Lunokhod 2

Great job you did on this model. It is always a pleasure to see my model coming into shape even with improvements like all the panels around the ascent stage. A beautiful model. Vincent http://spacemodels.nuxit.net/

For your information the 1/32 CSM parts to supplement the CSM are now available on Cult3D for a much more reasonable price then Shapeways. Of course you need a 3D printer but even investing in such a printer makes the model cheaper than Shapeways. The link is here : https://cults3d.com/fr/modèle-3d/divers/apollo-csm-additional-parts-for-the-1-32-monogram-csm I am now working on a fill 1/32 CSM (no problem then to upscale it to 1/24) to be available in a few weeks. Vincent

Upscaling from 1/32 to 1/24 is OK without redrawing the file. 1/48 to 1/24 will obviously produce something less fine but can surely be done.

Work on the 1/48 J-mission Lunar Module is over. All parts for printing either a B, D, F, G or H mission were already available on Cult3D before X-mas. I just completed the supplementary parts for the J mission this week. This includes the Lunar Rover before or during deployment. All 3D projects including the 1/48 LM are available on Cult3D : https://cults3d.com/en/users/vincentmeens . Although the main LM parts are sold for a reasonnable price, the supplementary parts are free of charge so you can try before acquiring the full model.

The second model is the 1/48 LM at https://cults3d.com/fr/modèle-3d/divers/apollo-lunar-module-vincentmeens . For the moment only the G and H missions are depicted J mission parts will be added later free of charge.

I have been designing and selling spacecraft models on Shapeways for several years now starting with the 1/32 lunar module. The precision and finesse of current 3D printers make injection molded parts somehow obsolete if you want to build a highly precise model. I realized that when I built my 1/32 Monogram Command Module, I replaced about 80% of the parts with higly detailled printed parts. Unfortunately Shapeways through multiple modifications of their pricing system has become extremely expensive and on the other hand personnal 3D printers are more and more reliable and l

The sun elevation angle at the time of landing was about 10.8° and this change about 0.5° per hour. Since Aldrin picture was taken about 8 hours after landing the sun elevation was about 15°. If you consider that Armstrong was about 1.90 m high with his spacesuit and helmet this gives a shadow length of 7.3 m. Armstrong shadows goes slightly behind Aldrin's feet so I would say the distance between the two men is between 6.5 and 7 m or between 22 and 23 ft.

There are 3 types of blankets on the LM, a yellow gold one (on the right in the photo below) for which I used a survival blanket, an orange gold one (on the left in the photo below) which is quite difficult to find, in my case it was probably a flower wrapping paper that I kept for years. The final one is a copper one for which I used coffee bags bought on I am a spammer, please report this post. that have almost the same color as the original one. For the gold and orange foil you can also use Candyland Kraft - orange foil - gold foil

The model is now complete, here are a some pictures and a comparison with the one I made about 4 decades ago, maybe more.

The Command Module is now fnished. I used the Realspace CM with some modifications on the hatch. The handles were 3D printed. The CM is covered with BareMetal foil.

For several years I had the 1/48 RealSpace CSM that I wanted to use for my LM/CSM combination. Unfortunately I rapidly saw that the Service Module was unusable, something happened to the resin at some point and the cylinder looked like a spoiled food can. I probably could had sanded it to make it perfectly cylindrical but it meant removing all the details. I then decided to use the work I had already done with the 1/32 CSM and downscale it to 1/48. So in this model the Service Module is a complete design of mine except for the high gain antenna dishes and the decals. all parts were printed on

I have always thought that a good model requires a nice stand. I think the worst example is the 1/32 Monogram CSM, such a nice kit and an ugly stand. Anyways I tried to design something for my 1/48 LM/CSM combination and I hope you will like it. The next and final step will be the 1/48 CSM model. The last picture shows a cone (arrow) that is placed there to stop the CSM when it will be inserted into the rod. The files for this stand are available on Cults3D.

To answer Pete's questions, yes all paper facets were sealed on the moel using superglue (just a few drops on each side of the facets, making sure I used some varnish before and wrinkled them a bit). All facets were printed on my inkjet printer at home. For the rendez-vous antenna, I choose this orientation which corresponds to the orientation a few minutes after undocking of Interpid. For you information the current model has 696 parts (289 for the descent stage and 407 for the ascent stage) and it took me 89 hours 34 mn (almost 8 mn per part)

After I assembled the ascent and descent stages together and added the landing probes, I declare the 1/48 LM model finished. Next steps : the stand and the CSM.

And finally all details on the forward section of the LM. I now need to assemble the two stages together as well as the landing probes.