Space modeling involves scaled reproductions of
rockets, spacecraft, astronauts, etc. Here we also
include 3-D
models built with computer design software.
A space modeler builds from kits,
such as the well known plastic kits from
Revell,
or, if really serious, develops the models from
scratch. This requires obtaining scale drawings
of the originals and reproducing the parts.
Replicas, i.e. pre-built models, are purchased
for display and educational purposes and for Collecting.
Plastic kits are also collectibles but this usually
means they must remain untampered with and in their
original boxes.
Note that the term model rockets refers
also to small powered rockets, which may or may
not be scaled versions of real rockets and missiles.
This page is dedicated to non-powered scale
models. See the rocketry
section for powered rocket information.
Some links will mix the two
types. For example, the newsgroup rec.models.rockets
involve discussions of both powered rocketry
and non-powered scale models.
Note that there are some Free
kits, i.e. paper cutout designs, downloadable
from the web.
It is often
easier to assemble models on a designated
workbench
or table.
Good modeling, whether from scratch or
from a kit, requires great craftsmanship. A realistic
model of a historical rocket or spacecraft should reproduce
as closely as possible the original craft, e.g. the
painting should be faithful to the original color schemes,
For many important rockets and spacecraft
there are no kits available. Instead one can model them
with parts you devise yourself. Modeling from scratch
demands a lot of creativeness in devising ways to reproduce
the various parts. Furthermore, it may required considerable
detective work to track down original scale drawings
or blueprints and then obtain the sequence of variations
from the drawings.
Sven
"NinFinger" Knudson's Space Models
Huge collection of space modeling links by Sven "Ninfinger"
Knudson. Including a list of links to FREE
online paper model kits.
"Mastercraft Models and Century Collection
International is a Pennsylvania-based company that offers
over 1,000 aircraft model designs, from military aircraft
models to civilian plane replicas, historical collectibles
and framed prints. We are proud to be one of the few
model companies licensed by major aircraft manufacturers
such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Cessna, Sikorsky, American
Airlines and Pan Am, and many others. Each of our desktop
models is prudently hand-carved by our seasoned model
builders to bring a faithful scale reproduction of your
favorite aircraft. More than mere displays, these models
are a reflection of the times, and occasionally, of
the personality of their owners. More importantly, they
serve as family treasures that could be passed on to
the younger generations. You will surely appreciate
the craftsmanship and history behind our models. Our
founder Ed Humphreys has worked as a consultant for
the Danbury Mint, the Franklin Mint, and Toys and Models
to bring you 25 years experience, and has created a
model company to fulfill all your model needs."
MACH
2
This French firm (English
homepage), founded and operated by Didier
Palix, produces and sells various aerospace models
including rockets and launch vehicles. Recently, they
debuted a series of 1/72 all plastic kits of the famous
Russian launcher Semiorka (or R7).
Magellan This British company offers a big selection of
space models in plastic and resin as well as laser cut
paper.
NewWare
- Space Kits Series Tomas Kladiva in the Czech Republic supports this
model store devoted to Space model kits. Products include
resin models and photo etched brass sets and space
decals. Models include Mercury Redstone, Apollo modules,
Mir and more.
Scott
Lowthers Models
Scott Lowther posts detailed plans and information on
models that include both historical craft like Gemini
capsules as well as newer craft such as the X-33 and
the Hyper-X scramjet.
He has also created a number of models for the company
Fantastic
Plastic.
RealSpace
RealSpace offers numerous spacecraft models such as
the ISS, Gemini, etc. See the Catalog.
"Since 1991 Glenn Johnson at RealSpace Models has
offered resin kits of factual spacecraft and launch
vehicles. The goal is high quality, accurate multimedia
stand alone models and conversions for existing styrene
kits.." - web site
Revell-Monogram
The famous plastic model kit company offers a page about
its space models. It also provides an online site with
lots of tips and info about modelling.
Sci-Fi
& Fantasy Modellers - UK
This store and modelling information site focuses on
science fiction and fantasy models but also has begun
to offer models based on "real space". In
2009 they also released the first volume of a series
called the Real Space Modeller.
