Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Gemini Capsule: Decisions, Decisions

Two related questions arose immediately: Which Gemini mission to model and how to display the finished capsule? There were twelve Gemini missions--the last ten were manned. In reviewing the literature, it seems that a lot of emphasis has been placed on Gemini VII, perhaps due to the first-ever space rendezvous (with Gemini VI-A).

I've aways thought about doing Gemini 3, the first manned Gemini flight, mainly because of the corned-beef sandwich incident. John Young smuggled a corned-beef sandwich on-b0ard and, once in orbit, both he and Gus Grissom took several bites before restowing the sandwich before floating crumbs could wreak havoc with the capsule's electronics. Both were reprimanded when they returned to Earth and all future crews were warned not to pull the same stunt. I can see Young and Grissom in their seats with a sandwich floating between them :)

That leads to the display question. I want to be able to show the added improvements and details of the kit. That means that doors would both be open and that one or both of the crew would be absent. I also want to show the detail in both the retrograde and equipment sections. So... my preliminary idea is to show the capsule in an "exploded" display with the three sections moved slightly apart from each other. Maybe a corned-beef sandwich on the center console? I won't make the final decision quite yet. I want to see how construction proceeds.

Starting with the capsule interior, the first thing that needs to be addressed are the seats. As you can see below, the Revell kit seats are rudimentary, at best. Compare that with a drawing of the actual seat:





Thankfully, the seats are addressed by the LVM Interior Detail Kit. The seats on the kit bulkhead will be cut away and the resulting hole covered by Part A. Parts B & C will be fabricated into much better seats.


That's it for this chapter. Now, where did I put that Dremel tool?

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Revell's 1/24 Scale Gemini Capsule


I've never attempted a project this wide-ranging and I'm viewing it as an opportunity to increase my modeling skills in quite a few areas. I'd seen photos of several finished models of the Gemini capsule on the Space Modeling Facebook page and decided to look into it.

The original 1/24 scale Revell kit was issued in 1966 and has undergone several re-boxings since then. The one I settled on was kit no. 1835 issued in 1993. I found it for a great price on eBay with free shipping and a guarantee that all parts were present. I was doubly glad about the parts guarantee when I first opened the box:



I immediately went through the instructions and bagged the individual parts step-by-step and found that they were all present and accounted for:



The Revell Gemini capsule was modeled after McDonnell Aircraft Company's mock-up and does not resemble the capsule as flown into space. Reading the posts and comments on Space Modeling led me to order several aftermarket sets. I'll cover each of these and the need for them as I get to them in the build but here they are:



Gemini Interior Detail Kit, LVM Studios, www.lvm-studios.com

Gemini Detail Set (Exterior), RealSpace Models, www.realspacemodels.com

Ultimate Decals, Gemini, Space Model Systems, http://www.culttvmanshop.com/Space-Model-Systems_bymfg_70-0-1.html

More to follow on my preliminary research, my initial approach to the kit, and the start!