This is an update that covers all the projects in one way or another. So--
ARIES - It looks like I just can't reliably cast the lower hull as a single piece. Have a look at this:
Here you can see how the interior core mold was displaced and allowed extra material to form behind what should have been the true wall of the part (its the colored stuff). This additional thickness is throughout the entire casting, not just this edge. This means none of the parts that need to fit inside the lower hull can be installed without modifying them to allow for this extra thickness. The solution for this problem is to do one of two things-- either make a new core that is thicker or just do the simple thing and dice the master into 4 quarters and forget about trying to mold this as one huge part.
My original intention was to do this as a single piece instead of casting it in quarters and I expended a lot of effort to make it work. There really isn't a reason that this piece should be a single casting, other than my preferences. If it were a smaller version, it could be done, but trying to pour 2.5 pounds of resin before it gets too thick is an iffy proposition and if its a bad casting, that's a lot of resin to toss out! So, between that and this thickness problem, making the lower hull in quarters becomes the way to go.
There is an advantage doing it this way in that if the mold for one part of the hull goes bad, only that section would need to be replaced, instead of the entire mold. This also means we can pour the kits faster, which is always welcomed! I have not made the new molds yet-- what you see here is a casting that has been cut up so we can get an idea of how to make the new molds.
It is still a big part, though!
Okay, I'll be posting the progress on this as we go along and the Aries will be finally finished very soon.
MOONBUS - The Moonbus is back in my hands and I'll get back onto it once the Aries is done. Sorry I don't have anything better to report on this!
COMMAND MODULE KIT - I'm still wrestling the new door bezels into place. I should be done with the CM itself by the end of next week and it will go right into rubber. I'd like to describe exactly what the problem has been, but all I can say is it is very difficult to get these new bezels to fit. It is very easy to get them installed 'out of round' and I have to work slowly. I discovered this the hard way-- I had them all in place when I saw that 2 of them were distorted. Fortunately, removing them was fairly easy!
ANTENNA MODULE KIT - We have started delivering these kits. I'll be putting an online assembly guide up very soon. All orders will be filled before the end of February.
TWA MOONLINER KIT - I decided to discontinue this kit a couple of weeks ago. The guy who builds the handrails can't do it any longer and I can't build them. So, any order coming in through January will be honored. After that, my plan now is to put out the kit minus the base, which eliminates the need for the handrail. Delivery of this kit is ongoing and all orders should be delivered before the middle of February.
BOTANY BAY KIT - This kit is finally finished and delivery will be in the next week or so. There are only 4 orders, so this won't take long!
ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF THE ASTRONAUT FIGURE!!
Ever since the run of Discovery Astronaut figures ran out, I've gotten requests to make the figure available again. There were several reasons I didn't want to do this, but most of those were solved when I did the seated figure. The original Discovery Astronaut figure was made in China and they had some whiz-bang method for casting these flawless, single piece figures (the body, legs and arms as one casting) and I saw nothing but problems to try to do it that way.
Back in September, a friend of mine decided to take a stab at finding a way to cast the figure. What you now see is the result--
The Red Suit is the original figure, from China. The Silver figure is actually the same figure, remolded. The lunar versions of the backpack and chest pack were made in China as the original idea was to do both figures. I didn't have the money to do that, at the time, mainly because I needed 3 different poses for the lunar version and I'd have to order 100 of each. So, now that the figure can be molded, I'm having poses done so that this image can be done as a 3-figure model--
The model will have these 3 figures, but they'll be arranged a bit differently, standing on a base that suggests the lunar surface. It'll have some of the equipment seen here as well. This kit will probably be ready in April. I won't have price information until I know the cost for the materials that will be needed for molds and castings. When this kit is ready, I'll put up a forum for it, complete with photos of the finished kit.
The original 'Discovery Astronaut' figure will be available much sooner. So, I guess I should make the distinction between the two offerings: 'Standing Discovery Astronaut' would be the original figure and 'Lunar Survey Team' would be the guys in the silver suits. Another thought is that with the introduction of the lunar version it would be possible to do a 'TMA-1 Pit' diorama, but at 1:12 scale that's going to be one large diorama. Don't ask me about it, I'll just see what can be done and post something later-- like in May or June.
-----------------------------------------------
I'm going to stop here for now. I'll update the Underwriter's projects in a day or so, in this forum.
