Alyssa's Space Shuttle
One day while I was looking around a model store, Alyssa saw the snap-tight kits and asked if we could get her another. I said sure, and we picked up a Space Shuttle from Revell-Monogram. The box has a nice little Shuttle on the front, and I figure from my past experience that is will have the basic paint job that the other ones had. So we took it home and popped open the box and took a look at an all white model. Ugh.
So we built it. It wasn't too tough, but some of the assemble was a little tricky. It definitely needed an older modeler's skill to help her align the parts and tell her where to press to snap the parts together. After a little while we had a nice little shuttle. The fit was decent, and there weren't too many gaps. But it was still all white. There are stickers to apply, but it desperetly needed paint. So I told Alyssa that I'd paint on the black and grey and put the decals on for her.
I masked off the black areas and then hit it with the grey spray can. I wasn't shooting for a super amazing finish, and the spray can works fine for a simple paint job. I then masked off the grey parts and finished off the paint job with the black spray can. After it was all dry, I put on the stickers and gave her the model. It turned out pretty well, but I was disappointed that it wasn't pre-painted like some of the other models out there. It's a pretty simple paint job, and they could have easily done a little more for a beginning modeler.
The model also comes with a couple payloads for the cargo bay, but they are also all white. Since Alyssa wants to display the doors closed, I didn't paint them. But you could paint them up with another simple grey/dark grey paint scheme to give them a little more character. And if your modeler wants to play with it, then a little color would really help with the imagination.
The display stand is nice though. That way you can set it somewhere with the cargo doors either open or closed and have a nice little space scene for your younger modeler. But over all, this model is something you may want to avoid unless you really want a Space Shuttle. Oh well. Live and learn.
A Word from the Modeler
So, here's what Alyssa said about her model...
I picked this model because I already have airplanes and there weren't any helicopter either. I had fun making it with my dad. That's it.
Again, there you have it. A stunning tale of a girl and her model. Seriously. You'd think she'd want to say more about it.