jonathan wrote:

"


Ever see this spectacular kit of the space station?
I've been tempted to order one.

http://www.imrcmodels.com/iss/issphoto01.htm



I've got one.
It comes in a fairly small (and very heavy) box.
I had no idea just how big the ISS was until I built that model- it
dwarfs my Mir, Skylab, and Salyut models in the same scale.
The model is made out of a tough plastic that doesn't seem to be
styrene, which means that if you are going to glue stuff together,
superglue is a better choice than model cement.
It's prepainted and decaled, but some of the parts are not the color
they are on the actual station (the docking nodes are silver, not white
as the kit has them). It's easy to damage the decals during assembly.
Most of it is designed to be snapped together, and theoretically you
can assemble it in any configuration that the ISS goes through during
its assembly process, and then change it to reflect the current
configuration as ISS assembly continues.
If you get one, follow the directions _very_ carefully, and don't start
sticking things together to see how they fit- they fit very well- so
well, that some will never come apart again once stuck together!
Also make sure you use the correct rectangular pins in the correct
places- they are not all the same size.
A more reasonable priced alternative is the Revell Of Germany ISS kit:
http://www.starshipmodeler.com/real/jc_iss.htm
http://www.ehobbies.com/mo-rvl-04841.html
It's in the same scale, and the truss assemblies are cut-away, unlike
the Intermountain Railway one (painting the cutouts black on the IMR
main truss is a royal pain in the rear).
If you do get the IMR one, you can get extra detailing parts for it
he http://www.realspacemodels.com/html/isspg.htm
....I imagine that these could also be used on the Revell one.
About the only real problem with assembling the IMR one is where to put
the parts you've finished as you move along- the thing's shape is so odd
and complex that it's hard to find places to put the subassemblies.
I made my own stand to save money.

Pat