Apollo: Saturn V

Apollo: Saturn V

And so it begins

First Stage: S-IC

With the deadline of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing looming at the beginning of the year, I needed to make a difficult decision about this overall project.  I still had three kits to complete before July 20: the Atomic City 1/12 Mercury capsule, the 1/32 CSM, and the 1/96 Saturn V (with the detail kit).  I also still had the 10" Apollo Astronaut on the Moon on the workbench, awaiting painting and final assembly. I quickly realized there was no way I would be able to finish all three, to my satisfaction, within that time span, so I had to remove kits from the schedule.  I decided to focus on the Apollo astronaut figure and the Saturn V.  These two kits would likely eat up my remaining modeling time until July.  I'm a little late in getting an update to this process and the project, so I'll just begin with bringing the build of the Saturn V up to date here. I will update the Apollo astronaut build in a separate post.

Background research

I went with the straight forward approach and started at the bottom of the stack: the S-IC.  I'm using Stages to Saturn (Bilstein, University Press of Florida) for background on the build as I go.  Not very useful for visual details, but excellent at providing rationale and explanations of the various components and stages of the vehicle.  I did not invest in the after-market F-1 replacements available, so I'm stuck with the kit F-1s.  Not greatly detailed, but passable.

A Side Note
 My guiding build philosophy for this project (and most of my display projects) is the idea of illusion.  Scale models can run the gamut from basic and inaccurate to super-detailed and near-perfect replica. On the one end of the spectrum (basic), the illusion of the model representing the actual object is nearly nonexistent; it is difficult for the viewer to believe that the model represents the subject.  On the other end, the replica really provides not just illusion, but actual representation of the subject, albeit (usually) smaller.  I strive to hit something in between the extremes, but as close to the replica state as I can get with a standard audience.  Experts on a subject will always see flaws or mistakes in a scale model, but the farther the viewer is away from expertise on the subject, the more realistic or representational the model will seem.  I want to give the viewer the experience of believing they are seeing the actual subject, but smaller.  Pretty subjective, I know, but after all, this is art.

The F-1s in place

The kit F-1s went along with only one minor issue.  The resin replacement for the base platform for the stage from New Ware had only recesses for the cylindrical mount of the F-1 engine, which was too long for the shallow recess.  Rather than trim the mount down, I drilled out the recess all the way through the plate.  This gave the engines a sturdier mounting.

The base platform resin piece also needed a little massaging to fit snugly into the kit bottom tank body piece.  My Dremel has come in very handy on several occasions on this build.

The first photo etch details

Next, it was time for my first foray into photo etch detail parts for any kit.  The kit fairings are replaced by resin parts in the detail set, and these pieces are enhanced by photo etch parts for the air scoops and inside structural framing.  Breathing too hard on those internal struts would cause them to bend, so that was exciting.  The fit for the air scoops was quite a challenge for a first timer.  They have an odd non-symmetric fold to produce the angle required to channel the air flow.  Somehow, I managed a decent job.

The fairings await their turn

I set all four completed fairings aside while I constructed the tank body with the sheet wraps.  The cable tunneling, used in the kit to connect the rolled wrap ends together, required a lot of material to be removed.  The remainder of these kit parts are covered in photo etch detail sheets to provide the correct surface detail.  These tunnels came out very poorly; I am quite disappointed in my impatience to get these done, because they really look incomplete and haphazard.  Maybe on the next one.

I expected the set of photo etch details at the top of this stage to be quite difficult, due to delicate nature of the pieces and the manner in which they were to be joined.  However, they came looking great.  These pieces required modifications to the kit part corrugations, or ribs, around the outside the kit part.

You can also note in this picture my decision to turn the kit wraps inside-out, putting the pre-printed flags, lettering, and roll pattern on the inside of the model.  The flags and the "USA" are slightly incorrect on the model, so it seemed a better option to put this on the inside to allow the primer I'll be using to cover the surface without the bleed-through of the kit printing.

Some final details, and the S-IC stage build is complete.  It simply awaits the mounting of the fairings and a primer coat.

The stack begins

Monogram First Lunar Landing 1/48

Since I was so far behind on this project, I decided I needed to revise the scope of the project.  Originally, I had intended to do quite a bit of detailing to each kit (after the Man in Space set) as some exercise to get to the really big detail kits, the Saturn V 1:96 and the Mercury capsule 1:12.  The Saturn V kit had the New Ware detail set to help out with this, but I intended to scratch build a lot of the detailing for the Mercury capsule.  As life intervened and procrastination took its toll, it became obvious that I was not going to be able to complete the project as envisioned.

