What are the better Saturn/Apollo/lunar lander kits?

Revell has re-released the 1/48 Monogram lander that is on a lunar diorama base. The Aoshima is 1/96 scale and is very similar to the Revell LM that is included in the 1/96 Saturn V. The Revell/Monogram 1/144 Saturn has a 1/144 LM included in it's 1/144 Saturn V. There are a couple of LM's in the AMT Man in Space that is in 1/200 scale. There is a recently re-released Tamiya 1/70 Apollo that includes the LM. There is also the very rare Revell Apollo/LM that is similar to the Tamiya configuration but in a larger scale, I think 1/48 but I'm not sure. There may be more but these all the I know.

Of these I think the 1/48 Monogram is the best and there are upgrade sets available for it.

Thank you Ken!

Being an airplane builder, I like the sound of 1/48 scale.   Back around 11 years ago I tried building a Saturn V in 1/144 scale.  I think it was the Monogram one but I could be wrong.  It was given to me by my brother-in-law to build for him.  All I remember was the horrible fit and gap issues.  I ended up tossing it.  I didn't want to subject my poor brother to the same thing that I had to deal with and I figured there's got to be something better out there.

I'll look into that 1/48 scale Monogram offering.  Thank you for the insight!

If there are others who have either good or bad experiences with any of these kits, I'd love to hear about them.

Eric

Eric,

The 1/48th Monogram kit of the Lunar Module with the full lunar surface is a very good kit to start with.  It can be built straight out of the box for a good representation, or, you can get some aftermarket upgrades for the LEM from Tom Kladiva at http://mek.kosmo.cz/newware/ to make it an outstanding display.  Also, Michael Mackowski at http://www.spaceinminiature.com/ has what he calls SIM books for superdetailing spacecraft.  The LEM book is SIM #7.  These books are outstanding reference materials for the serious space modeler.

And, believe it or not, Haynes (the car repair manual guys) are even coming out with a "repair" book on the LEM as well.  You can pre-order it at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1844256839/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books)

Mike

Thanks for the info, Mike!  That detail set looks really good.  I might get that for my brother and make that my gift to him for Christmas.  The lander itself if his wife's gift to him.  What better thing to give than the gift of detail?

Thanks!

Eric

the ultimate lunar lander model in 1/32 scale: www.customreplicas.com/LM.htm

This resin/white metal kit isn't available yet, so you better start saving money now.  Looking at those pictures you understand this won't be cheap.

I've built the Monogram 1/48, the Revell 1/48 and the Airfix 1/72 LM's. They all need a lot of extra work to bring 'em up to speed. One has scratch built details ... and I've used New Ware's aftermarket set to really bring one to award winning status. It's even on New Ware's site as an example of a finished model.

But one thing I'd recommend is this site. For reference ...

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html

It literally has every photo taken on the lunar missions. You can see the LMs in various stages of construction, and on the moon. If you want to at least be aware of how it looked on the moon, this site is indispensable! Alas, I've spent many an hour viewing these pix. Go to the mission of your choice, navigate thru till you see a list on the left, and click on Image Library. There's usually a Thumbnail of all the photos in the 'Magazine', click to enlarge, make a note of the photo number and you're off to the races!

Hope this helps
Pete

echolmberg,

I'd pay particular attention to Pete. I believe he's the current LM Master.

I've done a couple myself, both are posted on this forum, but I believe Pete's done 3-4, including a wonderful cutaway.

You'll find the LM is a wonderful subject, well documented on the web and, if you really want to take the plunge, a challenge unlike any other model you've tried.

Give it a shot and have some fun.

Mike