[STARMAN 352ND]

Guy's i need a little help here.
Who makes the best space shuttle diecast model out there and what scale ?
My father is looking for one any help would be great.
Thanks,
JP

[Nockers]

I would say if you want a nice one, get one of the wood ones.
I have yet to see a nice diecast other than the Dragon.

[Cardinal]

JP, the 1/400 (?) Dragon shuttles are very good and come in a variety of configurations, including Launch Pad, Space and Landing versions. I have one of the 'Landing' versions and like it a lot .

[David Hingtgen]

Dragon's 1/400 Space Shuttle is a copy of the Hasegawa 1/200 kit, which is (overall) about the best Space Shuttle kit out there. There is no really good Space Shuttle kit out there, they all suffer from "prototype-itis". So Dragon copied the best, so it's a good choice.

Note: Dragon is fond of copying photos EXACTLY for their shuttle markings, so they often paint on the protective blankets, workman's scaffoldings, etc---not realizing they're not really part of the shuttle, or are only temporary. Especially watch for large areas of green/yellow, from when a shuttle was photographed with some tiles removed for replacement--Dragon paints it just like the photo. Never figured out why some have lavender verniers though.

I think the Endeavor with boosters is about the best one, accuracy-wise. Has a rather unique scheme, being inbetween "classic" and "modern" shuttle schemes.

[flyXwire]

I have Dragon's 1/400 Space Shuttle w/boosters and 747/w Enterprise Orbiter combo --- I highly recommend these! Though they maybe small for your taste or your fathers, I believe
these diecast are the best out there in the market as DH alluded to from the post above. I would also recommend Knocker's suggestions for the mahogany carved Shuttle Orbiter if you
prefer bigger scales. After all, these are the same desktop models you see at most NASA offices and are photograph next to Shuttle team crews.

[STARMAN 352ND]

At that scale i may want to tell my dad he might be off getting a Mahogany wood model of one.
At 1/400 that would make the shuttle about 3.75 inch long ...Might be to small for him..I'll pass the info from you guys to him and he'll go from there.
Thanks Nockers,David,Card and Fly for your help.
JP

[Louie]

In the 1980-90's Ertl did one it was not too bad had retravctable gear and opening cargo doors with payload. The one I had was probably 1-96 scale just a guess.