Mat Irvine: This is a reissue of one of the classic Revell 'H-1800' kits, so-called as they all started with the reference 'H18xx' – and in fact, this release from Atlantis even retains the original Revell number, H1804. The kit was first issued as a Revell product way back in 1958, when these sort of SAM (surface-to-air missiles) were being developed to protect the USA against the perceived Soviet Cold War threat.
The Atlantis Models reissue is virtually identical to the Revell original, even down to the decals and the box-art, though the box is larger and features the Atlantis logo.
These early Revell missile kits often stated on the box ‘molded in two colors’, white for the missile and dark green or grey for the launcher parts. This was mainly because painting a complete model was rare in those early days of the kit industry, so if the basic colours were correct, you needed only to pick out the details in paint. Today, painting a whole kit is the norm, so now the whole kit is moulded in white, which is the best colour to start any painting project. Considering the age of the tooling – over 60 years – it has survived remarkably well: there is very little flash and a good parts fit. The kit builds up into a sturdy model on a launcher base that works (well, it goes up and down…), and three figures are also included.
The original Nike Project began just after World War II, when Bell Laboratories won a contract to develop a short-range surface-to-air missile called Nike. By the 1950s, Nike Ajax had become operational, and was mounted in batteries around various American cities. Nike Hercules was the follow-on to Nike Ajax, with Bell bringing in Western Electric and Douglas as partners. Initially the Hercules missiles would have had their own bases, but many were eventually deployed on the same site as the Ajax, even initially using the same launcher structure. This was later updated, and it's the type that you get in the kit.
At the time there was some rivalry between the US Army which operated the Nike, and the USAF which used such missiles as the Boeing Bomarc. In fact, the USAF even showed some concern that Army missiles could shoot down air force aircraft!
Nike Hercules batteries were deployed around the world, in many European countries and also in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. The missile was intended to carry a nuclear warhead, though later versions were modified to carry conventional warheads. The Nike Hercules remained in active status until the 1980s, when the far more transportable Patriot System was introduced. Most Nike Hercules bases had been deactivated by 1988.
The Nike Hercules kit has been produced four times by Revell. Besides the original in 1958, it was reissued in 1982 as part of The History Makers Series 1, in 1994 in SSP (Selective Subjects Program) Phase 6, and for a last time in 2009 as part of Revell Germany’s 50th Anniversary celebrations.
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