Sea Dragon (1962)

Scale: 1/700
Initial Release: 2025
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 2

About the Design

The Sea Dragon was a massive, ocean-launched super heavy-lift rocket concept proposed in 1962 by aerospace engineer Robert Truax, who had served in the U.S. Navy and was working for Aerojet during the early years of the U.S. manned space program. Standing roughly 150 meters (nearly 500 feet) tall and measuring about 23 meters (75 feet) in diameter, it was designed to carry extremely large payloads—up to about 550 metric tons—into low Earth orbit. (Had it been built, it could have lifted the entire International Space Station into orbit in a single load!)

The Sea Dragon concept emphasized simple construction with shipyard-style manufacturing methods and cost-effective, sea-based operations that required a minimum of support equipment. Dubbed "The big dumb booster," the concept, while both ambitious and practical, was never seriously pursued.

The Sea Dragon appeared in final Season 2 episode of Apple TV+'s alternate history series, "For All Mankind" when the storyline jumps to the year 1983. In Season 3 the Sea Dragon plays a major role in helping the United States establish a permanent presence on the Moon.

About the Kit

The Sea Dragon is one of two kits included in Fantastic Plastic's 1:700 scale "Post-Saturn Super-Booster Collection #2), which was released in March 2025. The kit also included an in-scale Saturn C-8 model.

The kit's decal sheet allowed for a variety of markings.

This model was built from the original issue.