VIRGIN GALACTIC SPACESHIP TWO AND WHITEKNIGHT TWO FROM REVELL

 

WITH SIR RICHARD BRANSON beating his space entrepreneur rival, Jeff Bezos, into space by a week or so on July 11, 2021, it's time to take a detailed look at Revell’s 1:144 scale kit of the Virgin Galactic craft.

REVELL VIRGIN GALACTIC SPACECRAFT: TEST SHOT ASSEMBLY DETAILS FROM MAT IRVINE

Here’s more on Revell’s new kit of the SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo combo that will allow anyone to ‘fly into space’ - with two provisos: that they have a spare $100,000 or so, and can demonstrate that they are ‘reasonably fit’!

SILVER DART SPACECRAFT FROM BLAP! MODELS OF CANADA

MAT IRVINE REPORTS
Canada’s headline space involvement is in supplying the Canadarm 2 robotic arm system presently used on the International Space Station (ISS). But here’s another, smaller, Canadian space product in the form of a sleek 1:72 scale resin kit of the Silver Dart hypersonic re-entry glider from Dave Guerin’s Blap! Models of Ontario.

VIRGIN GALACTIC SPACESHIP RELEASED IN TWO SCALES

SMN report:

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic seems to be on track to become the world's first commercial spaceline, with a passenger-carrying spaceship, the VSS Enterprise, carried by a twin-fuselage mothership, VMS Eve. Both vehicles were developed by California-based Scaled Composites, headed by the veteran designer Burt Rutan. Eventually there will be two motherships and five spaceships in the Virgin Galactic space fleet.

DRAGON SPACECRAFT RETURNS FROM ORBIT! X-37B LANDS ON RUNWAY!

SMN report
News that the US company SpaceX successfully test-flew its Dragon space capsule today makes SMN really proud - for this company is in the vanguard of the privatization of space. Along with the likes of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic program, it looks as if there might be a future for rocketry in the post-Space Shuttle era after all.

Spacecraft models from Dragon
And talking of Dragons, the Chinese model company of the same name is busy releasing a miniature ‘Space Collection’, to 1:72 and 1:400 scale, plus 1:6 scale astronaut figures. The spacecraft are all ready-built, mixing diecast metal with injection-plastic parts, and while some are familiar subjects - Apollo and Shuttle feature strongly - there is at least one really interesting of-the-moment release, and that’s the 1:72 scale X-37B OTV (Orbital Test Vehicle).

X-37B in space
Looking much like a mini-Shuttle (and originally designed to fit inside a Space Shuttle cargo bay) NASA’s X-37B program was taken over by the US Department of Defense in 2004. The craft saw its first orbital flight on April 22 this year, and stayed aloft on a secret mission until returning just last week, on December 3. The X-37B is a completely automated winged vehicle that lands on a runway like the Space Shutttle.

Comparing model with reality
The Dragon X-37B is a neat piece of model engineering that sits on a stylish stand. However, it’s interesting to compare the smooth and sleek lines of the 1:72 scale model with the lumps, bumps, and varying textures of the real thing, as seen in the official pictures above. And look at those white protective suits - the engineer-techs look for all the world like extras from a Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster - Close Encounters anyone?!

Well done Dragon for this X-37B - it’s an unusual subject that’s been well captured. Let’s hope the company will provide a 1:72 scale Dragon capsule soon, preferably with a seven-astronaut crew inside!

We’ll be showing a neat diagram of the Dragon capsule and other spacecraft in the next day or two - keep your eyes peeled for that.

Visit Dragon Models here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  X-37B 1:72 scale model from Dragon.
2  CGI of the X-37B in orbit, with solar panels extended.
3  X-37B post-flight on the runway.
4-5 Technicians fettle the X-37B after its seven-month-plus mission.