That's how it all started (July 3rd - 2019)

The vertical belt around a landing pod

Every cut has to be angled

More angled pieces

I REALLY could have used some more hands here...

The top of the pod is closing up

Top + middle belt of the pod

Angles

Down to the bottom of the case

Corner pieces...

...for the bottom finish

Like that... one basic pod done... three more to go

Thickness added for the landing foot

Even though it's hollow below, it looks as it should

Balance

Now to the top of the foot

I do not have access to a cnc machine...

...so everything is done by hand

Strange patterns... cut with jigsaw

to fit this strange thing

Fits (almost) like a glove

Bottom view

Mounted on top of the foot...

...it begins to look recognizable

It's a kind of magic

On to the next three feet

Half done with the underside, and the lights went out

All four feet now soled

Looks better from above

88 'toes' measuered, cut and placed loosely

88 toes x 4 = 352 rounded corners... phew

Parts for the three remaining pods

Just like that... a bit refined construction

The top finished

Cut aways for the lower part sides

Fitted

Now the lower finishing parts... more feet

...with supporting sides

...done

All corner pieces and side panels now glued together

Details cut for the vertical sides. Placed with template

MAX pressure for max glue effect

Three on line

More pressure delivered by Max

Start of decoration. The pod details. One side...

...the other two sides. Top sides next...

Trapez

Trapez x 16

I did not have wood that thick...

...so glue and screw...

...made nice blocks

Nose...!?!

4 noses

Details cut with jigsaw for the top part.

Glued on... left wing...

...and right wing

Now to these little fellas... the Gemini parts

I had six half spheres hand made (not by myself)

Maybe slightly too big, but I think it is okay.

Daniel Prud'Homme helped me with the details

Good old technical drawing

Calculating and measuring...

Template... made... for the 12 holes for the bolts.

One more template for the off-center placement.

The six half spheres got marked...

...and on with the band grinder.

6 discs measured and cut.

One ready to mount.

...and 5 more

72 holes drilled and 72 bolts mounted

Large center hole drilled.

Not the correct tube yet... but we're getting there.

Stainless steel tube for the centre

Inserted

Now for the Saturn V part

It took some thinking... to think the design out

Small cylinders cut from a stick

for another nose

Noses with holes

Rough wings

A model was created

gonna watch my fingertips

All survived

Then a little grinding with the grinding mouse

16 small wings

Now make some place for them

Handmade... takes time

But the time goes by - as time does

These holes wasn't as easy as I thought

Because the bolts had square shape beneath the head

And the thread wasn't cut all the way up either

But finally...!

Looks as it should - I think

A status parade

All cracks, screwholes and sides...

...padded up (one pod only... for now)

A3 prints taped together for the Command Module.

Measuring en masse...

Cutting...

Fitting...

The back side of the CM

Horizontal ribs added...

...and vertical ribs added

Direct back view

Two more vertical...

The puzzle pieces taken apart to double up...

...for the 'downunder' part

Status March 13th - 2020

2 x back side ribs finished

Cutout for the top (or bottom) alu 'disc'

Support for the alu 'disc'

Both top and bottom 'disc-housing' done

One side disc (housing) done...

...other side disc (housing) done

all panels are now glued together - and edges sanded...

...sanded to make a smooth surface for... sticks!

I have tried to copy these as close as possible

The boosters on the 44" studio Eagle 1 are angled

78 degrees.... circa

A thin wooden disc, very fragile to cut, do the trick

It do matter how the discs are placed.

90 degrees flat on the block... or on the bell... like this

These really looks nice on the pod

deserves a closer look

Back to the sticks... lots of sticks... looking rough...

...until sanded down. No sticks are the same shape.

Top view... middle section of sticks sanded down.

One flank of sticks glued on... not yet sanded.

Opposite side flank... not yet sanded.

A front row of sticks added.

And now to the back side of the Command Module.

Two columns.

Right flank sanded

Three columns.

Corner part and sanding.

Necessary weight reduction.... for my back!

More sticks... to the right...

...to the left

Left corner...

...closing up.

Left and right back side sanded smooth.

The middle section panel also weight lightened.

Placed... and glued on.

Pressure to secure tight fit.

Side ribs in place and glued on. Additional nose panels.

Nose tip sticks... rough...

...and sanded down.

Right side... under window section sticks.

Right side sticks completed.

Crack at window...

...every stick shaped independently.

Smooth fit.

Right side sticks sanded.

