One Giant Leap For Mankind, Just A Pootle Round The Garden For A Martian

[Pete in Lincs]

Back in your natural habitat and away from the wet stuff! Huzzah!

At least on this thread I know more or less what I'm looking at!

[Martian]

1 hour ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Back in your natural habitat and away from the wet stuff! Huzzah!

At least on this thread I know more or less what I'm looking at!

I'm glad somebody does: I haven't a clue what's going on!

 

Martian 👽

[Pete in Lincs]

It's good to get back to normal then.

[Martian]

The hot news from Cape Martian is that the Mercury Redstone made it over the finish line last night, with the last of the photo-etch parts getting added to the model. The only thing I am a tad unsure about is whether to glue the escape tower in place or not. At the moment, it is unglued, which will help with transport but lets the tower take on a wonky appearance at the slightest provocation. If I do glue it in place, I am going to need to come up with a particularly cunning way of protecting the model.

 

Anyway that's a decision for another day, lets enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

The Mercury Atlas is nearing completion but two unwelcome things have delayed things. Firstly, and this has never happened to me since I began using decals produced by Micro-Scale over forty years ago, is that parts of the United States titles on the rear of the rocket and some of the stencils, disintegrated on contact with water. Solutions are being looked into and if all else fails, I have a second kit on order which I can rob for the damaged decals. I have a plan for the second kit which still involves a Mercury Atlas, but one with a twist. Watch this space!

 

The other issue is a belated heads up and one that I wish had reared its ugly head a lot sooner. I had thought that a brass rod that I inserted into the centre engine would be give ample strength to the base to model joint. What I had not anticipated is the weak joint of the engine itself to the rest of the model. This is allowing the model to to take up a not quite vertical appearance and will probably fail in time due to the weight of the model. There is an answer to this and I wish that I had been aware of the problem sooner, which would have made a very awkward procedure easy. On the next build, I will pack out the area surrounding the engine where it disappears into the base of the rocket with Miliput. his will prevent any flexing of the engine an provide a much sturdier mounting for the kit stand. Painted black, the fix will not be visible when the stand is glued into place. It will also help prevent the seams of the engine trying to crack open which has been an annoying feature of the build. I have managed to pack the recess but it was a total pain in the Martian rectum trying to work around the already assembled engines. The model now rests on its side, waiting for Dolgellau's finest to cure properly. Whenever you are ready Miliput!. I'm having a week away from Saturday so it should be rock hard by the time I get back.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martian 👽

[LorenSharp]

Excellent job on the "Bell" Martian. I can almost hear Gus grousing about the fit inside. Can't wait to see the Atlas.

[Pete in Lincs]

Lovely rocket your Alienship. Would a small pebble of white tac aid the errant escape tower?

And, I can't wait to see what @CedB makes of the very last part of your closing paragraph.

Enjoy your time away, and take care!

[Terry1954]

Nice one Martian. Really looks the part. I do love a good rocket!

 

Terry

[Martian]

3 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

Excellent job on the "Bell" Martian. I can almost hear Gus grousing about the fit inside. Can't wait to see the Atlas.

Cheers Loren.

3 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Lovely rocket your Alienship. Would a small pebble of white tac aid the errant escape tower?

And, I can't wait to see what @CedB makes of the very last part of your closing paragraph.

Enjoy your time away, and take care!

Thanks Pete, I like the White Tack idea, I shall investigate further. With regard to my last paragraph, frankly I am surprised that our Ced hasn't pounced already. He must be slipping!

 

Martian 👽

[LorenSharp]

Yes Martian,  but if Ced knows you  know he knows, He may do nothing instead. But what if he knows more than you thinks he knows? Ced could be acting like he only knows that you know he knows, when in fact Ced knows that you know he knows You know he knows! You know?  And once I figure out what I just said, I might be able to give a crushing reply.

[Martian]

7 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

Yes Martian,  but if Ced knows you  know he knows, He may do nothing instead. But what if he knows more than you thinks he knows? Ced could be acting like he only knows that you know he knows, when in fact Ced knows that you know he knows You know he knows! You know?  And once I figure out what I just said, I might be able to give a crushing reply.

Thanks for that clear and concise explanation Loren. You would do well as a Vogon civil servant!

 

 

10 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

Excellent job on the "Bell" Martian. I can almost hear Gus grousing about the fit inside. Can't wait to see the Atlas.

Cheers Loren.

10 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Lovely rocket your Alienship. Would a small pebble of white tac aid the errant escape tower?

And, I can't wait to see what @CedB makes of the very last part of your closing paragraph.

Enjoy your time away, and take care!

Thanks Pete, I like the White Tack idea, I shall investigate further. With regard to my last paragraph, frankly I am surprised that our Ced hasn't pounced already. He must be slipping!

 

Martian 👽

[Eric Mc]

Nice Redstone.

 

Regarding the escape tower, would a magnet solution work?

 

[Martian]

7 minutes ago, Eric Mc said:

Nice Redstone.

 

Regarding the escape tower, would a magnet solution work?

 

Probably too late for this one and the Atlas but I am certainly going to have a look at this for the next Atlas as I can see how that could be done with not very much extra work.

