Above: This is the side view of the command carrier finished and on its included display stand.  Unfortunately, the stand is hard to see because the engine nacelles hang down quite a way.

There are a lot of models made of anime subjects in Japan.  Not only are there kits of giant robots, but there are also kits of bases, tanks and spacecraft.  Nowadays, however, the practice of making models of secondary vehicles is not so common.  This is rather unfortunate, as it means some interesting designs never make it to kit form.  This is primarily due to Bandai's unwillingness to spend money making kits only a few people will want.  Thankfully, however, Bandai is not the only name in the anime modelling industry (although you'd be forgiven if you thought it was...).

A great example of what I'm talking about are the ships from the anime TV and OVA (original video animation - a direct-to-video anime, not shown on TV) series called 'Irresponsible Captain Tylor'.  Bandai didn't think it was financially viable to bother with kits from this space opera/parody, since there are no fancy mecha, just boilers with legs and spaceships.  Thankfully, Bandai isn't the only anime model kit maker in Japan (although you'd be forgiven if you thought it was...).

Furuta, a company better know in Japan for making candy toys (small toys sold in vending machines) and drugstore kits (cheap models sold in drugstores, and usually sold with candy, a-la baseball cards) has stepped in to fill the gap.  Furuta is not a well-known company over here, but they have produced a number of kits of famous starships over the years, including many Star Trek 'trading kits' with decals and paint already applied.  The Captain Tylor kits are NOT of the same ilk, however.  They are molded in a single colour, a sickly beige that would look more at home in a used Kleenex than on a model.

Above: "You don't need to paint your models!"  The next time someone tells that to you, you can show them this.  This is the way the kit looks if you  just assemble it straight from the box.  Getting it to hold together for the picture was a chore, since tolerances are fairly loose...

The subject of this review is the United Planets Space Defence Force (UPSDF) Command Carrier.  I can't find the name for this ship anywhere, and I don't know enough Japanese to translate the display base or box, so I'll just call in the CC for now.  This ship is a massive craft that acts as a command and control center, as well as mobile dock, for the UPSDF.  As such, the scale for this kit must be pretty small, since it is only about 3 - 3.5 inches long.

The CC comes on two racks, with a total of 13 parts, including a little display base with the name of the ship written on it.  Considering the immensely cheap nature of the kits, the fit on the CC is pretty good.  The engine pods fit together well, and the upper and lower halves of the 'neck' also fit well.  The kit is supposed to be a snap-fit, but the fit is poor, so gluing is a must.  The instructions are simple and hand-drawn (by the look of it), but are clear enough that no knowledge of Japanese is needed to build the model.  There are no decals for the kit, but there is a colour picture of it from a rear three quarters view on the back on the box.

To do the kit properly, it needs to be done in a specific order.  The main body should be finished first, and then the 'runways' added second.  It is impossible to paint/outline the underside of the 'neck' once the runways are on, so you MUST finish that part first.  With the runways on, the rear arch can be added and the engines should go on last.  The only part that fit snugly was the stand, which had to be wrenched on there, and isn't coming off in my lifetime.

The snap-fit nature of the kit results in some unfortunate compromises.  The largest is the set of four posts/holes that are used to hold the runways to the rest of the ship.  You should be able to look between the neck and the runways, and see a large open expanse.  Instead, you see the four pillars that hold the model together.  At this scale, they would be the diameter of a good-sized house, at least.  Needless to say, they had to go.  Thus, I broke out my Dremel and proceeded to mill away the posts.  The result was surprisingly noticeable!

Above: Before: This shows the CC from the rear.  Note the very prominent snap-fit post on the left side.  There are four of these inside the main 'archway'.  I hated them, so I Dremelled them to oblivion.

Above: After:  This shows the finished CC from the rear, and you can see the difference gutting those posts made.  The model now has its proper 'flow through' design.

The CC shows up fairly infrequently in the Captain Tylor anime, so finding a colour shot of it was tough.  I used the back of the box as a guide, and it shows the ship in a powder blue colour.  I'm not sure this is right, since that is a standard anime way to show 'whiteness' in space, but it was something different, so I went for it.  The paint used on the CC is a custom mix of Testors MM Acryl Primer White and Light Grey, some Badger Amtrak Blue and a touch of Tamiya X-16 Purple.  In my great tradition, the ship was hand brushed entirely.

The majority of the outlining is done using filed down mechanical pencil, although there is some Gundammarkering around the 'crystals' on the engine and some of the upper hull weapons details.  The surface detail was fairly crisp, although the lines in the hull are huge crevices given the scale.  The stand was airbrushed Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black, and the plaque bearing the ship's name was hand painted using Humbrol Gold oil.  All components were gloss coated using thinned Future.  As mentioned earlier, there are no decals with this kit.  Obviously, there is no aftermarket on this kit either.  This little guy is just straight styrene.

Above: This shot shows the stand and the underside of the Command Carrier.  Even down here there is some detail worth noting.  The nameplate was very nicely done, and the lettering was crisp enough that it was simple to paint.

I don't know how much these kits cost, but I got this and two others from Dave Guertin second hand.  I don't think you can order them, since a Google search for 'Furuta Captain Tylor kits' returns zero hits.  However, they are neat little models, and build up quite well, all things considered.

I know they're not Perfect Grades, but they are certainly something different, and none of the kits in this series are going to take up much room.  I built this guy in about two weeks, and I was building it in tandem with my Deathshadow kit.  It would probably be little more than an evening's work for a number of people.

Overall, I was impressed.  I love having kits of strange and obscure mecha and starships, and I didn't have to resort to expensive resin to do it in this case.  I am saddened that there aren't more kits in this series, and that I know so little about this one.  However, I'm glad I had the chance to build it, and would recommend it as a fun little diversion to anyone.