Left side sticks before sanding.

Suddenly some 'bling-bling' arrived for the CM.

They really decorates beautifully!

Top side done for now.

More weight reduction.

Opposite side panels in place.

Nose tip panels... ready for sticks.

Small special shaped sticks.

2 x 57 = 114 sticks used for the nose tip.

Left and right flank of oblong sticks.

The horizontal belt are too thick. Gotta adjust, but how?

Some heavy sanding helped... but was it enough!?

A little colour added (in Photoshop).

Batten supports for the removable downside triangles.

Lots of holes drilled for weight reduce.

Also at the back.

Ready for sticks adding...

Going.

All different shapes.

Extra supports added for the round 'thingy'.

And more special shaped sticks.

It fits nicely.

It's a puzzle.

Maybe a bit boring (for some) with all those sticks.

But progres shows.... slowly.

Both flanks now 'sticked'... but I see something is missing.

Weight reduce holes... drilled.

Left back side getting sticked.

And right back side.

The upper and lower halves put together...

...for a show beside a 22" model.

Back side edges grinded smooth... left...

...and right.

Fail hollows in the wood appears later when sanding.

Status december 13th 2020.

Additional template for the corner.

Finished corner panel (other side).

Sticking the corner... left column.

Sticking the corner... right column.

Both corners now closed up, leaves the difficult gap.

An additional half ring made for separation purpose..

Building up sticks around the 'disc holder'.

First column.

Second column closed up. The third will have to wait.

Back view all cornered up.

The opposite side also closed up around the ring.

The special wooden block is cut into two for a reason.

This is where the two halves are going to separate.

Back view all sanded smooth.

Final gap closing up. Top sticks needs special attention.

Customization by hand (and band grinder) as usual.

Very slowly grinding progress makes perfect fit.

Finally! ...eh for one side.

Looking more and more complete.

See you in the mirror.

All sanded nice and smooth.

Now for the other side... the final gap.

Both sides now completely closed up.

And luckily the two halves still did separate!

An extra ring sawed and glued on to reach level.

Other side.

Also for the top and bottom.

And then... sanding...

And dirting...

...until I ran out of sanding paper.

Had to order new supplies.

And then on to finish.

Unforseen bad luck struck...

A hole appeared in my experimental structure.

Additional wood stick and filler.

Ready for the next chapter.

Now for the exalted details. I changed my mind...
...and decided to cut down instead of add more weight.

I thought this was straight forward measuring... but no.

These lines shall be straight to look at... but weren't.

A new method needed.
My old Flexicurve from school came in handy.

And helped me make a template.

Now the lines has to be straight!

I had to adjust the template for each line.

Because of the rounding change along the 'nose back.'

I present a new toy... a router... this should be fun

This maybe look easy, but believe me...

...handling the router in free hand made me sweat!!

Now to some lines on the rest of the module.

Quite a lot of measuring. Checking photos and drawings.

Here I have sharpened the pencil up in Photoshop.

Close up pencil lines.

This is what I love and are my actual education.

But nevertheless... LOTS of rubber shavings on the floor.

Pencil lines on the back of the module.

Photoshop.

Double checking drawings and photos from the web.

Both side drawn.

Top and bottom ready for the router.

More surprise hollows appeared on my way.

Again... lining up the side were a pain to get correct.

It was quite frustrating.

Afterwards I came to think of a laser liner.

That would have been real handy.

But after lots of rubbering they finally looked right.

Complete lines - front.

Complete lines - back.

Now on with the router. Concentration.

Softening with the grinding mouse.

And correcting with the file.

Here's why all the sticks had to be trapez shaped.

Here's my second work with the router

Better lighting. Looks quite okay I think.

And the back side left and right.

I should have timestamped the photos.

Here it is clear how easily the router went off track.

And here... which needed following attention.

But it is just a matter of time.

At last...!

Oh.... I forgot... there's another half side.

With those 'exciting' sides.

I did a lot of 'hold my breath' while routing.

But it paid off.

Closeup...

...details.

Now it really look right.

I'll let the photos...

...speak for themselves.

Next thing coming up....

A bit wood work still needed before the tubes.

Two frames completed to keep tubes fixated.

Alternative tower drilling machine.

And then cup drill.

Those corks got stuck inside each and single time.

Finally. After intense measuring and drilling.

A little oldfashioned finish.

The wooden parts ready.

16 special tabs made to support the tubes.

Finally unpacking. I need 8 x 540mm straight cut.