Space
Model Systems - Rick Sternbach Rick
Sternbach has been doing space and science fiction
artwork since the early 1970s and has worked on films
and programs such as Star Trek: The Motion Picture,
The Last Starfighter, Future Flight, and
Cosmos.
Spacemodeling.com
Mark Gray provides lots of resources for the space modeler.
Gallery includes various detailed photos of spacecraft
for reference use.
Spacecraft
Model Kits from Space Craft International
This very impressive site offers an extensive catalog
of kits of spacecraft such as Voyager and Hubble Telescope.
The models are constructed from kits made from lightweight
materials such as laser cut paper and styrofoam. More
about paper kits below.
Launch
Complex Models
Highly detailed models of various launch complexes &
systems such as Launch Complex 39 for Apollo, LC 19 for
Gemini, the Crawler Transporter, and several others.
George
Gassaway's Rocketry
George Gassaway's site includes lots of scale information
for various launch vehicles. In particular, check out
his
Shuttle Model Homepage. His shuttle models not only
are meticulous models of the real ones, but they also
fly and even include dropoff boosters. See the
image of a launch.
NewSpace
Models
Space transport vehicles in development by entrepreneurial
companies.
Space
Modeling in LEGO
LEGO offers many space related kits to be built with
its famous blocks. Many hobbyists also design and build
their own rocket and spacecraft models with Legos.
Aerospace
Bricker - Burt Rutan's son Jeff
and grandson Cole Zellner have built LEGO models of
all of Burt's flying vehicles, including SpaceShipOne
and SpaceShipTwo. Building plans should be available
for sale in 2012.
Video
showing time lapse of the building of a Lego
SpaceShipTwo.
The Denmark-based LEGO Group announced
Friday (March 2) that its Hayabusa
369-piece building set has now gone on sale in Japan.
A limited number of the sets will be made available
worldwide through LEGO's online store at a date
still be decided for later this year. The model
retails for $49.
blap
models - resin casting display models pattern
making
1/72 scale resin models of the Canadian Arrow
Launch Vehicle and the Silver Dart/FDL-7 Hypersonic
Glider will be available as kits or prebuilt replicas
Launchpad
Spacecraft - "Offering Scale Spacecraft Models
and Replicas including NASA's Mercury/Redstone
Mercury/Atlas Gemini/Titan Apollo/Saturn V Rockets
Projects and Space Shuttle Missions"
Sci-Fi
Airshow - Special effects expert Bill George provides
a clever way to present his models of famous vehicles
from science fiction movies and TV shows.
MiniSpaceWorld!
Following the example of Miniatur
Wunderland Hamburg, a vast and highly detailed model
railway exhibition in Hamburg, the MiniSpaceWorld!
exhibition will display elaborate models of various
aspects of the spaceflight universe such as miniature
replicas of spacecraft and rockets, spaceports around
the world, space elevator and much more. The project
is led by Dr. Tibor Pacher and is supported by the group
Peregrinus
Interstellar, which he also founded.
Nick Proach's
Space Rocketry Models:
Nick Proach company does custom space models to
order. These are high-quality precision models with
extensive detailing. Some current production models
can be bought from his catalog.
Precision
Aerospace Replicas - "Dave Gianakos, a long-time
modeler of aerospace subjects, is retiring from his
'day job' as an airline pilot of 36 years and starting
up a new modeling company called Precision Aerospace
Replicas. He can build most any type of subject requested
by the customer, in most any size, and at a reasonable
price. He is currently doing two large satellite projects
for the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
He can also do a masterful job on plastic model kits
and customizing them to the customer's desired look."
Nowadays for many people, especially younger
ones, the word model implies a computer 3-D design
model rather than a tangible physical model. Such virtual
representations are great fun to build and manipulate
and often beautiful to see. In some cases, the models
can be transferred into simulators and games.
While often used for Sci-fi spacecraft,
3-D models can also provide very detailed and faithful
representations of historical spacecraft. Creating these
from scratch can take as much time and energy as building
a physical model.
Just as CAD-CAM models are used by engineers
to build physical versions, hobbyists also can first
design a model in 3-D and then use it for building a
physical version.
