What we have here is an absolutely stunning, custom model from the original R-Type. For those of you who haven't had the chance to play the original, this model depicts the boss at the end of the third stage. In the original game, this boss spans several screens, so this is the first time I'm seeing it in its entirety.

While we've seen many models of the R9 fighter that you pilot in the game since it was released back in 1987, I've rarely seen any models of the larger capital or boss ships. The garage kit pictured here includes an R9 for scale purposes, and while you probably won't come across this kit for sale, you can probably find your own R9 fighter at various auction sites. A limited number of R9 fighters were given to pre-orders of R-Type Command, which was released last year.

[via Offworld -- thanks Hamza!]