Convair NEV and 1/35 scale Coleopter
I added two builds from a few years ago. The 1/144 scale Convair NEV and a 1/35 scale Coleopter (mostly 3D printed).
Scratch built
1/35 Coleopter
I like VTOL aircraft and was inspired to build a Coleopter after seeing this image: The prop shroud/circular wing would be pretty easy to design and print on my 3D FDM printer, but I wouldn’t be able to reproduce the clear cockpit without considerable effort. I would have to print a blank for the forward …
Albert Robida inspired flyer, Gentleman James Jameson – Hired gun
I added two new builds, both in 1/35 scale. Albert Robida inspired flyer (Scratch built) and Master Box’s “Gentleman Jim Jameson – Hired Gun”.
1880s Albert Robida Inspired Flyer
Albert Robida was an accomplished French illustrator and writer from the late 1800s. His illustrations about technology in the 20th century were both whimsical and evocative. I decided to make a 1/35 scale flying vehicle inspired by some of his artwork. The original inspiration isn’t his – it dates from 1828 and depicts Mr. Charles …
MOL Re-entry Vehicle
The Hawk Manned Orbiting Laboratory kit was a neat kit based on a Convair proposal. I’ve always liked the re-entry “dorito” vehicles and scratchbuilt my interpretation years ago. I sold that model shortly after I made it and have always wanted to recreate it. After years of procrastinating, I decided to re-interpret the re-entry vehicle …
Stranger in the Desert
I was inspired to build a diorama after watching “Science Fiction Theatre” Episode 05 “Stranger In The Desert”:, from 1955: This episode is fairly entertaining, featuring two prospectors looking for riches in the desert who meet a kindly old man – the “Stranger”. The episodes of “Science Fiction Theatre” were generally simplistic, but this is …
German Imperial Navy torpedo steam launch
Browsing through the FriedrichFiles I found a page describing a small steam powered torpedo launch. It was designed for the German Imperial Navy, to be based on board battleships. No date for the drawing is given, but it probably dates between the late 1800s to 1918. I was intrigued by the design, and it looked …
Re-entry Vehicle, Experimental
In the 60’s, the Hawk corporation released a conceptual model of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL). It was based on an Atlas booster and had a clear nose section and a detailed (for the time) interior.My favorite feature of this model were the two lifting body re-entry vehicles. Sven Knudsen has scans of the Hawk …
One Man Space Station
I bought the Dragon 1/72 Mercury Redstone kit primarily for the Mercury capsule. The capsule exterior is nicely detailed but it has no interior; far worse, it has no heatshield. The retrorockets and the open nose door are on the sprue, so I don’t understand why they left the heatshield off. Since I couldn’t build …
Bonestell Moonship
The Moonship from The Conquest of Space, by Chesley Bonestell and Willy Ley is a classic, iconic rocketship design from the 1940s and 50s. I used artwork in The Conquest of Space, the Moonship chapter in Spaceship Handbook (Jack Hagerty and Jon C. Rogers, ARA Press, 2001) and a print of the Moonship drawings from …