Fitting the Ø40mm tubes.

Then kept fixed between the two frames.

Milling cutting...

...makes those 'fish mouths'...

...for perfect fit.

Status March 21st 2021.

Obligue tubes mounted temporarely.

And the short side tubes. The thinner horizontal.

More fish mouths...

...so those obligue tubes can be pushed in place.

Four tubes meets

Five tubes!

The first diagonal...

...and the first cross done!!

Some time went by before I was able to weld...

...early in progress I decided to weld inside of the cage only. It looked too ugly no matter how nice a weld I made.

Apart from the two small tube to finish the X...
first cage now done.

And without it's supporting taps.

Eight new special taps with a diving collar was made.

To build the next cage on top of the first.

To have them perfectly match up.

And freed from supporting frame.

Suddenly three cages were done...

...and ready for the fourth.

Me in action.

Al the tubes became very HOT while welding.

Two pair of cages.

And now to the last two pieces to complete the X.

With this I got CNC help from my brother in law.

These were tricky... but after some time, they did fit.

Here's an illusion photo... before the X was actual made.

Primitve, but effective tool I made to keep the pieces fixed.

Top (one side) X's done.

And the other side. Four cages completed.

Laid down and pulled apart.

But back together again to spare floor room.

But it looks nice.

Tunnel view....

Now to the rear enginge section.

I needed more hands...

...but large clamps helped me.

Now what....

Eight longitudinal tubes added. I lacked hands again.

And again, but Kurt gave a helping hand holding tubes.

Rear section done - except for the four rings...

...for the engine bells.

Now on to the...... spine!!! And the Ø 50mm tubes.

I cut the longest tubes for the spine (Ø 40mm).

And couldn't help myself dragging it all outside.

Into the bright evening daylight, casting long shadows.

First cut... in both ends Ø 40mm.

Second... milling for the 47 degree angels.

Dejavue.

Loosely setup - all Ø 40mm

Herd of Minions - Ø 50mm.

Ø 50mm packed in box

Ø 50mm wrapped around three meeting Ø 40mm.

Left 133 degree - right 47 degree.

Inside look.

133 degree.

47 degree.

Assembled.

Now for the longitude tubes.

Can't explain HOW difficult these two tubes
were to slide into the middle. So extreme tolerance.

The shorter ones were a lot easier.

And suddenly... all four long tubes were fitted with the thicker joint tubes.

Close up... one

...two...

three... and four.

Then the transverse tubes.

Building up the 'second floor' made me wanting to be an octopussy. Tubes scrambled to the floor...

...but again... after a long battle, it was all in place.

Strips around to avoid it to fall apart. And a heavy duty dozer bar to force everything together while welding.

The very first spot weld to the spine.

Here's a tunnel view.

Bottom up.. the downside of the spine.

Welded joint (left) and non welded joint (right).

First diagonal tube in place... the rest followed.

First corner tube in place, but I forgot the transverse tube.

So a special cut (for the first two) were made manually
to fit the transverse tube.

As shown here.

Two corner tubes in place.

Almost done...

...only the last two corner tubes missing
along with the last tranverse tube.

Old fashioned marking... with a marker.

This is not calculating.

I cross my fingers that it will work.

Then into the milling machine.

Kind of art.

A bit of luck made it a perfect fit.

Two tubes milled and ready to fit...

...along with the transverse tube.

Spine is now ready to weld...
but only on the down- and inside

End view.

The spine got turned upside down again...

...to access the joints that shall be welded.

And here we go...

It is strong, but it will look too ugly on the visible outside.

These four rings I did not make myself,
but I did get the tube endings grinded to fit them.

And I did also weld them onto the rear section.

Time for an assemble.

No... there's not two... just from the other side.

Now on to the 16 brackets
that shall hold the spine firm to the cages.

Plates... some milling and drilling... and last bending.

The original filming model had 'L' shaped brackets.
But at this size I feel more confident with the 'U' shape.

All 16 brackets welded onto the four cages.

But that bolt's head doesn't look right.

Special discs were made, and welded onto the head.

And painted red... or... yes it is lava hot!!!

Almost perfect! The bracket should have been a little longer or a bit more narrow, but I wont redo it.

My first drwing of the six flanges for the front frame.

CNC milled. Two pieces from a block of aluminium.

Cut in...

...two.

And then Milled again on both sides.

My paint plan, to make it look as on the original 44" Eagle.

