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Chris Chulamanis of EVA Models has produced a super-detailed model of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), for which I helped out a little on the research. There are lots of pictures of the assembled kit on the EVA Models site, and you can view a built-up kit and a super review of it on Sven "Ninfinger" Knudson's Space Modelers Web Page.
Glenn Johnson of Real
Space Models has produced a really nice after production add-on of
the Apollo Command
Module (CM) unified hatch for the Revell-Monogram 1/32 scale Apollo
Command and Service Module kit, for which I produced the master.
I hope you all like it! It can be used to either depict an Apollo
CSM EVA (such as the J-series missions SIM Bay data canister retrieval
EVA, or the Apollo 9 EMU test EVA) or to open up the CM to show off all
that great detail work you did inside.
For lots of detail pictures to help build it up, go to
my CM Hatch Gallery.
Latest Updates -
Feb. 8, 1999
I have teamed up with Tom Kladiva of New
Ware Models and John Duncan, webmaster of The
Apollo Saturn Reference Page to start work on a super
detail after production set of decals for the Revell-Monogram 1/32
scale Apollo Command and Service Module kit. The set will include
every know decal on the CSM that is not included with the kit, including
those pesky little tags that identify what all of the access panels are
for. It will also include all of the decals for the hatch - which
will go good with the Real Space Models CM hatch (see
above). Note the data from this research was also applied to
the decal set produced
by Rick Sternbach for the same kit.
My ALSEP and LRV sections were used by the production company of the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon to help create some of the props, although this was not mentioned in the credits (this happened to some other folks I know on the internet, as well). Call it sour grapes, but I decided NOT to setup a link here to HBO to help sell the DVD..... NOTE: The LRV section was taken down during the move from my old server to the new one.
In 2001, I had the honor of assisting the NASA History Office in proof reading the pdf fiiles for the complete air-to-ground transcripts of the space program, called "The Mission Transcript CDs". This was a huge effort involving scores of volunteers all over the country. Click here to see the letter I received from Glenn Swanson for this.
Writing:
This year (2002) I had the pleasure of writing up a rather large review on the Monogram 1/32 scale CSM kit for the up coming Space In Miniature book by Mike Mackowski and David Weeks. I also attended my 3rd IPMS National Convention in Virginia Beach, VA.
Dear Reader;
It's been a long, long time since I updated this page.
In the interim, there have been a few new things for me to brag about(!)
Earlier this year, I hit the 100,00 hits landmark on
my site. That was cool!!!!
I had the distinct honor of helping finalize the lunar
surface panorama collection for the Apollo
Lunar Surface Journal web site. This was a huge effort on the
part of many of my fellow journal editors. The purpose of this was
to create a full library of panoramas for the new
IMAX movie "Magnificent Desolation", due out in theatres this year.
Also, a photo I took of the Molniya satellite has been chosen to be published in a new school text book titled Space and Earth Science, published by BJU Press. Click here to see the tear sheet of the page, and here to see the nice letter I received from the publisher.
I've also had the honor of volunteering to help with research for the Accurate Models' 1/32 scale LM model, scheduled to be released around Christmas of this year. Jim Keys, the owner of said model company, has a long and great reputation for developing the finest models of every subject he chosses to create.
In July of this year, I travelled to Atlanta to attend
my third IPMS National Convention.
My photos of the event are here.
The official web site is here.
The convention was really a first class affair all around.
October 8: It's hard to believe that this year is almost over! And, what a year it's been. On the personal front, I have begun preparations to place my daughter Suzy in college next fall. My model projects have kept me busy, as always. After almost a full year of work, I finally completed my New Horizons scratch built model, in 1/24 scale. It placed 2nd in the Sci-fi and Space models category at this years' IPMS Noreastcon regional model show. I was pretty pleased about that!
After spending so much time, effort, and money on the New Horizons, I decided to take a little break from super detailed spacecraft modeling, and do some things just for fun. I've been working on a model of one of the maintenance drones from the movie "Silent Running", which I bought at the Noreastcon. I also just recently started work on the Trumpeter Models Shenzhou kit, in 1/72 scale.
On the research front, I was asked by Eric Jones to do some more work for The Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. I developed and wrote 3 pages: The Traverse Gavimeter, The Lunar Geological Exploration Camera, and the Remote Control Unit for the EMU.
I added several new sections to the MLSM (this site), including a huge write up on The Cameras of Apollo, as well as The Grumman LM Cutaway, and the afore-mentioned sections on Noreastcon 2006 and New Horizons.
As I write this, the leaves are turning on the trees and
winter is just around the corner. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
still rage on. The New Horizons spacecraft is on it's way to Pluto,
which was just recently removed from the list of planets by the IAU.
Ugh! The Space Shuttle has returned to flight, after the 2003 Columbia
loss, and construction of the International Space Station has resumed.
The Shuttle itself is slated for decomissioning in 2010, and the new Ares
series of vehicles is being designed to replace them. The intrepid
Mars Exploration Rovers have defied the odds and are still operating on
the surface of Mars! Incredible!!