Meng Models Harkonnen Ornithoper (Dune)

• Manufacturer: Meng Models
• Part number: MMS-014
• Year of production: 2023
• Scale: Not stated - possibly 1/300
• Kit type: Scale model of WWII armoured vehicle
• Vehicle: German assault gun
• Build date: ???
• Price: £7.65 from ScaleModelShop, September 2024

Bought a pair of Harkonnen kits to go along with a single Atreides kit to go on my display shelf in September. I've been a fan of the Dune series since reading the original trilogy (and most of the prequel series') in my early teens.

I admit to having a real soft spot to the 80's movie by David Lynch, but the 2021 release directed by Denis Villeneuve is a visual masterpiece. The Ornithopters in particular are especially well designed and form the backdrop of a number of stunning action set-pieces of the film.

The models are lovely, and very faithful to the designs seen in the film. These are the smaller scale kits (some of the parts are really tiny and the main body of the craft, as can be seen below, builds to only 8-9cm from tip to tail), with them being also available in a 1/72 scale with a wingspan of more than 72cm!. Reddit and other sources seem to put these around the 1/300 scale mark.

I'm imagining these, when finished, to be displayed alongside the Atreides design, perhaps pursuing the lone Atreides craft down through a desert canyon.

Harkonnen kit next to the Atreides model:

Parts snipped from sprue and with minimal cleanup needed. The fit is very sharp, and the plastic used is quite hard, so cuts cleanly with minimal filing/sanding to remove nub marks.

It's all snap-fit/push-fit, but the use of some thin Tamiya cement is enough to get rid of most of the seam lines (not that there are many which are obvious).

For this Harkonnen craft (and it's remaining twin), I'm planning a deep grey colour, with the cockpit canopy in a dark green. The Atreides craft on the other hand, will be a light sandy-grey, with a gold cockpit to make it stand out.