The AH-56 Cheyenne and P6M Seamaster are back in production

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Apr 222020

These old Aurora and Revell model kits are back in production under the Atlantis Models brand, for the first time in half a century in some cases. Click the images to go to the relevant Amazon page (the usual Amazon type of ad isn’t inserting correctly for some reason).

But wait! There’s more!

Sure, these kits are simple, not terribly accurate, in many ways kinda crummy in their terribly outdated way. But that is kinda what makes them interesting and fun to build. They are *cheap* and you don’t need to worry about a billion parts and photoetched bits and so much effort required that you are assured of giving up a quarter of the way through. Probably good kits to get kids working on.

APR Monthly Historical Documents Program

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Apr 052020

Once again Patreon seems to be becoming unstable. So I’ve got an alternate: The APR Monthly Historical Documents Program

For some years I have been operating the “Aerospace Projects Review Patreon” which provides monthly rewards in the form of high resolution scans of vintage aerospace diagrams, art and documents. This has worked pretty well, but it seems that perhaps some people might prefer to sign on more directly. Fortunately, PayPal provides the option not only for one-time purchases but also monthly subscriptions. By subscribing using the drop-down menu below, you will receive the same benefits as APR Patrons, but without going through Patreon itself.

October 2019 Rewards

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Oct 312019

It was in some doubt on my end, but I managed to get the October rewards issued in the nick of time. I have been uprooted and moved well over a thousand miles into smaller digs; much of my stuff was abandoned or outright tossed but my files seem, so far, to have survived the journey intact and hopefully complete. I’m in the process of straightening that all out now, and with luck November will be more orderly.

The October rewards included:

Diagram: A very large format scan of the McDonnell Douglas Model D-3235 Supersonic Transport from 1988

Documents: The Boeing “Airborne Alert Aircraft”

A new scan of the Goodyear “METEOR Junior” report, this time scanned from a pristine original

A scan of a collection of JPL CAD diagrams of a Pluto flyby spacecraft circa 1994… sent to me during my college days with the hopes that I could make a display model of it (beyond my capabilities at the time)

In lieu of the CAD diagram usually created for $5 and up Patrons, which I had nowhere near the time to create, a scan of some North American Rockwell brochures on the HOBOS homing bomb system.

If this sort of thing is of interest – either in receiving these sort of rewards or in helping to preserve this sort of aerospace history – consider signing up for the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.

US Bomber Projects #22, US Transport Projects #09

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Sep 042019

US Bomber Projects #22 and Transport Projects #09 are now available.

US Bomber Projects #22

Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US Bomber Projects #22 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #22 includes:

GD/NASA Mach 5 Cruise Waverider: A 1990’s design very much like the “Aurora”
NASA SR-2P Dash-On-Warning: a vertically launched ICBM carrier
Republic MX-773B-2: a two-stage ramjet surface-to-surface missile
Convair Subsonic Nuclear Carrier Based Aircraft: A miniature naval NX-2
Consolidated Vultee “Parallel Staged Operational Missile:” an unusual early configuration for the Atlas ICBM
Convair MX-1626: an early B-36-carried design leading to the B-58
Boeing B-52X: a trie of layouts for four-engined B-52s
Boeing Model 988-122/123: A highly maneuverable stealthy flying wing

USBP #22 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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Don’t forget to pick up the previous issue, US Bomber Projects #21…

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Also available:

US Transport Projects #09

Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US Transport Projects #09 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #09 includes:

Convair 58-9 SST: A design fora preliminary low-capacity test SST
Boeing Model 757-3150: An important step in the development of the 747
Convair Nuclear Powered GEM Aircraft Carrier: a fast long-range strike carrier
Aero Spacelines “Pregnant Princess:” A jet-propelled Saturn rocket carrier
Seversky Executive: A 1930’s design for a prop-powered “business jet”
Williams International V-Jet: A 1980’s concept for a small executive transport
Lockheed L-152-15: A very early jetliner
Lockheed Martin 777F-sized Hybrid Wing body: A very recent large and efficient cargo transport

USTP #09 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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Don’t forget the previous issue, US Transport Projects #08…

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Star Destroyers

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Aug 092019

We’re in something of a golden age of model kits for the Star Destroyer from Star Wars. NOTE: this applies only to the Star Destroyers form the original trilogy; if you want a model of the Star Destroyer from the sequel trilogy, you’re just plain out of luck. Just as if you’d wanted the sequel trilogy to actually be *good* Star Wars, I suppose.

