I wanna try the LM...

[zathros]

That is a L.E.M.S, the simulator used for training fully restored, and is how the L.E.M.s looked. I believe it is on exhibit at the Virginia Air and Space Center. I think the Smithsonian has an unused one. There were very few unused ones, most ended up lost in space or crashing back on the Moon, some we just have no idea, the return vehicle part of the L.E.M., that is. .

 

[Tonino]

Thanks @zathros, I'd like to be in the USA, there's a lot of fantastic museums and exhibitions for a space fan...

Well let's go with the face of our little baby!



Starting to deal with windows I had an idea. I remember to have seen before that the commander window has some kind of reference scale on the glass (the landing point designator - LPD). I remember also a scene in Apollo 13 movie when Tom Hanks/Jim Lovell, approaching home, does the correction burst trying to keep the Earth in the center of the window using this scale as an help to keep the LM straight on the route.

So I decided to realize an "enhanced" version of the window glass for my LM.

This is how the window should appear

Obviously I'm not able to print white lines so I'll have to make some approximation.

Taken some measures on the model, I realized a copy of windows templates and edited them to obtain, laser printing on a transparent foil, this prototype


There is also the Docking Window template. Another window with a reference scale on it.


The transparents are glued on part 162 which has a larger aperture for the window to be sure that no edge of the plastic foil remain visible.


I decided to cut away the door from parts 163 and 165 before pasting them together to be sure the cutting line follows perfectly the door slot. I'm always afraid to cut a double-sided part as I'm not sure of the perfect alignment of the lines on the two sides.


The inner wall ready for the panels (I just can't wait to put hands on them)
I also made another little enhancement. Printed another copy of part 163 and cut away the RCS struts. The backside of them is not printed and, instead of painting all grey, I placed a copy of the part on the rear side. I don't know if they are visible at the end but, if so, this way they are nicer.


The face of the baby starts to seem something familiar...


A close-up view of the new enhanced commander window.

 

[zathros]

You will now have to mount a small light in there, enough so it shows the scale in the window!

 

[Tonino]

Mmmmmmh! Should be a good idea... but... where to place the batteries?

 

[Tonino]

I didn't like very much the thrust commands: they seem too "flat"

this is how they look in the original design


and this is the real aspect of the thrust command


I started drawing and cutting little circles (3 - 2.5 - 2 - 1.5 mm.) and attaching them in a sort of cone.
Then printed a supplemental copy of parts 168 and 175 and cut away the handles (with two lateral stripes to maxe the axle).
Pasted cones on panels, handles on cones... and:


Here is my personal thrust command interpretation.

LATER EDITED: Only when I finished to build the cockpit I realized that I had placed throttle handles in a wrong position. I thought they were used turning them left and right around their axle so I placed them in a random position for a better realism. Then I noticed that in every photo they are always in vertical position. So I realized they were used pushing them in every direction for translation movements but not turned around the axle. So - later - I carefully turned both in the correct vertical position (without cracking them... phew!)

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

You did a GREAT JOB on the thrust command module. I like how you were able to detail out the part.
This what I like about this hobby. You can make extremely detailed parts like this without spending a great deal of money.
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!

 

[zathros]

Excellent job on the thrust control. It would be nice if you put a file with your modifications into the "Resource" section.

 

[Tonino]

Good idea! Consider it done! thumbsup

 

[Tonino]

Completing the cockpit. A lot of tiny parts to cut & paste.


All the components ready to be placed on the front wall.


When you have a lot of pieces already cut and a lot of people going around in the room where you are doing models, a thing like this could be vital to avoid heartache...


The commands are in place.


Ready to complete the front part of the cockpit.


My second custom window in place. This is the docking window (see the resource section for detail)


The many pieces of the lateral consoles was not an easy job to put togheter...
Here you can see the docking window from inside too.

 

[Tonino]

An useful trick when you have to open rectangular openings with rounded corners is to punch holes of proper size in the corners and then cut the straight lines to join the holes.


