Aoshima (Miracle House) Aliens 1:72 Scale Dropship 02 Review with a few more Pics
Pre-Review Reevaluations
The 02 Dropship is actually more of a flat slate-greenish-grey rather than the olive drab reported earlier. Incandescent light seems to yellow the color somewhat. Also, I was mistaken, this ship is heavy (think brick). Prolonged handheld "angle-veiwing" (as opposed to "hand-flying") and the awkward center of gravity will definitely give your wrist and arm (even when your elbow is supported on a stationary surface) a workout within minutes.
Angle-Viewing
The center of gravity is located just where the major weapons pods rest in the closed position (just forward of the vehicle's ID number - 02), so there is no finger-hold available. When angle-viewing by hand, and with the Dropship in closed
drop/dust-off mode you must level the cargo bay on your extended fingers which can get uncomfortable very quickly. There is no problem holding the Dropship when the weapons pods are extended because you have a 2 inch pinch area for your fingers at the center of gravity. This allows the best vehicle viewing and the least amount of finger contact with the Dropship. Once again the bulk of the weight will rest on your curled fingers below the APC/cargo bay door. The antenna is very detailed and very fragile. An off balanced Dropship slipping from your hand and making even the most casual contact with...well, anything, and it's broken. They should have supplied at least one spare.
APC/cargo bay door
The bay door is plastic and seats with minimal seam lines when close. What you probably did not know is that the door is released by rotating the first two side hover nozzles clockwise about 45 degrees.
The ramp, even after repeated use does not respond smoothly even with the weight of the APC. It remains sticky. This however is a very minor glitch. Retraction needs the nozzles (connected by a rod - ideally you turn one you turn both) to be turned again to the open position (ideally they both return to the closed position when released). The ramp is supported by four plastic legs, loose-screw attached to the ramp. The plastic seems adequate. The ramp is grooved for traction and has some nice detail as does the APC/cargo bay.
Undercarriage(s)
There are two holes (cast in metal recesses) for the rear landing skid and two each in the front for the forward landing skids, also cast in recessed metal wells.
The front and the rear skids are made of a very heavy plastic and very well detailed
(CORRECTION - The extended front and rear undercarriage is diecast and plastic construction). Retracted rear skid is shown below.
The 3/16" pegs on both the extended and the retracted skids at some point after repeated insertion will probably wear to a point of falling out. The simple fix will be to increase the diameter of the pegs with pieces of adhesive tape. All pegs and holes are completely covered by components of the undercarriage when in place. The detail on the rear skid really gives you an idea of where the Alien Queen secreted her transport back to the Sulaco.
Note color difference using incandesdent light instead of a xenon flash. This is closer to the color the eye sees with normal lighting. Big and confusing difference.
Forward Weapons Pods
Only time will tell on the hinges that support this feature. They are friction/tightness supported. The weapons pods themselves are extremely light and made of plastic. They are almost fragile (they are not but treat them as such). Each pod contains six individually cast plastic bombs and missiles of different sizes and shapes. They are painted off-white. Your imagination will get a workout here.
Main Weapons Pods
This is a strong easily operable feature of the Dropship. It is a marvel to manually deploy and retract. The swing arms are metal and attached to the metal body of the Dropship via two screws each. This is a sturdy and seemingly durable connection/feature. The arms are metal but a majority of the pod construction is plastic with only the inner frame being metal. The missile inserts are plastic and connected to the swing arm pod casing via 3 screws each pod. Detail is dimensional and deep and very good, just not outstanding. Outstanding would be individually cast missiles. The missile tubes are painted white. Also, the deployed angle on the pod swing arms/pods are a little high (due to the thickness of the metal I surmise). They should rest lower with the pods just a little more perpendicular to the Dropship. The left (facing forward) swing arm/pod also seems a little bit higher than the right, again attributable to the metal thickness. Overall though, this feature is exceptional.
Cockpit
As mentioned before, I ordered Dropship 01 because it had a female pilot included and in place. The 02 does not but does comes with the Alien Queen. It does have the two staggered, "theater positioned" pilot's seats. There are no paint features in the cockpit but instrument panels seem to be in place. My figures from the Galoob Action Fleet Aliens Vehicles seem to be in scale with this Dropship, so now all I have to do is figure-out how to access the cockpit and I have my pilot. Now, where do I place Ripley, Hicks and Hudson. The clear canopy is just that, clear and distortion-free. The canopy paint framing is flawless and matches the Dropship body color perfectly. Wonderful!
Plastic Parts
Anything not listed above or here is assumed to be diecast metal.
Rear wings, stabilizer fins, main weapons pods (2) and weapons, forward weapons pods (2) and weapons, cockpit canopy, cockpit, headlight lenses, antenna, mini gatling-gun below antenna, rear retracted landing skid, front retracted landing skids (2), APC/cargo bay door & arms (4), lower rear tail section, and rear exhaust ports/deflectors. Note: On the rear tail just below the stabilizers, there are what looks to be air brakes. They are so deeply cut you might think they deploy. They do not. Unfortunately, they are molded into the lower tail section with a cut-around in the diecast upper tail section. Super detail though.
Detail Paint
I actually had to use the zoom feature on my computer to see the details on the blue vehicle crest on the sides of the cockpit (01 crest is red). Unbelievable detail. All detailing is tampo or painted. The reds (no step outlines and weapons pod warnings) are a muted brick red. Leading edges on the forward body bulges, stabilizers and wings are grey (both sides). Wing and stabilizer visibility outlines are white (both sides). Engine access panel outlines are grey. The bottom is clean.
Casual Accurizing
The vehicle number, in this case 02 should also be shown on the right side (facing forward) below the lower canopy frame just above the nose, and on the sides of the canopy frame just below the weapons officer's seat (high seat) on both sides. It should also be labeled on both front undercarriage doors (outer edge, off-center), facing forward. One landing light each should also be detailed in the broad portion (center) of each door, also facing forward. Two more illumination lights should be detailed about 3/4" down from the clear plastic headlights, facing down (one each side). The APC/cargo ramp support arm pistons should be silver.
Overall
OUTSTANDING. I've been waiting for this.
