Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: Frank3k on January 09, 2026, 01:03:29 PM
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I've had a couple of the Pegasus 1/350* Moonlander for a while, complete with the Paragraphics PE set. I've wanted to build it, but every time I opened the box, the number of sprues and parts made this kit feel more like a long term commitment than a 3-4 week build.
(https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/3/7/2/1012372-11104-96-pristine.jpg) from Scalemates (https://www.scalemates.com/kits/pegasus-hobbies-9109-moonlander-spacecraft--1012372)
However, I saw this great build (https://oikofuge.com/pegasus-1-350-lunar-lander/) (also on Britmodeller (https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235061210-pegasus-1350-von-braun-moon-lander/)) and thought that it didn't look too time consuming. I figure I could start a quicker build if I lost focus or motivation.
I'm not concerned by the Paragraphics PE set - I've used their PE in other builds and they're well designed and easy to work with (in PE terms).
It didn't take long to get to this point yesterday - all the engines and some fuel tanks:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55031726610_4d3eda749d_b.jpg)
I had some time today, and painted the engine deck and mounts in a mix of silver and black primer. The engines are in Vallejo dark aluminum. I then mixed some of the dark aluminum with some Vallejo Shifter paints. The effect wasn't very pronounced, so I shot a thin layer of the shifter paints on the nozzles to give the engines a burnt metal look:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55031572703_9f79339a67_b.jpg)
Here's a closeup of the main engines:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55031646774_2003d042b4_b.jpg)
And the steering engines:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55030495902_7fa7909e57_b.jpg)
I'll probably spray some of the blue shifter on the main engines, since it looks better than the red color. I'm not too concerned with the sparkly/grainy paint; it's not visible in person and much of it will disappear under more coats of shifter paint. So far it's been an enjoyable build, with excellent fit and no Gecko-ness.
* It says "1/350", but Pegasus is notoriously bad at the concept of scale. Compared to the original design, it's closer to 1/250 or larger. I'll just call it 1/350, and make it a 2nd generation heavy cargo ship.
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Impressive start, Frank! :smiley:
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Looking good - I’m a bit of a biff when it comes to PE. My usual experience being that the delicate piece falls into the singularity carpet under my desk while my fingers are firmed glued to the model!
Will be very interested to see how you get along and any advice you may have. Good luck with the build. :smiley:
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Good start on an interesting model :smiley:
So many whif options for it too - Space 1999, UFO etc.
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Nice use of Colour shift paints :smiley:
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Off to a good start. The kit builds into an impressive monster from what I've seen, and the shifting paints are giving it a nice touch.
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Thanks, guys. These Vallejo color shifter paints are great - very easy to use and control.
I added the PE to the nozzles:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55036241730_9585893f7b_b.jpg)
Paragraphics PE sets rarely disappoint and this was no exception - they went on nicely. The glue is still wet on these (you can see some white globs here and there). The main engines are just pressed in place. I was going to glue them in, but they're held tightly and I'm fine with the slight misalignment. The steering engines are movable. I had to slightly enlarge the holes for the bars, but they move easily:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55036241705_f376d539bd_b.jpg)
With the "Are we there yet?" probe installed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55035896726_2d52c2bea0_b.jpg)
The color shift on the engine looks great at just the right angle.
So far, this has been a very enjoyable build - the hardest part so far has been deciding which option to build and the colors. The four large fuel tanks on the sides are meant to be dropped off after leaving Earth orbit, which would require minor surgery to the support arms; I may do it so I can add the tanks to my spares box. I then have to decide between a cargo or passenger version. The cargo version replaces the central return(?) fuel tanks in the core of the vehicle with two large cargo cylinders.
My only complaint with this kit is the wildly off size; it's almost 50% larger than the original Von Braun design (especially when compared to the 1/300 drawings in "The Spaceship Handbook")
I'll just make this an advanced heavy cargo version.
