You can now make Boeing's Starliner capsule with Cobi toy blocks



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April 24, 2019

– With the work underway to bring astronauts back from US soil in space, you can now assemble one of NASA's new commercial space crews with the help of 39, a Polish toy kit.

Based in Warsaw, Cobi has launched its new block game based on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule.

"We fly in space!" exclaimed Cobi. "The main purpose of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner is to transport the team to the International Space Station (ISS) and to private space stations."

The Cobi "Boeing Starliner" toy is assembled from 227 blocks similar in style to LEGO bricks. The Polish kit includes printed blocks with markings and a decal page to add authentic details to the finished model.

The kit, aimed at builders six years and older, is available on the Cobi website at a price of 22.82 euros (about US $ 26).

The SpaceX Boeing CST-100 Starliner and the SpaceX Crew Dragon have signed a contract with NASA for the supply of astronauts to and from the space station, restoring lost US national capabilities with the removal of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and reinforcing the ongoing flights. of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz. The Starliner is designed to launch at the top of an Atlas V rocket from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) and return to Earth under a parachute for an assisted landing by means of an airbag.

Boeing is now working on its first unarmed orbital flight test of the Starliner to be launched in August, followed by a crewed flight test that will spend six months at the beginning of the space station no later than 2019, according to the company. and NASA.

Unlike the real Starliner, whose core is built from upper and lower pressure domes, the Cobi model is assembled from the bottom up. During 52 stages of construction, the toy takes shape by first assembling the heat shield, then the platform and supports for the five astronaut seats of the probe, then the walls of the capsule, which Deploy as a flower petal to allow full access to the inside of the toy spacecraft.

The Cobi Starliner also features a crew hatch that opens and closes, an adjustable overhead control panel, and two "Boeing Blue" combination astronaut figures and miniature versions. Mission patches that the real crew members will wear when they launch.

The astronaut figures may have been vaguely inspired by Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson and NASA astronaut Sunita Williams who are responsible for the first and second crewed missions respectively. of the Starliner, but Cobi does not specify this detail.

The Cobi Starliner toy does not include the lower mounted service module that will provide power and propulsion for the real crew capsule.

Fully assembled, the Starliner toy measures approximately 4 inches in height and has a base approximately 6 inches wide (10 by 15 centimeters), making the Cobi model approximately 1½ hours scale-up of the true Starliner CST -100.

The included instruction manual includes four pages of photos and basic information about the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and its spacesuit. The booklet and product box indicate that the toy is an officially licensed product of The Boeing Company.

In addition to the Starliner, Cobi also offers building blocks for the Apollo Lunar Module, the Space Shuttle Discovery and, in the future, the Saturn V rocket, delivered with a range of toys licensed to the Smithsonian.

The Cobi Starliner is the third Boeing spacecraft model to arrive on the market after a 1:48 scale desktop screen from Daron Worldwide Trading and a Steel Earth Parts kit from Fascinations.

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