Mach71>  That's looking good!  The detail on those 1/12 scale Mercury capsules is outstanding.  

No progress today, except in my cold which seems to have settled into my chest.  That's why I'm up at 4:30 in the morning as I'm coughing too much to sleep.  Hope I get over this stuff soon!

Gary

Great work guys!

love the Redstone Bakster. The stand and rocket are looking very nice.

RealG, I'm loving that M2F2/3 kit! vac kits are a can be a pain, yours looks great!

I've not gotten much done, and unlike our leader I don't have a good excuse. Just life.

I managed some bench time today.

I'm just about done with the top of the capsule. The instructions build the retro pack straps next, but I think I'll start on the instrument panel next. It's clear so it has lighting potential and I have some fiber optics. Maybe.

G: Ohhhhhh, looks so cool! I don't miss vac-forms (good ridance) but it is probably worth a pretty penny these days. Would love to see you build it. 

Gary: Yuck, hope you feel better soon. 

GAF

...

PFJN>  Looking forward to seeing the shuttle finished.  Got any plans for a base for it?  Runway might be nice.

...

Hi,

Yeah, I was thinking maybe that, or maybe just a fine grit piece of sandpaper, to represent maybe a dry lake bed.

PF

Hey, guys!  Been absent for a little while as my health has taken a turn for the worse again.  Think it's the weather as it became cold here suddenly.  Sniffles and sore throat has made me want to stay in bed and not sit at the bench like I should.  Getting better now, or at least I've got some stronger medicine. 

Bakster>  The body for the Redstone is looking quite nice.  I think you'll have quite a nice looking model once it's finished.

Real G>  Interesting vac-u-form kit.  I wish I had stuff that has been in my stash so long I had forgotten!  Bet you could sell it for a pretty penny on Ebay!

PFJN>  Looking forward to seeing the shuttle finished.  Got any plans for a base for it?  Runway might be nice.

Project Report:

Little going on my end, as my cold got me down.  Have sanded some on the base, and tried gluing three of the panels for the LM area together, but didn't quite get that correct so I'll have that to fix.  Started cutting the nozzles for the LES, though I haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to attached four of them together.  Lots of minor things going on, but nothing worth pictures yet.  Just gathering information on the Instrument Unit and LM area for details.  I may have to take a trip up to Huntsville for research.

Mission Director (GAF)

Today in Space History:

1961 November 29 - . 15:07 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC14. LV Family: Atlas. Launch Vehicle: Atlas D.

• Mercury MA-5 - . Payload: Mercury SC9. Mass: 1,300 kg (2,800 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA. Program: Mercury. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Spacecraft: Mercury. Decay Date: 1961-11-29 . USAF Sat Cat: 208 . COSPAR: 1961-A-Iota-1. Apogee: 237 km (147 mi). Perigee: 158 km (98 mi). Inclination: 32.6000 deg. Period: 88.30 min.

  Atlas D (53D) was the first missile to be launched by SAC from Vandenberg in the operation test (Category III) launch program. Mercury-Atlas 5 (MA-5), the second and final orbital qualification of the spacecraft prior to manned flight was launched from Cape Canaveral with Enos, a 37.5 pound chimpanzee, aboard. Scheduled for three orbits, the spacecraft was returned to earth after two orbits due to the failure of a roll reaction jet and to the overheating of an inverter in the electrical system. Both of these difficulties could have been corrected had an astronaut been aboard. The spacecraft was recovered 255 miles southeast of Bermuda by the USS Stormes. During the flight, the chimpanzee performed psychomotor duties and upon recovery was found to be in excellent physical condition. The flight was termed highly successful and the Mercury spacecraft well qualified to support manned orbital flight.

Real G

...  

I also unearthed the Eagle's Talon kit of the X-24A/B.  They have been savaged off their carrier sheets and a little worse for wear.  PJFN, I can send you scans of the instruction sheet if you like, as it also contains useful notes and drawings of the colors/markings.

Hi,

Thanks.  That'd be great.  I am (hopefully) close to finishing up my Mini-Shuttle Model and hope to get back to the X-24B soon 

PF

Hey G. That Eagle Talon looks interesting! 

DRUMS01

Bakster, you make me smile when reading your string. I'm sure the base with your rocket mount and finished mercury kit will be outstanding. 

Everyone is coming along real nice, can't wait to see more reveals.

Ben

 

As long as you are enjoying it, I'll keep bringing it. 

So here is a peek into the past with Eagle Talon's 1/72 Northrop M2F2/3 vac-form kit:

https://flic.kr/p/2deB7FD][/url]M2F2-01 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2deB7p6][/url]M2F2-04 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

No resin or metal detail parts, but nevertheless it was a high quality kit for its time.  The instructions have a good amount of color and marking information as well as a potted history.  The actual assembly directions are fairly short, but better than a lot of other vac kits.

