K2Pete Posted October 25, 2018 Author Share Posted October 25, 2018 I haven't forgotten about this build ... it took a good month to get some .3 mm drill bits that could actually cut and then, this Diabetic Senior citizen got a cold and even something as simple as a Cold knocks me outta commission ... but all's good now, so I'll be continuing on this project till completion. And Thanx Captain ... worry not, the Astronaut is doing just fine. All healed up and ready to go! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Glad you're back. It's been fun following along. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 8, 2018 Author Share Posted December 8, 2018 It's been awhile eh? I haven't even visited ARC in 2 months let alone work on this build ... and the "Life gets in the way" bit is this. In mid October my centre of vision went blank in my Left Eye. I couldn't read words, my depth of field was poor, judging car distances was uncomfortable and modelling? I couldn't see what I was doing. After 3 weeks of assuming it would go away ... but didn't, I called my Ophthalmologist and he took a 3D cross section image and my Macula's pocket shape in the Retina was ... gone. It was a mountain instead. Hey Doc, will anything help? Yes, says he, a Needle in the Eyeball! Actually a series of Needles in the Eyeball. After my initial response of "You have GOT to be kidding me!!" ... I accepted his suggestion ... So I started with that 'treatment' last Monday. The long shot is that he thinks my eyesight will go bye-bye by this time next year. Needless to say, my mind hasn't been on modelling ... but, here I am, I'm gonna try to complete this build and two others that are on my bench, and I'm getting comfortable using one good eye and hoping to see some improvement in the Left one. Am I worried? I sure was, but now after a few weeks of wallowing in my own puddle of self pity, I figure, "let's get on with it. Deal with it Big Guy!" Okay, let me show y'all what I've been up to in the just the last 2 days ... But before the build, back in mid-October an Astronaut from Apollo 16 came to town and I had to go meet him ... Me and Charlie Duke, Apollo 16 Moonwalker ... this was a treat like you can NOT imagine! I also brought my own Apollo 16 build ... man I felt like a little kid! ... 😊 Alright ... here we go ... This is where I left off, nothing has even been touched in 2 or 3 months ... now, where the heck was I? I made a pair of Oxygen hoses ... ... and dry fit the install ... I need to figure out a way to make the Helmet's Visor and tried Milliput and fuel tank halves which were cut and fitted, but these aren't too viable ... but I'm thinking of just fill the Astro's face with Milliput and sand away all the excess ... I'm gonna try to complete this entire build in the next 3 weeks ... fingers crossed! Oh, and it's nice to be back here on ARC! Now I need to get re-acquainted with the passwords, the various builds I was following and how to post pix! Till next time. Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted December 8, 2018 Share Posted December 8, 2018 Good to see you back at it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RCAFFAN Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Maybe put some mold release on the astronaut's face before filling and sanding milliput and then pop it out and plunge mold clear vacuform material to trim a clear face shield? That shot to the eye puts you off everything for the rest of the day, eh? My problem has reduced enough that my guy put me on eyedrops instead for a while but was getting the needle every 4 weeks for a while there. Good luck with everything.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gerhard Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 Sjo!!! If you are South African, you will know what that means. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 9, 2018 Share Posted December 9, 2018 I really love that cockpit! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 Thanx Gents! Thanx RCAFFAN ... A little more progress on this build ... I sprayed some White Primer on this back in October ... there's a few touch ups to do yet Glued the PE to some styrene for support ... it'll get trimmed later I've been dreading doing this task, drilling out all the holes for the switches ... but it took just an hour or so. Now, the instructions call for 0.3mm drill bits and supplied the piano wire, but snipping the wire created a static charge in all these tiny pieces and it was more frustration than I was willing to tolerate. So I went with 0.5mm styrene for the switches ... it should look okay. Almost done installing, then sand and trim to an even length ... This is my 'punch list' ... there's still a LOT to do-o-o! Thanx for taking a peek Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 You're an amazing modeller Pete. Love watching this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted December 11, 2018 Share Posted December 11, 2018 I'm saddened to hear about the issues with your eyes Pete. Even then, quality of your work remains fantastic as always. kind regards, -co Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Wow, I am very sorry to hear about the problem with your eye. I really hope for your recovery. Your work on this model is impressive. I like what you did with the styrene bits for the switches. