Having completed the S-II Aft Interstage for my previous post on this build log, I’ve now progressed to the Big Beast of the S-IC. This stage is composed of Revell’s usual combination of moulded cylinders for the skirts and intertank, and printed styrene sheets to be rolled into cylinders for the tank sections. The stage … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IC Stage – Part 1 →

Having completed the S-II stage, I’ve worked my way down the stack as far as the S-II aft interstage—a ring structure interposed between the first and second stages to provide clearance between the S-II’s rocket engines above and the dome of the S-IC’s liquid oxygen tank below. We can see it being dropped astern in … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Aft Interstage →

In my previous post of this build log, I eventually got the heavily modified parts of the Revell S-II stage assembled, and had replaced all the kit fairings with more correct versions from New Ware. A good coat of white paint brought all the disparate parts to the same shade, and then I added the … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 2 →

In histories of the Apollo programme, the S-II stage of the Saturn V is often referred to as “troubled”. There were difficulties with weight reduction that led to a delay in delivery of the first functioning S-IIs. That may be why Revell’s rendering of the S-II is so poor—it’s clear, from the paint scheme and … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 1 →

Having finished building the S-IVB third stage of my Saturn V, I moved on to the S-IVB Aft Interstage—a conical support structure that separated the 6.6m-diameter S-IVB above from the 10-m diameter S-II second stage below. The real thing was assembled into the Saturn V stack as part of the S-IVB, but after launch it … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Aft Interstage →

It’s been a while since I made any progress on this kit. Last time, I described building the Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter and Instrument Unit assembly. Moving down the launch vehicle, this time I’m building the S-IVB stage, which was the third stage of the Saturn V—the “small” one that pushed the Apollo stack into Earth orbit … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Stage →

Having complete RealSpace Models’ Block II Command/Service Module (CSM), I’ve moved on to the Spacecraft Lunar Module Adapter (SLA) provided in the Revell kit. The SLA was a fairing that contained the Lunar Module (LM), and supported the CSM. It was composed of two sections, the upper and lower SLA, which sat on top of … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter & Instrument Unit →

Go to Part 1 of this build log In the first two parts of this build log, I’ve been describing my experience with RealSpace Models‘ 1/96 Apollo Command/Service Module, which is intended to replace the CSM provided with Revell’s classic 1/96 Saturn V model kit. Revell unfortunately provides only a “Block I” CSM, which was never flown … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module: Part 3 →

Go to Part 1 of this build log Having finished with the Service Module detailing, I had a little bit to do on the Command Module before I could start applying foil. I sanded down the original undetailed cabin hatch on the resin model, and added the photoetched detail from New Ware’s Saturn V Detail … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module: Part 2 →

So this is the first part of my slow assembly of the Revell 1/96 Apollo Saturn V. One of several shortcomings in that kit is that the Apollo Command/Service Module provided is a Block I version. That kind of CSM only ever sat on top of a Saturn V for the unmanned Apollo 4 and … Continue reading RealSpace Models 1/96 Apollo Block II Command/Service Module: Part 1 →