Moon Bus Thruster Set Preview

We all love the Moebius Moon Bus — the grail kit most of us never dared to hope would someday be rereleased. There are some inaccuracies, but those can be tied directly to the original Aurora kit, which Moebius has faithfully recreated.

To fix some of the inaccuracies, I've already released a photoetch set. The other main exterior inaccuries are now corrected with this set of RCS thrusters and rocket engines. Pricing will not be available until the caster has these prototypes in his hands, which will hopefully be by the end of the first week of August.

Rocket Engines

While reminiscent of the studio model's engines, the included kit engines are too small in diameter and have a stereotypical engine bell shape. The actual engines had more straight sides, were angled outward more, and had more detail. The engines are made in two parts, the bell and the gimbal, with the gimbal rotated off-center to give the proper angle to the engines. The engines don't require any modifications to the kit and fit right into the existing engines' mounting holes.

RCS Thrusters

These inserts for the "shoulder pads" replace the kit's "box" backing, plus the totally missing front-mounted thrusters. Rather than fit the thrusters in from behind using the existing kit holes, these thrusters mount flush to the surface so that they include the proper raised bead around them.

In the pictures, the shoulder pad thrusters are just pressed into place in slightly enlarged holes. Self-stick cutting templates will be included to help mount the new thrusters.

In addition, an updated back wall is under construction that holds two more thrusters. The updated back wall is necessary since the kit's wall did not allow enough room for the thrusters.

Click on an image below to view it enlarged.