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 14, 2018 Author Share Posted December 14, 2018 Gentlemen, thanks very much for your kind words regarding my vision issues ... but, it's just another challenge ... in the short term, it'll get dealt with, in the long term ... it'll still get dealt with. airmechaja, many thanx! Captain Obvious, Thank You! Kurt H. ... all these little details will be almost unnoticeable when it's all closed in, but 'what the heck' eh? It was all pretty close work and ... I could do it, so I'm quite encouraged! The AMU, Astronaut Maneuvering Unit is detailed and painted. And because it'll get tucked into the aft end of the Adapter, the detailing is very limited. The details, switch panels and storage pouches need to be attached The Seat Belts need to be attached. They are First Aid tape and styrene channel Remembering that this model will be portraying a weightless environment, the belts should look weightless too. The First Aid tape was just wet down with CA glue, twisted a bit and held in place overnight. Now I have to see if the Ejection Seats, which were tight before, will still fit with the interior fitted out ... The Hatch was detailed a little more and the centre console has a storage pouch added ... made from Aluminum foil and CA'd. The 'blob' on the Hatch is Milliput and represents a storage bag. It looks like Paint may be next ... then final assembly of the crew cabin. Thanx for taking a peek Gents! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 That's really excellent work! 19 hours ago, K2Pete said: Remembering that this model will be portraying a weightless environment, the belts should look weightless too Hm, that's the usual appearance of my belts... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 BONUS ... I thought the GB ended today ... and we've got another month! Fan-Tas-Tik! I've been doing some minor stuff ... I wanted to install a small dome shape to represent the 8-ball and after doing a dry fit of the crew cabin, realized that it wouldn't be clear or even seen. So after spending too much time trying to figure out how to fit the 8-ball in, sanding and filing, I decided to use a decal supplied by Revell when they re-released this kit in 2011 or 2012. The styrene patch and the decal A dry fit of the cabin The kit part on the right and the AM cockpit The PE window frame needs it's own glass fitted. I decided to also do a Vac-formed visor for the Astro on EVA. The last time I did a vac-form was also my 1st time in 2011. But, I thought, this'll be easy-y-y-y ... The .020" styrene in the frame and the 4 bucks on the vac plate Well ... this doesn't look right ... these should be perfect hemispheres ... let's try it again ... ooops I switched out the .020" for .010" styrene and got this abomination ... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! Alright ...that's enough trying to figure this out ... Till next time lads. Happy New Year and thanx for looking in on this build of mine! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Wow .. what a misadventure with the Vac u forming. I have no idea what to tell you, but wow... that must have been frustrating. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 I'm waiting for some more .010" styrene to come in, so meanwhile ... The Adapter was painted, Decalled and given a flat clear coat ... I got some metallic Gold wrapping plasticized foil from Michael's and did a test on Styrene using Rubber Cement to adhere it, and it seems to work ... ... and started to foil the part ... I'll have to play with this a bit. Then, while actually sleeping, I came up with a solution to a small problem. I wanted to glue in the PE Ejection Seats but didn't want the instantaneous set of CA. I needed to adjust both seats and needed a few seconds to do it. And I thought of White glue, just to tack it, or coating both parts with Future and adhering 'em. Then, this solution, which worked ... clean the PE seats with Vinegar, glue in a strip of .005" styrene strip with CA and glue the styrene strip to the styrene seat guide! I did it and was almost excited to finally have the seats in, and promptly glued in the Instrument panel. How-w-w-w-ever-r-r ... I had forgotten the Control Panel and ... and the Astronaut. So I used CA debonder and had to disassemble the cockpit's IP. ... and no ... he's not waving at us ... Once the Cockpit is done, which is imminent, the Crew Module will get assembled, gaps patched, painted and Decalled and almost complete ... another week or 2. Thanx for taking a peek! