1/12 Atomic City Mercury Friendship 7 - COMPLETE!

It keeps geting better and better. I've seen lots of great superdetail work, but nothing comes close to this, it is the finest miniature work ever. I hope you take heaps of pix and def do the album thing, and you show this everywhere.

(Also insure it...tho it's priceless).

When totally complete, let us know, there shoud be a celebration!

I, too, bow to your expertise and craftsmanship! I also understand your last quote, about the "scary moment", just where WILL that astronaut figure fit? It would almost be acceptable to just leave him out and have the entire interior in view for everyone in the future as they come across this gem!

Om mani padme hum

Bob

Forgive me if someone asked this and I missed it. In what state of the spacecraft, will your final display represent? As it appears today? In flight? Just post flight?

I'm curious because of the heavy weathering you've represented so well in the cockpit.

Did the many flight checks, etc., prior to the flight really ding up the cockpit that much? Or are you representing it as it looks today where I suppose many many folks, down through the years, were allowed to climb in to see it for themselves?

I know it is covered in plexiglass now, and it has been a while since I've seen it, so I don't remember the details.

Again, just really curious. Wonderful work.

Mike

Integration complete! The aft bulkhead was successfully joined with the forward section. I have begun working on the recovery module while the cabin section dries (glue, putty and all that).

Internal light test:

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury102.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury103.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury104.jpg

Standard shots with flash. Obviously, more careful photos of the interior will be forthcoming when the model is actually completed

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury105.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury106.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury107.jpg

Mike - Thanks for the questions. I am representing Friendship 7 as it appeared immediately after reentry (no retro pack and no escape tower). The capsules appear to have been significantly dinged up prior to each flight, which surprised me. According to some experts I know, each capsule was used to train the astronauts before the single flight, mainly because each capsule was unique to the astronaut. Once the vehicle completed the flight, it was safed and handled by engineers. No one else was ever allowed to get inside the capsules until submitted to museums, at which point curators and staff photographed the artifact and, in most if not all cases, installed lighting systems to facilitate viewing.  

Unbelievable work!  Thanks for sharing it... it is really inspiring!

If I may ask: what did you use to replicate the wrap ties on the instrument panel harnesses?... also for the hoses, did you use plastic tubing wrapped in copper wire? What did you use to make the tiny toggle switches on your panel?

Again great work! and also thanks in advance

Enrique

It looks like the real thing. That's as big of a compliment that I can give. I mean it really looks like the real thing.

Phil,

Thanks for the response. It was an interesting time.

Thanks for sharing your look at it.

Mike

Enrique,

The ribbed hoses are scratchbuilt using solder wrapped in copperwire. This allows for easy bending. Much of the wire harnesses are tied together using waxed dental floss. The scale is slightly off, but it made my life much easier. I emphasize "waxed" as this provides a slight stickiness that helps considerably in terms of retention and reduces fraying.

The capsule, sans recovery package, has been sanded and prepared for rivet installment. I have started installing the rivets, as you can see in the photos, using David Weeks' excellent Mercury drawings (these are a must for anyone building this kit). The rivets are made by punching out appropriate sized washers first, using thin sheet styrene. The rivets themselves will be cut from thin styrene rod.

Much more to do, but the process is going by much faster than I anticipated.

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury108.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury109.jpg

Snowed in this evening, so I put the finishing touches on the capsule (sans recovery module) before priming (tomorrow, probably). All washers, screws and rivets have been installed, as are these linear features that appear to be grommets between hull plates. I also added brass rods for the 14 perimeter vents and thrusters (second photo).

Finally, I discovered that the persicope is actually covered by a door, so I added this.

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury110.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury111.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury112.jpg

I use Tamiya low-viscosity cement (green cap on small, cubic glass bottle) so that capillary action does most of the work. The result may look messy, but once a coat of primer goes on, all evidence of cement is gone - it goes on like a thin wash of paint, for example. I highly recommend this product.

Main body has been primed with Tamiya Gray Primer and, remarkably, everything looks perfect.

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury113.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury114.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury115.jpg

It sure does!

 

Looking good

Hello again...

In your assembly thus far, you're at a place where I have stopped in the antenna fairing and recovery compartment. Do you happen to know what colors are used (specifically) for pieces # 110 and #109 in Step 5 of the included instruction sheet? I have not been able to find a reference for these colors. Even a suggestion as to how to paint this would be appreciated, or perhaps a source for images of these finished parts.

Thanks again for your (and everyone else's) helpful suggestions, and for taking all of us with you on such a museum-worthy WIP as well.

Got some work done on the recovery module. I added an interior wall to the unit, some bracing and a BUNCH of rivets. Time consuming, to be sure. The interior cross bracing and components have also been started, and I'll post photos of these when I get further along.

There is very little, beyond random photographs, describing what is inside the recovery module. Two quadrants house the parachutes. The other two quadrants are filled with assorted components, including antennas, squibs and connectors running to the forward module. Each capsule had a different arrangement, and photos of this compartment for Friendship 7 appear non-existent. So, I am taking some artistic license. The interior is mostly interior green and silver.

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury116.jpg
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury117.jpg

Bob, I cannot seem to find the instruction sheet, so I'm not sure what parts those are. I will take a guess, however, and tell you that the interior of my recovery compartment will be mostly Interior Green and Silver. The various components will be silver or black, mostly based on artistic license as there are very few photos out there. Hopefully, when I post photos of my progress, this will help. In any case, let me know what these parts are, and I will try to get an answer for you!

