Academy Space Shuttle and Booster Rockets

by Academy

Product Features

• Academy "Snap Tite" kit, for the easiest assembly
• Decal sheet for your choice of the Shuttle Enterprise, Atlantis, Colombia, Discovery or Endeavour
• Highly detailed display model
• Display stand included
• Booster Rockets stand 7 1/2" high

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0006O0C1W
• Item model number: 1639
• Manufacturer recommended age: 14 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,364 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #67 in Toys & Games > Hobbies > Model Building Kits > Rockets & Spacecraft
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

This is an Academy 1/288 scale "Snap-Tite" kit. With man's first steps on the moon, the future of the Earth was changed forever. However the first rockets to be designed for space travel could only be used once. This was extremely costly and it would soon become impractical to continue space trips in such a wasteful manner. In 1972, NASA, America's space agency, began development of a reusable spaceship, calling it a Space Shuttle. This rocket plane can be launched on the back of a huge 154 foot long tank, using two booster rockets and its own three engines to climb into space. The Shuttle itself is as large as a jetliner, and can carry a crew of seven plus a large payload. Completely loaded, the Shuttle, payload and launch tanks weight 4,500,000 lbs. A fleet of Space Shuttles has broadened our ability to develop activities in space. Now satellites can be launched directly from a Shuttle, and soon they will be used for carrying sections of the future space station into orbit to use as a launching point for deep space exploration. This Academy kit of the Space Shuttle orbiter is really easy to assemble. Everything simply snaps together. The shuttle is attached to its booster rockets which are 7 1/2" tall, and are mounted on a 4" black display base. The decal sheet lets you finish the Shuttle as the Enterprise, Atlantis, Colombia, Discovery or Endeavour. A wonderfully detailed, snap together kit that makes a beautiful display model.

Product Description

1/72 Scale. Space shuttle with booster included. Nice display stand. All Academy kits are highly detailed and come with detailed instructions and waterslide decals. Skill level 2.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Disappointing, July 19, 2010

By 

ozoneone - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Academy Space Shuttle and Booster Rockets (Toy)

Not a terrible kit for a child's first plastic model kit, but definitely not a good one. It says "Snap Tite Kit" on the box top, but the instructions indicate glue on all five steps, and it is required or it will just fall apart. It's not well detailed at all, and it has eight parts that are not on the instructions nor are they necessary. They don't even seem to be part of this kit. Also, if left unpainted, the booster rockets (all three are molded into just two pieces) are a cream color and the shuttle is white and black.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly Disappointing, January 23, 2012

By 

Brandon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Academy Space Shuttle and Booster Rockets (Toy)

This model is advertised as "Snap Tite" on Amazon. This usually means that no glue is required and sometimes the model is pre-painted. Neither is true for this model. It looks terrible out of the box and I'm not going to let my four-year-old loose with toxic model paints and cement. While many of the connection points have stayed together adequately without glue, several key ones do not; for example, the booster rockets slide down over pegs in the lauchpad, causing a gap between the parts. It is obvious that some of the connection points were not designed to snap together at all. The instructions are not in English, which wouldn't bother me too much, but they aren't that good either. The price was good, but in this case, you really do get what you pay for.

For those who are picky about these things (and this should have been a red flag for me), Snap Tite is a registered trademark of Revell, not Academy.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Simple but not accurate, December 14, 2007

By 

Charles P. Kalina - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Academy Space Shuttle and Booster Rockets (Toy)

This is a reissue of an old kit that Revell sold in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It's frankly pretty crude, with few details. Some details are wrong (e.g. the retro-rockets in the SRB nosecones) and the suggested paint and decal schemes are completely spurious.

For kids making a first model, it may be a fun simple (and cheap) project. For more serious hobby modellers, it can be improved with kitbashing and some effort to match real-world marking schemes, assuming that you have a specific need for a 1/288 scale stack. Otherwise try Hasegawa's 1/200 shuttle stack kit instead (although it's more expensive).