It was unusual for a vac-form to include decals, even though the subjects were often esoteric with unique markings that would be impossible to source.

https://flic.kr/p/2deB7aZ][/url]M2F2-05 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Okay yeah, now using the unforgiving visual acuity of digital photography I can see that the black markings are seriously off register.  The decals are still useable, I just need to cut away the mis-registered portions and replace them with stuff from the spares folder.

And here is the kit with its progenitor the M2F1.

https://flic.kr/p/2deB71k][/url]M2F2-02 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I also unearthed the Eagle's Talon kit of the X-24A/B.  They have been savaged off their carrier sheets and a little worse for wear.  PFJN, I can send you scans of the instruction sheet if you like, as it also contains useful notes and drawings of the colors/markings.

Bakster, you make me smile when reading your string. I'm sure the base with your rocket mount and finished mercury kit will be outstanding. 

Everyone is coming along real nice, can't wait to see more reveals.

Ben

Real G

Bakster, that rocket is shaping up very nicely!  Can’t wait so see it painted up!

modelcrazy

Looking great Bakster

 

Gamera

Bakster: Great job taking care of those seams there. And the base looks good, I usually go for about two coats of polyurethane.

Thanks, Gam! And I will sand the base tonight and put another coat on.

G: Ohhhhhh, sounds cool!

Bakster: Great job taking care of those seams there. And the base looks good, I usually go for about two coats of polyurethane.

Gary: Thanks for the spelling, polyurethane, I have to remember that.....  

Looking great Bakster

Bakster, that rocket is shaping up very nicely!  Can’t wait so see it painted up!

Meanwhile, back at the Krab Kave...  While looking for something under the bed, I found an Eagle’s Talon 1/72 vac-form M2F2/3 kit!  I bought it in the 1990s I think, and it provides a striking contrast to the great stuff we take for granted today.  Back in those days, resin wheels were unheard of, and Eduard PE were these tiny rectangles of unpainted brass.

The kit can be built as either the M2F2 (Six Million Dollar Man crash scene), or as the rebuilt M2F3 with the center fin.

Maybe staring at those blobby detail parts will provide a kick in the pants to get back on the M2F1.  (To be fair, the fuselage has fine, clean scribing.  I think I’ll spray paint the vac sheets with some Tamiya silver to see what they really look like.)

Piccies tomorrow! 

The rocket was primed with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer (white), wet sanded, then painted with Tamiya gloss white. I will give that a few more days to cure before I start masking for the black details. Also in the progress is 1 coat of polyurethane on the wood base. That is drying.

End of update.

Okay then. I will stay with 1 coat and get some poly. 

That was fun. Thanks guys!  

It's the small things in life. 

Bakster

Well--the stain worked much better on the actual piece than on the scrap. I am on the fence if I should do another coat. It looks pretty good already. What do you guys think?

Looks good!  The polyurethane will really make it pop!

Gary

GAF

I've used fine-grain sandpaper for a concrete base. 

Well--the stain worked much better on the actual piece than on the scrap. I am on the fence if I should do another coat. It looks pretty good already. What do you guys think?

Who doesn't love sanding?  It's like... the smell of victory! 

Good luck with the stand!  I've used fine-grain sandpaper for a concrete base.  Just find some squares and cut to suit.  Works fairly well.  Also, finding some concrete images online and printing out sections can work.  I have some full-sized 8-1/2 x 11  label paper that can be used and just stuck on the base.

Not much going on with my project at the moment.  I'm cleaning more parts with "Purple Stuff".  The folding panels were yellowed with age, but after a bath in the cleaner they come out sparkling white.  I'm also researching the Instrument Unit and lower LM section for details on antenna and details to add.

Meanwhile, the AMT Round 2 Klingon D-7 is getting some attention.  It's now all together and about ready for it's base coat.

Gary

Today in Space History:

1954 November 26 - .

• X-1B Flight 9 - . Crew: Holtoner. Payload: X-1B flight 8. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Holtoner. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: XS-1. Spacecraft: X-1B. AF flight 8.

1968 November 26 - .

• Soviet Union needs a manned L1 to fly in the 8 to 12 December lunar launch window in order to beat Apollo 8. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Beregovoi. Program: Lunar L1, Lunar L3. Flight: Apollo 8. Spacecraft: LK, Soyuz 7K-L1, Soyuz 7K-OK.

  The primary issue in the next 3 to 4 months will be how to answer the impending American Apollo 8 flight. The Soviet Union needs to fly a manned L1 in the 8 to 12 December lunar launch window. But the spacecraft is still considered too unsafe for manned flight. The Apollo 8 mission is risky, but the US can't fly the Apollo spacecraft to the moon unmanned...

