Willy Ley Passenger Rocket (1958)

SCALE: 1/192

INITIAL RELEASE: 1958

MEDIUM: Polystyrene

RARITY: Original: (5)

RARITY: Re-Release: (2)

ABOUT THE DESIGN

ABOUT THE KIT

Even as early as the late 1950's, celebrated German-born spaceflight visionary Willy Ley recognized that the only way to make spaceflight practical was to employ re-useable components.  His solution was a two-part spaceflight system -- a booster and an orbiter -- with each component being a winged rocket capable of returning to Earth under its own power.  He designed two versions of this dual-spacecraft system, the civilian suborbital "Passenger Rocket," seen here, and an "Orbital Rocket" for military missions.  Although the actual American Space Shuttle presents a significantly different profile from Ley's decidedly 1950's design, his concept of reusable components proved to be prescient.

The Monogram "Passenger Rocket's" initial release was brief and this kit would remain a coveted and expensive collector's item until it was re-issued in 1996 as part of Revell/Monogram's "Selected Subjects Series."   The reissued kit faithfully duplicated virtually every aspect of the 1959 original, including the multi-colored plastic pieces, the decals and Willy Ley box art. 

This particular kit is, in fact, an original 1950's-era issue

Original Box Art