Same thing as already said; glad to hear your sister is OK.... and WOW the work I am seeing is surperb!....

Thanks for the kind words regarding the decent stage. I must admit that even though it sits on the four struts, and appears to be square, it does not match up with the dimensions (shadows) in the plastic base provided in the Monogram kit. I think that is OK as I am still missing the astronauts which would've made the base look funny anyway (the shadows)...

I finished the paint to the landers legs and added the locking struts. I also tried a fix to the Monogram accent thruster cones which are molded soild. They did not accept being drilled out because how fragile they are. I tried sourcing replacements in 1/48 from various vendors but they just are not out there. Trying to make them from scratch was someting I did not want to tackle for this build. My solution was to add a thin metal hoop sized to the end of the cone and painting inside it black with a custom mix on the outside. The effect is just enough relief and makes them look better than a solid cone in my opinion (pic's soon). 

v/r,

Ben

Thanks for the good wishes!  My sister is home and doing fine.  It was not cancer as we had feared, but only a couple of ulcers.  Very uncomfortable, but not as serious as we had imagined.  She needs to watch her diet and cut down on her arthritis medicine.

Eagle90>  A Mini-Cooper will be a great project for the Airfix GB.  I'm sure it will be a fantastic entry.  I must admit that out of all of my kits I do not have a single Airfix!

Bakster>  That's quite a process for a window!  I guess a hole punch would ruin the PE piece.  You're quite ingenious, and lucky those clear plastic rods are the right diameter! 

Ben> I may be a bit confused, but do you mean the RCS nozzles?  I thought those were hollow, but I'll have to check on my old Monogram model to make sure.  But whatever works!  I know that I'm looking for old ink pens with plastic tips that I can use for rocket nozzles on a couple of my small projects, so a visit to Hobby Lobby or Walmart is planned.

As for the astronauts, I know Shapeways has some for sale (and they look awfully like the ones in the kit).  But they're expensive for a couple of 1/48th scale figures.  If you have some from the Monogram kit you bought, perhaps you could make a mold and cast some replacements?  Onward and upward!

Progress Report:

I have with much scraping managed to remove most of the old paint from the Command and Service modules.  You can see what they looked like in this image:

And here's what they look like now.

Still needs some scraping and sanding, but quite an improvement over before.

Mission Director (GAF)

Today in Space History:

1965 October 25 - .

• Gemini 6 mission canceled. - . Nation: USA. Flight: Gemini 6.

  The Gemini VI mission was canceled when Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) 5002 suffered what appeared to be a catastrophic failure shortly after separating from the Atlas launch vehicle. The Gemini Atlas-Agena target vehicle was launched from complex 14 at 10:00 a.m., e.s.t. When the two vehicles separated at 10:05, all signals were normal. But approximately 375 seconds after liftoff, vehicle telemetry was lost and attempts to reestablish contact failed. The Gemini VI countdown was held and then canceled at 10:54 a.m., because the target vehicle had failed to achieve orbit. In accordance with Air Force Space Systems Division (SSD) procedures and NASA management instructions - both of which specified investigation in the event of such a failure - Major General Ben I. Funk, SSD Commander, reconvened the Agena Flight Safety Review Board, and NASA established a GATV Review Board.

• This failure prompted the idea of the Gemini VII and Gemini VI orbital redezvous.

1965 October 25 - . Launch Vehicle: Proton.

• L1 manned circumlunar mission taken from Chelomei, given to Korolev. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Chelomei, Korolev. Spacecraft: LK-1, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  Central Committee of the Communist Party and Council of Soviet Ministers Decree 'On the Concentration of Forces of Industrial Design Organisations for the Creation of Rocket-Space Complex Means for Circling the Moon--work on the UR-500K-L1 program' was issued. As a result of a presentation to the Military Industrial Commission, Afanasyev backed Korolev in wresting control of the manned circumlunar project from Chelomei. The Chelomei LK-1 circumlunar spacecraft was cancelled. In its place, Korolev would use a derivative of the Soyuz 7K-OK, the 7K-L1, launched by Chelomei's UR-500K, but with a Block D translunar injection stage from the N1. He envisioned launch of the unmanned 7K-L1 into low earth orbit, followed by launch and docking of a 7K-OK with the 7K-L1. The crew would then transfer to the L1, which would then be boosted toward the moon. This was the original reason for the development of the 7K-OK.

GAF, very glad to hear your sisters prognosis is good.

The CM/SM look great with the paint stripped. 

I'm enjoying watching everyones progress.

Great work again guys!!! 

