There are decal dots that go on the raised area rectangles.
On the left I've set down a small drop of water to allow the decal to slide for positioning. The little bit of water was set down using a wet Q-tip.
The roll pattern decal needed to be trimmed where it ran into the launch lug. A single edge razor blade trimmed the edge at the launch lug joint.
The very small Martin Marietta name decal sits under the trim piece. Notice how close the clear edge is trimmed to the top so it can be fitted close.
With all the handling, the silver paint rubbed off the edges of the antenna dish. You might want to paint these after all the decals are in place.
On the Estes Mars Lander the marking read "Martin Marietta" but on this kit it reads "Semroc Astronautics". If I'm not mistaken this is also the case with the "normal size" Semroc kit as well. I'm guessing that this might be due to licensing concerns -- and if if Estes does reissue the Mars Lander kit, this marking will either be omitted or changed to something like "Estes Astronautics".
ReplyDeleteOther differences that I notice:
On the Estes Mars Lander the markings are for ML-4, the Semroc kit has ML-7, the Micro-MAXX version is ML-2, and if I'm not mistaken the Estes Mini Mars Lander somewhat different markings with "M-1" on one size and a "2" on the other. IIRC the RTF (ready-to-fly) Mini Marz Lander sported somewhat "simplified" markings that differed from the Mini Mars Lander.
On the Estes kit the round marking reads "Estes Mars Lander" around the edge and has a silhouette of the Mars Lander and a larger orb representing Mars and two smaller orbs (it could be the Phobos and Deimos, the Sun and Earth or Earth and Moon). The Semroc kit reads "Semroc Mars Lander" and shows a full-color depiction of the Mars Lander and the "ground" of Mars and one orb in the "sky" (perhaps the Sun, or perhaps Earth). The Estes Mini Mars Lander and Mini Marz Lander lack this marking.
Hi Naoto,
DeleteI typed in "Martin Marietta", that's what I remember the original Mars Lander decal said. Being so tiny, it's hard to read the wording on the MMX Mars Lander.
You are right, the Estes Mini Mars lander had M-1 on one side and the number 2 on the other.
When you consider the rather small size of this model, the markings are surprisingly sharp, with the smaller lettering being actually legible (admittedly I'd need magnifying glass, given my Mr. Magoo eyesight).
ReplyDeleteThe decals look like reductions of the full size Semroc Mars Lander except the ML "number" was changed to a "2".
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