This is the Wilco Models Drone Kit from the early 1970’s movie Silent Running. The drones were small robots used to provide maintenance to the space freighter Valley Forge and ended up being the only companion to the crazed protagonist after he killed his crewmates and hijacked the spacecraft. The kit comes with eight large resin pieces packed in a nest of dense shredded paper with the smaller parts in individual zip-lock baggies. Wilco provides the parts to build one of any of the three versions in the movie. I chose to build drone 2.

The kit requires thorough cleaning before construction; I scrubbed the pieces down with Testors paintbrush cleaner before washing in dish soap and warm water to remove the resin mold release. There was sanding necessary for all of the parts, but nothing that would not be expected for a resin kit. I used electronic wire and heat shrink tubing for the leg hydraulic lines. The ankle joints and the points where the legs join the body did not seem strong enough to support the weight of the body (it is a massive chunk of resin) I drilled and installed metal pins at these points. I placed a piece of aluminum foil behind the clear lens of the drone’s headlamp to reflect ambient light. The completed model was given an initial coat of primer, the details painted with acrylics and then a final coat of standard red enamel spray paint.

Image: From the side