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The engine/landing gear section is finished and I started on the habitat/cargo module and the supports for the upper sections. Everything above the engine frame and landing gear (including the silver/gray square base) is just press fit. I'll take the base off so I can build the structures without putting too much pressure on the landing gear.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55038823338_361fd7a09d_b.jpg)
One very nice feature of this kit is that the parts press together firmly. Small sub-assemblies can be press fit together and they'll make a sturdy structure. When ready, a drop of glue at the joints locked it all in place.
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Woh! :icon_surprised: Coming along really well, Frank! 8)
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This is great... I am really enjoying watching this evolve. Must confess, I was not aware of this kit and can see a lot of potential in it
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Beautiful and delicate work - bravo! :smiley:
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I've been making some progress, mainly with the small bits. Since I'm going with the habitat/cargo option, I added some details to the central cargo/habitat core. Here's the temporary stacking of the parts:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55044909146_ff32ae9f11_b.jpg)
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Nice.
I get its an old design, to me the function over form is working here, no need for nice streamlining, just the bits you need to do the work.
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Looks great so far :smiley: Function over form is real space not fantasy.
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Coming along nicely, though I admit to being thoroughly baffled by the grills on the engine bells. Seems like it would rob a lot of thrust...what am I missing?
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I think the grills represent either smaller nozzles or the like. The original design didn't have them, but the engine bells looked pretty barren without.
From the Paragraphix instructions:
Rocket Nozzles
Many early concepts for large rockets used clusters of very small
rocket nozzles. These additions to the kit rocket nozzles pay
homage to those early designs.
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This is outstanding! The more you build the better it looks. You should give a painting class!
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Almost there. I repainted the crew sphere just to make it different. I had some self-inflicted challenges during the build - I mistakenly glued the vertical rods to the horizontal support rings before I had everything aligned, so I've been struggling to work around/correct the issues. I also cut the Earth departure tank supports off, faced the stumps off... and didn't like the way they looked, so i replaced part of the missing beams.
Okiofuge (https://oikofuge.com/pegasus-1-350-lunar-lander/) dis a far, far better job.
This is where it stands - some parts are still just tacked in place. The high gain antenna dish is held up with poster putty. The dish is pointed towards the horizon, since I'm going to make this a lunar pole mission. I may add solar panels (vs the mercury powered solar thermal generator):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55059548468_fa5e4a5542_b.jpg)
The dish needs a little work to make it rounder and close off the petals:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55059621594_4bfa1c1d4c_b.jpg)
I still have a lot of work to do, but it'll be slow this week since my wife is having surgery on her broken wrist.
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...
Okiofuge (https://oikofuge.com/pegasus-1-350-lunar-lander/) dis a far, far better job.
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Errm, his build is really nice. But a bit too clean for my taste. Your build has a more 'lived in' look :smiley:
Best of luck to Mrs. 3k on her wrist surgery and recovery.
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Works for me to this stage, I like it, the entire practicality of the design for the era.
Really nice work
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Very nice so far, not seen this kit but it seems fun!!
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Looking goooood ! :smiley: :smiley:
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I like it! The metallics look more industrial than the white of Okiofuge's.
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I agree with the rest here, yours is better looking. Good choices on the metallic colors.
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Thanks for the praise, but I think his looks neater.
I'm really stumped with what to do with the repaired tank supports. The joints between the re-glued rods iare flimsy, not straight and impossible to sand without breaking the joint. You can sort of see the problem behind the dish in the closeup image above.
I thought of wrapping gold Bare Metal Foil around each repaired joint, but I couldn't get it to stick.
I'm thinking of carefully applying some putty and painting that gold (so it looks like crinkled foil).
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What about applying a piece of thin plastic card stock or thin paper across the problem areas? Small triangular shapes to reinforce the joints but not enough to obscure the observation windows on the lower part of the sphere.
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Rick Lowe over at What If suggested using bass tubes to fix the problems with the re-attached tank supports. Of course, I didn't have the right size on hand, so i ordered a few. The brass tubes worked like a charm:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55069812543_afc1598b3a_b.jpg)
I think I prefer this to the original, unmodified supports. Here's a fuzzy closeup:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55069980025_504314b5a9_b.jpg)
It took very little time to cut the brass tube to length, slightly ream out the holes, snap the old tank supports off, then slip the brass in place. As a bonus, they've straightened out the supports. The brass is just holding things in place, with the tank support glued in. I can adjust the straightness left or right by adjusting the tube positions.