Front frame can now be build up.

Now only missing the four tubes for the flanges.

Top (or bottom) flange pair sled on.

Front frame complete with all flanges.

The space needed between front frame and cage...

...are created by extending these short tubes.

Now the cages guiding taps. First some heat...

...then it taps firmly in.

Upper taps longer than lower taps.

The front frame fitted with taps also.

And the rear engine cage section also.

Now for the bearing construstion in the cages.

Guide boxes are made of aluminum plates...

...welded together to form a box.

Ready to go...

First some spots.

I ran out of argon, shown by the black spots.

But after a refill, it could be all cleaned up.

All four boxes ready.

Sled onto the bearing bar and laid on the cage...

...marked up - and then a strange feeling while cutting
in the beautiful cages. But it had to be done.

Gap a bit too small.

Adjusted with a file... but that took too long.

So I got help from an angle grinder.

The boxes in place in cage.

A dozer bar helps keeping the tubes in place.

Ready to see if the bar fit.

It did - and after some small adjustment...

...there were enough free space around.

Tunnel view.

The boxes welded in place.

Cleaned up.

Until a test it looks like the idea will work.

This bearing construction differs from the original Eagle.

The black steel bars were exchanged for stainless ones.

Also stainless steel for the legs. Cutting tube.

Four legs and four tubes to be integrated with the bars.

The two transverse bars.

An angled cut to fit inside the shoulder pods.

Package so far. Back to the wooden parts.

Finding the center of the foot..

Hole drilled through.

To locate center from beneath.

Then drilled larger...

...through two layers of plywood.

And the hole for the stainless leg are done.

The shoulder pods also need some drilling.

Four corner holes.

And then the jigsaw.

And last some filing.

Ready for the inside bar-rest-guide.

45 degree ends.

checking...

Cut-outs.

Glue.

Pressure.

Four guide-shoes ready to be inserted.

A little step up, make room for...

...a layer of smooth click-floor that I had already.

Outer end (the four bolts are the Saturn V part).

And then checking with a leftover bit of bar.

Fits nice on the inside too.

Back in the machinery, holes were drilled.
These are for attachment inside the shoulder pod.

A special tap welded in one end of the legs.

To fit into the bushing welded into the transverse bar.

The stainless steel bearing parts assembled.

Four 'bearing' feet laser cut. Weighing 35kg each.

A rod welded tight to greet the open end of the leg.

And then having the wooden foot slided down over.

140kg feet on a Euro pallet.

First try on raising half of the construction.

Once tipped up and it stood solid.
Mission completed... for now.

Meanwhile I cut four short aluminium tubes for the flanges that shall connect with the Command Module brackets. Top/bottom shown above...

...and above here are shown the side flange with tube.

First try on raising the complete tube construction.
Spine laying ready on the fork lift.

First the cages are assembled laying down.

The heavy feet mounted. The cages tip by the weight.

Then the cages easily raised up into position.

The spine is a two man job only. Weiging 70-80kg.

It was gripped nice by the U-shaped brackets.

Holes were drilled into the spine...

...and the special made bolts inserted and tightened.

For scale comparison I added... ...me!
The structure still short of engine bells and command module, which is about 2 extra meters.
Speaking of... check below...

A large package I've had for awhile now... time to open!

Content: 4 large plant pots... say what!?!?

Look at those trumpet endings... no no no.

And sweet flowers and butterflies.

Forward with the anglegrinder.

Grinder fixated to the working table.

Set height.

Off goes the trumpet edge.

Now that's better!

But I need to make an adapter form to connect the
engine bells to the rear engine section frame.

It's not 100% acurate, but I think this will do.

Paint test... Edding silver spray... to pass as aluminum.

Geting ready for the Command Module brackets.

Measuering and lining up...

Had to file a bit in the CM to make the front frame fit.

Perfect fit left / right.

My paint plan to make these solid flanges look as on
the filming model.

A small brick...

To even out the distance at bottom...

...and top.

Perfect fit top / bottom.

front view.

Back view.

Cardboard template for side bracket.

Then another template of wood is made.

Cardboard template for top bracket.

The wooden templates seems to fit well.

Both wooden templates ready to be made in aluminum.

Small spots of rust have appeared on the feet.

So on with some Nutella - and then som Hammerite.

Four feet painted on top...

...and four feet painted beneath.

More discs made for the remaining three thrusters.
First four cuts to make an rectangle, then four
45 degree cuts to make an octagon,
then last eight 22.5 degree cuts.

