Hello all! This is my Vostok 8K72K rocket, in launch pose for the Vostok 1 mission; ready to take Yuri Gagarin (and humanity) into orbit for the first time!
Built as it comes out the box, painted in Humbrol sea grey (there’s a huge debate about whether it was green or grey, not helped by dodgy Soviet film stock of the era! From the photos I collected, I’m pretty convinced it’s grey, so I went with grey) with some metalcote alum and a little bit of fire red. I used Tamiya Snow Stick on the boosters to represent icing from the cryogenic propellants in the tanks; I’m not super happy with how it looks, but it was an interesting eperiment. Finished with Tamiya semi-gloss clear coat.
This is the Hobby Park boxing of the oldschool Apex kit in 1:144. Same tool as the AER, Eastern Express & Parc Models kits. I picked it up on eBay pretty cheap from Eastern Europe. The kit was pretty decent but the plastic definitely felt past its best; some of it was extremely brittle. The fencing that connects the third stage to the rest of the rocket is super thin and really loved snapping as it bent into the circular shape.
This is my first completed model since I was a kid. There’s a lot that could be improved but I’m pretty happy overall. I’m planning two more rockets to sit alongside it to represent space flight through history: next up is the Airfix 1/144 Saturn V
