Apollo 11 Command Module "Return to Earth"

[04Stefan07]

So here is my WIP I am currently working on at the moment.

A while ago I bought the Revell 1:100 Command Module kit and while I was making it I made a big booboo. I smudged the paint on the hull (can't remember how) and wasn't happy about it at all so I put it away and hopefully I would come back to it someday. So not too long ago I went back to the draw and took the Command Module section and had a great idea to make a diorama of the CM returning to Earth on the ocean (specifically Apollo 11).

Here is the work in progress.

1) I order my bases from a small business down here in Melbourne. They charge very reasonable prices and customise it to shape, style, stain, finish, felt, etc (I highly recommend them for anyone down in Australia). Here you can see I am prepping it with a cardstock barrier. This will be for the ocean that I will create. I am using a technique used in the AK Interactive Weathering Magazine (Water issue, I think issue 9 or 10) which looked fantastic!

2) Here is the cabin of the module which I did a little while before (I just touched it up). You can't see it but I painted the dials and buttons on the control panel. A lot of extra detail but won't be seen once the diorama is completed.

3) For the little round floaties (unless they are something else?) I 3D printed some spheres using ABS and used epoxy to smooth it out.

Reference photos
http://history.nasa.gov/ap11fj/nasm/AS1 ... 793cut.jpg
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content ... 2_full.jpg

To be continued...

[04Stefan07]

4) Here are the completed spheres (2 of 3). The hull was primed black.

5) I tried to 3D print the floatation ring around the CM however it came out to uniform and it was messy to use epoxy to smooth it out so I tried using Milliput for the first time. Came out ok but have sanded it since.

6) I made the third sphere out of milliput. Was OK but needs to be sanded!

[04Stefan07]

7) Going by a reference photo I found the CM had a rusty sort of colour to it (reddish, brown) so I was playing around with some colour combinations. I found that Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red and Vallejo Panzer Aces Shadows Flesh made the best shade. I airbrushed this all over the front section.

8) Never mind the colour change to the black, this will be covered with gold foil.

9) Looking at reference photos the command module had really thin white lines all over it. I thought that this would be a great addition to add so I started taping up the hull to paint the white lines. A few strips of tape in I stopped and thought that this isn't really worth the effort. Then later on I thought, stuff it I got the 1.0mm tape, why not use it. So I started to tape the hull up.

[04Stefan07]

10) More taping done, this was taking a while!

11) Fully taped up according to the reference pictures.

12) Took around 1-1.5 hours to complete. Was well worth it. Now hoping the white strips would come out!

[04Stefan07]

13) The white lines came out nice! Just had to touch it up a bit and weather them so they aren't as vibrant.

14) Not bad at all!

15) Did a bit of work on the flotation ring. I purchased some Evergreen 0.21mm sheets so I can cut and add the triangles around the ring

[04Stefan07]

16) Looking closer at the hull, on top of the rusty colour paint there was another colour of paint which was more of a yellowish, beige. After experimenting with different shades I found the correct one which was Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow. I practice a lot on a test piece so I could get the right effect. I tried streaking the paint, using thinner on a ear bud and rubbing the paint to get a worn effect. After applying a flat clear on the rusty colour paint I think painted XF-59 in sections then rubbed a bit off with thinner. Doesn't look exactly like the reference photos but close enough especially at this scale.

17) I then applied some AK Interactive Streaking Grime (AK-012) just to add some more of that weathered look (will be adding more).

18) Here comes the hardest bit! Applying the gold foil on the hull. I started this last night and need to put some more pictures up. I am using PVA just to glue it on but I would want to try and find a way to tone down the shininess if possible.

[Twokidsnosleep]

This is very cool and unusual
Keep posting away, great to see something different

[OneSmallStep1966]

This is very cool and unusual
Keep posting away, great to see something different

Agreed, it's nice to see someone other than me doing real space models

You've done a great job so far and replicated the Mylar insulation pattern very well.
Are you going to remove the apex cover? (This is the portion of the heat shield that covers up the parachutes and is jettisoned when the chutes deploy).

[04Stefan07]

This is very cool and unusual
Keep posting away, great to see something different

Thank you!

Will be posting more next week

[04Stefan07]

This is very cool and unusual
Keep posting away, great to see something different

Agreed, it's nice to see someone other than me doing real space models

You've done a great job so far and replicated the Mylar insulation pattern very well.
Are you going to remove the apex cover? (This is the portion of the heat shield that covers up the parachutes and is jettisoned when the chutes deploy).