  Beregovoi is to be named commander of the Gagarin Centre. Gagarin himself was being prepared for the job, but his death in a plane crash ended that plan. The other cosmonauts are not ready for command. The centre desperately needs the two planned L3 trainers: the TBK-150 and Volchuk. Kamanin has been jerked around for four months on the issue. Even if the simulators were delivered, he would still need 2 million roubles and an additional 30 to 40 staff to install and operate them.

1975 November 26 - .

• X-24 Flight 64 - . Crew: McMurtry. Payload: X-24B flight 36. Nation: USA. Related Persons: McMurtry. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft Bus: X-24. Spacecraft: X-24B. Maximum Speed - 740 kph. Maximum Altitude - 13720 m. Flight Time - 245 sec.

1976 November 26 - .

• Complete integrated checkout, Enterprise (OV-101) - . Nation: USA. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spaceplane. Spacecraft Bus: Shuttle. Spacecraft: Enterprise.

1989 November 26 - . 13:01 GMT - . Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Complex: Baikonur LC200/39. LV Family: Proton. Launch Vehicle: Proton-K.

• Kvant 2 - . Payload: 77KSD s/n 17101. Mass: 19,565 kg (43,133 lb). Nation: Russia. Agency: MOM. Program: Mir. Class: Manned. Type: Manned space station. Flight: Soyuz TM-8. Spacecraft Bus: Mir. Spacecraft: Kvant-2. Duration: 1,615.45 days. Decay Date: 2001-03-23 . USAF Sat Cat: 20335 . COSPAR: 1989-093A. Apogee: 397 km (246 mi). Perigee: 388 km (241 mi). Inclination: 51.6000 deg. Period: 92.40 min.

  Mir expansion module. Scheduled docking 2 December delayed due to failure of solar panel to extend and failure of automatic rendezvous system. Faults corrected by ground control and docked with Mir December 6, 1989 at 12:21 GMT. Transferred to lateral port December 8.
  Officially: Delivery to the Mir orbital station of additional equipment and apparatus for the purpose of expanding the research and experiments conducted in the interests of science and the national economy.

   

2018 November 26 - 

• Insight Lander makes successful touchdown on Mars in the plain of Elysium Planitia. 

Gamera

Whoops! You might need to sand between the coats of stain and polyuthane as Gary pointed out. Often I notice the first coat of polyuthane causes the wood to get kinda rough. So I just sand it down, then add another coat of stain and hit it more polyuthane until I get a nice smooth finish.  

I LOVE sanding. Cough!

Will do, and I can't wait to see how this turns out.  

Bakster

 

 

Gamera

Bakster: I just use wood stain from the hardware store and then two layers of polyuthane (sp?!?) over it. 

 

 

Will give it a whirl, Gam.

 

Whoops! You might need to sand between the coats of stain and polyuthane as Gary pointed out. Often I notice the first coat of polyuthane causes the wood to get kinda rough. So I just sand it down, then add another coat of stain and hit it more polyuthane until I get a nice smooth finish.  

Gamera

Bakster: I just use wood stain from the hardware store and then two layers of polyuthane (sp?!?) over it. 

Will give it a whirl, Gam.

GAF

After staining, you will have to varnish the wood to protect it (like clear-coating a model).  This involves applying a coat, sanding, applying another coat, sanding, etc.

My gosh! That sounds like a lot of work!!! LOL. 

Ah, what the hey. I will try it. Then I can tick it off my new things to try list. 

Oh--and you must be psychic! I was thinking on simulating a concrete slab. Let's see what boondoggle this leads me into. Hehe.

Thanks for the additional info, Gary!

Thanks for the note about the lander too. I was not aware.

Those all look amazing guys!!! 

Bakster: I just use wood stain from the hardware store and then two layers of polyuthane (sp?!?) over it. 

Bakster>  Welcome to woodworking!   After staining, you will have to varnish the wood to protect it (like clear-coating a model).  This involves applying a coat, sanding, applying another coat, sanding, etc.  Polyurethane varnish can be found at your local hardware store.  A nice printed decal on sticky paper can be used on top to make it appear as if there is a surface underneath, such as concrete.  Something to think about.

Gary

PS> Reminder that the Insight Mars Lander will attempt to touchdown on the Red Planet today at ~3:00 pm ET.  The landing may be followed here:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/watch-online/

Oh, OK I see. Yes, more coats will/should darken it up.

modelcrazy

You'll need to stain it first although I don't know how well a stain will look on pressed wood. If youre intrested, Hobby Lobby has those round bases in pine for a very reasionable price, especially if you use the weekly coupon. They are usually a little rough and need some initial sanding though.

 

I will try more coats on the test piece.