Space Models

Here is my collection of scale models depicting various space stations and rocketry. All of these models are the same scale - 1:144, so you can get a feel as to differences in size between the various examples.

A-4 family

The dawn of modern rocketry can really be attributed to the weapons of terror developed by the Germans during World War II. Their 'Vengeance' weapons were developed. Most terrifying of all was the super-sonic ballistic missile V-2 (Vergeltungswaffen 2) which was targetted primarily on London.

The V-2's actual designation was really the A-4 when it was under development. In the center of the picture here is that grand-daddy of all modern rockets.

After the war was over, Werner Von Braun, a pioneering german rocket scientist took much of his expertise to the USA and developed the American version. Given a flight designation of Bumper 8, an American V-1 rocket first flew from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 24th July, 1950. The rocket on the left is a representation of Bumper 8.

To the right is the Soviet Union's version. Sergei Koroljev developed captured A-4 rockets and, perculiarly, designated them V-1A's, and later V-2A's.

These three RHO-Model resin models are supplied as a single kit by Magellan.

Sputnik

Russia was the world leader in space technology through the 1950's and into the early 60's. They proved this on 4 October, 1957 by launching the first man-made satellite into orbit around the Earth. From space, the Sputnik saltelite transmitted a simple beeping signal for anybody around the world with a wireless set to hear. This model shows the converted R7 Intercontinental Ballistic MIssile (ICBM), which was used to launch Sputnik.

This Apex plastic kit was supplied by Magellan.

Vostok

Again, utilising the R7 ICBM as the launch vehicle, Senior Lieutenant Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin was launched into space on 12 April, 1961 aboard his "Vostok I" spacecraft beating American Alan Shepard by roughly three weeks. In fact, Gagarin was put into Orbit, not just into space. The R7, albeit an evolved version, is still in use to this day with the Russian Space Agency with over 1,600 successful launches already.

This Apex plastic kit was supplied by Magellan.

Juno II

I will be getting a model of a Juno I sometime in the future as it launched the very first American stellite into orbit: Explorer 1. This Juno II model was scratch-built to represent the development of that line of rockets - and I made it because I had some transfers for one, but no model!

Some excellent extra decals were supplied by New Ware.

Thor-Able-Star

I couldn't find any Delta-1 rockets available anywhere, so I decided to try my hand at scratch-building one myself. This example depicts a Thor rocket (the Military Designation for Delat's) with an Able upper-stage and a Star stage at the top.

The Star stage is not actually fixed on to the rocket and can be removed to show a Thor-Able configuration.

Some excellent extra decals were supplied by New Ware.

Little Joe

This is a tiny Little Joe I rocket which was used to test the systems on the Mercury capsule itself. It typically reached an altitude of about 10 miles and deployed its capsule. Little Joe's were used to test the emergency escape towers and capsule separation systems, in both standard and in emergency situations. Later another test rocket, the Little Joe II was used to test the Apollo capsules and systems in a similar manner.

This RHO-Model resin kit was supplied by Magellan.

Mercury Redstone

This is the first American rocket to send a man into space, the Mercury Redstone. This model shows Alan B. Shepard's Mercury Redstone 3 (MR-3) rocket which flew on 5 May, 1961. Shepard's sub-orbital flight only lasted 15 minutes, but took him to an altitude of 116.5 miles and carried his Freedom 7 capsule 303 miles out to sea.

It was because of this first flight that U.S. President John F. Kennedy set the challenge of placing a man on the surface of the Moon and returning him safely back to Earth.

A near-identical Mercury Redstone, number MR-4, with the Liberty Bell capsule carrying Virgil I. "Gus" GrIssom, successfully repeated Shepard's flight on 21 July, 1961. The capsule however, was lost at sea during GrIssom's rescue.

This model was supplied as a resin kit by Real Space Models.

Mercury Atlas

Mercury Launch Vehicles

The Redstone was not powerful enough to get a man into orbit so the more powerful Atlas rockets were pressed to the task, along with the now proven Mercury capsules.

This model shows Mercury Atlas 6, the rocket which John H. Glenn Jr. flew on 20 February, 1962. His capsule was named Friendship 7. Glenn clocked 4 hours 48 minutes and 27 seconds in weightlessness.

