The Starfury Mk 1...

...is one of the only interesting things seen on B-5.

I have tried watching “Babylon 5” several times but just could not get into it. I found it boring as hell and could not get past a couple of episodes. But I will admit I do like the design of this little fighter seen on the show. It’s pretty interesting in that it looks like it could actually work as a real spacecraft with all the directional thrusters on the wing tips to give it spaceborne maneuverability instead of the standard jet fighter look seen in other shows. The pilot stands up in the cockpit which is another interesting concept as you would not need to be seated in a weightless environment. It’s just too bad they didn’t use physical models instead of that awful CGI crap that looked like it was done on an old Commodore home computer.

Wait… Oh yeah. It was. Oh well. It is what it is.

Anyway, this is a relatively simple out-of-the-box build of the old-school Monogram kit that is fairly competent for the time it was released. It measures a disappointingly small 10” wide including the wingtip engine baffle thingies. Some parts don’t fit very well (this is 1990s Monogram, not Tamiya or BanDai after all!) and I modified the stand to be a bit more stable, but it is a satisfying representation and I think fairly accurate to what was seen on the show. I like that decals allow for four different versions. My customer chose to do Ivanova’s (whoever that is) ship. The decals, however, are VERY thick and do not go over compound curves very well, and required a lot of massaging and generous use of Walthers Solvaset decal setting solution.

Painted with primer grey (with some sections gloss clear-coated to better accept decals then dull coated again), weathered with Conte chalk dust and a little airbrushing.

Enjoy the pictures below and leave a comment if you want to critique. Click on the pictures to open up a larger version.