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1/48 Apollo 11 Lunar Module "Eagle" - Completed


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Hello ARC,

 

I started this build about 2 months ago and it was intended to be an entry in the "50th Anniversary 1st Lunar Landing Group Build." 

At first I thought that if I rushed it, I may be able to make the deadline . Wishful thinking!
It always takes twice as long and life always gets in the way eh?

 

Anyway on to my first real space kit.

I saw this on sale for $20 browsing a local hobby store and grabbed it. Since then, I found out that it is not a very accurate representation.
Nonetheless, I will build it as-is, out of the box.

APR4VmW.jpg

The instructions are printed on a single sided piece of paper. Just 3 steps it says! Easy peasy. A small decal sheet is included.
hxf0nYo.jpg

 

Color callouts and decal placements are printed on the back of the box.

BR0MXEL.jpg

 

Some shots of the sprues. A few parts are prepainted in gold.

hc1pFWc.jpg

qXz5Y6r.jpg

 

You get 2 of these sprues.

tiH3JH6.jpg

 

The gold prepaint turned about to be a waste as there were some gaps that needed to be filled. 

 Rwhs9Bm.jpg

 

Here I'm doing some initial experimenting with the colors. All the parts were based in gloss black and chromed.
I used clear orange for the darker kapton and clear yellow for the gold. The gold initially turned out to be too green and I added a little orange to the mix to warm it up.
PGb9UvS.jpg

 

Continuing with the color trail,  I added some red to the clear orange to get this darker shade. It turned out too dark and I ended up repainting this back to just clear orange.

RldUAL2.jpg

 

From the references, it appears that everything is secured with kapton tape.

I am no subject matter expert so I just tried to recreate some of that effect with orange self adhesive sheets.

phFay2J.jpg

 

Here's the result of that repainting and the orange tape.
Y9w3886.jpg

 

A bottom shot with some of the parts assembled.
QZpSDr7.jpg

 

And with the feet added.
xlRZ0o9.jpg

 

All of the parts had bad mold lines and I spent quite a bit of time cleaning them up.

The assembly instructions were not very good and the painting callouts were over simplified.
I ended up using various online references and pictures to figure out where to paint what.
I gave it my best shot but i'm sure I messed up.  Oh well.

 

Thanks for dropping by folks!
-co

Edited by CaptainObvious
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Hiya Cap, and Welcome to the GB ... oh wait ... :whistle: ........... heh, heh, but it IS nice to see ya here!  :thumbsup:

 

So far, this LM of yours does not to look messed up in any way! So far ... so good! The patterns of Kapton mylar look spot on and your usage of the "Kapton" tape is a nice touch.

 

This is the first Dragon LM build I've seen and am curious to see how it turns out! But like I said, so far, so good, you're doing a terrific job!

Pete

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16 hours ago, mhvink said:

From what I see so far, yours is turning out much better than mine!

Keep up the awesome work.

 

Mike

 

Thanks for the kind words Mike! Is your build posted here too?

 

1 hour ago, K2Pete said:

Hiya Cap, and Welcome to the GB ... oh wait ... :whistle: ........... heh, heh, but it IS nice to see ya here!  :thumbsup:

 

So far, this LM of yours does not to look messed up in any way! So far ... so good! The patterns of Kapton mylar look spot on and your usage of the "Kapton" tape is a nice touch.

 

This is the first Dragon LM build I've seen and am curious to see how it turns out! But like I said, so far, so good, you're doing a terrific job!

Pete

 

My apologies Pete! I really wanted to join the GB but work really got in the way.
Thanks for dropping in with those words of encouragement. I'm so happy you're along for the ride.

I know next to nothing about the LM but am amazed at what NASA and those incredible folks who worked there achieved. 

How did they get to the moon and back in this tin can held together with tape???

 

-co

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23 hours ago, CaptainObvious said:

 

How did they get to the moon and back in this tin can held together with tape???

 

-co

 

haha.   Following along.   I saw one at a local hobby shop and made the mistake of coming back for it the next day when it was too late.  

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On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 11:30 PM, mhvink said:

Not my LEM, just my Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules in the group build page.