The rest of the edges are grinded down
to make a circular disc.

The smaller ones screwed together as pairs
to make thicker discs.

And the larger ones connects to the thruster.
All four now done.
However the even smaller ones for the inside
of the aluminum rings are yet to be made.

Four blocks sawed from an old wooden table.

Served on the four rings.

'Rotation' marked for later use.

Also ring marked beneath.

Same procedure as the other end parts.

Sawed slowly in to the circle mark.

That's as close that I get with the table saw.

Just a little too big now. The rest will the band grinder do.

There! It sinks nicely down into the ring.
Because the rings aren't 100% circular, the wooden
disc will lock tight into the ring when turned.
That's exactly the idea.

Now all the discs can be screwed together,
on top of eachother.

One engine bell (stacked on top of the other three).

All four engine bells now ready to be inserted
into their each own dedicated ring on the rear frame.

Next big step.... the Passenger Pod.
Lines measured and drawn

Sawed and copyed to next board.

A mess on the floor.

Both gables sawed... and floor cleaned up.

Tiny tracks cut on the table saw.

Four sectiones with tracks.

Not bad.

They fit here.

Surrounding board lined up.

And cut.

Track section screwed onto the back.

The result.

Looks good.

Even though the gables are not vivible when the pod is mounted to the Eagle, I have to do the details.
No cheating here.

This is actually wrong line up, but was corrected
before cutting.

Technical lines.

Here's the lines corrected.

Ready to drill the corners.

And the longsides is cut with the jigsaw.

Voila.

Voila x 2.

Placed in place.

The rest of the details are cut out from a cheaper board.

Completed.

Next... the window sections.

Again... measuring... line drawing.

Pre-drilling the corners.

First corner.

And a lot of corners and longsides after.

The thinner window separation section.

Lots of cornes drilled with a spade drill.

And the jigsaw did the rest.

One window section...

...fitted to one gable and one side.

Then there's a lot of repeating work to be done.

But as times goes by... finally all four done.

Next - the middle section...

....of the sides.

Side door detail 1.

Side door detail 2.

fitted between two side sections.

Additional boards above the door.

All assembled.

Closer look at the door section.

Everyhting taken apart.

Now time to gables fit the cages.
I draw two circles.

And drill holes.

A loadbearing batten is mounted.

And some deaper drilling.

Kurt made these bearing taps.

Two pieces for each gable.

Complete.

The I had to assemble the cages with the spine.
To get the exact meaure between the gables.

Inbetween I made the backboard
for the details on the gables.

A track cut to support the back board at the bottom.

Like this.

The rest of the back board are screwed on.
And later glue will be added.

Details placed.

Next. The lenght of the pod.
Battens cut.

Two small battens for the top of the gables.

A change of my design. I thought it would be better
having the roof board reaching over the gables.

The short supporting battens.

Sawed multiple times made a wide track.

And the same method to the ends of the long battens.

The short battens screwed onto the gables.

Ready to greet the long battens.

Like this. Looks simply,
but it took som adjusting before I was satisfied.

There's the length of the passenger pod.
2 meter and 70 centimeter.

On to the roof. Will be in three sections.

an oblique cut on the full length sides.

But an even smaller angle are needed.

Which is done with the band grinder.

First board done.

Angle comparison.

Roof on top.

Test fitting of a window section. It fits.

Now onto the gutter battens. Made of one heavy pole.

Fuses blew. I had to cut from both sides of the pole.

And finally - cast irons to split it apart.

Work only half done. They need to be cut through again.

Now we're getting there.

Laid on the windows section.

A premade template.

Curved line drawn in pencil.

Back to the table saw.

And then band grinder to make it all smooth rounded.

Screwed onto the windows section... more grinding.

Until the section completes the round shape.

Looks good - part I

Looks good - part II

Second batten

Moved outside, but same procedure

Grinding outside makes less mess inside.

Both windows sections completed.

Next: The Gemini #29 (and #28) part.

Small boards cut into shape.

Sloped tip sawed.

Fine grinding

Couldn't find correct diameter round sticks...

...so I bought this wooden tile instead.

Only to use the wooden bricks on it.

I round grinded the longitude edges.

Inbetween I made the #28 Gemini bricks.

Line up with the side rounded bricks.

I cut off all the rounded sides...

...I only need the round part of the bricks.

Then the small rounded sticks are cut into shorter ones.

