About 27 years ago, a company called Tsukuda Hobby / Tsukuda Bell was licensed to produce a series of models based on the Crusher Joe series, and one of which was the Minerva. The model was one of my favorites as it accurately recreated the image of the Minerva in 1/500 scale. But as a kid, I never took good care of the model and a year or so afterwards, it fell out of favor and was never seen again.
Fast forward 20 or so years later, one day while reminiscing the treasures I used to have, I told myself that if I ever get to own the Minerva again, I will take very good care of it. Then last year, Wave confirmed that they would indeed produce the Minerva as a completed collectible toy - no hassle, even better.
The Wave Minerva is extremely well done, there are a lot of surface details on the model, and it is very much a model, made of high grade abs or quality plastic material. The paint job is quite exquisite as well, in glossy white and blue, with the inside of the thrusters painted silver metallic. It comes with well painted mini fighter #1 and #2, and also the landing craft/tank in the same scale.
Unlike the Tsukuda plastic model, this Wave Minerva features several gimmicks - the hangar at the rear of the ship opens so that the mini vehicles can be stored inside if you wish. The top panel at the rear of the ship also opens up so that the beam canon can rotate out of the ship into the firing position.
In addition, panels on top and below the fuselage can be opened to reveal various missile pods equipped on the ship. The wing tips can also be moved up and down, which is a nice touch.
It looks immaculate and literally is something you can admire right out of the box, plenty of details throughout the model and panel lines are filled very nicely. The ship also comes with a black display stand, I was just too lazy to put that together.
There no metal components, but I love the Minerva and glad that Wave had made my dreams come true.
No comments:
Post a Comment