This next build is a commissioned build of the Moebuis 1/35 scale Jupiter 2 from the TV show “Lost in Space” The client supplied the kit and all the accessories he would like added to the kit. The TV show ran from 1965 to 1968 and was produced by Irwin Allen. The premise of the show was the Robinson family set out look for other planets for space colonization. The ship was knocked off course and they were lost in space.

There is a stack of accessory items that were supplied by the client. The first add-on id the Moebius Light Kit, this is a kit sold by the kit maker Moebius to illuminate the interior and provide the engine and external lights. The second add-on I will be using is the Starling sound board, this provides the sounds of the ships engine spinning up and running for about 20 seconds. A remote control system to operate the lights and sounds via a 4-button remote control is supplied by Tenacontrols. The next two add-ons are a full set of decals from TSDS and Green Strawberry’s 1/35 resin figures of the Robinson family. These figures will be placed in the cryo tubes that suspended the crew for the long journey into space. I will also be adding some other details to improve the appearance of the final kit.

I started with the cleanup of the resin figures. The figures needed to be removed from the casting base and then I needed to clean up the areas between the legs and between the arms and body. The lower part of the ship was the next area I worked on. First the light kit has you drill a hole in a side wall of the landing gear bays to place a large LED. The actual lights portrayed in the show are on the topside of these bays. There are three lights that they have you paint two of them and drill out the third. These drilled out holes according to the light kit are for the power connector, interior light switch, and engine light control. Since the switch functions will be done remotely and I will be relocating the power connector. With that in mind I drilled out all three lights in all the bays and inserted a clear dome. Instead of one large LED sticking out of the wall I will be using three small LED’s to replicate what was seen in the show.

Next I started working on the landing gear and entry stairs. The first problem I encountered is the kit molding is not the best. The stairs thickness is not even. The second issue is the side rails have many mold marks and when dry fitted to the stairs the bottom platform has lots of gaps. I started off sanding the top of each stair to make them an even thickness and then filling the gaps and mold marks with putty. I also did a check on the light kit which was recommended with the instructions. All the lights work fine. I also tested the remote controller and the sound board. I need to plan out how to hook the lights, sound, and controller board together. Since the three separate card use different voltages I will need to design a power divider board to accommodate them.

You can see more photos and details in my build log at:

1/35 Jupiter 2 – Lost in Space

9 attached images. Click to enlarge.

This is a wonderful project, my friend @davids_models!
Looking forward to it!

Looking forward to this @davids_models, I love Lost in Space, this should be fun.

@davids-models - So great! I loved that show as a kid. Black and White and color. Hopefully we see the Robot in there too. Danger Will Robinson!

Fantastic progress so far, my friend @davids_models! The figures look equally great!

Amazzing David @davids_models - thats looking fantastic, I really like the figures, the lights in there are going to look incredible.

This is really wonderful stuff, my friend @davids_models!

The fourth week of the Jupiter 2 I am still working on the interior. The main deck was painted, all of the walls have been painted, and I am still working on the various consoles that adorn the panels. It is slow going on detail painting them. There are a few of them that required modification as well for the light kit. On the computer panel there is a red LED that sits above the sphere in the center. The left panel is a bay of circuits that is illuminated by an LED behind it. I did some testing and the LED does not illuminate the panel evenly. I placed a thin sheet of thin styrene behind the panel and now the illumination is evenly diffused to cover the entire panel.

The next sets of panels are the three panels that sit behind the freezing tubes. The client purchased the Fedoratron photo etch set that adds the panel inserts as well as the floor grates for the elevator and freezing tubes. The inserts to the panels fit on top of the kit clear parts perfectly and look great. The rear parts of the panels are clear parts and per the instructions need to be painted with a thin coat of white. This is due to these will be illuminated with blue LED’s. I also looked at the ceiling which requires modification for the light kit as well. One thing is there are a lot of mold marks which need to be filled. While looking over the reference photos there is a flush mounted light in the hallway to the upper exit door. The kit part has this molded in and the light kit has you drill a hole for the LED. Since it can be seen thru the side window I am going to cut out the area and make a flush light with the LED behind it. I still have center assembly to build and the freezing tubes to build. Once these are done I can finally start installing the light kit. The placement of the LED’s requires a lot of the interior to be assembled so that the LED’s can be mounted to their respective areas and the wiring can be routed to avoid being seen.

You can see more photos and details from the start in my build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-35-jupiter-2-lost-in-space/

8 attached images. Click to enlarge.