Google
SketchUp
With the free version of this program, you can create
your own photorealistic textured 3D models. (These can
be used in Google
Earth.) Examples of SketchUp models are available
in the Google
3D Warehouse. You can create, for example, spaceships.
Man
Conquers Space
animation film based on Von Braun's and Bonestell's
vision of how space exploration. Using 3D graphics
and animation techniques, the Australian firm Surfaces
Rendered is creating an alternative space history
of the 1950s and 1960's...more in
Solar
SciFi.
3D
Printing
Costs for 3D printing systems are falling rapidly and
will soon be in the hands of many hobbyists. They can
be used to make highly accurate parts and structures
for models and even entire replicas.
Paper modeling, also referred to as card modelling,
is one of the most elegantly simple of the modeling
approaches. Basically with just stiff paper, scissors,
glue and paint, amazingly detailed and beautiful models
can be created.
There are many sites devoted to paper modelling, although
only a subset include patterns for space related models.
There are spacecraft kits (as paper cutout patterns)
downloadable from the web.
Several are free. Also, there are some design
instructions for models.
Fiddlers
Green
Papermodels of Planes,Buildings,and toys toys! FREE
SAMPLES!" This rich site is devoted to paper models
of all kinds but includes Aerospace
and Jets
sections that include several space related models:
Stardust
Model - Detailed 1/26 scale model plans for the
Stardust spacecraft that was launched this year
and will capture dust from a comet and return it to
earth.
NASA and the on-line crafts site Etsy
had a space-crafts
competition in 2011 and a number of weaved space
items were submitted. Unfortunately, Etsy took down
most of the web pages displaying the entries and winners
a few months after the end of the contest. I managed
to find images of some of the items:
Karl D.
Dodenhoff's Little Space Museum
Karl D. Dodenhoff has put together a great site both
for modelers and space history buffs. Lots of images
and detailed technical information on the US and Soviet
programs.
A
Field Guide to American Spacecraft
Created by Jim Gerard as the "The most complete
guide to historic spacecraft on the World Wide Web!"
Lots of info on spacecraft including the location of
any prototypes, full-scale models, or retired vehicles.
Int.
Space Station Scale Model Drawings - The official
NASA ISS site provides these 1:100 scale model drawings
of the space station for model builders. The files
are in Adobe PDF.
Space
In Miniature: Reference Books for Space Model Builders Mike Mackowski has written several modelers guides
and sells them on this site along with new supplementary
info. The monographs describe "how to build accurate
models of real spacecraft." See examples of his
work in the Model
Gallery.
RocketEngineer.org This is the home site for the CD-ROM The Next
Shuttle by Dave Ketchledge. ... the CD contains
lots of articles, data, drawings on rocketplanes that
have been built like the X-15 and on concept vehicles
like Dynasoar and Venturestar.
Scale
Data
Jim Ball's site is devoted to missile modeling and provides
lots of scale info.
CD
Dynamics
Ed Bisconti sells his "comprehensive CD guide to
vintage plastic space model kits" entitled Plastic
Rockets, Missiles and Spacecraft Vol-l.
The 2 CD's include scanned images and texts from "vintage
kits (1950's - 60's era) including box art, side panels,
decals and instructions. It now includes a 40 second
video, more info on kits, pictures and actual photos
of rockets and missiles where possible. All instructions
are now complete in the two disks. CD One has 219 pages
and CD two has 113 pages plus the 40 second video."
Scale
Model Aircraft Universe - an aviation & modelling
site containing some interesting aircraft technical
drawings, specifications, model plans, and historical
facts
C&S Hobbies
O online catalog of science fiction items ranging
from rare imports, limited edition and high end collectibles
from the nostalgic 50's and 60's to the present.
Retro
Flight - " specializes in the design and
fabrication of robust high quality composite radio
control high power rocketry kits and sub scale UAV
for hobby and commercial use. Retro Flight kits are
based on sleek, swept wing x-planes, concepts, and
sci-fi spaceships of the past and the future. "
X-15
Project - all composite radio controlled project
X-15 rocket glider
