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Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Submitted 2020.03.14 by Pat LeBlanc
Pat creates the iconic Apollo Command Service Module, a lengthy project but well worth the wait.
Pat writes:
2020.03.14 I've started on another vac-form project for MMM and his crew. This is a picture of two of the masters ready to have melted plastic sucked over them. A classic Marvel "No-Prize" for figuring out the final product.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.15 Alright, now that the cat is out of the bag (and since
there is no basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, NASCAR or competitive
knitting), I thought I would share some of the details of how I go about
making my current vac-form project: the Apollo Command/Service Module.
Whereas
our friend Amaury spends months painstakingly making every piece of
every model/toy by hand, most of the time I spend is involved in
designing and creating the masters that allow me to make multiple
copies.
Design starts with scaling down drawings of the real thing to
the Major's size. For instance, the SPS engine shown yesterday is
7-5/8" tall and 8-3/8" diameter at the bottom.
I cut multiple disks
of blue insulating foam and glue them on a spindle that goes into my
drill press for turning. The shape of the "bell" is cut from a piece of
wood to make a shaping tool. The edge of the tool is covered with
sandpaper and pressed against the foam as it turns. Once the desired
shape is achieved (and all of the dust is cleaned up), the foam is
covered with aluminized tape to protect it from the heat of the melted
styrene.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.16 Apollo CSM Update #2 (no restaurants OR bars, are you kidding me?) The
scaled diameter of the Service Module (SM) is 12-7/8". It will consist
of a sheet of styrene wrapped around interior bulkheads. I cut a disk
out of wooden board. One board can be used to make three different
bulkheads: a plain flat one, one with a 6" hole in the middle and one
with the engine mount.
The master for the engine mount at the rear
of the SM was made by gluing pieces of blue foam board and then shaping
the edges with a sandpaper covered tool. The pictures show the before
and after. The foam is covered with Alumiized tape and the assembly is
set on the bulkhead master for vac-forming.
Because the major parts
of this build are all round, I built a 16" diameter round frame to hold
the styrene. This spreads the pulling force evenly and prevents the
wrinkles that a square or rectangular frame would have.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.17 Apollo CSM Update #3 Moving
on to the Command Module (CM). The diameter of the CM is also 12-7/8"
(same as the SM). Using the same techniques as before, disks of blue
foam are stacked up and glued together. Unfortunately it was too big to
turn in my drill press so I had to improvise with my hand drill. Using
another sandpaper covered tool, the foam is turned down to the final
cone shape.
An Exacto knife and Dremel were used to cope out the
docking tunnel and the notches for the rendezvous windows. The foam is
covered with Aluminized tape (which makes it look like the real thing).
The final color of this model will be white like the Apollo's used for
Skylab (or Ironman One in "Marooned").
The shell is vac-formed from a 16" diameter piece of styrene.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.18 Apollo CSM Update #4 Even
before vac-forming the capsule, I realized that the size of the actual
hatch would be too small to access the interior to get the astronauts in
and out so I cut a larger access panel. The panel is held in place
with a series of tabs. The actual crew hatch will be a decal on this
panel.
Beveled foam disks are glued inside the styrene shell to
reinforce it and provide the ceiling and floor of the cabin. There are
numerous pictures and diagrams of the interior but I found the ones
below to be the most helpful.
At this point I had to decide how
realistic and detailed the interior would be. This would determine what
the seats and the control panel would look like. That will be in the
next update.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.19 Apollo CSM Update #5 The real CM
had a removable center seat that allowed access to the guidance &
navigation station and the lower equipment bay located under the seats.
I read somewhere that the Apollo astronauts really liked that there was
enough room to stand up in the CM so I decided to include the lower
equipment bay (LEB) and made all three seats removable to access it.
The
seats are held in place by two rods. One rod is stationary and the
other is spring loaded. Notches under the seats engage the rods. The
seats slide sideways to help get them in and out.
