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Project Omega "Patrol Hopper" (1985)
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SCALE: 1/48 |
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INITIAL RELEASE: 1985 |
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MEDIUM: Polystyrene |
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RARITY: (3) |
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Patrol Hopper over Ganymede |
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ABOUT THE DESIGN |
ABOUT THE KIT |
| At the height of the 1980's "Transformer" craze, Japan's Hasegawa company decided to come out with its own line of transformable model kits. But instead of creating airplanes or rockets that transformed into fighting robots, its first "Project Omega" kit, the "Patrol Hopper," was a highly detailed air/space transport that transformed into a 1:144 scale U.S. Space Shuttle and a transport/launching vehicle. As it turned out, the "Patrol Hopper" design was far more interesting that the shuttle/launcher combination -- which actually resembled the launching system used in Airplane II -- and it is rarely shown or displayed in that alternate configuration. |
Like AMT's Strategic Space Command
series, Hasegawa's "Project Omega" turned out to be a one-shot deal. No
follow-ups to the Patrol Hopper were ever produced. Oddly enough, the kit
was picked up by Monogram later in the 1980s and re-released under the title
"Eagle Lunar Explorer" as part of that
company's Young Astronauts series. This model was built from the original Hasegawa issue. |
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Original Box Art |
Rear Box Art |
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