A Century of Flight

by

Matt Bacon

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This is the Monogram 1/72 Space Shuttle and the 1/39 Wright Flyer, and a bit of Photoshoppery.

Space Shuttle

The Shuttle took about 4 months, all told. I used the Cutting Edge decals and resin engine set, which is a great improvement on the kit items.

Purists will note this is a bit of a "generic" shuttle -- the Endeavour never flew with the Spacelab payload, and I'm not convinced that the Canadarm flew when the Spacelab did either. However, I grew up near Whitby, and Captain Cook is a bit of a local hero, so "Endeavour" she had to be. The insulating blanket on the wings and tail is made from "Duck" strong white tape, and looks OK under a coat of matt varnish. There is actually a detailed cockpit in there, with three weightless crew, but you can't see without a torch, and from close up. Look very hard and you may just make out the two suited astronauts in the payload bay.

Wright Flyer

The Flyer was supposed to be a slammer, but... I couldn't quite let go. I'm still not happy with the colour of the woodwork, but in the timeframe I couldn't face re-doing it all. I will, one day. It went together really well, and I was inspired by the very neat diorama leaflet that came with my recent re-issue of the kit, particularly when it came to the figures. I did most of the detail-enhancing work described in that leaflet. But I was frightened off by the gorgeous one in December's FSM, so that's where I drew the line!

Photography

The Shuttle was photographed on a plain background and superimposed on a background from a photo of the ISS FROM the shuttle. The Flyer was photographed outside against a winter sky, and it's a relatively straightforward blend between the two lots of clouds. The Flyer is mounted on its stand, but you can do a lot with the "rubber stamp" (clone) tool.

I'm now on to marking the Centenary further with a series of 1/48 fighters from the Hawker lineage -- from Sopwith Camel to Eurofighter Typhoon. Expect reports in July... 2005 ;-)
 

Text and Images Copyright 2004 by Matt Bacon
Page Created 12 April, 2004
Last Updated 18 April, 2004

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