by Dave Zook

I watched on eBay for a couple of years to find this model, and finally came across one early in December. And for the same price it sold for originally! The kit is from Lunar Models, and is about 1/12 scale. It took me a week to build. I replaced the white resin "light bulbs" on the control module with clear parts from the AMT 1701-A kit, and the one behind the chair I fashioned from a thick piece of clear styrene sprue with a file and sandpaper. Then I painted them with transparent acrylics from Tamiya. The cages over the bulbs were made from brass wire, and were the most difficult part of the build. The coils behind the chair were made from brass wire as well. One of the dome shapes on the sides of the control module was missing, so I decided to replace them both with hand formed ones made from Aves Apoxie Sculpt. The kit comes with some really nice decals that were very easy to apply. I airbrushed most of it except for the chair, which I drybrushed. The only reference I had was two close-up stills from the movie and a couple of photos of other people's builds.

Image: Left

Image: Detail

Image: Bulbs and cages

Image: Controls

Image: More details

Image: Decals