First Lunar Landing

I decided to take two steps to salvage something of the original goal of completing the kits by the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing.  First, I needed to reduce the number of kits in the project, so I have removed the Mercury capsule from the schedule.  There is too much detail that I want to do on that kit, and I will not be able to give it the necessary attention before the anniversary.  Also, I will not be building the 1/32 Apollo CSM.  Just not enough time to get it all done. Secondly, I am limiting my detailing to the Saturn V and a few changes to the Revell Apollo Astronaut.  These two kits are important to the anniversary, and I have the plans for what to accomplish on the detailing of these two kits.  The only remaining kit to assemble, then, the Monogram First Lunar Landing, would be assembled "out of the box."

Descent stage foil

I started with the descent stage, as per the instructions.  Here is a photo of the application of the foil on the bottom (left).



I then completed the entire descent stage (right).

Test fitting the ascent stage

Then, a quick test fit of the ascent stage, before priming.

The final step was painting.  I used a mix of Vallejo Natural Steel with Stonewall Grey to achieve a more scale-appropriate sheen on the bare metal parts.

Almost complete

Finished, with astronauts

AMT Man in Space 1/200, Part 3

Well, I have ignored updating this blog for a long time.  There was quite a bit of activity on the project during the interim.  And there was a lot of inactivity, too, unfortunately.  So, to help right the ship, I'll just post some updated photos of the kits in progress/completed.  First up, the Man in Space set.

Saturn V before priming

Here is the Saturn V complete, minus the escape tower, before priming.  Note the Saturn IB in the background, also pre-priming.

Gemini Titan, sans decals

 The Gemini Titan, mounted next to the completed Mercury kits (and the Saturn IB in the background).  Note the flat gray for the metallic areas on the Titan, as well as the Atlas.  I opted to go for the illusion of the bare metal color, as metallic paints on this scale tend to destroy the scale appearance.

Gemini Titan and the Mercurys

The completed Gemini Titan looks good with the decals.

Saturn IB completed

Saturn IB before decals

Here we have the Saturn IB, before decals and escape tower (on the left), and completed (on the right).

And the queen of the set, the Saturn V, complete.

Saturn V

AMT Man in Space 1/200, Part 2

The filler dried and I sanded it down, smoothed it over and cleaned both the Redstone and the Atlas.  The gaps filled pretty well, especially for something of this scale; that is, the filler is not very evident.

Prepped and ready for primer.

I mounted the two models on brass rod for handling while I primed them.  I used a fine white surface primer and let that be the final coat for the white sections of the model.

Now, on to the Redstone.  I used a straight black for the control surface patterns and the capsule.  For some reason, though, the acrylics did not want to stick to the enamel primer.  I have used this primer before (Tamiya) with great results, so I'm not sure what was different this time.  In any event, I worked
through that issue and got the black laid down.  Only one coat needed.  My red modelling acrylic had

dried out, so I had to pull out the craft acrylic; lumpy with a terrible medium, but the escape tower was small, so the paint issues won't detract from the model.

Next the decals.  The decals in the kit are decent considering the scale and the age of the kit; I don't know if AMT reworked the decal sheet or not from the original specs.  The lettering of the "Unitied States" is a bit large, but not too noticeable.  

Thankfully, they provided a decal for the "checkerboard" pattern at the top of the booster; there is no way I would have been able to produce that pattern on a model of this scale.  They also provided a central black stripe and another for details around the circumference at the control surfaces (fins).

I used Micro Set setting solution to soften the decals, so they have better adhesion to the surface of the model.  The checkerboard wrapped nicely, but there was just enough of the transparent transport at the top of the decal that it interfered with the lip of joining of the booster to the capsule.  This caused the decal to wrap unevenly at the top.  A quick "trim in place" with a blade solved the issue; this has to be done fairly quickly because the setting solution softens the decal enough that it can easily be torn.  In this case, all ended well and the decal positioned almost perfectly.

The Mercury Redstone

The Atlas was simpler.  There was only the small mid section of exposed metal to paint.  It took about thirty minutes of web research to get a close delineation of where the top of the metal section began, but I think I've gotten it pretty close.  The capsule was a repeat of the Redstone's, so there were no surprises there.

Decals were also simpler.  Only the flag and US text on the capsule and the "United States" on the booster section.  All went on without issue.

The main engine nozzle was trimmed and drilled out to accommodate the brass mounting rod; it was painted separately and will be glued to the mounting rod when the model is put on it's final mount surface.

The Mercury Atlas

AMT Man in Space 1/200 Reissue

The first kit in the Apollo 50 Project is the reissue of the 1969 kit, Man in Space, a constant scale 1/200 of the first five manned U.S. launch vehicles.  The kit includes the Mercury Redstone, the Mercury Atlas, the Gemini Titan, the Apollo Saturn I-B, and the Apollo Saturn V.  The original kit featured a cardboard diorama of the launch facilities used to put these rockets into space, including the giant gantry for the Saturn V; this reissue includes this cardboard display as well (though I won't be using it).