Thank you. This is my first build where I am heavily modifying the original kit.

I have started with the insulation by trying to put random sections and torn away bits (rather than a clean, uniform approach). I had to see a picture of the apex cover as I wasn't sure what it was. Probably won't remove it. At this scale the module is very basic (1:100) and a bit trickier to detail it really well. I could take the extra step to do it but I think I would If I had a larger scale version of this module which would be easier to add way more detail.

Keep an eye out for more photos and progression (sometime later next week).

[schweinhund227]

WOW !

[04Stefan07]

Update!

19) I have added the foil. It was much easier to break it up into pieces and to glue it on rather than doing it as one piece. Also I had a bit of a change of mind. After gluing the foil on the command module it looked nothing like the reference photos. The rusty colour with the dark yellow looked crap therefore I scrapped the second reference photo and just going by the original of the CM in the ocean (this on here: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files ... 2_full.jpg).
After applying the foil I started to paint over the rusty and dark yellow colours using Tamiya Nato Black XF-69 and left some of the dark yellow. I then dry brushed some of the dark yellow and smudged it trying to simulate the subtle yellow/goldish on the reference photo.
Oh and I added in the windows just using some clear plastic from a food container.

Next to come will be the metal handles and flotation devices!

[privatepete]

That's is insanely fine detail, you must have the patients of a god brilliant

[04Stefan07]

20) Here is the main flotation device. All the triangles were cut using 0.21mm Evergreen sheets and then glued.

21) The spheres (these are a ball breaker to get right, I hate working with the colour white!).

22) The handles which I made using some scrap photo etch brass.

[04Stefan07]

23) Size comparison with a toothpick to give you an idea on how small they are.

24) Once put together I glued the handles onto the CM and painted them Aluminium. They came out better than I thought! This would be the most detail I can add at this scale (including the drilled out holes in the hull).

[04Stefan07]

25) The cockpit of the CM hot glued onto the 3D printed base.

26) The CM glued on top of the cockpit and in place ready for the water!

27) The main flotation device all painted orange

Coming up later this week will be the green, red and black lines painted on the flotation ring, finishing off the flotation sphere then the creation of the water!

[OneSmallStep1966]

Great work, particularly given the scale.

[04Stefan07]

A few more updates, nearly finished!

28) The green stripe painted as well as the red stripe.

Photo 1-05-2016, 09 33 23.jpg

Photo 1-05-2016, 09 33 05.jpg

29) Also added the black and white stripe which was pretty damn tricky

Photo 1-05-2016, 10 05 42.jpg

[04Stefan07]

30) Here it is coming together.

Photo 1-05-2016, 10 10 54.jpg

31) Now for the water. I picked this technique up in the AK Interactive Weathering Magazine series (Water). Here you can see the model surrounded using oat bran. Slowly pile it up and then make some wave patterns

Photo 1-05-2016, 11 27 52.jpg

32) Once the oats have been placed then use a heavy gel medium to cover them and leave to dry overnight. It will dry clear and depending how thick you put the coat on it will take a while to dry. The more coats you do the better the result. At this given size of the diorama I am looking to do between 3-4 layers.

Photo 2-05-2016, 23 35 25.jpg

[04Stefan07]

33) Here is a comparison with the photo I am basing it on. Still need to do the flotation spheres and the water! You can also see once it dries it will go clear.

Photo 4-05-2016, 22 19 41.jpg

Photo 4-05-2016, 22 21 39.jpg

[04Stefan07]

Holy crap I need to add the remaining photos!

Will do tonight

[04Stefan07]

The final diorama!

[OneSmallStep1966]

Very well done

We need to see more real space models on this forum, I'll have to build one from my stash pile at some point.

[Twokidsnosleep]

There is a sig Oct1-Dec31 on ISM "Space the Final Frontier"
Good opportunity to see lots of spacey things!!!

[OneSmallStep1966]

There is a sig Oct1-Dec31 on ISM "Space the Final Frontier"
Good opportunity to see lots of spacey things!!!

Great, I'm in

Where on this furum do you keep tabs on things like this? I can't find any reference to it?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Look under the 'Board Index'...in bold print upper left area just below 'quick links'
here is the overall schedule for the year so far, but new things get added
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=20743

[Relic]

Very good diorama.
What did you do to get from clear gel water to dark blue water, just acrylic Paint? How did you get it to be so glossy?