Gary: Good to hear your sister is better!

Bakster: Wow, the new hatch looks perfect and thanks for walking us though the casting process. 

Thanks everyone for the kudos on my hatches...

Gary, I didn't think of trying a hole punch. That is an interesting idea. I suspect it would damage the PE, but it would have been worth testing! I will test it someday just to see.

It is great to see your model stripped of paint. Way to persevere! Now, you have a new canvas to work from. I am excited to see it progress.

Lastly, I am enjoying the space history that you are posting. It is very interesting and it is a nice touch for this group build.

Good job everyone!

GAF,

It looks like your stuff is really coming along.  I'm glad you were able to get the paint off

PFJN

It looks like your stuff is really coming along.  I'm glad you were able to get the paint off

Thanks, guys!  It may not look like much, but it sure seems like I've gotten something accomplished with all the paint removal. [:)

Still not sure about a paint scheme.  Do I go with the overall white as shown in the Revell instruction book, or a later scheme with the aluminum SM and silver CM?  For simplicity, I will probably go with the "white" scheme as this represents more of a "mock-up" than an actual spacecraft.  Saves some painting and masking. 

At the moment, I'm back to the Launch Escape System and figuring out how to scratch-build the parts.  We'll see how that turns out!

Glad you enjoy the space history bits.  I've got some stuff to post as we go along, some more photos and things.

Gary

Yup--me again. I am on vacation from work this week, more time to post. I just want to share some info on a product that I tried.  I decided to try Humbrols Clear Gloss Varnish, for decaling purposes. It is an acrylic and supposedly able to handle washes and such. I ordered the thinner as well.

Anyway-- my first test was with a 50/50 varnish/thinner mix. It sprayed well, but the finish came out more on the matt side of things. My second test was with no thinner at all, and that was the ticket. I was able to draw out a nice thin layer of gloss.

I have to say that I am impressed thus far. It sprayed on like a dream. It had gone on wet and leveled out nicely. Straight from the bottle it is slightly thicker than water. In my opinion it does not need thinning. Just my two cents.

I am leaving shortly to see the new movie, First Man. Treating myself, and it's fitting to the GB at hand.

GAF, Those are indeed the RCS nozzles I am referring to. I've already looked in Shapeways, Hobbylobby, and other locations for replacement cones; but the old pen tips are a neat thought (humm...)

Well, without investing more $ into this build, here is my take on the RCS nozzles. I also have added an antenna (made of wire), the docking window (spare P.E.), nav. lights (small gem stones), etc.....

Still much more to do...

Ben

Hey Ben, that Looks great! I like it. It has the feel of the actual thing. Great job!

Thanks Backster, I still want to add other lights, vents, surface details, improve (build) the antennas and sensors, docking port, etc., but its getting there.

I want to join both stages together so I can align the plume deflectors on the decent module. I have made an egress platform to fit on the decent module below the forward hatch. The RTG fuel cask has also been added.

Never thought I would be getting into this as much, as I normally build autos.. THIS GB IS FUN!!!

v/r,

Ben 

DRUMS01

Never thought I would be getting into this as much, as I normally build autos.. THIS GB IS FUN!!!

That's what it's all about; let's just have fun with it. I am having fun with it too.

Your model is gonna be awesome!

Wow, lots of good progress being made here. I guess I'll have to post some progress pics of my own.

In between the process of texturing my LM ascent stage, I am working on some fidly bits. Specifically, the rendezvous radar. The dish as supplied in the kit, is too deep and is conical instead of parabolic. There is no way to modify it so I built a new one from scratch.

Here is an in-progress pic of me turning the dish on my lathe. I used some casting resin to make the blank--it dries white.

As I was shaping the back of the dish, the thing broke off of the blank. So I reversed it and mounted it between centers to finish the rear.

Here is the new dish next to the kit part (on the left). The depth and shape of my replacement is much closer to the actual dish.

Here I have added some surface detail to the inner surface. I layed out the marks using a watch gear (which you can just see in the upper right).

Up next: building the hyperbolic secondary reflector and supports (which were not included in the Dragon kit).

Stay tuned.

Ben & Bakster: Those both look awesome! Pretty amazing work there on scratchbuilt parts that look waaaaaaayyyyyyyy better than the kit parts! 

Hypertex: Wow!!! One of the guys in our club has a lathe and has showed off some the stuff he's made. It's friggin' amazing. Love what you've done here! Looking forward to seeing the other parts you're building. 

