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Hi All This is my first group build - thanks to all for putting it together :). When I came up with this idea I got nervous that perhaps it might not qualify because it wasn't a spaceship/rocket etc, then I RTFM and calmed down a bit. Anyway, this is going to be a Martian Marine Corps APC, inspired by The Expanse tv show (again, as per the Freighter build). I don't actually remember seeing an MMC APC or anything similar on the show, and I watched every single episode because I am an anorak. If there was such a thing, feel free to let me know. I wanted to do it mainly because the MMC logo is very, very cool and I wanted to put it on something, also I had an urge to build something with wheels. Not having anything to copy I was forced to improvise a good deal, all the while trying to think how such a vehicle might look, bearing in mind the relatively low gravity and thin atmosphere on Mars. This is my sketch: I did a more detailed sketch which you can see in the pics, I also put the whole thing into LibreOffice Draw which turned out to be a smart move as I changed the design quite a lot: It has six wheels rather than tracks because I have 6 wheels in my stash which my brother had knocked up for me ages ago on his 3d printer. That project never happened, but I knew I would find a use for the wheels some day. I don't know whether to add a gun turret or not. That decision can wait for a while until more of it is built and I can see if it would work or not. This build will have lights, so I bought this: I'm not sure what's going on here. Something to do with maybe Lego and a VW Camper. I don't understand why anyone would want to combine those things. Anyway, it was fairly cheap and it does what I want. This is where I've got to. I've used square section drainpipe as the starting point for the hull. Onto that I glued some layers of 5mm plastic sheet to give me the rough outline which I will fill and sand into the correct shape. I'm using more 5mm sheet to make the cabin and engine compartment which go on top, they will also need a lot of filler and a lot of sanding, which I have started as you can see. Martin Bower said that the key to scratch building is being able to carve. Personally I think the key is the ability to put up with the dreary monotony of endless sanding. Hopefully this will all come together and end up looking like something that really could bounce over the rocks of Mars (and those Martian ruins in the Cydonia region which no one wants to talk about). cheers for now Monty

Hi All Here we have the finished MCRN freighter 'Clarke' - the build can be seen here I mocked up a few money shots of the Clarke in Mars orbit (of course) and also leaving Earth orbit, and doing a fly-by of an asteroid as she heads towards Ceres base. All of the planet shots are actually NASA pics of Earth, while the asteroid is a random rock shot I found on the net, then heavily edited. Enjoy! Please feel free to comment. cheers Monty

Evening all This project is just about done now and I've put together a few shots of the finished Hopper and the Base, plus a few more shots of the Hopper on the Moon and also on Mars. You might be wondering why something as aerodynamic as a shipping container should be on Mars? My reasoning is that Mars has a thin atmosphere and relatively low gravity so something like the Hopper might actually work out there. Also I got bored with creating moonscapes and I thought it might be fun to work with something a bit more colourful. The model was finished with a coat of rattle can gloss varnish which helped to seal the decals and the weathering. I gave it and the base a few days to fully dry before doing anything with them. The money shots were taken in front of a green screen which helped when removing the background so I could add in something else. All the backgrounds are wallpapers filched off the net and adjusted in size, colour and contrast. All of this was done in Gimp, using the tools for contrast, brightness, colour saturation and colour temperature to try and match the models with the background. The 'martian' backgrounds are actually deserts (on this planet) while the lunar backgrounds really are from the Moon, courtesy of NASA. It has taken a while to get to this point and there were a good few hiccups along the way, but as always the end result is what matters and I'm happy with it, all in all. It has that grungy and battered look I was going for, like it's been working those cargo runs for a good few years now and the engines are starting to smoke a bit and the paint is starting to flake off. Let me know what you think - all comments welcomed, as always. cheers all Monty

Greetings! Direct from my imagination, a Long Range Rover concept vehicle intended for exploration of the moon or perhaps mars. Parts from several kits along with some scratch building and small items from the spars bin provided the raw material for this build. Nothing specific, I took inspiration from various images of similar vehicles being considered for possible use in the future. Added some LED lighting powered by a 9 volt battery. Many thanks for having a look, comments and questions are always welcome. Bill

This will be my entry but first i am going to make some room on the shelf....... It is partial plastic parts and the hull and wings are of a composite material and that is a first for me .. I don't no what to fear first, the composite hull or the shear size!!

A new giant on approach by Amodel, a 1/72nd Martin JRM Mars - ref.? Thanks Tali ;-) Source: http://www.greenmats.club/topic/2421-amodel-jrm-martin-mars-172-тестовая-сборка/ V.P.

Thought I had already shared the rest of my albums here from Oshkosh but apparently not. Just click the link to see all of my photos of the Martin Mars. https://www.flickr.com/photos/92554273@N07/albums/72157673631912586 20160727-MJS_6102 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6201 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6370 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6371 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6402 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6409 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6414 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160727-MJS_6432 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Thanks for looking! -matt

HI, TV TONIGHT,its the Horizon guide to mars. i think its been on recently,but i,ll tape just in case? so BBC 4 8.00---9..00 cheers Don

Hi,theres still time to apply........ http://www.space.com/22556-private-mars-one-colony-applications.html cheers Don,.......staying earthbound for the forseeable future? seems like there,s something sadly wrong north of the border,quite a lot want to go to mars,? sunday post this week Don