Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 I picked this up on eBay after having looked for it, for about a year. Every model build of this kit bothered me. The kit itself is a poor rendering of the suited figure and I wondered if I could make it look ... a little better. Plus, I don't do figures and this'll be my first one ... It's a nice BIG figure ... and offers an opportunity to add some details ... First thing was to cut out the face. I wanted more than just the face ... make it a little more 3D Using Milliput, I added some more skull to his face. The seams on this are awful ... but with some styrene scraps, the gaps were filled ... The hose connections on the suit's torso weren't right, so I filed 'em off After patching the seams, there are still small divots so I filled 'em with thick primer paint The hands were cut off and rotated a few degrees and a little surgery was performed ... The PLSS, Portable Life Support System, needs some attention as well ... Made a couple of holes, and a few more will be too, for 'D' rings in the OPS I was curious as to how the OPS was attached to the PLSS and decided to detach it and try to find reference for the brackets ... the tube on the side is a water container used by the Astronauts. One can just make out the attaching brackets on the top ... A few more holes were made to attach the hoses later on ... Till next posting IPD 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 Good stuff. That kit is notoriously unlike an actual Apollo EVA suit. It will be interesting to see how you accurize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 I've tried vac-forming just once or twice before and wanna try it here to revise the LEVA helmet ... A couple of wooden bucks ... A side view of the kit's helmet ... I've added some styrene to the bottom and sides of the opening ... A couple of successful attempts ... I'm gonna make a new visor too ... On the right, I tried to vac-form a clear piece of plastic, but it didn't work ... it fogged over and I guess plastic can't be re-vacu-formed ... The hemispherical visor piece has been cut out ... ... and the fit is not too bad at all ... I found a blister pack that was the correct diameter and cut that out ... I'll see if I can't have a clear visor under the Gold coated one. I also cut out the tabs that'll affix to the visors ... The helmet sits a bit too upright so ... ... I separated it and gave it a bit of a tilt. I also cut out a notch at the back end of the LEVA per photo reference. Applying some first aid tape to give it some texture ... And the top of the LEVA helmet done ... So far, so good! IPD 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 looking very good, a lot of work but I'm sure it'll be worth it rgds John(shortCummins) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 It's not a lotta work, it's a lotta fun! \ I wanna take care of some smaller things ... the camera ... The kit's camera is above and my version is just a stack of .040" styrene which'll get carved ... ... and almost done ... ... the RCU, Remote Control Unit on the chest, was built the same way ... this is the front ... ... and the back ... ... and the activation lever for the emergency oxygen ... this attaches to the side of the RCU ... the cleats on the bottom of one boot ... ... carving the hose connectors on the front of the suit ... A photo of Apollo 15's Jim Irwin and the attachment hardware for the PLSS harness ... ... and my attempt ... The suit needs some beefing up in places ... Milliput was used ... I noticed that the shoulder on the left side was rather pointy, so I adjusted it ... ... sanded it down and rounded it over with Milliput .... and a front view ... The loops on the back of the boot were sanded off and replaced with loops made from Aluminium from a Lasagna pan ... That'll do for now! IPD 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Some really nice work, your mods are definitely a major improvement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Love this kind of project,cracking modifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 Many Thanx Gents! The RCU and attaching hardware ... ... and with hardware attached ... The pockets were made from thick Aluminium sheet from a frozen Lasagna pan ... the attaching straps behind the leg are strips of First Aid tape. The buckles are made from styrene scraps. Parts for the check-list on the wrist ... The OPS with flaps made from the thick Aluminum sheet ... back view ... ... front view ... ... the 'snaps' were made from straight pins that were snipped off ... And with home made decals applied ... both the OPS and RCU. ... and with the completed Camera and check list till next posting IPD 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 That is looking fantastic, really like the effort going ino this, fitting the 2 visors sounds tricky to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 What an excellent build! Very interesting and inspireing. Rene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photon Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 I was always told that you couldn’t make a silk purse of a sows ear, but you’ve proved them wrong. Great work. 😍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 more excellent work going on here 👍 rgds John(shortCummins) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Thanks Gents ... but let's wait and see how this "sow's ear" turns out ... ... still lots could go wrong ... I wanted to get a material that looked right on the PLSS. I tried household Aluminium foil, Tissue paper soaked in white glue ... and plastic grocery bag. This plastic creased very nicely and looked the part in scale ... so I wrapped the PLSS in it. I also tried a variety of adhesives and found that Rubber Cement, from my old days as a Graphic Designer, adhered this plastic to the styrene, beautifully! It was spray painted with Gloss White ... ... with Decals. The 'velcro' is just first aid tape ... ... assembled ... ... and with the sample bag harness ... I wasn't sure if I wanted to attach a sample bag, but decided to try. I made a pattern and cut it out of household Aluminum foil ... It's a little difficult to make out, but it looks the part ... At the top, on the right side, the attaching hooks are visible ... It's all starting to come together IPD 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 17, 2020 Author Share Posted March 17, 2020 The torso and the belt clasp ... made from styrene ... I tried to make the 2 visors work, but couldn't get them to slide ... they are the same size and were just binding ... so I went with 1 visor and painted it ... I painted the inside of this blister pack to maintain the glossy outside surface ... ... and it looks okay ... the LEVA helmet looks a little small, in proportion, but, I'll have to accept this. I would have had to rebuild the entire kit piece ... I made a base, at an angle, out of drywall pieces and plaster, but it wasn't steep enough, so I found a couple small sheets of styrofoam insulation and added it to the bottom to increase the angle of the base ... this will depict Astronaut Cernan on an EVA while walking up a steep slope. With decals and hoses installed ... ... a scratch built hammer to include in his shin pocket ... And almost done ... I'd like to add some 'dirt' to the white suit, but so far, I'm happy with this ... IPD 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 I have been building the courage to try my hand at a full clay sculpt of an Apollo astronaut, but maybe this is the way to go, whatever your build is certainly inspiring, great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 MarhSH, clay modelling is a skillset unto itself, the type of clay, building an armature and just getting it to look correct, especially a human figure, is not easy to achieve. This may indeed be the better way. Start with a plastic kit and modify the heck out of it. Here's a 360 view of this Captain Gene Cernan model ... I may spray on some 'moondust' and dirty him up a bit ... but I'm liking how this turned out. Many thanx for stopping by and offering your comments ... onto the next one! IPD 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 I'm not usually a big "real space" fan, but that looks bloody amazing! Hats off to you, its a great seeing an old kit turned in to something so great, was a very interesting build to watch 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ventsislav Gramatski Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Looks stunning! I truly enjoyed reading through your build and I applaud you for the effort to turn a bad kit into something great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agriamodeling Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Absolutely amazed I am with your improvement skills! Fantastic job. 👽 Tamás Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ima Penin Diaz Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 Gentlemen may I assume so? ) Thank you very much for your compliments! These type of rebuilds satisfy me to a great extent! And I'm glad you get some pleasure from viewing the WIPs too! IPD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Callahan Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 That is top notch mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinners Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 Agreed. This really is something special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Impressive work! A great pleasure to read and follow this topic! Cheers / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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