Star Fleet Travel Pod

from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Scale: 1/32
Initial Release: 2005
Medium: Resin
Kit Rarity: 4

About the Design

Basically a space-going "dinghy," the Travel Pod was a small thruster-driven taxi designed to shuttle personnel between Star Fleet's orbital office complex and nearby starship drydocks. The large ring on the pod's stern was designed to mate perfectly with starship airlock rings, thus permitting the smooth egress of passengers.

The Travel Pod was featured prominently in the first act of 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." It was the craft that Capt. Scott used to give Admiral Kirk a (rather lengthy) 3-D tour of the refit "U.S.S. Enterprise." The sequence, in abbreviated form, was later re-used in the 1981 sequel, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

About the Kit

This three-piece resin model was a 2005 release from Larson Designs, a/k/a "Minimodel Madness." It consisted of just three pieces: the upper half, the lower half and the rear docking ring.  Although well-detailed, it was a very early example of 3D modeling and the material (nylon?) not only displayed extreme "grow lines," but was nearly impossible to sand and smooth. Although no scale is given, the model appears to be in 1/32 scale.  Decals are both custom-made and cribbed from the AMT/Ertl Enterprise-D kit.
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This model was built from an original issue.  No box art is available.