Bakster: Please give us your opinion of 'First Man'. I want to go see it but right now I'm in a Halloween mood and have been watching a horror movie about every other night. Just not in the mood for a 'real' movie! 

Lots of talent here with scratch building!

Unfortunatly I guess I'm not.

I was working on the escape tower yesterday and it turns out I glued the escape rocket about 10 deg off. It would have been nice if the instructions noted this, I even checked details from the SIM book. I just screwed up. Now I have to try and remove the rocket tank from the base. It was glued with Testors liquid cement. Its in the freezer now. Hopefully that will work. 

Does anyone have any other sugestions?

Hey Gamera... about the movie: I found it pretty dark in the sence that it heavily chronicles Armstrong's mood throughout that period of his life. He suffered some losses and the movie depicts a very somber, or even depressed individual. Accurate or not, I can't say. But... one needs to be in the mood for that, or at least prepared for it. I was neither. Having said that, I still appreciated it for what it was. Some of the effects are stunning. I really appreciated the in-capsule scenes as their rockets ascended. You get a real feel for how confined the space was, and at how jarring the ride must have been. "Spam in a can." You should see it. I think that you will enjoy elements of it.

Funny that you are watching horror movies. I am doing the same. In my case, mostly the older stuff like with mummies and such. I love the Hammer movies.

Hypertex: That is awesome work on the parabolic. It looks fantastic.

Mach71: I am sorry to hear what happend. If it's any consolation, I am sure that I will mess something up too. And I hear you about the instructions. In general... what we get really suck. Others can offer you better advice than me in how to deal with the fix. In my opinion, you are already doing it. I'd just try to work the piece loose. Putting it in the fridge sounds like a good idea. Hopefully others can chime in.

Hi,

Unfortunately for me, my laptop stopped working the other day.  I do have a different computer that I can use, but it doesn't have all the same software on it (yet).  As such, I haven't been able to progress too far on my mini shuttle build this week.

I did, however, manage to fit the forward wheel well into the fuselage and then close the front end of the fuselage up, as shown below.

Sorry that the 2nd image is a little fuzzy.  My phone has also been acting a little odd lately.  Every now and then it will act like I clicked a button or icon, when I hadn't.  Today it kept taking pictures even though I hadn't clicked the icon yet .  I'm beginning to think that maybe all my electronics are haunted or something.  Must be that time of year .

Anyway, I have been working on how best to assemble the canopy, based on the actual shape of the fuselage, and in the end have kind of come to the assumption that maybe I should try and build it up slowly, in  stages.   Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be able to show a little more progress .

PF

Mach71: Yeah, I'm not sure what else to do other than trying to slowly work it loose. Either that or just cut it off. Sorry, no better ideas here. 

Bakster: Thanks! I'm going to have to see 'First Man' eventually. Hopefully it will be still running after Halloween. Big fan of Hammer movies here too, though this year I've been watching mostly stuff including some weird Asian horror films. 

PF: Sorry about your electronics- maybe it's the gremlins out of Halloween? Looks like she's coming along well from the photos.  

Freezing didnt work. :-(

I'm thinking Its going to have to be cut.

I cut.

Here is where I was:

And here is where I am now:

Getting it back together will be interesting, but it can be done. I made the cut as clean as I could but there will have to be some filling. 2 of the main motors came off, I re attached them. Once they are dry I'll start to re glue the rocket body.

mach71

Getting it back together will be interesting, but it can be done. I made the cut as clean as I could but there will have to be some filling. 2 of the main motors came off, I re attached them. Once they are dry I'll start to re glue the rocket body.

You'll get er done. Let us know how it comes out.

Btw. I just had a do-over as well. I told you that I'd goof too. I didn't like how my masking came out on the piece just above the capsule. There is a small area that needs to be painted white and it came out jagged. If I hadn't been so impatient earlier on, I would have waited to attach the ring that the tower anchors to. Doing that would have burried the paint join below the ring and out of sight. Instead, I had to do it above. So, out came the Superclean to strip the paint of that piece. It's not a crisis but a do-over none the less. I HATE do-overs.  Ah well... it comes with the territory.

yah, I hate doing things over. I have the tank roughed in, its not perfect but I'm not sure I can get it any better.

I'll look at it again tomorrow.

I might as well chime in too... I had a do-over for the scratch built egress platform and hand rails (actually it was a do-over times two )

I am not going to do-over the stance of the decent module to fit the Monogram base. I have accepted that it sits square and flat, and trying to rebuild the module just is not in the picture for this GB. It may sit in a scratch made base (?).

