Metaluna Saucer from "This Island Earth" (1955)

Scale: N/A
Initial Release: 1990s
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

With the Cold War-driven sci-fi craze hitting its peak in the mid-1950s, Universal International Pictures decided to cash in on the public's interest in all things alien with "This Island Earth," a big-budget, effects-driven action picture in which humans are abducted by an advanced but dying civilization to help fight its centuries-long war with extra-planetary invaders. 

Central to the film is this large, tear-drop shaped "flying saucer," the favorite space-going vessel of the era. The craft is equipped with a powerful "tractor beam"-like device the aliens use to snare unsuspecting humans -- even while airborne.

About the Kit

Released some time during the 1990s, this one-piece model was produced by a small "garage kit" company that, as of this writing, cannot be identified.  The model came in a plastic bag along with a color photocopy of the classic "This Island Earth" movie poster.  The model itself is somewhat asymmetrical and needed quite a bit of sanding and filling to remove flash and fill air bubbles.  Decals were all custom-made.

This model is an original issue.