 

I just saw that. Fantastic idea and execution!
 

On ‎9‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 6:57 PM, crackerjazz said:

 

haha.   Following along.   I saw one at a local hobby shop and made the mistake of coming back for it the next day when it was too late.  

 

At the same time I bought this, they also had a CSM on sale for the same $20. I foolishly exercised "self discipline" and left it behind.
In the subsequent years they became impossible to find. I've only just recently manage to buy their 50th anniversary repop for $50.
You've gotta grab them when you see them! Just don't tell the wife.

Glad to have you along CJ!

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Hello everyone!


I've been blocking in the basic colors of the ascent stage.

With zero understanding of the logic behind the differing colors, I just stuck to what the online references said. 

It was all a little overwhelming so I painted one section at a time, making for slow progress.

I used a lot of masking tape.

 

The greenish gray anodized aluminum proved a little tricky to pin down. I settled for an equal mix of Mr Hobby's C11 and C315.

I also used Tamiya's Nato Black and Alclad's Dark Aluminum.


Here it is partially painted. The part on the left attaches behind the main bit on the right.

7zewcSy.jpg

 

With the main colors completed, I couldn't resist posing it on the descent stage.

The uplock struts have also been attached to the legs.

sG0df61.jpg

 

View of the starboard rear quarter.

V5wrHH9.jpg

 

And port side forward quarter.

 y2HvR4Z.jpg

 

There's plenty left to do.

Thanks for dropping in folks!

-co

Edited by CaptainObvious
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So far, so good CO!

You're doing a very, very nice job with the paint ... the LM is tricky to do. I've built 7 or 8 LM models in every scale, so while I know a fair bit, I'm still learning more about this incredible vehicle.

 

This was one of my very first models built about 11 years ago. As a Cutaway, the foil is missing on half the machine.

The differing coloured foils have to do with insulating qualities. To keep the weight low, Mylar Kapton was used and as many as 25 layers were utilized. So the different colours indicate more or fewer layers, as far as I know.

 

2v2J9cC4NxAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2J9cgA4xAnAAS.jpg

 

I saw that you replied to Lunokhod's posts, Vincent is the Master of LM builds ... he has designed a 3D 1/32 version. Every single detail has been researched and rendered accurately, so if you want more information, he's the one to ask!

 

I noticed on your Ascent stage, on the front is a half round antenna, that only appeared on Apollo 9's LM ... that was the first test flight of the LM in Earth orbit.

And your placing of the unfinished Ascent stage onto the Descent stage is something I've done on ev-ery model I've built ... it's just too tempting to see how it'll all look together!

 

The grooved section on the underside of the Aft portion is a radiator. That is the Equipment and Electronic section and generates a lotta heat.

 

Here's a couple of links in case you have a few minutes and wanna learn a bit more. One is Vincent's and the other is a LM expert, Paul Fjeld, who built a Full Sized one for the Cradle of Aviation Museum in New Jersey and has consulted with the Smithsonian on their refurbishing of their LM on display ...

 

http://spacemodels.nuxit.net/1-32 LM/index.htm

 

https://pfinspace.com/lmdata/

 

Keep doing what you're doing Cap! It's looking good!

Pete

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On ‎9‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 7:16 PM, K2Pete said:

 

2v2J9cC4NxAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2J9cgA4xAnAAS.jpg

 


Hi Pete,

That is an incredible project! I can't imagine the amount of work that went into it. Awesome.

 

Good information on the kapton and the radiator. And the half round antenna should be quite easily deleted.

Also your links to Vincent's and Paul's websites will prove to be very useful indeed. So much good stuff there!

 

It was really helpful of you to take the time to put together all that. Thank you very much!

-co

Edited by CaptainObvious
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  • 3 weeks later...
 

... who built a Full Sized one for the Cradle of Aviation Museum in New Jersey...

Pete

 

It's actually in Garden City, New York (Long Island).

 

Best place to go if you want to see one of these up close and in person. Much better than the Air and Space Museum IMO.