In my case, the do-overs are making this a great GB for me. Funny saying that but reworking something in a type of build I normally do not do helps me learn more and overcome an obstacle; which is a "win" in my book. I try to be a glass half full type of person....  That works for me.

By the way, the lathe work looks fantastic and the other updates shown look great too. That little shuttle sure has come a long way since the beginning of this GB. Mach71, I have no doubt you will remedy rework on the Mercury build. Bakster, your molding work for the Mercury capsule window was a great job, I like it.

Ben

I'm a little late as I was once again FLC today.  Not sure what's wrong, but I'm beginning to suspect I may have what my sister is suffering from.  Don't think it's catching, but I do know it runs in families.  Oh, well.  Guess this is why I'm up at 2 AM.

Looking at all of your work, I sure am glad I suggested you keep things simple!  Any more complex and I think you might be attempting a manned space launch with a homemade rocket!

Bakster>  The Humbrol varnish certainly seems to have worked well.  That's a nice satin coat, not too glossy.  Sorry to hear about the masking problem.

Thanks for the comments on the movie "First Man".  I do not plan on going to see it, as it's more of a biopic than a attempt to look at Armstrong's career and eventual moon landing.  Probably see it once it's released on disc.  Speaking of watching horror movies, I watched "Apollo 18" the other day.  Not something I would recommend.

Ben>  I must admit you're making me jealous.  That spiral antenna is just great!  As for the pen tips, it's something I've been looking at for use to replace some engine nozzles on the Titan II model.  Just finding the right shape is key.

Hope you will still enjoy the GB as it continues, even with the do-overs.  We'll try to make it entertaining, if nothing else.   It's funny (since you're nomally an auto guy) that no one thought about doing one of these --

PFJN>  Sorry to hear about the laptop.  I understand your pain, as my monitor kept going out on me last night, and I had to switch over to a smaller one for my main computer.  Funny thing is, I hooked it up to my secondary computer and it works fine.  Not sure what is going on there.

The shuttle is looking good now that the pieces are being assembled.  Good luck with getting the canopy built up.  I'm a bit of a procrastinator about building things as I probably over-think the problems.  Maybe I don't think about them enough!

Hypertex>  Wow!  Having a lathe is so neat!  Wish I had one so I could turn out small nozzles, nose cones, etc.  If you ever decide to go into business making small parts, let me know.

Mach71>  Bummer about the LES!   I might have suggested freezing the part and then plunging it into hot water, but I don't know that it would have made a difference.  Cutting is sometimes the only solution as I have found out while working on the Command and Service Modules for my own project.  Luckily for me, the glue was 50 years old and not very well secured.  You'll come up with some fix, I'm sure.  Duct tape.  Lots of duct tape.  

Gamera>  Add me to the Halloween Horror Movie Club.  I've been recording a few old ones for a bing watch on Halloween.

 
Progess Report:

Not much.  I've moved back to the LES system, and have put the paper skin on the tower body and attached the q-ball to the ballast section.  The paper skin over the wooden dowel is a guide for where to attach the piping running down the side of the main body, and the jettison nozzle openings on the side.  Once these things are cut out and applied, the paper will be glossed over and painted.  As for the nose cone, I'm already considering a "do-over" as the q-ball is actually slightly smaller at the base where it meets the ballast compartment.

Meanwhile, I have a bunch of plastic parts to see what I can use to help form the flared ring at the base where the nozzles for the main rockets protrude (as shown here).

  The silver cone shaped object is from an old mechanical pencil.  While I will not use it for the nozzles, it may come in handy for forming some nozzles.  We'll see what works best.

That's all for now.

Mission Director (GAF)

Today in Space History:

1961 October 27 - . 15:06 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC34. LV Family: Saturn I. Launch Vehicle: Saturn C-1.

Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Apogee
: 136 km (84 mi).

• Largest known rocket launch to date, the Saturn I 1st stage booster, successful on first test flight from Atlantic Missile Range. With its eight clustered engines developing almost 1.3 million pounds of thrust at launch, the Saturn (SA-1) hurled waterfilled dummy upper stages to an altitude of 84.8 miles and 214.7 miles down range. In a postlaunch statement, Administrator Webb said: "The flight today was a splendid demonstration of the strength of our national space program and an important milestone in the buildup of our national capacity to launch heavy payloads necessary to carry out the program projected by President Kennedy on May 25."

