K2Pete Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) I'll be updating the images on this thread ... today is Jan 18, 2018 This is gonna be really different for me. A 10" figure model! I had the urge to build this kit, correctly, 'cuz every built model I have seen of this was so poor, I just had to see for myself why this was so. Well the kit IS inaccurate, but then, so is every single other Real, Historical, Factual Space kit I've seen. I wanna see what it'll take to make this into an accurate model of an astronaut on the lunar surface. This kit was based on the Apollo 11 moon suit. I'll be building it to look like a later mission ... like Apollo 15, 16 or 17. Here's the box art. Here's the overall size of it. This is gonna give my old eyes a well deserved break! I started with the Portable Life Support System ( PLSS ). There are a couple of 'D' rings that activate the emergency Oxygen supply that will go in here. There aren't many parts in this kit, but every single seam is horrible! So, using some styrene strip, the gaps get filled. The 'helmet' needs to be reworked too. The visor on the Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly (LEVA) is not 'spherical' enuff. Also, the vertical dimension of it isn't right. Plus, the head is moulded into it. I wanna cut out the head and add some shape to it. I used a drill and and the little razor saw to cut it out. ( I've gotta say, whoever made the master of the face, did an excellent job! ) This'll be another fun one! Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TonyT Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Someone I know did one, you know the pic you see of them on the moon, he copied it printed it off, cut the reflection in the visor out and either added it as a decal or attached it behind the visor..... looked really cool. will be watching this one as have one in store :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkD Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 You can always spoof the new Apollo 18 movie coming out soon. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Awesome Pete! You beat me to this build. I've been wanting to tackle this model for a long time but haven't found the kit. I wish they would release it stateside. I can't wait to see what awesomeness you can come up with. I'll have to see if I can find it but I had a link to some great photos of Shepard's suit (as well as others) taken by a couple of guys who climbed all up in-it. GREAT detail stuff that will help you out. (if you haven't already seen it.) Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Although I haven't done any intensive research yet, Bill, I don't think Shepard's suit will do. As the suit I'll be trying to replicate will be a 'J' mission suit, Shepard's, as he was on Apollo 14, was an "H" mission. The suit and the LM were different than "J" missions. Thanx anyway. I just got this on ebay. I've been trying to win one for over a year now. So I can't wait to sink my teeth into this ( now, where did I put those teeth ...? ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Pete, you are really banging these kits out! I can't wait to see what you have in store for this one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) Although I haven't done any intensive research yet, Bill, I don't think Shepard's suit will do. As the suit I'll be trying to replicate will be a 'J' mission suit, Shepard's, as he was on Apollo 14, was an "H" mission. The suit and the LM were different than "J" missions. I understand. If'n you don't mind I'll post this link anyway as I think (could be wrong) some of the detail stuff might be consistent with a later suit. If you scroll down and open some of these images they are incredibly detailed (for instance the part no. for the PLSS H2O connector was pn-2553 serial no. sn-313...yeah that detailed!). The fittings and connectors are especially useful. http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/A14ShepardFlownSuit.html I haven't found anything this detailed for later suit but it might be out there. Bill Edited August 22, 2011 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Good link Bill! But it's not the correct suit. How-w-ever ... I go to ALSJ for my LM references all the time ... but didn't realize they had photos of flown suits. So I looked at Apollo 17's and sho'nuff, there was a "J" mission flown suit with great detail. Thanx alot Bill for the heads-up! This is gonna help alot! ( ... dammit, now I don't have any excuses ... yeah ... thanx a LOT Bill ... ) Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stevenichols Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) Pete, There were two types of P.G.A.'s A-7L and the A-7LB, quite a few differences between the two most notably would be the umbilical connectors. Here's a link, you know this chap I think, Karl D. http://www.myspacemuseum.com/agallery.htm Edited August 22, 2011 by stevenichols Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Good link Bill! ...So I looked at Apollo 17's and sho'nuff, there was a "J" mission flown suit with great detail. ( ... dammit, now I don't have any excuses ... yeah ... thanx a LOT Bill ... ) Pete Bwwwaaaahaaahaaaaa...now We'll KNOW when you mess up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 (edited) Karl's site is a trove of reference treasure. He and I have emailed each other on this build before I started posting. He's a wealth of info himself! I'm reworking the LEVA opening just using bits of styrene. And I've added some Tamiya epoxy to give the head a little depth. It'll get filed and sanded a little bit. At this point, I'm thinking of either a clear helmet, with the gold visor half way down, or completely closed ... so the head may not been seen at all. I was playing with the vacformer yesterday and went thru a couple sheets of styrene in an attempt to form the visors. Unsuccessfully. I was trying to heat the thin sheet over the gas stove element ... would it be better to stick it in the oven instead, for an evener heat distribution? ( Man, there are lotta things to learn in this hobby ... ) If you guys, that are more proficient with vacforming, can tell me, do you get to the stage where you can do a pull once, or do you go thru a few sheets to get that ONE perfect result? I'm just wondering if I'm doing something incorrectly. I found these wood items, that are the perfect size, that'll be used as the masters. Thanx gents Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
