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Greetings! Finally finished - 1/96 scale Apollo Saturn V and LUT. WIP details for both can be seen here: Following is the first group of images, many more to follow. Many thanks for having a look, questions and comments always welcome! Cheers, Bill

Greetings! Some images of key construction points in my build of the Apollo Saturn V in 1/96 scale. This will be combined with a detailed 1/96 scale LUT to complete the Apollo Saturn V at launch. I used parts from the Revell kit combined with large diameter styrene tubes to replace the booster wraps from the kit. Also added photo etch and resin details from the excellent New Ware kit and replaced the kit CSM with the RealSpace resin kit that includes a BPC. Finally, decals from New Ware to complete the build. The finished Saturn V will be secured on the LUT with a steel threaded rod passing through the rocket interior and secured at the Apollo Spacecraft Adapter which will be removable. Many thanks for having a look, questions and comments always welcome. Best Regards, Bill

Greetings! This WIP is for the Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) only. The Apollo Saturn V rocket is being constructed concurrently with this LUT and can be seen under a separate WIP topic. I posted some completion photos of the Colby Crane recently which is part of this build. Well, it has certainly been a long and difficult journey! I started in June 2021 and very quickly the build expanded beyond my original scope of work into a far more detailed project than I originally planned. It really took on a life of its own and just kept getting more intricate and complicated with every step! Thankfully, it is almost finished now and when combined with the Apollo Saturn V rocket, it should make for a very impressive display! The build started with a very detailed paper kit, but rapidly became a massive scratch built effort as I replaced or enhanced much of the paper kit parts and added many new entirely scratch built details. Items used in this build include: Edu-Craft Diversions 1:96 Scale Apollo Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) paper model. This kit includes 38 sheets of 11 x 17 inch beautifully printed parts with a very detailed PDF instruction manual. By itself, this paper kit builds into a highly detailed and accurate model. Tom's Modelworks 1/96 scale photo etch railing set #9612 (several sets needed). Central Valley Model Works railroad details sets for stairs, platforms, railing and other structural components (many, many sets used) Various polystyrene sheet, tubes, rods, half rods, strips, beams and channels. Various wood planking strips left over from wooden ship projects. Various wood pieces cut to size to provide structural strength in critical areas. Various gauge music wire. 12 volt double density cool white LED strips with 90 degree connectors and power adapter. LED wireless remote control. Plastic and paper drinking straws. Various paints and sealers. Permanent markers in various colours. Derwent watercolour pencils. PVA, carpenters wood glue, CA glue and 5 minute epoxy. Various modified LEGO pieces and odd bits from the spares bin. Early on in the build I decided to use wood in the base and tower core to provide a more sturdy structure. Next came the idea to add LED lighting. Then the decision to replace paper kit parts for stairs, railings, platforms, piping, conduits and so on which complicated things greatly. The Colby Crane was almost entirely scratch built. All of this added a high degree of detail and accuracy, but required a tremendous investment in time and effort with about 80% of the overall build being scratch built or heavily modified paper kit parts. So, now onto the images. Many thanks for having a look, questions and comments always welcome. Cheers, Bill The note on the following image should be "Bottom edge" view! Apologies for the error!

Greetings! This is part of a much bigger 1/96 scale Apollo Saturn V and LUT project that is nearing completion after many months of work - more on this later. The Colby Crane sits at the top of the LUT and represented one of the more challenging components of the overall build due to the complicated open girder construction. Scratch built from various styrene, brass, and paper materials with various photographs and diagrams as reference guides. The machinery housing is from the Edu-Craft Diversions paper kit. The mast is hinged and can displayed up or down as desired. Finished with a variety of paints and sealed with flat clear, weathering will be done along with the overall LUT once completed. Many thanks for a having a look. Questions and comments always welcome! Bill