1/48 Voyager II Space Probe

2Step · January 18

Hi,

for extending my space collection I wanted to try something different and went with this little kit. I got the Eduard PE set, mostly for the two booms, which are solid plastic in the Hasegawa kit.

The model went together without any real problem. The only thing was that practically any hole in the plastic was a weeny bit too small. After realizing this (AFTER on piece broke) and extending the holes before the glueing, all was well.

The painting instructions are a bit off in my opinion. Most parts are supposed to be painted in black - which is the color of the thermal blankets that covered most instruments. The shapes of the palstic parts however are closer to the "bare" instruments. Which had other colors.

I stuck with the black, because it is closest to the actual look of the probe in space (not that anyone can still see it). I did not replicate the thin white seams that the blankets have.

The PE set compliments the kit nicely. I think it is a must to repelicate the two booms. Again, no real problems - bit I still managed to screw it up a bit. The magnetometer boom (the long one) is twisted about 120° along its longitudinal axis - I think is the right way to describe it. After having read a build report that mentioned it being hard to give the boom it's twist after the two parts have been glued together, I decided to try to bend the two pieces before glueing them together. Well, the construction does what it is supposed to do in the original thing: it gives a very good rigid stability. So the bending didn't go so well, as some of the smaller trusses bend the wrong way(s). I bend them back as much as possible without doing more damage, but it still shows. I think if I could do a do over, I would rather forgoe the original look and not bend the thing at all ....

The kit comes with a globe as a base. I first just wanted to hang it into the showcase, but then wasn't sure if I could display it the way I wanted or wether the construction was stable enough. So I did use the stand. The globe has earth's continents engraved on the inside (it's made of clear blue plastic), but I decided that to be to boring and maybe, only maybe, beyond my painting skills. What you see in the pictures is my rendition of Neptune (probably a bit overboard with the clouds) to commemorate the fly by of this planet.

That actually makes the probe to be Voyager II, as no. I never flew by Neptune. (I also believe that the instrumentation of the two probes was not 100% identical, but my sources where not good enough to tell me which of the instruments in the kit were really mounted on Voyager II, so everything went on).

With a figure for size comparism and the alien the kit came with (I know it's hand has only four digits, but it still looks to me like the alien is giving me the finger 🖕).

... and together with the other 1/48 scale exhibits Explorer I and Apollo LM/CM/SM in the showcase (that boom takes a lot of space!).

As always, thanks for looking and any comments welcome.

Cheers

Here are my othe space related builds:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DLrnifbiBdBnwxfF7