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Grumman Proposal LEM


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I've wanted one of these Proposal LEM models, for a long time ... and I started putting one together, all from scratch, 5 or 6 years ago. I didn't get too far.

3 weeks ago, I checked on Shapeways to see if some parts were available and didn't see anything offered, but I also didn't look too hard ...  :whistle:

 

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I used Xmas balls for the Crew Cabin and a short length of Plumbing pipe covered with Styrene for the Descent stage. And that's where I stopped 5 or 6 years ago.

 

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So I re-started it this month. This is the Aft portion ...

 

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... and for reference, I'm using just 4 or 5 images of this LEM.

 

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Just getting the subassemblies organized. The Crew Cabin is half a Xmas ball, squished in hot water to form an oval.

 

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I would like this to be 1/48 and when I put it side by side to a 1/48 LM, oops, this is way-y-y too big.

 

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So I started over ... The Descent stage is 3.5" in diameter instead of 4" and it's all been scaled down, just a bit. The Crew cabin has been dry fit to see how it'll fit. I haven't figured out just how I'm going to create it though. There'll be a lot of rebuilding I know, but it's a start.

However, this is where I get the FUN out of this hobby. Building something from scratch using whatever I can find ...

 

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But I got the idea to use another piece of ABS to act as a spacer between two halves of a Xmas ball. I rounded off the edges to help increase the gluing edges.

 

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... and this is where I am. The Crew Cabin will need sanding and filling and sanding and Filing but this may just come together pretty quickly.

 

2v2Hoccc2xAnAAS.jpg

 

Till next posting

Pete

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Very cool!

 

I remember seeing the LEM concepts in the History Center in the Plant 35 basement in Bethpage. They also had the concepts for the Shuttle, which was ultimately awarded to NAA.

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Thank you gents!

And thanx CJ for the links. I have a few of those already and I also have what seems to be a few versions ... an original model which looks faded and worn as well as some newer versions. I'm gonna go with the older, original version.

 

A screenshot of a Grumman documentary with the LM engineer, Tom Kelly.

 

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After gluing the 2 half spheres to the middle ring, I glued in a sheet of 0.010" styrene to level it up ... then lotsa filing and sanding

 

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The forward hatch is just a piece of 1" tubing

 

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The side wall proportions were off by about 1/8" so I made new side walls. I also started fitting a landing gear ...

 

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Cutting the allowance for the Crew Cabin ...

 

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 ... checking the fit ...

 

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The legs are just dry fit in there ... and it's sitting on a footprint of the 1/48 LM.

 

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Starting on the Landing Gear legs ... but I ran out of 3/32" tubing so will have to wait till it comes in ...

 

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I have about 7 old broken down LM kits from ebay and one of 'em still had a Descent Stage engine nozzle ... so I used this for this model.

 

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I cut it to length and it's soaking in Brake Fluid to remove the old paint.

 

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I'm gonna have to wait till some Spheres come in from Plastruct ... I need 'em for the fuel tanks on the sides and underside ... the last time I ordered something from them it took about 18 weeks ... I hope it won't take THAT long this time.

 

Thanx for taking a peek here!

Pete

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It's good to see you here Ricardo! And thank you!

But no, this won't have an interior. I'd like it to look like the wooden prototype model. The windows will be either decals or painted on.

 

 

I've spent days filling and sanding the Crew Cabin ... there must have been a couple of spots that didn't adhere well and it didn't want to sand flat, so I filled and sanded and Primed 4 or 6 times ... but by george, I think I've got it!

 

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I attached the landing gear but there are two gears that I was so excited to glue down, I forgot to include the shocks ... I'll have to figure out how to add 'em later ...

I also glued on the Descent engine skirt.

 

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With new side panels, and supported on its own 5 legs ... the Ascent stage is just dry fit.

 

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I've been doing a lot of figuring and fiddling around with fit and needed to glue the Crew Cabin together ...

 

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I also wanted a new floor for the Crew Cabin ... so I cut one out of .020" styrene

 

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The Crew Cabin subassemblies. The aft portion is getting supports glued in ...

 

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There are some wild compound curves and I'm trying to work out how I'm gonna do 'em ... Milliput may be the solution.

 

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To add the missing shocks, I cut the struts, 3 of 'em, and slipped on the tubing and reglued. Easy-peezy and probably stronger too!

 

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The lower 'skirt' has to be carved and fitted ... 

 

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The fit has to be adjusted to allow for wrapping around the curved Crew cabin and this takes a lot of back and forth. The gaps, however minimal, will still need either Tamiya Putty or Milliput ... and then filling and sanding ... 

 

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Today I'll glue the Crew Cabin together and we'll go from there.

 

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I figure I'm about 40% done ... still a ways to go! But I'm loving this hands-on build. No 3D-staring-at-a-screen for me ... this is fun for me!  :yahoo:

 

Till next post!

Pete

Edited by K2Pete
missed a word
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Thanx dnl42!

 

 

I glued the Ascent stage together and filled the bigger gaps with scraps of styrene 

 

2v2H3fLb3xAnAAS.jpg

 

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And this is as far as I'm gonna go till the Plastruct Acrylic spheres come in. I'll use them to make the fuel tanks on the sides and bottom.

The last time I ordered from Plastruct, it took over 4 months to get in my hands ... so, fingers crossed that it won't take THAT long!

