Here's my latest. Inspired by Ton's fine ESA ATV when I built my Orion/Cousteau NEO Mission vehicle, I decided to go ahead and build a straight-ahead ATV. I chose to build the next one to fly, Johannes Kepler, which is due to be launched this year.
I took the pieces of Ton's 1/96th-scale model and enlarged them to 1/48th. I then used the parts as templates for my own, and used re-sized model rocket tubes for the ATV's Integrated Cargo Carrier and Propulsion Module.
The real ATV is covered with insulation blankets, so I covered mine with blankets, too. Except mine were made out of napkins, tissue and toilet paper stiffened by spraying them with a 50-50 mix of white glue and water. The blankets on the real ATV are held down with little black (at least they appear black in photos) grommets or something or other, and I replicated those with a black Sharpie. And just like on the real thing, the grommets aren't in straight lines (which was a big relief for me....)
Ton's model is well-designed, but it is simplified since it is 1/96th scale. I wound up scratchbuilding a number of elements, including the Russian Docking System and, well, virtually everything else.
The model is entirely paper except for four brass strips that provide the backbone of the solar arrays and eight pieces of wood (from a coffee stirring stick) that make up the solar array arms. I wanted to stick with paper, but I just couldn't figure out how to do them out of paper and have them keep rigidity and strength. Each solar array/arm assembly is made up of 45 parts.
It was a fun build and were I to do it over, there are a few things I'd do differently and there's an experiment or two I'd like to try. But we learn as we go so I'll have to save those ideas for the next model.
I've got to thank Ton for designing a fine model and for his inspiration. I used his parts (enlarged to 1/48th scale) for templates for my own. However, as a nod to Ton and his great contribution to our genre of the hobby, I used two of his parts relatively unchanged -- radiator panels D and F.
ESA's website has a nice photo of the logo for the Kepler mission (which is due to be launched later this year) and I might try printing it out on glossy paper and fixing it to the base.
Now.... Just how big would an Ariane 5 be in 1/48th?
I took the pieces of Ton's 1/96th-scale model and enlarged them to 1/48th. I then used the parts as templates for my own, and used re-sized model rocket tubes for the ATV's Integrated Cargo Carrier and Propulsion Module.
The real ATV is covered with insulation blankets, so I covered mine with blankets, too. Except mine were made out of napkins, tissue and toilet paper stiffened by spraying them with a 50-50 mix of white glue and water. The blankets on the real ATV are held down with little black (at least they appear black in photos) grommets or something or other, and I replicated those with a black Sharpie. And just like on the real thing, the grommets aren't in straight lines (which was a big relief for me....)
Ton's model is well-designed, but it is simplified since it is 1/96th scale. I wound up scratchbuilding a number of elements, including the Russian Docking System and, well, virtually everything else.
The model is entirely paper except for four brass strips that provide the backbone of the solar arrays and eight pieces of wood (from a coffee stirring stick) that make up the solar array arms. I wanted to stick with paper, but I just couldn't figure out how to do them out of paper and have them keep rigidity and strength. Each solar array/arm assembly is made up of 45 parts.
It was a fun build and were I to do it over, there are a few things I'd do differently and there's an experiment or two I'd like to try. But we learn as we go so I'll have to save those ideas for the next model.
I've got to thank Ton for designing a fine model and for his inspiration. I used his parts (enlarged to 1/48th scale) for templates for my own. However, as a nod to Ton and his great contribution to our genre of the hobby, I used two of his parts relatively unchanged -- radiator panels D and F.
ESA's website has a nice photo of the logo for the Kepler mission (which is due to be launched later this year) and I might try printing it out on glossy paper and fixing it to the base.
Now.... Just how big would an Ariane 5 be in 1/48th?