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2001 A Space Odyssey Orion


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I remember building the Airfix Orion kit as a kid and really wanted to do one as an adult. I saw the Moebius (MkI) version at a Model Expo a couple of years back for $20 Australian. I thought I would have a look around and come back and pick it up.....big mistake. It was like a hot chip to a bunch of seagulls. I have never found one as cheap, but stumbled across this one which was a little more costly, but nothing compared to going prices. As soon as I got it in the mail, I opened it up and started gluing parts. 

It only has 15 pieces, so would take no time to build, but I decided to light it. This has increased build time significantly, but it is a lot of fun. I will power 3 leds (including some optic fibre) and an smd strip with a 9v battery housed in a Polar Lights stand. 

 

Here we go..... the obligatory box shot, plus the TSDS interior and decal set. The interior is printed paper, that once lit gives the impression of a fully loaded interior. The windows are small, so I think it will work fine. I also wanted to model mine as a PAN AM ship like in the movie, but these decals don't come in the kit. 

 

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I filled the stand whole with thick plastic card, and drilled a new hole for the new stand.

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The interior was blacked out and coated in Alclad chrome to allow for light bounce. The SMD strip is 12v, but looks just right lit with 9v. 

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The rear bulkhead was drilled open for the engine wiring and fibre optics. 

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The fibre optics glued in place for the tail lights. 

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The engines will be 5mm Leds coated in clear orange to give a different tone to the rest of the lighting. Here they are wired up. They have since been totally blacked out on the inside. 

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Finally some small masks were made for the windows in the fuselage. 

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14 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Nice start Noel,

 

I suspect I picked up that $20 Orion at Expo, what a bargain it was! :D

 

I will be watching, I want to build mine soon, though I am not sure about lighting it.

G'day Ray. It was at Wasmex about 4 years ago and was on a Hobby Store table...I also missed out on a Moebius Cylon Centurion for $30. Pleased you picked up a bargain though. Hope my lighting helps you to work something out for yours. I keep having to problem solve at each stage to get the lights in place......fun!!!!

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10 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Hi Noel,

Was that swap and sell the July 2016 Wasmex by any chance? If so, it was me that got that kit for $20! 😬

 

It’s sitting in my stash right now.

 

Great subject by the way!👍

G'day Steve. I saw the kit at Wasmex about 4 years ago and it was on Stanbridges table...I also missed out on a Moebius Cylon Centurion for $30. Darn. Pleased you picked up a bargain though. 

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Just now, Bandsaw Steve said:

Sure did get a bargin on this one. I’ve got some big plans for this kit...big plans!

 

Of course I’m sure you can guess what happens with most of my ‘big plans’

🙁😜🤕🙁🤪🤪🤪

Hahah...haven't we all got big plans for many of our kits???? :)

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1 hour ago, noelbarnes said:

G'day Ray. It was at Wasmex about 4 years ago and was on a Hobby Store table...I also missed out on a Moebius Cylon Centurion for $30. Pleased you picked up a bargain though. Hope my lighting helps you to work something out for yours. I keep having to problem solve at each stage to get the lights in place......fun!!!!

Ah, OK when you mentioned Expo I thought you meant the one in Melbourne where I got mine for very cheaply.

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A few update photos before the Christmas celebrations begin. I have added the TSDS interior details. They consist of a thin plastic/paper like material with printed images on them. Once folded and glued in place they don't look like much, but once closed up and the lighting is going...it should look convincing. I have also enclosed the tail section with all the wiring in place. 

 

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. 

 

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On 24/12/2017 at 12:19 PM, Mike said:

I love this ship (and everything 2001, I have to admit) and have the same set IIRC. I'll be looking forward to progress over Christmas :santa:

Me too Mike ... love everything to do with 2001.

 

I'm still (re)building the Discovery albeit rather slowly and the Space Station.

 

Pete

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Have got the kit together now....I had some problems with the wiring that held me up a tad. Here she is primed, painted and with decals going on. The decals....hmmmm. The kit decals were very finely printed with some nice detail. They went on OK, but tended to suck straight onto the white surface and were tricky to manoeuvre and tore easily. Generally they were OK. The TSDS decals were slightly thicker which was good. There are also a number of nice options on the sheet....Pan America (as seen in the movie), TWA, NASA, and a Presidential option. I needed to only use four decals from the sheet, which made all the other PANAM options defunct. They are printed on a continuous carrier film and were printed very closely together which made trimming them difficult. I would like to have seen less smaller decals and multiples of the sizes that were usable, with more space in between. They are not as sharp as the kit decals, but from a distance they look OK. They did the job, but were not overly user friendly. 

Take a look for yourselves and see what you think. 

 

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Thanks for sharing your build- Super helpful and timely too :D

 

I just got this kit as a Merry Christmas to me from me gift :).  Paid full freight but it was on my "must buy it, if you see it" list.  ( Hmmm, that list seems to always get longer no matter how many kits I buy.  Must not ponder that fact too long)  I was considering the TSDS interior and decals so your build is extremely helpful.  You'd say the set is worth it?  I don't think I could go so far as to get the photo etched set as it's a bit dear but the Pan Am markings are a must.  I take it that you worked out your own lighting?  I'm not sure I could manage that but I might just get brave and have a try.  How do you intend on mounting the Clipper.  I've been zooming it about in my head trying to come up with something better than  shoving a stick into the belly. I am looking forward to seeing the Clipper in all its glory.

 

Now if I can scrape enough cash together to get the Discovery....

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2 hours ago, ScanmanDan said:

Thanks for sharing your build- Super helpful and timely too :D

 

I just got this kit as a Merry Christmas to me from me gift :).  Paid full freight but it was on my "must buy it, if you see it" list.  ( Hmmm, that list seems to always get longer no matter how many kits I buy.  Must not ponder that fact too long)  I was considering the TSDS interior and decals so your build is extremely helpful.  You'd say the set is worth it?  I don't think I could go so far as to get the photo etched set as it's a bit dear but the Pan Am markings are a must.  I take it that you worked out your own lighting?  I'm not sure I could manage that but I might just get brave and have a try.  How do you intend on mounting the Clipper.  I've been zooming it about in my head trying to come up with something better than  shoving a stick into the belly. I am looking forward to seeing the Clipper in all its glory.

 

Now if I can scrape enough cash together to get the Discovery....

Hi ScanmanDan. 

I just found out about the Discovery too and cannot justify the price unfortunately.....too many other projects to do first. Yes I did the lighting myself. It is not difficult, just fiddly. It might be worth giving it a go. I have just jammed mine on a stick, with a Polar Lights base with a switch....finished images are coming soon. I think the TSDS is worth it. The alternative, as you have mentioned, is far more expensive and will take some skills to complete. The interior will definitely need lighting to show it off. Mine hasn't come out as I had hoped and is a little too dim for my liking. I think lit directly from behind would have worked better than lights shining down from the roof. Anyway, you live and learn. All the best with your new Christmas present....enjoy.  

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  • 1 year later...

When I built my Orion a few years ago I sent off to Comet Miniatures for the PanAm decals. I was pleased with the quality but felt very annoyed about the postage - for the small sheet I was charged Comet's standard £3 per item. (As an experiment I changed the 'quantity' to two sheets before submitting and the postage went up to £6.) When the sheet arrived it was in an ordinary envelope with a second class stamp.  :rant:

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