BACK TO THE FUTURE - APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING 42nd ANNIVERSARY TODAY

David Jefferis reports:

Forty two years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon, while Michael Collins orbited high above in the Apollo Command Module. The Lunar Module (LM) was a four-legged aluminium-skinned contraption that was a true ‘space’ craft, designed for operation in a vacuum, with none of the smooth streamlined shape necessary for flight in a planetary atmosphere.

Apollo 11 models

There are various models available that commemorate the landing, including the 1:72 scale Airfix diorama kit that includes the LM, a neatly sculpted rectangle of cratered lunar terrain and logistics support in the form of surface instruments, a mixed bunch of astronauts, and Lunar Rovers. The terrain base is a good size, somewhat larger than an A4 sheet, at 348 mm (13.7 in) long x 247 mm (9.7 in). Cement, acrylic paints, and a brush are also included.

APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY ON MONDAY - BUT APOLLO 27 IS WHAT COULD HAVE COME AFTERWARDS

‘What if’ scenarios are a favourite with many modellers, especially the ‘Luftwaffe 1946’ brigade (SMN is what-if central, so the plea here is guilty, m’lud), so when Pegasus Hobbies brings to market a 1:72 scale Apollo 27 model, it’s a max-interest event.

The Apollo 27 is a good size model, scaling out at some 254 mm (10 in) high when sitting on its outriggers, pointed at the great beyond. A neat bubble canopy reveals the pilot-astronaut and all-in-all the A27 is well worth adding to your collection, especially so because you can display it with any current-generation 1:72 models.

So far as styling goes, Apollo 27 is perhaps a little retro, owing more perhaps to rocket designs of the 1950s era than those of the post-Apollo 11 age. But that’s carping - the idea is ace, the execution OK, the choice of scale top. All aerospace fans should have one!

Visit Pegasus Hobbies here, and UK online supplier Frontier Models here.