Anyway, the Japanese model kit company Bandai is soon to release two new SD models. Bandai mostly seems to focus on kits of those ridiculous anthropomorphic giant robotic “mech suit” things that are apparently overly popular in anime, but their Star Wars kits are usually exquisite.

As always: if you order one of the items from the Amazon link below, or use the link to go further into Amazon and buy other stuff, I get a small pittance. So you can help a brother out while loading up on Star Destroyers.

First up a 1/5000 scale Star Destroyer, complete with in-scale blockade runner and Millenium Falcon. The SD is modeled after the one from “Empire Strikes Back” which is substantially different from the one in “A New Hope” (and “Rogue One”), so the blockade runner is a little out of place, but I don’t suppose too many people are gonna care.

At 12.6 inches long, it’ll be a little smaller and a lot more expensive than the smaller of the Revell kits, but the detailing should be vastly improved.

Also coming soon from Bandai, a dinkyscale model of the Super Star Destroyer. Small, but cheap and very likely ridiculously detailed.

If you want a more sizable (more than 2 feet long) Super Star Destroyer, and especially if you don’t want to have to put one together, this just came on the market. It seems to be well received.

Available for a few years now is the Bandai dinkyscale Star Destroyer. Cheap, but a beautiful little thing. I’ve shown one I built hereabouts before.

Also available for some years now is the smaller of the two Revell models, a “Snaptite Build and Play” kit. Low on detail, but reasonably accurate, with a built-in sound and light system. Designed more or less to be built by kids, assembly is easy and quick, and the parts thickness is such to make it pretty rugged.

Last is the gigantic 1/2700 kit, originally released by the Russian model kit company Zvezda, re-released by Revell. Pricey, but since it’s about twice the size of the new Bandai kit while being only 25%or so more expensive, it’s a pretty good deal. Assuming, of course, you have someplace to put it.

Forthcoming

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Aug 052019

Just finished the initial cut of diagrams for US Transport Projects #9, except for the interior layout of one jetliner…

Previously…

US Transport Projects #8

Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US Transport Projects #8 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #8 includes:

NACA SST: a 1947 concept
Boeing CX-HLS: Boeings design for what became the C-5
Bell Operational Medium STOL Transport: vectored thrust for short takeoff
Convair Limited War Amphibian: A concept for a single plan to meet both land and sea plane requirements
Bell Hypersonic Transport 1980-1990:A two-stage turboramjet/rocket concept
Lockheed Hybrid Wing Body 757PF-Sized Freighter: a recent design for an advanced transport
Lear Liner Model 40:a small airliner/large executive transport
Boeing Model 759-153A Resource Carrier: A big flying wing natural gas “tanker”

USTP #8 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $4.25:

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Booklet of General Plans

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Jul 232019

A while back I sold a few copies of a prototype of a “Booklet of General Plans” for the Space Station V from “2001.” The feedback I got suggested that the idea has merits, and with some refinement it might be something interesting.

Along with Space Station V, I have made mention of wanting to do the same sort of thing with Clavius Base and The Orville. Clavius Base is a concept at a fabulously early stage. The Orville’s 3D model is long completed, but recent news is that Eaglemoss will release a line of Orville ships starting in 2020. Since the Eaglemoss Star Trek ships come with a small magazine that provides canonical in-universe data, I will wait to see what comes out at that time.

