CLASSIC SPACE COLLECTIBLES: CHOOSE FROM SCALE KITS TO TIN TOYS, ALL HIGHLY DESIRABLE AND APPRECIATING IN VALUE

The International Space Station is the size of a football field and circles the Earth more than 15 times a day. But before the ISS came a range of space station concepts, many of them featured in miniature form.

AOSHIMA H-IIB SPACE LAUNCHER KIT

ROCKET REVIEW BY MAT IRVINE

Give that the H-IIB launch rocket is the mainstay of Japan’s satellite launch industry it’s somewhat surprising that there has been no kit of it before - this kit from Aoshima is a first.

SPACEX LAUNCHES DRAGON TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

SMN REPORT:

News that the US company SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon space capsule, which is now on course for a test rendezvous with the ISS International Space Station makes us smile. And of course, it opens the door to the model-making wish-list.

LEGO IN SPACE - ASTRONAUT BUILDS MODEL ISS IN ORBIT

SMN report:

After posting news on LEGO’s upcoming R2D2 last week, we were sent a link to LEGO in space, for real this time. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) recently assembled a one-off model as part of an education linkup between the space agency NASA and the Danish LEGO company.

SPACE-X IS TEN YEARS OLD - AND NOW TAKING US BEYOND THE SHUTTLE ERA

SMN report from David Jefferis:

SpaceX is the sort of company that brings a smile to the face of many a space buff. Under the leadership of Elon Musk, who set the company up a decade ago in 2002, SpaceX has gone from strength to strength. Right now, SpaceX is aiming to make the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, using its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule combo. And guess what? There’s a model rocket available from SpaceX that you can build and fly.

1:10 SCALE ISS SPACESUIT KIT FROM BANDAI

Mat Irvine reports:

Factual space modelmakers are having a rather good time of it at the moment, with reissued Apollo kits from Revell, updated launchers from Airfix, brand new kits from Aoshima and Dragon - and now Bandai have released this fascinating 1:10 scale ISS Spacesuit kit, featuring the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU).

SPACE - CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT

Mat Irvine reports on a magabook for space fans

Space is a colourful new release from Key Publishing, the outfit behind the recently-launched Airfix Model World magazine. Space is written by David Baker, a well-known space writer, as well as once being a NASA space scientist.

REVELL INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO 1:144 SCALE

David Jefferis reports
Science fiction enthusiasts are pretty well catered for by the toy and model industries - from Star Wars to Iron Man, the choice of available subjects, in both and ready-built form, is nearly endless. But it’s not such good news for ‘real space’ enthusiasts, and especially not from the main manufacturers. Would that the likes of Airfix produced a ‘Man in Space’ set, with a 1:72 scale range of US and Russian capsules, plus a lineup of astronuats and cosmonauts standing by them. Hey ho, there’s a dream that’ll never happen, but Revell’s International Space Station (ISS) kit does at least offer a taster for the real space modeller.

Moving solar panels
Even to the relatively small 1:144 scale, the Revell ISS assembles into an impressive beast, with the huge solar panel arrays giving the model an overall size of 745 mm x 500 mm (29.3 in x 19.7 in). Like those on the real thing, they are moveable, though you probably won’t want to shift them much - the model is more than a little delicate, even when perched on its rectangular stand. This neat component comes in a charcoal shade, but will look even better if you paint the Earth hemisphere in the middle blue and white; then the ISS can float proudly atop the lot, supported on a set of slim aluminium legs.

Miniature astronauts
The Revell ISS kit contains 183 components, which include all the dozens of panels, modules, platforms and robot arms (three of them) that make up the real thing orbiting high overhead as I write this. The Revell ISS also comes with two Russian Soyuz space capsules, and a trio of 13 mm (0.5 inch) spacewalking astronauts.

Space Shuttle add-on
Now, this will represent the ISS in operational configuration after 2011 or so, because the US Space Shuttle’s last few missions are due to be flown during the coming months. But, because the Shuttle has been the main cargo hauler for ISS assembly, it seems a shame not to have one on display, in addition to those far smaller Soyuz spacecraft. It’ll also make an even more impressive space display piece, but for that, you’ll have to obtain another kit, and handily, it’s one that Revell also supplies. The Revell 1:144 scale Space Shuttle comes in ‘full stack’ mode - that is, with external tank and solid boosters, standing atop the huge hauler-transporter used to take it from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.

The ISS is a must-have kit for space modelmakers, while adding a Shuttle will make for a spectacular piece that shows off what will soon be a page of spaceflight history.


The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Revell 1:144 scale Iinternational Space Station.
2  Revell 1:144 scale Space Shuttle Full Stack.
3  An ISS book I wrote a while ago, with excellent graphics by Sebastian Quigley. You can buy it here.
      
There's more info at Revell here.

You can buy the ISS here, though it’s worth pointing out that the one review reveals a buyer unhappy with missing parts and a damaged box, so as the review states: ‘Caveat Emptor’.

Buy the Space Shuttle here.

SPACE SHUTTLE PAPER MODELS

With the Space Shuttle docked with the International Space Station (ISS) it’s a record-breaking period for people in orbit at the same time, with both crews able to share the linked spacecraft.

If you are a Space Shuttle model builder then here’s a site to visit - AXM Paper Space Scale Models features downloadable plans to make various paper models. They range from the Shuttle itself to 1:144 scale, various payloads, different versions of the crawler-transporter, and an ISS to 1:100 scale. Even better, many are free.

Visit AXM Paper Space Scale Models here.