discussion Steve's 1:48 Revell Apollo 11 "Eagle" lunar lander

[HAWKERHUNTER]

So a bit more work completed today. So I needed to add some thermal blanket protection to the top of the landing gear.

So for this I used some Milliput putty which when dry was painted. It didn't need to be neat because the thermal protection was quite rough looking. I have also added some airiels, radar dishes, ladders and cluster thruster bodies.



Now started work on the final bit of scratch building, the thrust deflectors. I first cut out some plastic card to the right size and then put the concave curve into them by laying them over a heated bar.


Then just a bit of trimming down at one end to match the shape of the ones fitted to the Eagle.

Next step will be cover them with crinckled foil, spray them anthracite and build the support frames from piano wire. Should get that done in the next couple of days. Updates will follow but getting close to the end now. Thanks for looking in


Steve.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Well progress has been made on the thrust deflectors but it was a bit of a phaff. I was trying to find a way of building the support frames and attaching them to the decent stage without the need for drilling any holes but all my efforts failed. So reluctantly it was out with the micro hand drill and I drilled 16 holes into the decent stage body, 4 for each set of mounting brackets and ended up with this.


As expected I did a little bit of damage to the foil with the drill so some paint touch up will be required at the end.
So I super glued the lower brackets into place into the drilled holes. Next I prepared the actual thrust deflector plates. These were cut and shaped from plastic card. The actual thrust deflectors on "Eagle" were covered with a thermal sheeting so I have glued some screwed up foil to the front surface of the deflectors.


Next job was to spray the deflectors with a primer and then glue them to the lower support struts.

Next job was to measure and cut the vertical top support struts. These really stiffened up the whole structure.

So the finished thruster deflectors now look like this.


There is no doubt that these thrust deflectors have really improved the overall look of the model. In the picture below I have circled all the scratchy built stuff and added a circle on the top right which is where I need to build an additional airiel that is evident on "Eagle" but yet again not included in the kit. All that's left now is to add remaining thruster cones, tidy the model up, varnish and add decals. Thanks for following.



Steve

 

[scottie3158]

Steve,
the additions look excellent mate and take this model to new heights.

 

[Stefee]

Excellent scratchery, coming on a treat.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Thanks Paul. Knowing your skills as I do that compliment means a lot.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Thanks Stefan.

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking supreme Steve. Out of this world if you like

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Thanks Joe.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

HOUSTON ......WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
Well why am I not surprised with this kit. For some reason unknown to man Revell decided to only give one of the astronaut figures a life support pack. Not quite sure what he was expected to do on his EVA.


So its out with the milliput. There is also a terrible seam line on these figures. I cannot go in too hard on the sanding process for fear of destroying the suit detail. I wil do my best to blend them in with putty etc but dont want to spend too long on these. I have made a start on the life support pack.


Thanks for checking in.

Steve

 

[Stefee]

Unbelievable that only 1 astronaut had the life support pack, was the naked one supposed to be inside the LEM?
Luckily I didn't have this problem - no figures in my kit.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Yes he was intended for inside the LM Stefan. I would have still thought he should have had a life support pack on because according to available information, even though the LM was pressurised during decent, the astronauts were suited and booted in the event of an emergency situation . arising. Should be an easy fix.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

The final bits are going on. Getting back to the missing VHF aerial. I made the main frame work using piano wire which was stuck to the model using CA. When dry I used a small amount of clear PVA on the attachment points to give it more strengh.

The actual aerial is very thin 4 pronged affair so for that I used thread soaked on CA. I made a small frame work of cocktail sticks and made up a cross of thread. I then just added CA to the thread which made it rigid,

I then just cut out the center "cross" bit which was pained and added to the model.

And the last jobs were the white strips were added around the windows, for this I just used paper as the model doesn't come with any decals for this, and then finished it with the Gold foil around the main hatch way. So that completes the build process. Finished picture in next post.

Steve

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

"Houston, Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed."
So I am calling this one done chaps. To be honest I am knackered. It was supposed to be a quick build between Group Builds but it turned out to be more of a challenge. I still cant believe Revell put this on the market with so much detail and important bits, like the thrust deflectors,missing. Please dont get this kit mixed up with the later and much more detailed release. Here are just a couple of the finished LM. More will go up in due course in the competed section. Thanks for following.



Steve

 

[Stefee]

Fantastic.

 

[scottie3158]

That's a cracking result mate.

 

[spanner570]

Superb build, Steve.

It' been a pleasure to watch this come together.

...and something refreshingly away from the norm. too!

Nice one.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Thanks Stefan. Thanks again for the files that you sent over on the colour scheme of the Eagle. They were instrumental in the planning and painting of this model.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Cheers Paul. Thanks for following the build.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Thanks Ron. Yes not my usual go to topic but an iconic vehicle that invokes many happy childhood memories from the space race of the 60's

 

[flyjoe180]

Looks brilliant Steve, will watch for the completed thread.