasegawa USA for this review sample!