And while there have been toys and model kits based on machinery from the show, including many versions of the B9 Environmental Robot and a wonderful Jupiter-2 playset, not to mention a couple of well-known Aurora model kits—one of the robot and one of the Chariot—and a series of four small die-cast toys—the Jupiter 2, the robot, the Chariot and the Space Pod from Johnny Lightning—nothing comes close to the detail and workmanship of these newly released model kits from Moebius.

The two new kits are of the Space Pod and the Chariot, two of the smaller vehicles used to get the Robinson family around in the TV series.

The Space Pod, introduced in the third season, served as a landing shuttle for two people and the robot, and it not-so-loosely incorporated elements of design of the real-life Lunar Excursion Module that landed on the moon just a couple of years later. This kit comes in a box with a painted cover showing the full-color pod against a nebula background, and the show's logo as well as the name of the model. The model kit is 1/24 scale, contains more than 105 pieces and features a fully detailed interior with opening rear hatch.

The Chariot, also a sub-vehicle of the Jupiter 2, was a tracked vehicle (built on a Snow Cat chassis) used to ferry the cast of the show around the planetary landscape. This vehicle had a largely transparent body on two wide tracks and contained six seats and room for the robot. The model kit has a whopping 175 pieces, and for a model kit that builds up at just over 8 inches long, that's a lot of detailed parts! It includes metal axles and rubber tires, over which fit the two wide snow treads, allowing for the vehicle's treads to actually move. This piece is also built in 1/24 scale to match the Space Pod.

Both kits are considered Skill Level 3, or Advanced. The Space Pod comes with a brief history of the vehicle and black-and-white instructions. The Chariot has no history but has full-color glossy instructions (including one correction sheet to fix a mistake in the printing of the originals.)

Fun but detailed modeling projects

The Space Pod comes with more than 105 pieces, most of which are molded in a muted ivory color. Five pieces are molded in clear plastic. When you see the myriad tiny pieces on the runners in one bag, you'll understand just how detailed this kit is. One runner alone has nearly 40 small parts, and that's in a bag with two similar runners. The kit has a fairly detailed interior, with some instrumentation molded directly on the interior walls, augmented by many small parts.

If I were a less skilled modeler, I'd object a little to the instructions here. The sheet has several black-and-white photos of various parts, but nowhere is there a detailed breakaway image showing how the parts all fit together. Relying closely on the text is vital to this project, and an advanced modeler should have no difficulty. Once built, it makes a nice 6-or-so-inch-tall version of the classic vehicle.

The Chariot is not the first model kit of the tracked land vehicle. Aurora's well-known kit from the 1960s had a smaller version, modeled on a diorama base facing a large, hairy cyclops, poised to crush the vehicle with a rock. But this one takes the proverbial cake. This is such a detailed model that it blows away every other version I've seen of this vehicle.

This one presents some improvements over the Space Pod model kit, including a full-color glossy instruction sheet that shows a detailed exploded view with all of the parts and how they fit together. I see things very spatially, and I could have built this kit using only that diagram—almost. But as aforementioned, there is an error, and the correction sheet points that out.

To convey the mostly clear exterior, this kit is built with a single solid piece for the exterior body, a clear piece. This means painting the metallic framing, which is fairly extensive around the surface. Good luck. I can never paint such fine lines without making a mess of it. There are a number of other clear parts in this kit as well. For an advanced modeler, it should pose a challenge, but not an impossibility.

One cool thing about this kit is the small version of the B9 robot, which itself has more than 30 parts, some of which are clear.

The bottom line is, if you're a fan of the Irwin Allen shows, and Lost In Space in particular, Moebius is a company to watch. What with their amazing Seaview model kit recently released, they are poised to be the modelers for the Irwin Allen licenses.