Astrazoic

Back on track! Started assembling the hanger occupants based on a photo of CVN-65 underway during Operation Enduring Freedom. Since the data for this period is easily obtained, that's the era ship I will be building :)

I was asked a few months ago by Drew Huffman at Crow's Nest Models to build two of his new 1/32 Mercury capsule kits. These buildups will be used for display at model shows like Wonderfest and IPMS-sponsored events. The models are in stock and will ship by mid-September for a price of about $170. About 80 resin, white metal, clear plastic, and wire pieces will be included. A photoetch fret is also included, featuring the retro pack straps, main hatch frame, rack elements for the aft bulkhead, overhead window shades, and other parts. A detailed booklet Drew and I are putting together will be av

In between various space-related subjects, I decided to reengage my 1/350 Tamiya Enterprise kit, which I've had for years. Since the kit has no hangar, not even a floor, it is a logical place to start. After a few months of work, I finally finished it. Now I just need to fill it up with planes and people... http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar1.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar2_op_640x627.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar3_op_640x392.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar4_op_640x478.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar5_op_640x303.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Hangar6_op_640x344.jpg http://

FYI, I put together a PDF document covering the WIP for those interested http://www.astrazoic.com/Mercury.pdf

Exceptional work, Pete. It is a wonderful credit to this piece of our history.

You can tell it rubbed off easily in photos that followed safing of the vehicle and return to the hanger. Finger marks are apparent around access panels and disturbed areas are apparent on the elevons from where workers apparently sought leverage. It's possible there was burn through, but I imagine the tiles just got cooked. Some tiles on US Shuttles tend to have that light brown tint to them, and the black ones get much lighter after even one use. The soot may have been from exhaust gasses, but I really have no idea. In any case, I will be replicating this mess...

Nice work there. I'm so glad to see all the wonderful care and attention models of the Shuttle are getting around here!

Jay - not sure. We probably came up with the idea independently. I built the Shuttle model in 2006, followed by two years of on-again off-again detailing and tiling. Ugh. I am building the orbital version that flew in 1988 as it appeared immediately after landing. These means a significant amount of weathering (much more so than a US Shuttle). The aft end was pretty nicely coated with soot, which was apparently easy to clean off. Not sure where the soot came from, though.

Made a bit more progress during the week. I detailed the cockpit hull section and inserted the windows, which are polished on the inside. I then installed the assembly, puttied and sanded flush with fuselage. http://www.astrazoic.com/Buran5.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Buran6.jpg http://www.astrazoic.com/Buran9_op_640x694.jpg You can also see that I installed the forward RCS pod. The kit supplies three parts for this, plus a bunch of crappy plugs for the nozzles. Instead, I sanded the hull pieces after aseembly, then more or less filled it with Milliput. I stuck a sharpened pencil in each

Glad to see all these shuttle projects under way. Well done on this one, BTW!

Thanks. The panels are all random photoetch bits from my scrounge box. I thought about resin aftermarket seats, but decided against ording stuff. I just used the seats from the kit and added a few plastic bits to them. The objective was to provide a sense of shape and color when you look through the windows - sadly, one won't see all that much in terms of detail. I will do a better job of photographing in-progress steps. I realized I need to take photos more or less at the point when I planned buttoning up the cockpit <_<

There are many, many strangely-shaped tiles on the U.S. shuttles, mostly located around compound curves, which is logical. However, the Soviet shuttle seems to have been almost entirely covered in rectangular tiles, though in some places, particularly around doors, panels and such, there are odd shaped tiles. I have completed the cockpit, which is completely scratchbuilt and almost entirely conjecture, though I did use some reference photos like the ones above. For instance, I did add the bulk of instruments along the centerline, something that is an evident departure from US shuttles, the la

Cut out the little buggers and glue them on. One by one. It is madness, but worth it :)

Jesus. That does qualify as a mother load. Thanks, Jay.

Pete - here's another comment to keep you rolling - good frackin' job on this thing. It is a fascinating model already. I can get lost looking around inside the innards, which I love :) It would be marvelous if you did the same treatment with the 1/12 Mercury capsule model!

Thanks for the references. It's funny, because I've been using those two images as a reference, as they both come very close to the real thing. The best resources seem to be located here (the links Tony has provided) - excellent high-resolution photos of the actual spacecraft, as opposed to various flight test articles: http://www.buran.ru/htm/foto2.htm. I have made excellent headway on the cockpit. I will have a photo of the buildup shortly. Jay - thanks for the video. I had not seen that before.

And so it begins. A year or so back, I got my hands on the 1/72 Buran shuttle kit from Amodel. It's a so-so kit, but nothing I can't handle. A significant amount of work is required to get this thing to look good, and details available about this spacecraft are not exactly prolific. On the other hand, I have several contacts in the industry that have proven helpful in tracking down line drawings and photos. I will cover the vehicle with tiles in the same manner I used for my 1/72 Discovery. Interestingly, the process should be simpler because there were not as many strangely-shaped tiles on B

What a wonderful project - well done...

Made a bit of progress on the left wing. Both halves have been glued together, with the wheel well painted and detailed. The kit has no wheel well detail to speak of, so this entire area needs to be added. I aimed for 50% accuracy - I am interested in getting it close, rather than perfectly accurate. The area of the wing where the flaps connect is surprisingly simple for an aircraft this size. It does make life easier for the model-builder however. Here is a resource of photos that provide an excellent reference for the flaps: http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/B36/B-36.html I also started

1/72 B-52H various bomb wings, especially 5th. B-36, all versions, to compliment the Warbirds Decals already out there (2 excellent sheets, one dedicated to generic stencils) 1/32 Better NF-104 decals.

Excellent buildup. I love the forward RCS assembly - a neat cluster of modeling goodness.

Made some progress on the B-36D. The fuselage is more or less ready for primer. I need to mask off the canopy and nose glass, which have been glued on and sanded flush with the aircraft skin. The clear parts cracked a bit, so I will be trying to cover the flaws up with the canopy frames, if possible. I also forgot to install some scratch pieces in the "greenhouse" top, where there are some controls. Oh well. As for the wings, I have built up the main gear well, cut out various vents and ports, and added scratch parts as necessary. I also thinned the wing at areas in which the flaps will be

Thanks for the compliment, Paul. As for wings, I understand the angst. I seem to have a nasty habit of wanting to take them apart and reassemble them with flaps, slats, spoilers and ailerons deployed. Kinda dumb, since most of these surfaces are not deployed when at rest, but I don't care

This is an impressive undertaking, Paul. I look forward to see how this comes out!

Hm - good point. I still need to figure out how I'm going to add this feature to the aircraft...