Now on to finishing the rest!
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Excellent! Now I see where my suggestion was for nought as it was not what I was looking at in the image you were referencing for the problem.
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Nice fix with the bass tubes, it fits the aesthetics of the model too, you wouldn't know it was a fix unless it was pointed out.
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Slowly approaching the finish line... very slowly. The original design has two wimpy cranes that are supposed to take the astronauts from the "observation deck" to the surface, but other than the crane, the kit provides no obvious way down. The Paragraphics PE set adds two nice elevator cages, but I couldn't see a safe way of getting the astronauts (in their cumbersome suits) from the deck to the elevator. The elevator cages then have to swing out far enough to clear the engine base and landing pads. It just didn't seem like a safe operation all around.
I spent way more time than I'm willing to admit designing a platform that would allow the astronauts to safely step into the elevator and not have to swing widely over the surface just to clear the vehicle structure.
I also added an expandable airlock to the base of the cargo/habitation module. I spent some time in my CAD program designing the folds... when I realized that if I printed it on my FDM printer at 0.1mm resolution, the print layer artifacts would be perfect. I also added some internal guide lines and a hatch. Here again, the printer artifacts look like insulation/details.
Both in place. Adding the PE ship railing was a perfect example of CA refusing to work. The CA stuck to everything except the edge of the plastic. It took several attempts (with the help of some accelerator) to get everything to stick. I still have to bend one of the railings back into place. There's a small piece of plastic at the front of the platform (barely visible) that will act as the local controls for the crane. The first crane would be almost directly over the front of the platform:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55081577346_3330b343e5_b.jpg)
Here's a closeup of the expandable cargo airlock. I still need to add a smaller platform and the possibly larger cargo crane:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55081577326_b155d456a8_b.jpg)
I used some printed 1/350 astronauts to get a scale of this ship. It is just massive; a crew of 50-60 would fit comfortably in the sphere.
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Looking splendid, right amount of detail for the scale to my eye.
Good fix with the brass, seamless to the overall look
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The more I see this, the more impressed I am by your attention to detail & your ability to fix sh!t, Frank. Going great guns! :smiley:
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Decals are on and all that's left are a few minor cleanup details. Overall shot:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089723323_17d9cd5a62_b.jpg)
Besides dust and debris, the crew sphere has two astronauts under the big clear dome (in blue) and one in the smaller dome (in red):
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089882545_c65ec0be49_b.jpg)
Detail of the crew elevator. I used very thin elastic cord for the elevator line and restraining rope across the entrance; neither is really visible in this picture:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089882535_b1fa557129_b.jpg)
The cargo crane is from a USN ship PE set. The crane control is from an ancient 1/150 Tarantula torpedo boat model - the sprues were repurposed into space ships by a Czech company called Andromeda. Really handy set.
I used 10 astronaut figures; 5 on the crew platform, 3 in the crew elevator, one in the lower cargo hold hatch and one (not in this picture) in the cargo elevator.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55089779889_a01fb3de33_b.jpg)
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Really is an impressive kit.
I like what you have done with the tweaks and additions.
Lovely work :smiley: :smiley:
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Really is an impressive kit.
I like what you have done with the tweaks and additions.
Lovely work :smiley: :smiley:
I second this! 8) :smiley:
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:smiley:
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Great build there!!!
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Lots of imaginative problem solving on this one!
It looks awesome!
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I'm calling this one finished! Despite its size, this was an absolutely fun model to build. All of the issues were self inflicted - mainly my rushing ahead and gluing some structural supports before getting all the other supports and structures lined up properly. Most of the parts will press together firmly and cleanly, so there's no need to rush and glue.