compucrap Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Awesome! I have always wanted to see someone tackle this with a proper rebuild. The oven is probably your best bet for heating the plastic before forming. Another option would be to use a small electric griddle heating plate. This is what the old Mattel vacuforming toy used and it distributes the heat more evenly then raw heating coils. If using the heating plate method you may want to put a thin sheet of metal above the plastic to hold the heat in. I'm confident that you'll make it look fantastic. Have you thought about how to replicate the fabric material of the space suit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alvis 3.1 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 this looks like it's going to be a fantastic silk purse out of a sow's ear. I've got this kit, and have been put off several times due to the simplistic detailing and difficult assembly. You make it look easy! Alvis 3.1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 (edited) Thanx alot guys! Well, the vacuforming gave me some usable results. And when it finally worked, there was a feeling like when you were a little kid and saw your first magic trick ... there's that "Is that ever co-o-ool" sense! So I was using .005" styrene and it was too thin, and after contacting Evergreen, they even said it wasn't the right material. Use .010" at least. So I used .020" at 250F ( in the oven) for about 5 or 6 minutes and, presto! I got a couple good pulls. What a hoot! These parts will be for the sunshade assembly which sits on top of the LEVA helmet. Then after looking at some profile pix of an astronaut on the moon, I realized the kit's helmet is too high and sitting too vertical on the shoulders ... so it's gotta be adjusted ... let's remove it. You can see the cut off visor part, and above it the new vac formed hemisphere which will be the visor. Beside the helmet is a clear piece I tried to pull to use as the clear visor part, but clear styrene doesn't work. It turns opaque and doesn't heat up well. So unless I can find a clear hemisphere, the head won't be seen. This looks more like it! Thanx for looking in! Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 26, 2011 Author Share Posted August 26, 2011 (edited) After looking at more photos, I realized that the kit's helmet sits too upright. So I added a piece of styrene to the back of the 'neck' and will adjust the helmet to fit at a bit of an angle. The torso needs some TLC too. The hose connectors' position were inaccurate so I sanded down the chest and used some Tamiya Epoxy to fill in the spots. Plus the seams on this kit are un-bee-leev-able! I spent about 4 hours just filing 'em down. I just used some grey paint to fill in the last stubborn divots. I'll sand it all down later. I'll go in with a series of files to replace the folds that were removed by all the sanding. The hose connectors have some finger holds and to make 'em, I just used a round file. I've been fretting about making the clear visor, trying to find a clear thin material that'll take vacuforming ... and luckily scrounged a light bulb package from the Dollar Store that was the perfect 1 3/4" diameter. Then I cut out the tabs that'll go on each visor,the clear one and the Gold one. I don't yet know how I'm gonna pose this figure and am viewing some footage from Apollo 17, Gene Cernan specifically, for some inspiration ... maybe holding a tool. The PLSS (backpack) will get a lot of accurizing too. I'm not sure about representing the fabric, but for the PLSS, I'm leaning toward using first aid tape to represent the flaps. For the figure itself, probably just a good coat of flat paint. Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted August 28, 2011 Author Share Posted August 28, 2011 (edited) Working on the PLSS, I was curious as to how the top part, the OPS, was attached to the bottom part. I was gonna ask my buddy Karl ( he's got a website that has a ship load of Apollo info! http://www.myspacemuseum.com/sitemap.htm ) and sonuvagun, his site had a 'blueprint' that had info on the attaching brackets. So, I cut apart the kit's PLSS, added a styrene top plate to the PLSS and bottom plate to the OPS and made the attaching brackets. I also added a few details to the backpack. The tube on the side is the Water Reservoir tank. I'll wrap the OPS, adding the flaps and snaps, in first aid tape ... I think. After I find a suitable pose, I'll cut up the arms and legs and reposition 'em. Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 (edited) Watching films of Apollo 17's EVA on the Lunar surface certainly brings new details to light. And as I really do enjoy building something from scraps of styrene ... I like to have at 'er! Combining a few action poses and not wanting to display this model as really static, I needed to cut apart its appendages. I've also cut apart the hands and rotated them a bit. The overboots flex a bit more than the kit shows ... so, I cut it apart and will repair it with epoxy putty. I also added the cleats to the boot's soles. The PLSS connections needed to be shown as well. Cut out the holes in the backpack and attach some tubing to aid in connecting the hoses later on. The Camera was next. Here's the kit camera next to some scrap styrene that I stacked, glued and trimmed to make the new camera, a little more accurately, from scratch. And then the Remote Control Unit (RCU) which attaches to the astronauts' chest and holds the camera too. This is the 'hardware' on the side of the RCU, which is the control mechanism for the OPS on the top of the PLSS backpack. What I thought would be a super quick build is turning into a typical build for me. See a detail, try to replicate it ... but, for me, this is the fun, and where I get my satisfaction, of building a scale model! Thanx for taking a peek! Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) The RCU was built next. I used the same method as the camera ... stack some scrap styrene, glue 'em and sand 'em down. For the attachment hardware, it's just a best guesstimate. And I decided to cut out the back of the LEVA helmet to more accurately represent the real ones. It'll get patched and 'sculpted' with epoxy putty. I don't know if a set of detailed decals exist for this kit ... but I'm leaning toward making my own set for this model. There seems to be alot of markings for the RCU, PLSS, OPS and the camera. I think I've got all the little sub-assemblies done, while I'm waiting for supplies to come to my LHS, so once I get them, I should be able to start the final assembly. I can't wait to see how this turns out! Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Emvar Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I can't wait to see how this turns out! Pete Us too!!! Maybe we'll see it at Hamilton next year? Emil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 :o Astonishing attention to detail Pete but with a 10" figure you don't have much choice do you? This is fascinating to watch and I'm eager to see what you do next. I'm particularly keen to see how the visor turns out. With all of the work you've done on the head, it seems a shame to go for a totally opaque visor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) Thanx guys! Emil, Hamilton for sure and maybe Ajax or London too. And I haven't decided on the clear visor or the 'gold' one, but I've got parts for both. Maybe I'll have the 'gold' one half way down. The needed supplies came in, ( except for the Alclad which has to be shipped into Canada ... And I understand that there are restrictions on importing this 'hazardous' material ... <_< ) so I got to work ... I found a few pix showing how the camera is mounted to the RCU, and made the mount from some styrene bits. And there's a little 'bracket' on the RCU which locks the unit into place. I'll attach a couple of 'belts' to it later. Using an X-acto chisel blade, I shaved off the moulded-in mics. They'll be replaced with piano wire and a dab of white glue, to simulate the foam. The Milliput came in and I got to fixin' the LEVA and the whole body ... there's one of the reference photos in the background. I readjusted the arms and the left one left quite a gap, which was filled with epoxy putty. The LEVA is next. I'm not certain how I'm gonna cover the parts with the 'thermal blankets' and tested First Aid tape and tissue soaked in diluted white glue. They both have the same subtle texture, so I'll be using a combination of these two materials. I'll use the textured tape on the left for the 'velcro' and the belts on the boots. And starting to cover the LEVA with tape. And done, with the hard sun visor attached too. I'll brush paint the LEVA with a coat or two of off-white paint. For the thermal covering on the backpack, I think I'm gonna use tissue paper soaked in diluted white glue. On Karl's site, there's a drawing showing the covers are almost one piece ... so I'll make a pattern and see how it goes. This is at the stage where I'm gonna hafta start painting. The head will be first so I can attach it to the LEVA and then attach the visors and the entire helmet to the torso. The decals will need to be created too ... but all in all, it's on the road to being completed . Thanx for lookin' in gents. Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) Hey Pete, Looking AWESOME! I am definately going to mark this build for future reference. Your camera and RCU is perfect from all the refernce I can find. Great job. One thing that kind of catches my eye (and it seems to be common on all of the build of this kit) is the left shoulder appears to have too much of an abrubt angle like he's wearing shoulder pads or something. I think the kit has it too pointed. On the photos I've seen the shoulders look more rounded like you have on his right shoulder. Just a minor thing I see. Everything else is perfect from what I can tell. As for the visors. I like one shot I've seen where the protective visor is all the way down, the gold visor is about 1/2 down but middle hinge setion all the way open, and the side shields are about 1/3 down. It really shows how complicated the visor assemblies were. Can't wait to see some paint on this sucker! p.s. So when ya gonna start the scratch built Rover to put next to him? Bill Edited September 6, 2011 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 WOW !! Pete, Your build is the FINEST I have seen..and having someone like Karl assisting you with this build and seeing such detailing and craftsmanship , for instance in the camera that you made is just extraordinary.. I am in awe...AMAZING work Sir, KUDOS. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) Thanx a lot Holmes. I trust it's as much fun to read about as it is to build. Bill, that shoulder is a pet-peeve of mine too, and I couldn't figger out why other builders didn't fix it. :o But believe it or don't, from the front, it's fine, but from that one, low angle from the back, there it is, it was pointed! Thanx Eagle Eye! I wasn't even looking for that. Here's a coupla views of the new, wider shoulders. They were bulked up with Milliput. And you know what, they look much, much better! :D I found another great ref photo on Karl's site showing the RCU clips and proceeded to make 'em. The kit's boot loops, those little loops you use to pull on your galoshes, were just indicated, so I filed 'em off and replaced 'em with some thin aluminum sheet. I'm starting to play with the thermal covers on the PLSS backpack, one, to see if there's a suitable material to make 'em separately, or two, if it will even make a difference and just use the texture on the kit's part. Then make the extra pockets on the legs, and except for some little mods ( like moving the Pressure gauge from the right arm to the left arm ), I should be ready to apply some paint. See ya later alligator ... Pete Edited January 18, 2018 by K2Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SBARC Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Wow Pete.....this is going to be stunning when it is done. I look forward to seeing this one progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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