Moebius Models 1:1 Hal 9000-2001: A Space Odyssey

I liked that this kit seems to be painstakingly accurate, and full scale as well. As near as I can tell, it is the spitting image of the original movie prop.The kit only has a few pieces:- Frame- Speaker grill (it has no holes, I needed to drill them out because I was mounting a speaker behind the grill)- Lens frame- Lens ring- Inner clear lens- Outer clear lens- Electronics assembly (battery holder, switch, and red LED)- Small decal sheetThe main chore with assembly is to take care to buy the right colors of spray paint as recommended in the excellent assembly manual, and to take your time with the painting in order to get a high quality finish. Others who have built this kit have recommended regular clear "Mod Podge" craft glue, to assemble the few parts and especially to mount the two lenses in the lens ring....regular plastic model glue can fog the clear plastic.I was impressed that the included red LED light actually looks just the the 'eye' of HAL9000 in the movie, 2001 A Space Odyssey. I did have to modify the kit slightly; the simple electronics assembly as provided with the kit has obviously been designed to have the 9V battery (not included) mounted on the back side of the speak grill. But I chose to add an inexpensive sound module, whose speaker went behind the speaker grill, and there was nowhere else to put the battery that did not conflict with the rear of the lens assembly, at least not with the short length of wire in the electronics assembly. So, I extended the battery wires so that the battery could be mounted (with double sided foam tape, included) higher up on the back side of the model, above the lens area.BTW, the sound module came from Amazon:EZSound Module - Push Button Activated - Easy to Record - 120 Seconds Recording - High Sound QualityIt was a simple matter to find some sound clips of the HAL9000 online, record them, and then load them into the sound module, so the completed kit now looks and sounds just like HAL. The photo I included in this review, of the rear side of the model, shows the sound module and my battery modification.Expect to spend another $20 in spray paint to do this kit right. It will look awful if you do a poor paint job.

This HAL optical interface is the iconic image most people have from the classic movie 2001: a space odyssey, the perfect item to display on a desk or wall. The supplied LED lighting parts are ideal and add that bit of realism when fully assembled and makes for a great conversation piece.

Really well constructed for such a simple kit. Movie accurate (if you know the trick) and easily modified to add sound

I wanted a complete replica made out of metal, but they are just too darn expensive. So I got this kit instead, even though I was not looking for a project. I took off a star because the speaker grill would look more realistic if it had holes.The star ratings are always in relation to the item's intended purpose, type, and durability.5 stars - The item is perfect with no room for meaningful improvement. The item performs its intended function consistently, and without fail. It also appears to be durable in its manufacture and materials.4 stars - While not perfect, any imperfections are likely to go unnoticed in normal use. The item should be durable given normal care and handling.3 stars - The item has significant short comings or limitations, but these do not significantly degrade performance. And/or the item may not be durable if not handled with some degree of care.2 stars - The item has defects or short comings that compromise performance. And/or the item may be likely to fail prematurely even with careful use.1 star - The item does not function correctly in any meaningful way or is very difficult or even hazardous to use. And/or the item failed completely with very little use.

The Moebius Models 1:1 Hal 9000-2001: A Space Odyssey has a number of design and assembly failures.1. A removable backing plate should have been provided for wall hanging2. 9-volt battery should have permanent housing that allows for a quick installation and removal. The double back tape is not sufficient.3. Better instructions on painting. Failure to instruct that spray paint on main surface is recommended.4. The red eye holding bracket and smaller clear plastic lens could have come pre-assembled.5. The decals provided are thin and fragile; installation is difficult and subject to breaking without extreme care.6. It is assumed by the manufacturer that experienced model builders will be assembling the model.If this were an actual deliverable at a real manufacture company the product would have had a number of of both design and assembly rejection tags written against it.

Easy to build and paint, even for someone with no experience with models or modeling

I am a big fan of Stanley Kubrick's 2001- and I have built my own HAL face plate- finally a model company comes up with a reproduction- and I compared it to the one I made (by scratch) and mine looks just as good- for those who are not as creative, this is an excellent model with working lighted LED red evil eye light. a little painting and it will look like the famous movie prop. Put your Alexa behind it and you can pretend to too talk to it.

Knew about the requirement to paint it, but was a pain to find the time, paint etc. Would be willing to pay more for a painted version, with the decal of course, as mine didn’t have one.