SPA Modeler

Kari, I finally found this and I'm thrilled to be following along. You've already done some amazing stuff. Like everyone else who mentioned it, I am also still in love with the real space vehicles of those days!

Thank you Duke!

- Kari

GO... KARI!



http://www.apolloarchive.com

Also, you must visit Ninfinger Productions!

does anyone have painting suggestions for Revell's 1/48 scale Apollo CSM/LM model? Particularly the interior of the Command Module. Revell recommends Light Green, but the photos I have suggest that the main color was white. The front control panel should be painted gray with some black (=dials) and white (=computer keyboard) details. BTW, the panel is amazingly accurate...not many differences compared with the actual Block I panel.
The Apollo 1 seats appeared to be sky blue. The storage lockers beneath the crew's seats are not visible on any of my color photos, but a B&W picture suggests they were white or some other light color (sky blue?). The only exception is the computer/telescope console located on the floor, just in front of the docking tunnel. It should be painted black or deep gray, the keyboard area on both sides of the raised panel should be the same color. Finally, the tape recorder on the floor should also be dark.

The exterior of the early Block 1 Apollo CSM was totally white just as the artwork on the cover of the Revell box suggests. There are numerous differences between the prototype and the manned Block 2 Apollo CSMs (A7-17). Some important changes:

Two small antennas (fin-like structures on the Block 1 CM) were later moved to the SM.
CM/SM umbilical cord was located above the CM's EVA hatch; later moved 180 degrees on Block 2.
Block 1 had no docking probe - just a cylindrical tube surrounded by the parachute compartment. Again, the photos I have indicate the Revell kit is fairly accurate.
Block 1 SM surface detail is different; two large rectangular radiator panels between the RCS thrusters as opposed to eight small radiators located behind the CM and two large panels on the Block 2 SM. The Apollo 4 SM (=Block 1) was painted silver just like the later Block 2 SMs, but with white radiator panels. As noted earlier, the other Block 1 SMs were totally white.
The raised area on the rear end of the SM cylinder (just in front of the SPS nozzle) was rectangular on Block 2 but shaped like an hourglass on Block 1. A color photo of Apollo 201 (the first ballistic flight test vehicle) shows that this section was silver, unlike the rest of the SM. The SPS nozzle was black.

http://www.ninfinger.org/models/rms_tip ... o_csm.html

Thanks Bruce, really good stuff, really Good!

- Kari

If you do an image search for Apollo Command Module Interior, you’ll find some great photos. Unfortunately due to variations in lighting, etc, the colors look all over the board. Based off what I saw at Kennedy on display there. I would advise to use Gull Grays, light and dark, for the main colors. Why the Gull Grays? Because those were the standard colors in use by US aerospace companies in the 60s when the Apollo craft were built. And it was the companies such as North American/Rockwell, Grumman, McDonnell-Douglas, etc. who built the craft. I’ll see if I can pull up any photos that would cover that. As far as the the exterior goes, like you can see in the photos that I posted earlier, the Command Module was covered in strips of a chrome type tape, which would burn off upon re entry. The Service Module exterior is mostly a dull bare metal finish, akin to a dark aluminum (Humbrol makes a great color for that), with white radiator panels. There is a white cover attached to the escape tower for the Command Module, but that is jettisoned shortly after launch.

Thanks Stik, important information!
Was not aware that it was chrome type tape on the command module, I thought it was sort of chrome panels or so.

- Kari

Actual NASA models!

Great models Bruce !

- Kari

That is a cool photo Bruce!

And, on a related note, I went and saw “First Man” this evening. The visual effects are most impressive and the Apollo sequences are fantastic to view. It’s not “The Right Stuff” or “Apollo 13” film wise, but it is worth seeing.