airdave
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2012
- Messages
- 214
Just finished looking at tron1988's thread "Apollo 17 splashdown" https://www.scalemodeladdict.com/threads/apollo-17-splashdown.16644/
Very nicely done.
Reminded me I haven't shared a model I created a few years back.
Yes, as with most of my models, they are created to be retail kits...although trust me, there's virtually no money to be made.
I just barely fund my hobby, and that's good enough for me.
Anyway...I have a friend who designs "high end" paper models and kits for retail.
And one of his designs was a large scale Apollo CM Capsule with full interior.
It can be built in exploded view, so you can see whats between the walls of the spacecraft.
While the parts are coloured, everything has a monotone, unweathered, and not very realistic finish.
It screams for added touches...some builders applied real foil papers to various parts, to simulate metallic surfaces.
I had another idea.
I wanted to see a space flown capsule.
What the Columbia looked like after it completed its journey.
What it looked like after re-entry and splashdown.
I wasn't interested in the interior or the more complicated exploded build of the capsule,
my goal was to modify the outside of the model only.
I also wanted to repair/modify a number of details and parts on the model.
All respect to my friend Ken who designed an amazing model! but there were many visual inaccuracies that I wanted to address.
So I got permission to use the basic model and create my own version.
Not only did I readjust sizing of some panels, but I redesigned almost every external and surface attachment.
Including a completely new hatchway and outer door design.
Using a boatload of reference photos acquired from the Apollo archives, I redesigned the portholes and windows, the thrusters and more.
I created a whole new heat shield using actual photos of the space flown heatshield.
I also completely redesigned the crew egress tube and the upper compartments, chute storage and hardware, and thruster hardware.
I even created the floatation "up-right" buoys.
And everything is 100% paper (card stock). (except for some acetate windows)
This is the image I mocked up using the finished model (for the model kit cover):
Very nicely done.
Reminded me I haven't shared a model I created a few years back.
Yes, as with most of my models, they are created to be retail kits...although trust me, there's virtually no money to be made.
I just barely fund my hobby, and that's good enough for me.
Anyway...I have a friend who designs "high end" paper models and kits for retail.
And one of his designs was a large scale Apollo CM Capsule with full interior.
It can be built in exploded view, so you can see whats between the walls of the spacecraft.
While the parts are coloured, everything has a monotone, unweathered, and not very realistic finish.
It screams for added touches...some builders applied real foil papers to various parts, to simulate metallic surfaces.
I had another idea.
I wanted to see a space flown capsule.
What the Columbia looked like after it completed its journey.
What it looked like after re-entry and splashdown.
I wasn't interested in the interior or the more complicated exploded build of the capsule,
my goal was to modify the outside of the model only.
I also wanted to repair/modify a number of details and parts on the model.
All respect to my friend Ken who designed an amazing model! but there were many visual inaccuracies that I wanted to address.
So I got permission to use the basic model and create my own version.
Not only did I readjust sizing of some panels, but I redesigned almost every external and surface attachment.
Including a completely new hatchway and outer door design.
Using a boatload of reference photos acquired from the Apollo archives, I redesigned the portholes and windows, the thrusters and more.
I created a whole new heat shield using actual photos of the space flown heatshield.
I also completely redesigned the crew egress tube and the upper compartments, chute storage and hardware, and thruster hardware.
I even created the floatation "up-right" buoys.
And everything is 100% paper (card stock). (except for some acetate windows)
This is the image I mocked up using the finished model (for the model kit cover):
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