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  • 4 years later...
  • CaptainObvious changed the title to 1/48 Apollo 11 Lunar Module "Eagle" - Completed

You did a terrific job on this LM Cap! No need for apologies on its accuracy ... you've got Kapton tape where it should be, paint colours look correct, all the antennae are there, there's a front hatch, the RCS thrusters are there, four Landing pads in their correct foil pattern ... EXCELLENT!  ;^ D

It makes me smile because there are professional builders who sell their LMs, for serious coin, and even theirs aren't accurate!  ;^ D

 

You done good! 

 

I'm really glad to see that you soldiered on and took this to completion, 1st Real Space model and all. I realize it's a foreign subject matter but I hope you had a ball researching a bit and building it!

 

Thanx for sharing Cap!

Pete

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Captain, 

 I like what I see and it’s a testament to your devotion that you’ve stuck with this project to its completion. Thank you for sharing your finished work and you should be proud of the final result. The shade of green on the ascent stage is perfect and the wrinkles in your Kapton look great. 


  Mr.  Malaguti was referring to a build I posted here with an incorrectly represented  MESA for a customer so I don’t know why he was hesitant to mention me by name.
 

 

 

 

Edited by snichols
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14 hours ago, K2Pete said:

You did a terrific job on this LM Cap! No need for apologies on its accuracy ... you've got Kapton tape where it should be, paint colours look correct, all the antennae are there, there's a front hatch, the RCS thrusters are there, four Landing pads in their correct foil pattern ... EXCELLENT!  ;^ D

It makes me smile because there are professional builders who sell their LMs, for serious coin, and even theirs aren't accurate!  ;^ D

 

You done good! 

 

I'm really glad to see that you soldiered on and took this to completion, 1st Real Space model and all. I realize it's a foreign subject matter but I hope you had a ball researching a bit and building it!

 


Thank you for your very kind words Pete!

Your postings played no small part in this project.


I do find spaceflight facinating. I've read many books, watched numerous documentaries and movies.
This was what lead me to start this project. 
Little did I know how deep this rabbit hole goes.
Looking at the numerous, sometimes conflicting references and trying to make sense of it all left me overwhelmed.

As can be seen from the length of time it took, I got a little burnt out.

 

Working in short spurts at this bear of a kit, it eventually crawled to completion. 
Done is better than perfect right? I'll admit that throwing away the box is very satisfying 😉

-co

Edited by CaptainObvious
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5 hours ago, snichols said:

Captain, 

 I like what I see and it’s a testament to your devotion that you’ve stuck with this project to its completion. Thank you for sharing your finished work and you should be proud of the final result. The shade of green on the ascent stage is perfect and the wrinkles in your Kapton look great. 

 


Hi snichols,
Thank you for your encouraging words.
Your LM projects are amazing! 
I got burnt out doing this simple project so I can't imagine the commitment required to get to that level of your LMs.
Really awesome stuff! 
 

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On 11/28/2023 at 6:07 AM, CaptainObvious said:


Hi snichols,
Thank you for your encouraging words.
Your LM projects are amazing! 
I got burnt out doing this simple project so I can't imagine the commitment required to get to that level of your LMs.
Really awesome stuff! 
 

Captain,

 

 Thank you, after a couple of builds it starts getting easier and you  really did a fantastic job getting everything where it should be plus  having it look correct. If you’re on  Facebook at all you should join Historic Space Models and post some of your pictures there, Vincent, Pascal, Dave Senechal, Mike Mackowski ,Ricardo Salame etc. are there . It’s a great bunch of guys and they would welcome your work, when you see Barry Ferguson’s 1/4 scale Mercury your head will 🤯.


best,

 Steve 

Edited by snichols
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On 11/29/2023 at 12:52 AM, snichols said:

Captain,

 

 Thank you, after a couple of builds it starts getting easier and you  really did a fantastic job getting everything where it should be and having it look correct. If you’re on  Facebook at all you should join Historic Space Models and post some of your pictures there, Vincent, Pascal, Dave Senechal, Mike Mackowski ,Ricardo Salame etc. are there . It’s a great bunch of guys and they would welcome your work, when you see Barry Ferguson’s 1/4 scale Mercury your head will 🤯.


best,

 Steve 

Thanks Steve,
I'll be sure to check it out :)

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