K2Pete

Thanx Stikpusher! We build these for ourselves and the painting aspect is less fun for me whereas the scratch building is what I look forward to ... I attend contests in my area and I enjoy hearing kids ask their fathers about my models. I try to spark their curiosity and maybe get them interested in building something that was REAL but in miniature. I try to pack in as much detail as I can even though most of the time, these models just get a passing glance ... but I know it's there! ;- D Pete

Thanx Gents! Stikpusher, if you wanna see the build thread, let me know and I provide link! (I tried that to delete that image, but will try it again!) Mark, this was NOT for the Mercury program ... it was for the Gemini program. It went through a good testing program and was determined to not be viable! Pete

Many Thanx Mark! This kit was big enough that I could use a lot of different materials to replicate some details. I used Aluminum Foil, Grocery Bag plastic, Straight Pinheads, First-Aid tape Home made decals ... and I had a ball doing it! Pete

Thank you both very much! I enjoy the aspect of building something from scratch to make the basic kit more accurate, plus I'll try out a technique that I've read about or seen. I've won a number of awards and some of these were entered into the NATS in Columbus and won some awards there too. building something from nothing using a variety of reference photos is where I derive my fun ... and I've used 3D printing rarely. However, some of the detail that's being captured by this new technique is really nice quality! Pete

Hey guys, the above duplicated image needs to be deleted. I've clicked on the "..." button, and edited text, but how do I remove THIS image? I don't want to hit the DELTE button under the "..." menu, thinking that that may delete the entire post ... a little help please! ;- ) Thanx Pete

This is the Revell Gemini kit from 1966 ... I built the ejection seats from scratch and added a whole lot of detail to this basic kit ... The AMU (Astronaut Maneuvering Unit) was scratch built and added to the aft equipment section ... The Captain Gene Cernan figure was heavily modified from the kit ... Starting the Ejection seats ... and the astronaut figure ... It amazes me the 'guts' these test pilots had ... doing these things in a new environment and learning something new all the way ... WOW! Pete

This is from the old "Astronaut On the Moon" kit, 1/6 scale by Revell ... I did a lot of scratch building to make this model more accurate compared to the kit ... Lots and lots of added details ... like the Camera, PLSS (Backpack), boots, hoses, LEVA helmet ... This was another satisfying build ... thanx for taking a peek! Pete

Thanx Stikpusher! My main interest is in the early US Space program and Gemini still fascinates me ... Here's a few more pix of the build ... I started with this broken up 'model' ... Added the landing gear bays with styrene bits ... ... built up the RCS section using Aluminum tubes and a short length of plumbing pipe ... then built the Nose landing gear ... and the MLG ... attached the NLG to the RCS section ... ... started to build the Wing ... The 1/48 and 1/24 kit side by side ... Test to see if the lines were nice and taut ... and it was done ... Thanx for looking in!

Gee Mark, thanx very much! Let me show some details I've added to the Payload Bay ... this was the mission that captured the Solar Max Satellite and this piece was the fixture the Astronauts secured it to ... Building the LDEF itself was tedious ... it was basically a platform of various materials and samples intended to be studied after being in the space environment for a few months. The repair fixture was glued into the Payload Bay and Aft bulkhead has some added detail ... Using homemade decals, I added the "samples" to the LDEF structure ... Some more details in the Payload Bay ... I also added some styrene sheet to placate the tiles ... Another view of the completed model Thanx for taking a peek gents! Pete

This model is from the Revell 1/24 Gemini. I got it off of eBay and it was quite damaged so I rebuilt it, added a lotta scratch built details including the wing itself. I weathered the crew module and the Nose details and landing gear were all built from scratch using styrene and Aluminum tubes and styrene bits and springs from ball-point pens. The Heat Shield was painted ... This was a really satisfying build ... ;- D Pete

This being my first post here on the IPMS USA forum, I'll hafta see how this works, do my images show up? ... and if so then I'll just carry on ... ;^ D Hiya Gents ... I don't see a whole lot of Real Space models here on this forum and am gonna post a few of mine. I've had a couple of 'em published in the IPMS Journal over the past 2 or 3 years and I've posted build threads on ARC for a few years too ... This is the 1/100 Tamiya Kit with a load of scratch built details ... the Payload Bay, the LDEF, the Radiator panels and much more ... ;^ D This'll do for now ... if it all looks good, I'll continue over the next few days ... 'Tis nice to be here! ThanxPete