BY BILL ENGAR

PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION -- WE'LL BE ADDING NEW MATERIAL SOON!

ATLANTIS #H1812 -- 1:40 TACTICAL MISSILE SET MODEL KIT -- 67 PARTS MOLDED IN OLIVE DRAB AND WHITE POLYSTYRENE PLASTIC -- GLUE REQUIRED FOR ASSEMBLY (NOT INCLUDED) -- PAINT OPTIONAL -- RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 14 AND UP -- MSRP $US24.99 (2026)

Atlantis' Tactical Missile Set uses original Revell box art.

Parts include four Dart antitank missiles and one Little John surface-to-surface missile with launch rail.  Six figures are included as well making this a military diorama-in-a-box.

Revell models had a great trio of 1/40 missile kits in the late 1950's.  In addition to the US Army Tactical Missiles set, there was the Lockheed X-17 and Bendix Talos.  Originally, they represented the latest "tech" in military weapons development.  Today, they are an important part of not only military history, but model kit history as well.  All three kits were never re-released by Revell.  They became rare and very collectible (valuable).  Atlantis Models acquired Revell's legacy tooling and has re-released the trio. A new collection of historic rockets and missiles is now easily available!

The Little John is a simple rocket with just five parts molded in white plastic.

Four Dart missiles are included.  Each of these has six parts.  All are molded in white plastic.

Each kit includes two colors of plastic!  It's possible to build a very nice model with little or no painting.  The rockets depicted in the set were development-versions which gives the modeler the option to paint them in bright test-colors (we'll include photos with some suggestions at the end of this article).

Green parts for the Little John include a detailed launch rail and three figures.

Green parts for the Dart missiles include a launch stand, three figures, and storage racks for the extra three Dart missiles.

Markings from this decal sheet will add some nice details to both models included in the kit.

This is a vintage model kit and the builder needs to be aware that there is a small amount of flash, mold ejector pin marks, and sinkholes, most notably on some of the figures.  Cleaning up mold parting lines will likely be much of what will be involved for the contest modeler planning on a professional-quality build.  We'd guess there may be some minor parts fit issues as well.  But these are not complex models and we'd guess your build experience will be enjoyable.

The figures on the Dart sprue have some great poses!

Here's a flipside view of the 1/40 figures on the Dart missile sprue.  Note that tehy'll have some sinkholes that might concern the contest modeler.

The figures on the Little John sprue.

Kit instructions are printed on glossy archive-grade paper using vintage Revell artwork.  Combining this with the original kit box artwork is a nod to the collectors among us.  A high-quality decal sheet has many small markings that will add a nice level of detail to the finished models.

Atlantis adds a nice history of the missiles, kit data and recommended paint colors on the side of the box.

Nostalgic builders will appreciate the vintage kit instructions.  These were written way prior to multilingual pictogram sheets common today.  The model consists of four Dart missiles with a simple test-launch stand and three storage stands.  The Little John's launcher is a little more involved, but any builder with a little experience with glue-kits or complex Lego models should have no problems building this model.  Add your own simple base and some groundwork materials and you can build a very nice diorama--or two--with what comes in the box.

Instructions are included on high-grade glossy paper with vintage artwork.  There are five assembly diagrams with descriptions in english-only.

Revell's Missile Kits were very cool back in the day and we're happy to see them return after a very long absence.  We know several other builders and collectors who likewise are overjoyed to see Atlantis bring these back with their attention to the special details that really make a model kit great.  The 2Modeler Guys give this kit a very enthusiastic Four Thumbs Up!  

SPECIAL THANKS TO ATLANTIS MODELS FOR PROVIDING THIS KIT FOR US TO REVIEW FOR YOU!