Hi Astrazoic

I took this still from the Preperation film of Freindship 7. Not sure if it is any help but it does show the Parachute container being installed and it's Colour. I'll see if I can hunt down anymore footage of this compartment for you. (if you like)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41701767@N02/4146987650/

I have hours (literally of Mercury footage) Let me know if you would like to see more stills.

Regards

Michael

Michael - thanks for that - very interesting. The images I do have show that the containers appeared to be "dropped in", but I did not realize they were connected together. Perhaps we can coordinate something and post a link for Mercury references. I found this particularly difficult when doing research for my kit - few online images are available. Certainly there must be huge amounts of detailed imagery of Friendship 7, if not all the capsules, and these should be made available online.

Also, I see you are making progress on your Mercury - good work there! I'm so happy to see another 1/12 Mercury getting built :)

Hi

Thanks for that, Progress is slow at the moment as I'm interested in seeing how you one comes along :) I can over the next few days post more stills or I could e-mail them to you. It'll take me me a little time to go through all the footage.(there is roughly 24hrs of footage altogether)

These are all from the 6 disc DVD set from spacecraft films, and I've found them very helpfull and interesting to watch.

Let me know what you would like me to do,

Regards

Michael

These are the area I'm talking about, and you mention the cross-braces which are the parts I spoke of below. At least I don't feel too bad about not turning up any pictures of this compartment if you couldn't find any either. And I also note all the EXTRA detail you include in these two images as well. Such patience.....where can I find a quart of that?

 You may already have mentioned and I missed it, but do you plan to leave out the figure and just mount it for display as it would be seen in a museum? That would bring you much closer to completetion when the nose is complete. It would almost be too distracting to have to look past the astronaut figure inside the capsule, although you must have also considered that inclusion of the figure would give a great feel for how cramped it was in these tiny little Mercury capsules.

Thanks again for the reply and new images for us all...

Bob

Finally finished the bulk of construction to the recovery module. What remains are the addition of wire harnesses and cables, parachute straps, assorted components (mostly imagined, since I can't really make out whats inside), and other details. Last night, I did a rough estimate on how many rivets I added to this section and came up with around 1,200! 

I'm very happy with the result, but readers must note that this (and frankly the rest of the model) is about 75 percent accurate, insofar as one can measure such things. In other words, I am aiming for accuracy up to a point - I'm more concerned with aesthetics, I suppose. 

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury119.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury120.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury121.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury122.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury123.jpg 

The "cruciform" piece slides into the recovery module, which makes it easy to add components and wires. The rivets are cool, but notice their different heights - that kinda sucks. 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury124.jpg 

Assorted components: 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury118.jpg

Hay I put up some more photo stills for you if you want to take a look. A couple of the retropack and exterior etc. Just look on my Flickr site.

 

Regards

Mike

Thanks, Mike - I'll take a look!

Almost finished with the recovery module. All components and walls have been painted, and now all that remains are the UHF antenna, recovery beacon, straps, and some assorted detailing. 

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury125.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury126.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury127.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury128.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury129.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury130.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury131.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury132.jpg

Hi Phil,

 

You’re probably getting tired of hearing this but… Man, holly smokes, what outstanding work you’re doing on that Mercury capsule!!   I have a couple of those kits and between the pictures you’re posting of yours and all the reference info listed, there’s strong inspiration to work on one sometime soon. It won’t be done to the level you’re doing, that’s truly a work of art, but I can see a number of areas from your example that will improve the look of the basic kit. You did confirm one thing for me, and that is the idea of adding interior lighting.

 

One question for you: Your wiring harnesses look really good, particularly the bundled wire or wire pairs with the protective insulation/sheathing. How did you replicate that?    

 

I just started a 1/96 Saturn V build that I’m doing old-school (out of the box more or less) but I think the Mercury capsule is next. 

 

Anyway, thanks for posting this incredibly detailed and interesting build. Very impressive.

 

 Craig Lovell

Beyond words as always.  Quick question: are you air brushing these components or using a manual brush?

Craig -

Thanks very much for the kind words. The wire harnesses are created by twisting about five very thin wires together, then plugging them into a bent piece of solder that has been drilled out a bit. It's pretty easy once I figured out how to make these things. I got the wire in a local hardware store under a section for fishing supplies - a bunch of different gauge colored wires on spools.

Astronaut Buck -

I airbrushed most of the components, then added paint chips with a brush. The silver areas were painted using a Tamiya Silver Leaf rattlecan. Tamiya's rattlecans are very good, so sometimes I use them.

Integration of recovery module with main body is complete. I also manufactured the UHF antenna using brass wire and soldered the joints. This was affixed to the recovery module, along with the actuators. 

http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury133.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury134.jpg 
http://www.philsmith.us/Mercury135.jpg

That is some good work there. I've never thought of using brass wire before is it an easy material to bend and shape? Do you then solder the parts together? Are you going to make the parachutes? now theres a challenge!

Regards

Mike

Thanks, Mike.

No parachutes - this will be a depiction of Friendship 7 as it might have appeared on Noa (the ship that picked it up). It will have substantial distress on the skin, and the remnants of the chutes (cables and straps that remain with the vehicle. There is also a safing pin in the seat which I added last night as well.

Hay Phil

I uploaded some more photos on my flicker website. These are of the recovery. It's all black and white.  (The Colour film is very dark and it is hard to define any details)

Your model is very very good sometimes I can imagine it's the real thing! Do you plan to make part of the deck of the Noa for your model as well?

Regards

Mike