Moebius 1/144 Discovery from "2001: A Space Odyssey" (+ cockpit, pod bay and lighting)

[Hamiltonian]

 

This is the big Moebius styrene kit of the Discovery spacecraft from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I've detailed it with the Paragrafix photoetch cockpit and the Green Strawberry resin-and-photoetch pod bay (supplemented with parts from the Paragrafix pod bay), and with some excellent pods from Falconware via Shapeways. I used Aztek Dummy paint masks for some preshaded detailing, and printed some decals to detail the pods. Some small modifications---drilling and chiselling some holes in the Green Strawberry resin parts, so that I could light up parts that wouldn't otherwise be lightable, and completely replacing the Green Strawberry "octagonal tunnel" in the pod bay to make it lightable. I replaced the photoetch vertical supports for the suit rack in the pod bay with some fine brass wire, which I could secure more firmly, and I revised the small dish antennae and the cockpit window frames because the kit parts didn't quite match the appearance in the film. All covered in mind-numbing detail on the WIP thread:

 

 

Quite a lot of wiring and lighting added---I wanted to reproduce the classic appearance when Bowman first takes a pod out to repair the antenna:

 

Here's an overview of the completed object:

 

 

 

The mission patches on the base come from an Etsy vendor called Demogorgon, and are a pretty good match for the patches worn by Bowman and Poole in the film:

 

 

The final panel shading is quite subtle, which is what I was aiming for, but difficult to photograph. My little automatic camera shows it up best against a neutral grey background:

 

 

Lighting is powered by two 3V battery packs inside the engine compartment:

 

 

 

Two packs because I wanted to light the engines, just for fun and experience, but really didn't want the ship to appear to be under thrust with the pod extended. So I can light them up for a demo, but leave them off when the command sphere is the focus of attention.

 

 

And the command sphere:

 

 

 

 

The cockpit is difficult to photograph, but perhaps you can make out my little Frank Poole figure, peering out from the left seat:

 

The illuminated pod is removable, so that it's easier to peer into the illuminated interior of the pod bay:

 

 

 

Easier to get the whole thing in focus in a pre-assembly photograph, however:

 

The whole thing now sits inside a custom case, created by a UK company called LasAcryl, whom I'd certainly recommend:

 

(Yes, yes, I know. If I'd anticipated that I was going to end up displaying it like this, I'd have run the power supply through the stand into the base!)

 

And finally a couple of composite views I couldn't resist putting together:

 

And a wee homage to the abandoned Discovery in 2010---dumped near Jupiter's moon Io and covered in sulphur from its volcanoes.

[TallBlondJohn]

Glorious. Just thought - why did/does/will Discovery have three pod bay doors? Seems like more weight and weakness. One or two doors and a rail system to move the three pods internally would be better. But not the same.

[Hamiltonian]

9 minutes ago, TallBlondJohn said:

Glorious. Just thought - why did/does/will Discovery have three pod bay doors? Seems like more weight and weakness. One or two doors and a rail system to move the three pods internally would be better. But not the same.

Thanks.

So little about the pod bay makes sense.

It's not orientated correctly relative to the thrust axis---all the pods would roll to the back of the bay as soon as they turned the engines on, and none of the access routes and facilities are correctly orientated.

Why depressurize that huge volume every time you want to take a pod out?

Why are the spacesuits and helmets stored inside what is effectively a large airlock?

Why does the non-EVA astronaut suit up on the command deck when an EVA is taking place, but leave his helmet in the pod bay? (Well, we know that one---because the plot requires a suited astronaut to leave in a hurry and leave his helmet behind.)

 

But it's a thing of beauty, and I forgive Kubrick.

[Yg Models]

nice interior 😍

 

Stanley Kubrick is one of my favorite film director.

[Jeddahbill]

Congratulations on the completion of this fine build!  Certainly a long and arduous journey, but you managed to produce a real gem.  In particular I like the subtle panel shading - so many builds of XD-1 have starkly contrasting panels that just don't look right to my eye.  Discovery remains a truly iconic spacecraft and continues to captivate the imagination.   Great job and many thanks for the excellent WIP photos and narrative - I really enjoyed following this build. 

 

Bill

Edited February 8, 2023 by Jeddahbill

[Hamiltonian]

22 hours ago, Jeddahbill said:

Congratulations on the completion of this fine build!  Certainly a long and arduous journey, but you managed to produce a real gem.  In particular I like the subtle panel shading - so many builds of XD-1 have starkly contrasting panels that just don't look right to my eye.  Discovery remains a truly iconic spacecraft and continues to captivate the imagination.   Great job and many thanks for the excellent WIP photos and narrative - I really enjoyed following this build. 

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the WIP. The build was good fun, particularly getting the detachable pod working. I only really had the one set back, which wasn't a great disaster---having to strip the hero pod back to its primer, because I'd managed to get clear red paint all over it while attempting to place a tiny blob on the interior end of the HAL eye.

 

The problem, I think, is that if you do the Discovery "right" (that is, in subtle shades of pale grey, the way we think it should be), it's actually quite boring to look at! No exterior markings or lights, as would be customary in depictions of modern science fiction spacecraft. So if you're not a hard-core fan of the movie, it's just a big dull object of unusual shape.

The response to my display-cased model from visitors has so far been largely one of puzzlement, but with one who lurched to a halt and more or less shouted "Oh my god, it's the Discovery!" and came close to having a religious experience when I turned on the lights for him.

[Hunter Rose]

Truly outstanding! Looks fantastic, all the interior details and the pod are amazing 👍

[2lefthands]

Wonderful! And the display is ace too!

[ernestf]

Lovely big and it is such a big model kit !

It is realistic and subtle color representation as a spacecraft. 

Be aware of a call from film maker for help and support.

 

Cheers

Ernest

[oldmodeler]

Hello and gosh.

Ive also done the 1/144 Discovery, but I wondered where you managed to obtain the display case??

 

On my Discovery, I did a lot of the panel work in various tones:

 

some along the spine as well:

 

But I didn't do the interior detail. To  move the model I also need to do a fixed display case like yours.

 

regards, Martin

[Hamiltonian]

25 minutes ago, oldmodeler said:

Hello and gosh.

Ive also done the 1/144 Discovery, but I wondered where you managed to obtain the display case??

 

On my Discovery, I did a lot of the panel work in various tones:

 

 

some along the spine as well:

 

 

But I didn't do the interior detail. To  move the model I also need to do a fixed display case like yours.

 

regards, Martin

Nice.

Mine has rather more visible panel shading than I've been able to photograph. Maybe I should fiddle with the contrast and brightness in "post-production", rather than trying to trick my wee automatic camera into taking a representative photograph.

The case comes from a UK company called Lasacryl: https://www.acrylicdisplaycases.co.uk/about-us/

They do a really good job, but they're expensive when it comes to an object this size. In retrospect, if I'd known this was going to end up in a case, I'd have shortened the stands a little, so that the model sat a bit lower, allowing a case that was closer to a square cross section.

 

The base comes neatly covered with baize, both interior and underside, which might complicate matters if you need a solid bond between stands and base. My stands are just glued to the baize, which is fine for display purposes (I occasionally lift the model on and off), but I certainly wouldn't trust that for transport.

[oldmodeler]

Thanks for the case details, I hope to show my Discovery after it is protected from prying  fingers. Ive tried to download and show movies of the working HAL displays, but this site does'/t seem to allow it.

Martin

[dhanners]

A stunning build! The detail is fantastic….