Three more identical Mercury Atlas rockets were flown by M. Scott Carpenter aboard Aurora 7 on 24 May, 1962. Walter M. Schirra Jr. flew Sigma 7 on 3 October, 1962 and finally L Gordon Cooper flew Faith 7 on 15 May, 1963.

To the right are the two Mercury models to show the differences between the launch vehicles.

Currently I am working on a Photo-etch Brass model of Launch Complex 14 where these rockets were launched. The main service tower for this model will reach over a foot tall.

This model was supplied as a resin kit by Real Space Models.

Gemini Titan II

This next model represents a two-man Gemini Titan II rocket.

Once the Mercury Project had proven men could be safely sent up into space and could survive, NASA needed to find out whether men could operate in space and how they could accomplish tasks. During the ten manned flights during the Gemini Project the crews performed rendezvous in orbit, Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA's) and all manned of experiments to help ensure the safety of people on a trip to the Moon.

This model was supplied as a resin kit by Real Space Models.

Some excellent extra decals were supplied by New Ware.

Little Joe II

Named after the testing rocket used in the Mercury days, the Little Joe II allowed NASA to test the new three-manned capsule which would be used on the new family of rockets. This model shows the configration of the final Little Joe rocket which helped prove the capsule and the escape tower on the top.

I scratch built this rocket using a capsule and escape tower from one of my Saturn V rockets, some card and metal tubing. The lettering was spare from the Little Joe I rocket above.

Saturn-1
Saturn-1B

Theses two models depict the early part of the Apollo Project. On the left is a Apollo Saturn-1 which was used to test many of the systems in a number of unmanned flights and on the right is an Apollo Saturn-1B showing the launch vehicle which carried Walter M. Schirra, Jr, Donn F. Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham on Apollo 7 which launched into Earth-orbit 11th October, 1968 to test many of the new systems developed especially for the Apollo spacecraft.

It was atop a very similar rocket where Virgil I "Gus" GrIssom, Edward H White and Roger B Chaffee lost their lives in the fire in their Apollo 1 capsule on 27th January, 1967.

The Saturn-1 was scratch-built as no kit exists anywhere in the world. I used the Saturn-1B kit as a guide to make sure the sizes were correct.

This Saturn-1B model was supplied as a un-branded Chinese-made AirFix plastic kit by Magellan.

Saturn-V Apollo 11
Saturn-V SkyLab

Saturn Family

The tallest rocket America ever flew was the gargantuan Saturn-V used in the Apollo Project to launch a tiny three-manned capsule and Lunar Lander to the Moon. The rocket on the far left shows the Apollo 11 launch vehicle which Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins flew on their historic mIssion to the moon. They launched from the Earth on 16 July, 1969 and Armstrong and descended to the surface of the moon aboard their "Eagle" Lunar Lander four days later on 20 July, 1969. Having spent over 21 hours on the lunar surface they returned to Collins in the Command Module and came back to Earth to splash-down on 24 July, 1969. The "SkyLab" Orbital Workshop was launched on 14 May, 1973 atop the last Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo Project. Skylab was used by four separate crews before being abandoned to fall back to Earth on 11 July, 1979. Debris stretched from the South East Indian Ocean through to Western Australia.

I have not yet put all the decals on these models, and I am awaiting a Real Space Models Apollo Conversion for the Apollo 11 model.

To the right are both of the Mercury models, the Gemini Titan and the Apollo Saturn-1B models to show the differences in size between the launch vehicles.

These models were supplied by Magellan.

The Real Space Models SkyLab Conversion was supplied by Magellan.

The decals for both of these models were supplied by Rick Sternback.

747 & Enterprise
747 & Enterprise
747 & Enterprise

The very first Shuttle was the Enterprise, named after the Star Trek vessel.

She never actually flew in space, but was launched off the top of the NASA 747 to test flight systems and characteristics years before Columbia first flew in 1982. Enterprise was also attached to a mock-up External Fuel Tank and Boosters. These were rolled out to the launch pads to test all the equipment and procedures required when Columbia would later be rolled-out for real.

This Revell model was supplied as a plastic kit by Southsea Models, Portsmouth, UK.