ARIES - It looks like I just can't reliably cast the lower hull as a single piece. Have a look at this:
Here you can see how the interior core mold was displaced and allowed extra material to form behind what should have been the true wall of the part (its the colored stuff). This additional thickness is throughout the entire casting, not just this edge. This means none of the parts that need to fit inside the lower hull can be installed without modifying them to allow for this extra thickness. The solution for this problem is to do one of two things-- either make a new core that is thicker or just do the simple thing and dice the master into 4 quarters and forget about trying to mold this as one huge part.
My original intention was to do this as a single piece instead of casting it in quarters and I expended a lot of effort to make it work. There really isn't a reason that this piece should be a single casting, other than my preferences. If it were a smaller version, it could be done, but trying to pour 2.5 pounds of resin before it gets too thick is an iffy proposition and if its a bad casting, that's a lot of resin to toss out! So, between that and this thickness problem, making the lower hull in quarters becomes the way to go.
There is an advantage doing it this way in that if the mold for one part of the hull goes bad, only that section would need to be replaced, instead of the entire mold. This also means we can pour the kits faster, which is always welcomed! I have not made the new molds yet-- what you see here is a casting that has been cut up so we can get an idea of how to make the new molds.
It is still a big part, though!
Okay, I'll be posting the progress on this as we go along and the Aries will be finally finished very soon.
MOONBUS - The Moonbus is back in my hands and I'll get back onto it once the Aries is done. Sorry I don't have anything better to report on this!
COMMAND MODULE KIT - I'm still wrestling the new door bezels into place. I should be done with the CM itself by the end of next week and it will go right into rubber. I'd like to describe exactly what the problem has been, but all I can say is it is very difficult to get these new bezels to fit. It is very easy to get them installed 'out of round' and I have to work slowly. I discovered this the hard way-- I had them all in place when I saw that 2 of them were distorted. Fortunately, removing them was fairly easy!
ANTENNA MODULE KIT - We have started delivering these kits. I'll be putting an online assembly guide up very soon. All orders will be filled before the end of February.
TWA MOONLINER KIT - I decided to discontinue this kit a couple of weeks ago. The guy who builds the handrails can't do it any longer and I can't build them. So, any order coming in through January will be honored. After that, my plan now is to put out the kit minus the base, which eliminates the need for the handrail. Delivery of this kit is ongoing and all orders should be delivered before the middle of February.
BOTANY BAY KIT - This kit is finally finished and delivery will be in the next week or so. There are only 4 orders, so this won't take long!
ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF THE ASTRONAUT FIGURE!!
Ever since the run of Discovery Astronaut figures ran out, I've gotten requests to make the figure available again. There were several reasons I didn't want to do this, but most of those were solved when I did the seated figure. The original Discovery Astronaut figure was made in China and they had some whiz-bang method for casting these flawless, single piece figures (the body, legs and arms as one casting) and I saw nothing but problems to try to do it that way.
Back in September, a friend of mine decided to take a stab at finding a way to cast the figure. What you now see is the result--
The Red Suit is the original figure, from China. The Silver figure is actually the same figure, remolded. The lunar versions of the backpack and chest pack were made in China as the original idea was to do both figures. I didn't have the money to do that, at the time, mainly because I needed 3 different poses for the lunar version and I'd have to order 100 of each. So, now that the figure can be molded, I'm having poses done so that this image can be done as a 3-figure model--
The model will have these 3 figures, but they'll be arranged a bit differently, standing on a base that suggests the lunar surface. It'll have some of the equipment seen here as well. This kit will probably be ready in April. I won't have price information until I know the cost for the materials that will be needed for molds and castings. When this kit is ready, I'll put up a forum for it, complete with photos of the finished kit.
The original 'Discovery Astronaut' figure will be available much sooner. So, I guess I should make the distinction between the two offerings: 'Standing Discovery Astronaut' would be the original figure and 'Lunar Survey Team' would be the guys in the silver suits. Another thought is that with the introduction of the lunar version it would be possible to do a 'TMA-1 Pit' diorama, but at 1:12 scale that's going to be one large diorama. Don't ask me about it, I'll just see what can be done and post something later-- like in May or June.
-----------------------------------------------
I'm going to stop here for now. I'll update the Underwriter's projects in a day or so, in this forum.
