Lunar Module Model

My first post on this blog is going to be about a Grumman Lunar Module model I built last summer. The LM has always been one of my favourite real spacecraft.  The design process involved in its creation is absolutely fascinating to me.  I purchased a very cheap $10 Revell 1:100 scale kit [ http://www.revell.com/germany/space-sci-fi/80-4832.html ] from my local hobby store, and spent a lot of time reworking it to make it look as good as possible with the limited resources I had available.  Sadly I did not take many photographs of the process, but here are a few that I took with the terrible camera on my phone:

Base coats on both ascent and descent stages

A little bit of filling/modification on the ascent stage

This first images skip over a lot of the prep-work I did on the general shape and details of the model.  I spent a fair few hours sanding edges, adding details, smoothing imperfections and so on before I even put the first coat of primer on.  Then I repeated that process two or three times before I was ready to begin final details.

Nearly finished painting the main body

Here is the main portions of the ascent and descent stages all painted.  This was taken before decals and clear coat had been applied.  Extra details such as antennas and base were still forthcoming at this point.

The finished model before final clear-coat.  Notice the custom made base

The final model.  All details had been added by this point.  The only detail missing was a couple coats of clear. I custom made the base using modelling clay (Super-Sculpey I believe) and coated it with a mixture of charcoal powder and tile grout to get the texture right.  I then added the "moon rock" which is actually a small meteorite. 

Overall, I am very pleased with how this model turned out.  Considering it cost me a mere $10 for the kit, I really have no complaints.  Some day I would like to do another in a larger scale, offering even more detail.