Hi! I’m sliding over to the Space forum [bow] because I’m considering purchasing the MRC Mercury capsule and wish to know if any of you have built this kit and would you recommend it? [tup] [tdn]
Scott
Yes, YES!!! 1000% 
Seriously, excellent kit. Welcome,
Mike
Another thumbs up from me. The thing is absolutely gorgeous IMO.
Fingers crossed for both a Gemini & Apollo in the same scale.
Go for it, it’s in my opinion one of the best real space model kit available for the price. The astronaut figure is impressively done and the outer details of the capsule is aweseome. There are some metal parts to get a good definition of the holding straps and the decals are wonderfull. The interior is good but could have been more detailed. If you like to add detail to a kit, you’ll have plenty of room to add some in the interior. I enjoyed this build very much.
And if you’d like to fly the thing on your PC, there’s a simulator available that’s based on the actual vehicle.
Hi aardvark,
If you like that simulation them I am sure that you will just love this one!
http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/orbit.html
Once this is installed you can download and add Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. The graphics are excellent and the best this is that it is entirely FREE!
I have had some good times actually learning about orbital physics with this simulator and I am sure that you will enjoy it also.
Thanks guys, I’m sold on it now and will pick one up. As a kid I enjoyed building the old Revell & Monogram Gemini and Apollo capsules, hopefully MRC will put those out in the same scale.
Scott
The way it currently sits, Accurate Miniatures is working on the 1/12 Gemini (EXPENSIVE) but, Scott at Atomic City (who made the masters for MRC) is working on a 1/12 Apolllo CM/SM. No date or price as of yet.
Mike
Hhuuuummmmmmm, yummy, yummy![dinner]
Hmmmm…Can you imagine a 1/12 scale Lunar Lander? That would be an awesome kit to have!
Scott
I am curious, what glues did you use to assemble this model? Do you know any good source that discusses which glues to use with which materials? I looked on this site but to get the glue article, you need to buy the back issue. Also, what glues should I avoid?
Thanks!
We curently have a discussion over here:
/forums/753660/ShowPost.aspx
Basicaly: Liquid cement is to weld styrene parts together and for all other materials, you need super glue or CA glue which means CyanoAcrylic glue.
I’ve had my Mercury capsule sitting around since it came out, and I’m getting ready to build it finally. What I was waiting for was some aftermarket things to come out, such as the forward pressure bulkhead, which is a major missing part of the kit. I was hoping someone would give us the thing in resin. Yeah, I know, that was a longshot. But some PE would be nice. All I have come up with so far are the nice wooden stands from Nautilus Models (the lack of a stand on such a large and complete kit is simply bizarre) and I obtained the AM decals by Space Model Systems.
Does anyone know of any other aftermarket goodies for this kit, such as PE. Also, did anyone ever come up with a good FS match for the instrument panel colors for the various capsules that flew?
Thanks,
Tom
I have spent months in vain trying to find resin or photo-etched add-ons for this great kit.I am still amazed that someone has not,as it would be a cash cow,because every panel was slightly different,and the kit didn’t have the periscope panel.I carved and sanded off the chest mirror,and replaced the zipper and straps,under the mirror with a good two part epoxy putty because later mercury flights,didn’t carry the chest mirrors.I ended up doing Gordo’s Cooper spacecraft,because that was the closest match for the main panel.I am going to attempt to photo-etch about 3 of the most popular panels,but don’t know what the results will be!LOL I’m new to photo-etching,my own parts.
The 1/12 Mercury is well worth the time and money. I am looking at my finished capsule now. It’s beautiful.
1/12th lunar lander? WOW! i started making cardstock templates for a 1/25th scale a few years back and it was nearly a foot tall.
Custom Replicas is working on a 1/32 scale model LM. I am saving my pennies for this one as well as their 1/12 scale Gemini. That will be a great partner for the Mercury.
http://www.customreplicas.com/LM.htm
Also, Scott (Captain Cardboard) from Atomic City, showed 2 panels for his 1/6 (!!!) scale Mercury!! You need to take a look at the picture to really appreciate the size of this model. I need a bigger house.
http://atomiccity.yuku.com/topic/548/t/1-6-Mercury-Capsule-Project.html
Well, here I am again, red-faced, because I notice that it’s been a year and a half since I posted that I was about to begin my build of this beautiful kit. It didn’t happen. And to make it worse, it was a magazine assignment, which required me months of trying to convince my British editors that real spacecraft qualifiy as flying machines and thus were proper subjects for aviation modeling magazines. They are still waiting for their model and article.
I have this AMS problem, and it stems from having heard so many conflicting stories about which of the Mercury spacecraft, those that flew manned missions, the kit most closely resembles. I’m pretty certain that, as was noted above, unless you are doing Alan Shepard or Guss Grissom, you’ll need to carve the mirror off the figure and somehow add zippers and I-don’t-know-what to the space suit.
But which instrument panel does it closely resemble, and has anyone yet found any close FS matches for the pastel colors used on those panels? I know they were not painted with FS colors, but a close match would be nice for a starting point. I have a shortage of color photos of the interiors.
Also, I’m still in a quandry about the forward pressure bulkhead. There is an enormous void behind the instrument panels with that bulkhead left out, and it shows. And no matter how many of the wiring bundles you add, it doesn’t compensate for that big piece of concave metal. I seem to recall reading somewhere that someone smash-molded one from a rubber ball! I wish I had kept that article.
Anyway, has anyone yet made any aftermarket parts for this fine model, aside from the AM decal sheet and the Nautilus stands, both of which I recommend highly? And what’s the latest on the Gemini and Apollo command module kits in 1/12?
Finally, can anyone tell me if there is a web site devoted to Real Space modeling, one that has a forum for asking questions? I’d love to find one. There just seems to be too few of us on the FSM site.
Many thanks,
TOM
Tom, (Mel, whatever . . 
You need to join us at Yahoo/groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/space-modelers/)
We have a great space modelers forum there. You need to sign up, but it’s free. There are a LOTTA gearheads there.
Mike
Absolutely right!
I joined the Yahoo Group last year and these guys have helped me with, what I thought, were obscure Real Space questions … and the amount of information provided to me was astounding! Doesn’t matter if it’s manned, unmanned, x-plane, conceptual ( like the MOL) you’ll get answers.
There’s also a Photos section wherein members have posted some pix of their efforts.
Go … join … hurry up … you still here?
Pete