 

2v2H3fLp9xAnAAS.jpg

 

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So I won't be doing any filling or sanding till the Fuel tanks get built and then I can do all those finishing tasks at the same time ... but I'm pretty happy with this so far ... 

 

But I just noticed ( how is it that I notice these things when the images are posted and NOT while I'm working on the darn thing ...  :bandhead2:  :doh:  ) that the forward hatch may be a tad too small ... hm-m-m ...

 

Any way, till next time! Thanx for taking a peek!

Pete

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15 hours ago, K2Pete said:

Thanx dnl42!

 

 

I glued the Ascent stage together and filled the bigger gaps with scraps of styrene 

 

2v2H3fLb3xAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2H3fLKvxAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2H3fLQ2xAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2H3fLZoxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

And this is as far as I'm gonna go till the Plastruct Acrylic spheres come in. I'll use them to make the fuel tanks on the sides and bottom.

The last time I ordered from Plastruct, it took over 4 months to get in my hands ... so, fingers crossed that it won't take THAT long!

 

2v2H3fLp9xAnAAS.jpg

 

2v2H3fLwMxAnAAS.jpg

 

So I won't be doing any filling or sanding till the Fuel tanks get built and then I can do all those finishing tasks at the same time ... but I'm pretty happy with this so far ... 

 

But I just noticed ( how is it that I notice these things when the images are posted and NOT while I'm working on the darn thing ...  :bandhead2:  :doh:  ) that the forward hatch may be a tad too small ... hm-m-m ...

 

Any way, till next time! Thanx for taking a peek!

Pete

 

Hello Pete:

 

The bug is looking fine!!!

 

I have two small suggestions.

 

There is a thruster between the porch an the decente stage body 

 

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Grumman Early LEM Design

 

 

Check the front docking tunnel. I think that it's too long  

 

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But I could be wrong its a concept model 😂🤣😀😁

 

Ricardo 

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Thanx Manfred! But you are the Master of Accuracy! It's a pleasure, as well as a learning experience, to watch your model come together!

 

Ricardo, thanx! I agree that the forward tunnel is too long, by about 3 mm and I was prepared to just file it down. But the diameter is my concern. Currently the hatch is 3/4" in diameter and the only other tubing I have is 1" diameter, which may be too large. But I think I have a solution for attaching the larger tubing, if I feel it's more accurate, without removing the glued on tunnel / hatch.

 

And I know about the thrusters, antennae and front porch ... those are details I'll wait to make after I get the Acrylic spheres.

 

And thanx for the images of the LEM prototype ... I was not aware that the upper tunnel / hatch had a bevel on its aft side ... or is it broken or damaged? I'll take a closer look.

Pete

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6 hours ago, K2Pete said:

I was not aware that the upper tunnel / hatch had a bevel on its aft side ... or is it broken or damaged? I'll take a closer look.

To me, that exposed bare wood with irregular edge and additional crack in last 2 images are the hallmarks of damage.

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7 hours ago, K2Pete said:

Thanx Manfred! But you are the Master of Accuracy! It's a pleasure, as well as a learning experience, to watch your model come together!

 

Ricardo, thanx! I agree that the forward tunnel is too long, by about 3 mm and I was prepared to just file it down. But the diameter is my concern. Currently the hatch is 3/4" in diameter and the only other tubing I have is 1" diameter, which may be too large. But I think I have a solution for attaching the larger tubing, if I feel it's more accurate, without removing the glued on tunnel / hatch.

 

And I know about the thrusters, antennae and front porch ... those are details I'll wait to make after I get the Acrylic spheres.

And thanx for the images of the LEM prototype ... I was not aware that the upper tunnel / hatch had a bevel on its aft side ... or is it broken or damaged? I'll take a closer look.

Pete

 

Pete is damage 

 

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アポロ月着陸船 プロトタイプD Apollo Lunar Module (LM) Prototype D

 

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https://images.app.goo.gl/tu447Z1rhNp69igG6

 

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Check these albums Pete

1963 Apollo Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) COAM (C1M1, C2M4) 5-leg BUG LEM

 

Ricardo 

Edited by Ricardo Salamé
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I've spent the last few days refitting a new forward tunnel / hatch and resized upper hatch.

 

Here I had to cut off a few millimetres of the nose. I'll just slip the new 1" tube onto it.

 

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... a couple of tries ...

 

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Had to do a lot of trimming and fitting and fussing

 

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... dry fit to see how it'll look ...

 

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and filled the gaps with styrene bits after gluing

 

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After a quick filing of the styrene bits and a little Milliput epoxy putty to help with the bonding, I have new hatches.

I'm gonna wait till the other items come in and then I can finish building and trimming and filing and sanding ... but so far, I'm pretty happy with this ...

 

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And to check the scale, I had to have a side-by-side.

 

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Now, all that's left to do is ... EVERYTHING!  :rolleyes:

 

Thanx for looking in gents!

Pete

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...
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That doesn"t sound right.  What sizes do you need.  Wooden hemispheres turned on a lathe for vac-forming would probably work?   In my case i had the hemisphes for my LLRV helium and hydrogen peroxide tanks printed which I then vac-formed and glued together. I still need to do the JP-4 tanks. I can do the same and model some spheres for you in 3d.  

Edited by crackerjazz
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