Very enjoyable build and highly recommended. Plus you get spares (many or a few, depending on the version built). The Paragrafix PE set was a joy to work with and you get spares there, too.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55092943760_6915539008_b.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55092785923_b6092cb058_b.jpg)
I used both dishes from the Paragrafix PE set - the open frame to communicate to the Earth, the other to communicate with relay satellites as they pass overhead, or with explorers on the surface:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55091697832_ce39af53f2_b.jpg)
The astronaut at the far right may be afraid of heights, because he's holding on to one of the support beams:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55092847679_aa4651c37e_b.jpg)
Let's play "find the supervisor" - closeup of the guys going down to the surface. The elevator is free swinging, so even the slightest breeze makes it rotate. I had to wait for the right moment to photograph it. In fact, I just noticed that it swung all the way around one of the beams - ignore that:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55091697862_1919db8760_b.jpg)
Lower cargo section with cargo foreman. There's another astronaut in the elevator:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55091697837_3128b27866_b.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55092943715_885101a83e_b.jpg)
RANT section
"The Spaceship Handbook" gives a total height of the cargo ship at 160ft/48.8m with the landing gear and central leg retracted. This matches published data elsewhere. With the landing gear and central leg extended, the ship would have been 210.8 ft/64.3m. In 1/350 scale, the landed ship should be 183.61mm tall. It was hard to measure properly, but the completed model measures between 250mm and 260mm tall - which (averaging) would make it around 1/250 scale.
I scaled one of the kit images to true 1/350 scale. pretty obvious difference:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55093216159_65419073ac_b.jpg)
Typical Pegasus; they have a very hard time designing kits to match the stated scale, even when the "real" vehicle's size is easy to find with minimal effort. The worst example is the space ship from "When Worlds Collide", which is listed as 1/350 but is closer to 1/500. No excuse here, either - the actual measurements were clearly displayed on the screen for 20-30 seconds.
RANT off
I'm declaring this one as a larger, heavier cargo ship used to build bases and long duration stays near the lunar poles. That's why the Earth pointing antenna is aimed at to the horizon.
Thanks for all the helpful comments and for following along!
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Over sized is better in undersized! easier to come to some arrangement via Kit's 2nd Law (Any discrepancies can be rectified with a decent backstory - or words to that effect ;) ).
Fantastic result, Frank! :smiley: :smiley:
PS: The supervisor is doing what all supervisors on a worksite do, standing around with his/her hands on his/her hips doing nothing. ;D
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:smiley:
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PS: The supervisor is doing what all supervisors on a worksite do, standing around with his/her hands on his/her hips doing nothing. ;D
Well, to be fair, interfering with potential progress on the site doesn't just happen ;)
Brilliant work, Frank :smiley: And good backstory rationale for the scale discrepancy!
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That's one brilliant build Frank, I'm well impressed :-* :-* :-* :-*
Mog
>^-.-^<
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Thanks Mog,
I posted this over at WhatIf, but forgot to post it here.
Years ago, I saw a Von Braun "Round the Moon" ship on Shapeways:
(https://external-preview.redd.it/uzmfsthh0QdGvDh_SSTNGXTYXCHIyTiZd2Zw7I0tmyw.jpg?width=552&auto=webp&s=ccc1a216c294bdafd2ffe66681e70039f76b73ce)
It was in 1/400 scale, so I asked the designer if he could rescale it to 1/350 and he did. I bought a copy and quickly realized how delicate it was. I managed to prep and paint it with only minor damage (the radio dish and the mercury boiler snapped off) but the white primer just didn't look right. I put it away for a few years and recently, I tried to remove the acrylic primer with denatured alcohol. The age of the print (6-7 years) or something else softened the resin plastic and barely touched the primer. I let it dry out and the print hardened again... but in the process, the frame never straightened out. I think they may have separated in some spots as well
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55096037193_2a5a966040_b.jpg)
This is accurately scaled (you can see a ghostly astronaut right below it) - compared to the Pegasus kit, it's the length of the cargo module.
I guess the only option I have is to use the drawings in the "Spaceship Handbook" and CAD up a version. I'll make it so it's easier to paint and maybe not as delicate (the resin Shapeways used is much more brittle than modern hobbyist resins). I just started the CAD work and it's moving along. Of course, the hard part (besides detailing) is breaking it down into reasonably easy to print sections.