The excellent decals and engine bells were supplied by Real Space Models.

Challenger
Challenger
Challenger

Decals

The Space Shuttle Challenger was the second Orbiter to be rated for launch. She first flew on 4th April, 1983. She flew 9 times successfully. However, on 28th January, 1986 the orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure 72 seconds into her flight.

Seven crew lost their lives in the accident. Their names are remembered on the Space Mirror at the Kennedy Space Center - Visitor's Complex.

The model here was an old Revell kit of Challenger from before the disaster. I have enhanced it with the some detailed decals and replacement engine bells from Real Space Models.

This Revell model was supplied as a plastic kit by Southsea Models, Portsmouth, UK.

The excellent decals and engine bells were supplied by Real Space Models.

Payload Bay

Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis

The latest orbiter to have been built for NASA is Atlantis. She first flew on 3rd October, 1985 and has been in operation since. At the time of writing she has flown successfully 23 times.

This model shows here as closely as possible to her current 2001 configuration, although the payload is somewhat fictional. I have carefully built-up the payload bay using an excellent Photo-etch detailing kit from Tomas Kladiva in the Czech Republic. I have had to improvise the handles in a few locations though.

Shuttles
Shuttles

This Revell model was supplied by Magellan.

The excellent decals and engine bells were supplied by Real Space Models.

The excellent payload bay detailing was supplied by New Ware.

Energia-Buran
Energia-Buran
Energia-Buran

The Russian version of the American Space Shuttle is the Energia-Buran. The Buran is the orbiter part, which has no main engines, and the Energia part is the arrangement of boosters. The Energia-Burna flew only once. In an unmanned test she orbited the Earth under computer control for one and a half orbits and returned to Earth safely.

Buran & Shuttle

The Energia has twenty engines, including four on the core fuel-tank, to help get the Buran into orbit. By removing the main engines from the orbiter, extra payload can be added instead inside the oh-so-similar orbiter.

This model is a very heavy one as the orbiter itself is solid resin, but it looks superb when compared to the Space Shuttle.

These two RHO-Model resin models are supplied separately by Magellan.

Black Arrow

Britain became the fourth country in the world, after Russia, America and China, to successfully place a man-made satellite into orbit. A Black Arrow derivative of Britain's only Nuclear Ballistic MIssile, the Blue Streak was used as the launch vehicle. This model depicts the third Black Arrow which successfully launched the Prospero satellite on 28 October, 1971. There were no further launches and the fourth and final Black Arrow rocket is on display in the Science Museum, Kensington.

This RHO-Model resin kit was supplied by Magellan.

The excellent decals were supplied by New Ware.

MIR
MIR

The Russian MIR Space Station's first element, the Core Module was first put into orbit on 20 February 1986. Five more modules were added: Kvant on 9 April, 1987, Kvant-2 on 6 December, 1989, Kristall on 10 June, 1990, Spektr on 1 June, 1995 and finally Priroda on 26 April 1996.

On 23 March, 2001 MIR (which means "Peace" in Russian) was brought down in a controlled manner to burn up in the atmosphere and the remains crash safely into the Pacific Ocean.

Russian, American, British and Canadian Astronauts all occupied the space station during it's 15 year history and it directly helped solidify relations between the superpowers.

This Revell model was supplied as a plastic kit by Southsea Models, Portsmouth, UK.

Iss
Iss
Iss

The first element of the International Space Station (Iss) was Russian control module Zarya. It was put into orbit on 20th November, 1998.

Iss
Iss
Iss
Iss

Since then, a plethora of Russian Proton rockets and Space Shuttles have delivered a number of extra modules and brought the space station on-line. At the time of writing, the second permanent Iss crew of three are aboard.

Compare

The model has not been fully painted yet, nor have the decals been applied. I am awaiting a detailing set to become available to enhance the look of the station. However to give a perspective on just how large this model is, here is a shot of the station alongside the same-scale Space Shuttle and MIR Space Station.

This Revell model was supplied as a plastic kit by Southsea Models, Portsmouth, UK.

All my Models

All of my current models are here on display for you to take a look at. Enjoy them all.

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Last modified: 17th May 2002