Moebius Models The Dragonfly - Jonny Quest Kit First Look

by Michael Benolkin

First Look

Here's a subject that caught a number of us by surprise - a pleasant surprise at that. This is the supersonic suborbital aircraft flown regularly in the adventures of Jonny Quest - an animated series that aired decades ago and is still a classic in terms of art and adventure. As a kid, the shape of the Dragonfly was cool, but as an engineer today, you can see the influences in the concept of this aircraft. The cockpit section looks like a cross between a B-70 and the nuclear-powered NB-36, and if you look at the design, there is a bunch of weight in the rear of that aircraft - a nuclear pile most likely. The fallout of nuclear-powered aircraft (pun intended) hadn't been realized by the time this series was created.

This kit is molded in white styrene and presented on two parts trees plus one tree of clear parts. Assembly is rather simple as yuo can see in the sprue shots as there are only thirteen parts to this kit. That includes the clear cockpit enclosure, clear engine exhaust (which can be LED-lit if so desired), and the two-piece display stand. A single decal is included with a Jonny Quest logo for the display stand.

While this kit is relatively simple in design, the surface detailing is finely scribed which provides for an opportunity to lightly weather the panel lines to make this model look more than a simple shape. The kit instructions also have some hints on how to paint the aircraft depending on whether you want a 'realistic' or cartoon appearance. I still list the skill level of this kit at Experienced since some of these kits require a bit of skill to get together right, but we'll be building this one up soon and will adjust the skill level accordingly.

This kit will make a nice weekend project and bring back fond memories of watching the series back in the mid 1960s (or in later reruns for the rest of you...).

My sincere thanks to Moebius Models for this review sample!