I have a number of other Booklets in various stages of completion. Some are still in the modeling stags; some require a whole lot of tinkering with the diagrams, some are in the writeup stage. Each will have text to go along with them that will be an in-universe description of the vehicle; the “Bird One,” for example, depicts a US government attempt to reverse engineer the design as best they can based on fragmentary data. The Ajax will be another US Government attempt to describe Mongo tech after the events of “Flash Gordon.” And of course some of these, such as the Dyna Soar and the 10-meter Orion, will be non-fictional descriptions.

For those nerdy and old enough to remember the glory days of the “Booklets of General Plans” that were released for various Star trek ships, you’ll remember the pages and pages of deck plans. With a lot of these, “deck plans” won’t really be possible… for Dyna Soar, there really wasn’t a deck, and for the Helicarrier there were *way* too many decks. So each Booklet will be its own thing, with diagrams, inboard profiles, etc. that are appropriate. I’m thinking of pricing these something like $2 per page, more or less. The basic set will be 11X17 sheets, folded in half and put in a letter-sized envelope; but I’m also contemplating a limited run of each possibly on better paper, and either rolled or bound within a 12X18 binder.

If this sort of thing is of interest, take a look and let me know in the comments which one or more appeal. This is a sloooow, long-term project, more hobby than anything. So if you want one… let me know. And let your friends who might want one know. A few others arne’t included below, such as the “Men Into Space” ship and the Boeing IMIS Mars craft, which will be a *huge* set.

repost: US Launch Vehicle Projects #06: Solar Power Satellite Launchers

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Jul 212019

Now available… the newest and biggest issue in the US Aerospace Projects line.

US Launch Vehicle Projects #6

Cover art was provided by Rob Parthoens, www.baroba.be

US Launch Vehicle Projects #06 is now available (see HERE for the entire series). Issue #6 is devoted to the launch vehicles proposed for the 1970’s Solar Power Satellite program. This required millions of tons of payload delivered into Earth orbit over a span of decades, with flight rates of several times per day for each vehicle. This program produced some of the largest and most ambitious launch vehicles ever designed, and was the last time that launchers of this size were ever seriously contemplated. Appropriately, USLP#6 is by far the largest issue of US Aerospace projects to date at over seventy pages, three times the size of a usual issue.

Topics in this issue include the Rockwell Star-Raker, several Boeing Space Freighters, the Boeing “Big Onion” Low Cost Heavy Lift Vehicle (antecedent and descendant designs), a Grumman two-stage HLLV, a Rockwell HLLV and “small” HLLV, NASA-JSC heavy lifters, a Boeing/Rockwell Personnel Launch Vehicle and a Boeing winged SSTO. Along with orthogonal views, a number of perspective diagrams are also included.

USLP #6 can be downloaded as a PDF file for only $9:

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May 2019 Monthly Historical Documents

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Jun 022019

On May 31st, APR Patrons and Monthly Historical Documents program subscribers were sent emails containing links to the May, 2019, rewards. This months set of documents and diagrams included high-rez copies of:

Document: “Manned Lunar Vehicle Design,” a General Electric paper from 1962 describing a direct-landing Apollo concept

Document: “AP-76 Project 1226,” a highly illustrated Republic Aviation report from May 1955 describing their design for the X-15

Diagram: “DNI-27C, VFX Design Study Fixed Wing/Buried Engine,” September 1968 North American Aviation fighter design

CAD Diagram: three-view of the Dandridge Cole/Martin Aircraft “Aldebaran” giant nuclear powered launch vehicle notional concept

If this sort of thing is of interest and you’d like to get in on it and make sure you don’t miss any of the forthcoming releases, sign up either for the APR Patreon or the APR Monthly Historical Documents Program.

All prior “back issues” are available for purchase by subscribers. Recent months rewards have included:

Valier Raketenschiff

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Apr 182019

A model I CAD-mastered for Fantastic Plastic has finally been released… the 1/288 scale Max Valier “Raketenschiff” from 1929. This was a very art deco “rocket ship” designed as a hypersonic trans-Atlantic passenger transport. It was never much more than a notion and some art, but it’s always been a concept I’ve been fond of. Its design is a combination of zeppelin and Colliers Ferry Rocket. Go to Fantastic Plastic and buy a couple.

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