omegaman Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 (edited) Here I will be documenting my build of the Apollo 11 LM. I got this kit from Tornado this week (many thanks), and due to recent events it has gone straight to the top of my build list. I already had the revell LM but the monogram one is so much more accurate, with less scratchbuilding required to make it look like a moon lander.I have always been fascinated by the apollo programme and the characters associated. I hope to make this as accurate as possible with scratch building, which given the wealth of information out there isn't too bad, although every LM was different.The intention is to build it on a lunar scene, with Mr Armstrong descending the ladder for his small step. I will be using the Furuta astronaut which I got from ebay which justs o happens to be 1/48 or thereabouts.Pictures to follow, but I have built up the hydrogen tank on one quadrant and the ALSEPP housing on the other. Edited January 9, 2013 by omegaman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 As promised here are some pictures of the basic progress so far. For the Hydrogen tank I have used an old battery which when under the foil will give the correct relief. The ALSEPP needed some additions and I have used some balsa and metal foil to make this the correct proportions This is the choco egg astronaut I will be utilising, mini neil fits on the kit ladder perfectly (this is shown with the base from the choco egg) I wanted a quick modelling fix however so I have nearly finished a small tribute to apollo, which involved the spares from the 1/200 AMT man in space (which will be next on the list after this LM) This kit includes a few duplicates on sprues which you don't need so why not build a mini lunar approach. This is only about 3" long Best crack on with the 1/48 version now! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 The Furuta choco egg figure is a brilliant idea, as is the watch battery for surface relief. The Monogram kit is a very nice starting point IMHO for an accurate LM. Even though Dragon's kit has more bells and whistles, personally I think the Monogram one still has more potential in 1/48. BTW, if you are looking for an excellent building resource for the Monogram kit. Head over to Spaceinminiature.com and order a copy of book SIM#7 as it has some nice paint diagrams for all the LMs, including the Eagle. The prices are reasonable and shipping should be relatively inexpensive as well for a soft cover book (and I imagine demand may have jumped with the recent death of Armstrong). http://spaceinminiature.com/books/sim7.html Your 1/200 AMT kit is also very nicely done as well. Nice detail paint on that tiny little thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Some more updates. I have started scratch-building some bits and pieces to make the model a more accurate version of LM-5 (Eagle) as utilised for Apollo 11. I have cut out the MESA unit which I will pose open as Neil opened this when he was at the top of the ladder. This storage bay included the experiments to set up on the moon, but most importantly a camera was included to capture the historic first steps live in grainy black and white! I have scratch built this part as shown in the second picture. I have also started building the step area which is built up on the actual article, but flat in this kit. In this image you can see I have started foiling the descent stage using a combination of galaxy caramel (gold), galaxy (copper), black electrical tape and some silver adhesive foil. This of course meant having to eat some chocolate along the way! I also have Rolo wrappers (better on a 1/72 model) and some gold tea foil. I have painted the silver foil black on the top legs of the main landing legs. Some good reference is found here in the scrathbuild article - http://spacemodels.nuxit.net/LEM-24/index.htm Thanks for looking, more to do!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 I've got some Rolo foil (older stuff as the current stuff isn't quite as good) stashed away myself for small LM projects. I've found that airbrushing it with Tamiya clear orange nets some good results for the very early Kapton shades, such as the kind used on Apollo 9. Considering the candy foils and Choco Egg figure you've used, a caption for the completed model might be "better modelling through Chocolate" The results are looking mighty impressive though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadders Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 You may want to consider something else for the hydrogen tank. It wasn't circular. I used a crafting gem on mine http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14-9254-5.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys. I have done a little more on the descent stage with some black panels going on I still have quadrant 2 and 3 to do before moving onto the legs. I like your choco model suggestion (more accurately I'm sure the better half likes it!) I can see the question of when will I do another of these lunar landers! Hopefully will upload some pictures this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 a basic update tonight. Just a couple more quadrants sorted out, I just want the adhesive to stick between adding extra parts. Thanks for looking! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 That is looking VERY sharp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 Thanks for the comments, I am aware of your work JM on aircraft resource center and it is impressive! I will hopefully get the descent stage almost complete this weekend, and then the ascent stage madness can begin! Really enjoying the space stuff at the moment ordered up a 1/72 apollo 10 stack this week also which will come on here in due course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genedig65 Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Looking forward to this one. Nice work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Now following this topic as I'll shamelessly plunder your experience for my next build. It does look very good so far. chadder's linked image suggests a perfect finish is not required on this one! Now wouldn't a Saturn V stack in 48th be something!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Now wouldn't a Saturn V stack in 48th be something!! The Scottish Museum of Flight at East Fortune has a 1/24 stack though external detail is minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 I will crack on with this inbetween other things. The descent stage is pretty much ready for the legs to be put on - all foil is done. Then for the ascent stage which may require a few tweaks. I was thinking of getting a dragon 1/48 CSm to go with my other revell germany LM - as I can easily fold the legs and maybe do an apollo 13 TLI dio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Minor update on the progress over christmas. Â The descent stage is almost complete, just need to do the main legs, feet pads and ladder. I also need to add the plume deflectors when I have built up the ascent stage for alignment. The camera MESA hatch is not yet secured on and I will need to add a small handle for releasing this when the ladder is on. Â I am happy with it so far. Â 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mekon Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Excellent work so far. Are you going to put the landing radar and it's associated blast deflector on the descent stage> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaman Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Excellent work so far. Are you going to put the landing radar and it's associated blast deflector on the descent stage> Thanks mekon. Yes I will be scratching the radar I forgot earlier on but it needs representing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 That's looking really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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