MPC/Round 2 USS Enterprise Exploration Set

I remember this neat set of ‘equipment’ used by the crew of the USS Enterprise when they first hit the market back in the early 1970’s. WOW! am I that old??? For some odd reason I never bought the kit back then figuring it will be out for a while. I was wrong! As far as I know this kit was never reissued until now.
Round 2 has reissued the kit along with many other Star Trek kits. One of several odd things about the release is that Round 2 did not improve or even clean up the molds. This is exactly what was produced 40 years ago. The only thing they did was greatly improve the small decal sheet.
The kit includes the communicator, tricorder and a phaser. All in 1/3 scale. Looks closer to 1/2 scale though. This kit is not for the faint at heart, it takes quite a bit of effort to get a decent looking set of tools.
The communicator went together well and was the least offensive. The only issue is the cover is chrome and the inside is supposed to be gold in color. I used Tamiya paint and it worked after a couple of coats. The body is semi-gloss black and I added a Bare Metal Foil strip around the outside of the unit.
The tricorder and the phaser were both a major challenge to assemble. The bodies did not go together well and needed a ton of Squadron White Putty to get things looking right. The phaser has a three part body and the top plate did not fit at all. It took lots of carving and sanding before it went into the recess in the top. Both were painted with the same semi-gloss black. The phaser getting a medium blue middle body.
Overall it is a great addition to any Star Trek collection but much patience is needed to get good results. It would have been nice to see these in 1/1 scale!