I’m new at building spacecraft (though I was an avid model rocket builder – the flying type – and am familiar with the subject of spacecraft), and I’m looking for web sites devoted exclusively to scale model spacecraft, not sci-fi. I am in a position to give more publicity to this branch of our hobby, but I can’t seem to find where the serious guys hang out.
On another note, I am doing a review build of the Cutting Edge resin SS-6 “Sapwood,” but the kit comes with no stencils, no markings of any kind, and gives no hint at what colors to use on this early ICBM. Can anyone help me out here?
You may also want to try encylopidia astronautica. It’s a site run by Mark wade, and is full of information concerning all types of spacecraft, manned and unmanned, plus every type of launch vehicle, rocket engine ect… . I have found it to be quite useful as a reference site.
Thanks guys. I still need to find the proper Soviet colors for their early ICBM’s. I know it was something similar to our OD or even Medium Green, but not quite. And the warhead was probably a different color, such as white or natural metal, as would be the nozzles. I have seen the same booster as used to loft the first Sputnik, but it was not painted the same as the nuke-tipped SS-6’s, which were scarcely produced before being replaced.
As for the Atomic City capsule, it’s fantastic, and just what we needed to get attention for space subjects, but I’ve been sitting on mine for almost a year now waiting for aftermarket parts to come out for it. There’s a lot of empty space in there, and we all know there was no unused space in the real thing. So besides a lot of scratchbuilt wiring harnesses, somebody should do a good PE set and some resin for this thing. I also have the excellent decal sheet and the Nautilus stands for this model (if you haven’t seen them, they make a stand for posing it either vertically or another stand for horizontal display). These stands are quite nice, and for a kit this good, and this pricey, it’s pretty inconceivable that the instructions tell you to rest it on the retro pack. That pretty bush league.
Maybe you can ask your question in the armor section. I’m pretty sure there will be someone who knows which color the soviet missiles were.
And concerning the Mercury capsule, you’re rigth about empty spaces. I built it myself and did some scratchbuilding but nothing outstanding. I just could not wait for aftermarket PE set to be available. I also did a stand to show it in several configuration. It is not complete but I might post some pictures soon.