The completed ceiling piece.


The stowage compartments for the side walls of the cabin.


The side walls completed with the tiny consoles and the stowage boxes.


The AOT guard in place on the ceiling. That piece gave me some headache to be cut and positioned...


To simulate the lens of the AOT I had an idea. Many modelers use the Kristal Klear to realize little windows. You just have put a drop of it in the hole, while wet it looks like vinyl glue, when it dries it becomes transparent giving a nice touch of realism.

 

[zathros]

Excellent suggestion. "I gots to get me a tube of dat stuff!!".

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

That is a GREAT TIP!
Thank you for sharing it with us!

 

[Tonino]

All the manipulations and the glue used to block the lateral consoles made the walls a little "ovalized" so, when I was going to paste the front piece, I had to force the oval to a round shape to have all the parts joining better.

And so the internal detailing of my LM is now complete.
I decided, at this time, not to place the PLSS on the floor of the cabin. Otherwise it would be impossible to let the egress hatch opened as I'm planning to do. Anyway I don't think the Apollo 13 astronauts let the EVA equipment all around on the floor while trying to fit 3 people in a cabin designed for 2.


I'm very proud of my cockpit. As a space simulations fan this is obviously my favourite part of the model....!


And the outer face of the baby seems - every day a little more - a familiar sight.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

I am ABSOLUTELY AMAZED and BLOWN AWAY over how well this is coming together!!!

 

[zathros]

The thread title should read" How I build the L.E.M., and some lessons you could learn from it!

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

The thread title should read" How I build the L.E.M., and some lessons you could learn from it!

AGREED!!! thumbsup
I am learning quite a bit from this thread!!!

 

[Tonino]

Thank you guys! I really love the way you feel here. You give a real boost to my modeling activities!



Now it's the time to add some external details to the ascent module, before starting to deal with the most feared section of this building.... coming soon

Another application for the Kristal Klear: You can use it to give a shiny surface to a detail. I use a matt finish cardboard so this way I can have a gloss surface without using paint.

This is the abort sensor assy (to be put in front of the AOT on the roof) with a layer of KK, wet on the left and after drying on the right.


Another crazy idea: the tracking light doesn't going to seem a real light with that "black face".


I've cut away the frames and punched a little transparent circle from a plastic sheet.


Some silver paint inside.


And now the light looks like a real projector. (I hope this is the real aspect of the tracking light)...

 

[zathros]

Fantastic build Tonino. I am convinced you can build whatever you decide to and make it a "best" example of that build!

 

[Tonino]

Let's make some antennas...
Here we find the greatest concentration of tubes, cones and round surfaces of the whole build...


The S-band steerable antenna. Some part of it are pretty tricky but the usual perfect UHU-fitting will help a lot.


A very useful trick to have perfect tubes is to place them in a proper sized spring. It's easy to put the tube in before addding glue. You can put the glue inside with a toothpick an let it dry. Once glue has hardened gently compress the spring to let the edge of the tube came out of it and you can take out your paper tube, perfectly cylindrical.


And here is the redezvous radar antenna. A more complex build... but nothing is impossible for a real UHU-fan.
Only one detail gave me some worries. That X shaped little black piece: I don't understand why UHU gave it that strange shape instead of draw it as a simple cross.
I wasn't able to obtain the correct shape from the original part and, finally, decided to redraw it. I'll add this piece in my "customized parts collection" in resource section.

 

[Tonino]

For the VHF antennas I had some more troubles. UHU put two little (VERY little) dots at two of the edges. I tried to cut them along with the antenna but it was impossible... too small. I choose another way.

I punched little discs (1 mm diameter) and glued them to the edges.


Then, doing a web search for images of the real one, I found that all 4 edges had little white "balls".


So added two more dots. Then added a drop of glue to form a little white ball just like the real one.
Now the VHS antennas are very realistic.

Now it's the time I most feared since I started this build...

The real cardmodeler's nightmare is coming!