Inside the box

I'll be working chronologically through these kits, starting with the Mercury vehicles and their two launchers, the Redstone and the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles re-purposed to put men in space.

Since this is a reissue (that is, they've pulled the molds out of storage, duplicated them for modern styrene manufacture, with no alterations from the originals), the details on the parts is minimal and not always entirely accurate.  For this kit, I'll be suspending my "highly detailed" stipulation for this project; I want to keep the nostalgia and simplicity of the original kit.  I have found that the styrene in this kit is a bit soft, so it's not holding the minimal details it does have very well, and it's very easy to "overwork" the plastic.  I'll need to take care not to significantly mar the final product.

Mercury Redstone parts

First up, Mercury Redstone.  This is the smallest rocket in the constant scale kit.  From base to the tip of the escape tower, it's only about 4.5".  Don't expect much detail on this one.  Also, being so small and a launch vehicle of very basic design, there are only a few parts for the whole kit.  But on the plus side, and a nice result of creating new, modern molds, there is very little flashing on these pieces.  The mold seams are very minimal and required only light sanding.  The overall fit of most of the parts is quite good, but there are some seam gaps that require filling.  The escape tower is the lone exception to the mold quality; there was a prominent seam line along one face of the solid representation of the strut tower.  As a consequence, there is no molded cross struts on this side, so there will need to be some creative painting to get this look right.

Next, the Mercury Atlas.  As one would expect, the capsule (Mercury) is identical to the parts for the Redstone.  So, all the same issues here.  The Atlas launch vehicle was needed to lift the Mercury astronauts to a height and speed that would allow them to achieve orbit, something the Redstone did not

Mercury Atlas parts

have the power to do.  Thus, this booster has some more heft to it and that's reflected in this small kit.  We also see the first detail part (external fuel line) of these small rocket kits.
Also, the engine nozzles are visible on this launcher, so we have separate parts for those.  The flashing on these pieces was a bit worse than the Redstone.  Additional sanding was required to smooth those areas.  However, the fit of these pieces was quite good, and no filler was needed.  I left the center nozzle of the main engine off the model for now, as the mounting rod will go up through this area of the model.  More on mounting later.

Almost fully assembled!

Having no white putty on hand, I had to use the old standby, Squadron Green Putty, for the filler.  I expect most of the green you see here on the model to be sanded away tomorrow, after drying.  If all goes well with cleaning up the filler, these two rockets will be ready for primer tomorrow.

Green putty filler for the gaps

The Kits

Here is a quick picture of the kits I'll be tackling.  More on each kit later.

Before the Decade Is Out ...

In just over six years, we will have reached the 50th anniversary of a spacecraft landing on the Moon, carrying humans from Earth.  On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to visit another world in our Solar system.  The achievement is all the more remarkable in that, sadly, 50 years later, we haven't been back.  The political climate of 2013 is not likely to allow for any serious or significant commitment to return either.

That does not mean that we cannot commemorate or celebrate this culminating event of human civilization in our own ways.  We each do what we can to keep the memory and the dream alive.  I intend to continually remind my son of what was accomplished all those years ago, and that today we have even better technology to return.  But we do not go.

So in an effort to keep the ideals and dreams of the Apollo era alive in my household, I will be embarking on a project to commemorate the vehicles and inventions that took men to the moon.  I have six model kits of rockets and equipment used by the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs and I intend to complete the construction of all six by the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, July 20, 2019.

This may seem like a very long time to complete just six models.  However, some of these kits are quite large and detailed.  I have a 1/96th scale kit of the complete Saturn V rocket that, when complete, will be over 3 feet tall.  I also have additional super-detailing pieces for this kit to make it as accurate as possible to the real Saturn V that launched Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the moon.  I have a 1/12th scale kit of the Mercury capsule and escape tower.  This kit will be over 2 feet in height when completed.  I have a kit of 5 of the key spacecraft and rockets that sent U.S. astronauts into orbit and to the moon, all of a constant 1/200th scale which illustrates the relative sizes of these vehicles.  These will be placed on a custom base with descriptive labels.

In all these builds, I will attempt to apply the most accurate information and detail to each one, to get as close to the actual vehicles as possible.  Sometimes I will use aftermarket parts, as in the Saturn V above; other times, I may need to scratch build the details.  All in all, this will require a great deal of time to accomplish.  Additionally, I will be documenting the progress of the project and each build in some detail, here on this blog.