1967 October 27 - Cosmos 186 -. 09:29 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC31. LV Family: R-7. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511.  Payload: Soyuz 7K-OK (A) s/n 6. Mass: 6,530 kg (14,390 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Soyuz. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft Bus: Soyuz. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-OK. Duration: 3.95 days. Decay Date: 1967-10-31 . USAF Sat Cat: 3014 . COSPAR: 1967-105A. Apogee: 223 km (138 mi). Perigee: 179 km (111 mi). Inclination: 51.6000 deg. Period: 88.60 min.

• Docked with Cosmos 188; first automated rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft. The dockings were timed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution (in lieu of a succession of manned space feats that all had to be cancelled due to schedule delays). Achieved automatic rendezvous on second attempt. Capture achieved but hard docking and electric connections unsuccessful due to misallignment of spacecraft. Star tracker failed and had to make a high-G ballistic re-entry. Recovered October 31, 1967 08:20 GMT.

1969 October 27 - Cosmonauts tours - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi, Feoktistov, Khrunov, Popovich, Tereshkova, Titov. Program: Soyuz. Flight: Soyuz 6, Soyuz 7, Soyuz 8.

• Kamanin assigns cosmonauts to upcoming foreign propaganda tours. Beregovoi and Feoktistov are to go to the United States, Tereshkova to Hungary, Popovich to France, Khrunov to Odessa. Titov will not be given this privilege because of his numerous automobile accidents, run-ins with the militia, and motorcycle habit. (editor - Titov was a BAD boy!) 

1970 October 27 - X-24 Flight 19 - . Crew: Manke. Payload: X-24A flight 19. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Manke. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft Bus: X-24. Spacecraft: X-24A. Maximum Speed - 1446 kph. Maximum Altitude - 21763 m. Flight Time - 417 sec.

Thanks everyone for the support. Thats the 2nd best part of a group build.

The best part is the synergy of ideas.

DRUMS01, Your work looks outstanding. Have you thought of modifing the base? filling the old pad divots and dremeling some new ones? It might be too much trouble.

I'm also working on the MPC big eagle and I have the metal RCS bells. I'm happy to send them to you or GAF for your build. I'll have to check on the size.

I'll head down to my workbench in a bit, I was up late last night watching my Red Sox lose.

GAF, I hope you feel better. Take care of yourself. Thats most important.

DRUMS01

In my case, the do-overs are making this a great GB for me. Funny saying that but reworking something in a type of build I normally do not do helps me learn more and overcome an obstacle; whi

Ben, that is the correct mindset, making you perfect for this hobby. I can usually handle a few setbacks, but there is a point where I lose patience, and that's when the fun goes with it. That whole patience thing often makes me wonder if I am in the right hobby. Lol.

Thanks about the hatches!

Btw, I found another goof that I did. I have decaled the capsule and I thought that I was done. Whilst looking at some other builds of the same rocket/capsule, I happened to notice a decal on theirs that was not on mine. I thought, "what the..." I took another look at my plans and sure enough, there it was, buried in a jumble of notes. It was pretty tiny and these old eyes missed it. I am glad the error was caught before I dull coated the thing. Sigh. That would have really irritated me, then the whole fun thing happens. Lol.

Gaf: That is a good point about the cars. It would have been fun to see someone build one. 

Mach71>  Thanks!  I'm feeling somewhat better this morning.

I have all the RCS thrusters I need for the LMs.  Somehow I managed to keep these tiny parts over the years.  Don't know how!

Bakster> One part a day, that's my goal.    (265 days to go!)  Glad you caught the decal gaff early enough.  Decals are a distant thought for me.

As for the Corvettes,  if you don't like the gold ones, maybe the Apollo 15 Corvettes might be more to your tastes?

Gary

GAF

As for the Corvettes,  if you don't like the gold ones, maybe the Apollo 15 Corvettes might be more to your tastes?

How did you know I didn't like the gold ones? You must be psychic. I will take the black one, thank you.

If you don't mind... I will take the lunar rover too. I can tool around with the other cruisers here. I'd be the talk of the town.

Either Vette would've been a great build in my mind. Here is a couple photos showing more progress. I still have to reduce / soften the panel lines alot. I created several items, check it out so far...

I want to still add several vents, some rivets, correct some antenna mounts, etc. 

Ben

Very nice!

I think thats the best looking LM/AS I've seen!

I think I've got the tank remounted. It's not perfect but its the best I can get and get the instrument joins close.

Its off center by about 1/3mm.

I've started filling the gap at the bottom with putty for 2/3 and bakeing powder set with thin CA for the last 3rd. I did this for added strength. The putty is drying now.

The capsule mateing ring is molded in 3 pieces, the fit is off a bit and will require some filling.

On to the antenna section.