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 What a schmozzle! This past session was a 1 step forward, 2 steps back effort ... and what kept entering my mind was "What a @$#&*! hobby! But ... it's all good, right? ...... RIGHT?? To start, I bored out the holes for the RCS (Reaction Control System ) thrusters with my Dremel and the bit wandered and I didn't notice till I had bored all 16 holes ... after recovering my senses, I emailed Revell of Germany to see if I could order 2 more parts even though, this was not their fault, it was all mine. When I realized that even if they would send me replacements, I had 2 weeks to complete this build and I had better build another RCS section from scratch ... So I got a piece of PVC and cut off a bit to rebuild my botched parts ... ... filed a bevel on both ends to fit the kit parts ... ... taped the existing parts to the PVC to transfer landmarks ... ... transferred centrelines for the holes ... ... and drilled 16 new holes ... After fighting for a couple days with the interior parts, it finally got all glued in. ... and the seated Astronaut was detailed up and painted. He'll be just about invisible when the hatch is affixed. With the Cockpit glued, I dry fit the hull and found a LOT of interference. Now I need to see just where it's all being interfered with ... and did you notice the gaps? I love these 1960's kits! I really do! One piece that needed filing was the overhead console, and then a window cove ... One unexpected interference was ... the Astronaut's feet. The hull just didn't have any clearance so, sorry Astro, gotta amputate! The blob to the left of the 'feet' is Milliput holding in a tube which will hold the umbilical line for the crew member on EVA. But the hull fit nicely now ... Now I could glue the hull's 3 pieces together and this is a milestone for this build, it should get done in the next 2 weeks. Oh, and look at that gap ... I'll fill it with styrene scrap strips and file it down and then a little putty here and there ... ... what a %$#&*!! hobby! I can see the light at the end o' the tunnel ... some detailing, some filling and sanding, some paint and ... I hope I can git 'er done! Thanx for taking peek gents! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 You'll get this masterpiece done one day. Amazing skill! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 You sir win the award for patients. Phantom has it right, it is a masterpiece. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Thanx phantom, airmechaja ... for the support, for still sticking around and as you know, I may still be in the running for the HUGE cash prize for number of views!! Filled the BIG seam with styrene scraps ... I've been battling a bad chest cold and tried breathing in Putty fumes to help clear it out ... I bored out the RCS thruster holes in prep to install aluminum tubing to represent the thrusters themselves But while inserting a tube or two I noticed that the holes I had just bored out were way-y-y- off ... What ... The ... Fudge? I still can't figure out how I did that. And I had heard back from Revell of Germany that this item I asked them to replace was a cull item and could not be replaced, so I needed to build another RCS section from scratch ... 2 core circles from .040" styrene wrapped with a strip of .060" styrene and dipped in boiling water and bent and clamped ... While waiting for the clamping to cure, I added some washers that were sanded away ... ... and a dry fit so far ... Two weeks to go ... barring pneumonia, I should make it! Thanx for looking in on this build gents! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Dang, looks like you're down to about 25% actual kit content--and that might be the usual statistical over-estimation Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Absolutely top notch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Many thanx dnl42 and phantom! Well, this build is fighting me at just about every step, but I've still got 7 days till the end of this GB ... fingers crossed! I made the RCS section out of styrene ... clamped it up ... ... and filled the minor seam with a strip of styrene. Filed it and sanded it ... and almost as good as new! ... masked it for priming ... ... and then a coat of Gunmetal. Then I masked off the nose to spray a lighter tint on every other section of the nose. The closed hatch needed to be clamped down. There's a piece of foam between the clamp and the piece of wood to try to not marr the surface ... It's getting there ... slow but sure! Thanx for sticking around gents ... I'm one of the few still building! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Some of us are still watching. Looks like the end is in sight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Hopefully gets done in time, if not, don't rush this masterpiece! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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