The walls of the
LEB are covered with decals that are simplified representations of the
equipment that lined the real thing. The control panel is represented
the same way. Some of these are difficult to see in the assembled model
but they are there.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.20 Apollo CSM Update #6 The previous five updates have summarized the progress made over the last 12 weeks. Now we are in real time.
Here
are pictures of the first time the different pieces have been put
together. As you can see, the CSM is quite a bit larger than the
original Space Station. There will be a removable door in the same
place that the SIM (Scientific Instrument Module) bay was but it will be
larger. This door will allow access to the interior of the SM.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
There still a lot of work to do (RCS quads, painting, decals, etc.). Stay tuned.
2020.03.21 Apollo CSM Update #7 I promised some pictures of the astronauts through the windows but this video shows them better:
2020.03.23 Apollo CSM Update #8 Baby
steps. The RCS thruster quad "boxes" are made by laminating three
pieces of fiber board. There is a countersunk machine screw in each one
that will allow the thruster assemblies to be removed from the SM shell
for shipping.
Aluminum angles have been added to the edges of the SM shell where the door will be to keep them from warping.
The SM shell has been drilled to install the quad boxes.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.28 Apollo CSM Update #9 16 RCS thrusters vac-formed and painted. 8 attached to the quad boxes. Also working on the SM access door.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.29 Apollo CSM Update #10 The
distance between the top and bottom bulkheads is right around 12". I
thought about putting another bulkhead right between them for a "two
story" space but 6" isn't really enough headroom. I decided to install
six 4" fuel tanks on the bottom bulkhead and put a deck right above
them. The glue on the access door is still curing.
The main engine
has been painted flat gray. The RCS quads have been temporarily
installed. The engine and the thrusters are removable.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.03.31 Another shot of the in-progress CSM docked to the early LEM.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.04.04 This is what our kitchen looks like AFTER the Friday cleanup. That's a painting my daughter is working on.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.04.05 Apollo CSM Update #11 I
shot some videos of the CSM on a display cradle. The engine is held in
place by magnets as is the side panel. As I mentioned, before, the RCS
quads (thrusters) are also removable.
The gray patches are radiator panels. The rest of the decals are crude print outs taped in place.
The
interior of the SM will have some additional details/decals. There are
some LED lights behind the control panel that are not lit in the video.
Here are the links to the videos:
Getting closer to finishing. Hope everyone is staying safe!
2020.04.10 Here is a picture of the 1/12 Lunar Module from 2003 docked to the 1/12 Command/Service Module from 2020.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.04.18 Here
is a short video of the internal lighting of the CSM. I wanted push
button activation instead of a toggle or slide switch. The battery and
circuitry are inside the SM and the push button is located on the side
opposite the SM access panel (no need to open anything to turn the
lights on. The lights come on and then slowly dim to off after about a
minute. Three LED's behind the main control panel and one inside the
SM. The lights are activated with a push button and slowly dim to off
with a transistor and RC circuit.
2020.04.19 Apollo CSM Update #12 Added
exterior details including the umbilical housing (opposite the main
hatch); the red, green and yellow rendezvous lights (painted wooden
dowels); and some panel striping.
Also added a program/mission
insignia to the SM panels and the cradle. This is ‘borrowed” from the
Apollo 15 mission patch. The three red, white and blue arrows/wings
seemed appropriate for our guys.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2020.04.26 Apollo CSM Update #13 I
wanted to add some original MMM pieces to the CSM. Since this is not a
lander, I chose the Satellite Launcher. The SM bay contains four
satellites for launching and a Jet Pack for retrieval if needed.
While Mason and Storm monitor progress in the CM, Long prepares to launch a satellite from the SM.
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
Pat LeBlanc's Apollo Command Service Module (CSM)
2021.02.08 Tour of 1/12 scale Skylab with docked Apollo CSM
I've been writing about stuff that interests me for many years, initially with some free web space provided by my ISP back in the 90's and continuing with various blogs and websites today, separated by interest. Many I haven't touched in a few years due to time constraints but the subjects are still on my mind.
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