The second ship from the Battlestar Galactica series arrived from Eaglemoss and I continue to be impressed with how well they do packing these models in smaller boxes and with no excess packing, when compared to the massive Diamond Select boxes for their BSG models.

As with the Viper Mk II, the new Cylon Raider is a diecast top piece, and plastic bottom piece. It’s heavy, on par with the resin DS version. The joins on this are much less obvious than they were on the Viper, and similarly, it’s not as dark a piece. The weathering and other details are better, although the DS version has more organic looking coloring. As with the Viper, the undercarriage detailing is better; the DS versions skimped on that.

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Scale is the same between the two, whereas the Viper from Eaglemoss was just a touch smaller than the old DS version. The base for this one is a bit awkward and doesn’t quite fit the nose section as well as the Viper base did (It’s very good and holds the model securely), and require a bit of adjustment to get the Raider to sit well.

As with the Viper, the Raider comes with a 14-page booklet detailing the vessel, talking about the design evolution, and ending with an interview with Ronald Moore.

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So how is it? Again, Eaglemoss’ use of the shooting CGI models makes for a more accurate  model. There is more surface detailing in the Eaglemoss version, although, in this case, I suspect the Eaglemoss version is from later in the show when the Cylons loose a bit of the organic look from the early seasons, which the DS model captures well. Is it worth the $55? If you’re a BSG fan, yes.

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