 

Martian 👽

[Martian]

Sorry Guys, one picture got put in the wrong file and got missed.

 

 

Incompetent of Mars👽

[Martian]

The extra Mercury Atlas kit arrived today which at least allowed me to finish the United States titles on the rear face of the rocket. I'm not that happy with the way she has turned out but I can at least have another bash now that I am aware of the kit's Achilles heel. I am away for a week from Saturday and I will take the kit away with me to work on if the weather is pants. I am going to Wales after all so I should get at least some modelling done.

 

Disappointed of Mars 👽

 

 

 

 

 

[Martian]

Well, I'm a right Muppet! I have been sat here wondering why there was no reaction to my post on the 1/48 Mercury. The penny then dropped that it was because I did the modelling, took the pictures and uploaded them but completely forgot to do the actual post! 

 

So, better late than never, here's what I have been up to. I finished painting the instrument panel and all the equipment on the rear bulkhead  and added some buckles to the seat harnesses. I have exaggerated the contrasts on the rear bulkhead so that the detail pops out sufficiently when viewed through the open hatch. I then finally got the capsule buttoned up. The fit of the rear bulkhead to the rest of the capsule is not the greatest and a bit of very careful filling and sanding was required so as not to damage the shingles on the outer hull. Next up is to paint the metallic effects on the heat shield and retro pack. we will then be moving on to decaling and final assembly.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

 

 

Absent Minded of Mars  👽

[Pete in Lincs]

It was worth the wait. A lovely bit of work. 

To me, it shows what a leap of faith these missions were on the part of the Astronauts.

Strapped into what amounts to a dustbin with little or no control over your fate. It's either bravery or madness!

And, I had to do this...

 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/pjYAAOSwuYFfGvGh/s-l500.jpg

[Martian]

Thanks Pete, why am I not surprised about the link? 

 

Martian 👽

[Terry1954]

4 hours ago, Martian said:

but completely forgot to do the actual post! 

I often find that actually doing the post can more easily lead to people being able to see what you've done 😜

 

Totally agree with @Pete in Lincs on both counts, the modelling and the pioneering spirit of the early astronauts.

 

Great build!

 

Terry

[LorenSharp]

You do have to give the early Astronauts credit for getting into one of those things," What shall I do today? I know, I'll get into a tiny can and put a bunch of explosives underneath and see how far it will toss me up and out like a howitzer shell and haven't much, if any control over it . Excuse me? ....  Go to the moon? Well I don't know....6-7 million pounds of explosive you say? Are  you sure that will be enough? And I'll have a 1 in 2 chance of blowing up on the ground and a one in four chance of making it back alive you say? Well ok,...Lovely view from up here on top. I say, I hate to be a bother but would you mind  lighting  the fuse for me? I can't quite reach to light it. Thank you ,you're too kind." Brave chaps to say the least.

[uncletommy]

Late to the party.  As usual, but I'll venture forth a suggestion anyway regarding the escape tower retention.  For sticking various temporary bits to various other bits, I've had excellent success using Microscale Micro Liquitape.  Brush it on one piece, let it dry and it remains tacky and allows you to stick two bits together yet is still easy to separate later.  The only downside is that to remove it, they suggest you use IPA.  Of course, if you're using acrylic paints, IPA may well be your paint jobs death knell.

 

Your mileage may vary.

[Martian]

32 minutes ago, uncletommy said:

Late to the party.  As usual, but I'll venture forth a suggestion anyway regarding the escape tower retention.  For sticking various temporary bits to various other bits, I've had excellent success using Microscale Micro Liquitape.  Brush it on one piece, let it dry and it remains tacky and allows you to stick two bits together yet is still easy to separate later.  The only downside is that to remove it, they suggest you use IPA.  Of course, if you're using acrylic paints, IPA may well be your paint jobs death knell.

 

Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the suggestion, it sounded great right up ti the point you mentioned acrylic paint. Bugger! No matter, in another "senior moment" I forgot that the capsule and adaptor are a nice push fit so all I ever had to do was to remove it from the model for transportation. Not that it will be going very far as I don't think the Atlas is good enough to show.

 

Martian 👽

[John_W]

On 08/06/2021 at 12:57, LorenSharp said:

You do have to give the early Astronauts credit for getting into one of those things," What shall I do today? I know, I'll get into a tiny can and put a bunch of explosives underneath and see how far it will toss me up and out like a howitzer shell and haven't much, if any control over it . Excuse me? ....  Go to the moon? Well I don't know....6-7 million pounds of explosive you say? Are  you sure that will be enough? And I'll have a 1 in 2 chance of blowing up on the ground and a one in four chance of making it back alive you say? Well ok,...Lovely view from up here on top. I say, I hate to be a bother but would you mind  lighting  the fuse for me? I can't quite reach to light it. Thank you ,you're too kind." Brave chaps to say the least.

Just finished reading The Right Stuff. While it is a novel, the background, and the exploration of the "Fighter Jock Mentality" is very interesting. The US Test pilots seemed to be of a different mindset to Eric Brown and his British compatriots.