All the ends needed to be rounded too.

A considerable time after... (even the sun had set).

But all put together it was worth the work.

Parts in place.

Now to the sloped boards...

...at the bottom of the sides.

My table saw complained.

Burned wood.

But I succeeded.

A lot of tiles cut for the two sloped window sections.

But first som padding here and there.

This is only a test glue for one of the tiles.

The rst are laying loose until further notice.

Back to the sloped lower panels.

The wood have bend itself.

So... lots of glue...

And clamps.

Revised clamping.

two...

three...

And all four done.

Now further down below.

Angle measuring.

A long batten.

Sawed into two. My ridiculous jigsaw.

Template making.

The template brick.

Sawing a joint cut.

To make it fit...

...against the gable batten.

And some oblique cutting on the table saw.

To spare on the band sander.

Nice and smooth.

Times two.

Mounted.

Marking the sides.

Dissasembling the sides.

To be able to cut.

Back on - ready for grinding.

Almost forgot this short middle piece.

Sanding in open air.

Marking.

And then a test assemble of the whole passenger pod.

I had to redo these two Gemini parts due to wrong measuring.

Now on to a whole other area.
The landing gear.

Cutting sticks.

And tubes.

Cheating 'calculating' angle and length.

Bending and squeezing.

Here're the sticks being cut.

The opening in both ends are milled.

Sticks done.

Here are the tubes being cut.

Tubes squeezed and bend in a 'special' angle.

Curtleri ready.

Comparing with a photo of the original 44" Eagle 1.

Now parts for the elbow joints.

Square tubes.

and rods a being sawed.

removing the sharp edges.

My work table.

Marking for drilling holes.

Almost forgot these short rods.

Holes done.

lining up.

Marking for rounded ends.

The band grinder in action.

The rods done.

Now to the square tubes.

These are a little more tricky.

This area will be cut open to allow the arm to bend more.

Moving on to another area of the landing gear.

Milling small flat areas on two sides of the flanges.

And also the short rods needs milling.

And further modelling.

To fit onto the ring flange.

Ready for welding the long sticks onto the flange.

And then the short rods.

Aslo welded on.

All four done.

And a quick loose assemble. Looking good.

Two top plates

A distance piece of tube inserted temporary.

Kurt is doing the welding.

All welded.

And then another loose assembling.

To enjoy the sight.

The gear is held up alone by this area.

Back home from Kurt with all the landing gears.

Now back to the brackets for the Command Module.

The wooden templates need to be made in aluminium.

Cutting pieces from a solid block and then into shape.

Rough shape for a start.

Basic shape.

Ready for welding.

Tracks are made for deeper welding.

First spots...

Aluminium gerts very hot when welded.

Done deep.

Some attention is needed.

There's not enough room...

For the hinge flanges.

Solving this by milling two tracks in the bracket.

Drilling holes and marking up for rounding the ends.

Some time later.

Now it fits.

Also on the front frame.

Four brackets for the CM.

Cutting some black vinyl.

Turning.

Drilling.

And nice bushes for the brackets.

Fits!

The front frame.

And the brackets.

Oops....

...two earlier photos.

The vinyl bushing in place.

Looks professional right?!!

Complete front frame with hinges

A closer look at the two tracks milled to give room.

A test fit to the CM on our terrace.

Preparing transporting the CM.

First half.

and the second.

Cool.

IF it's gonna rain... better secure.

Arrived at Kurt's metal business.

Drilling holes in the brackets.

Marking on the CM where the bolt will go in.

Making room for it.

Placing the nut.

A long flat bracket

Bend aroung the nut in the plywood.

This mounting look piece of cake... but it wasn't.

I hope it works.

Preparing.

Test fitting one bracket.

The lower bolt.

Here's why it wasn't a walk in the park.
Because of lack of room, I had to manual drill holes with my hands.

But as many times before... time went by.

Sawdust.

Now the front frame fitted to the CM by the
top and bottom hinges.

The side hinges will have to wait.

But it look like it will fit promissing.

Now after a year of waiting, the CM finally is been closed up to the back.

First stick made to fit... I now the drill....

Working area on the terrace.

Five sticks glued in place.

Down to the bracket.

And further down...

To gain access from the inside, I use the bajonet saw.

There.

If I need future access after closing the CM all up.

The day comes to an end.

Continuing next day

Now.

All the way down...

...and I can start all over on the second half part.

Same procedure.

Also making room with the bajonet saw.

Sticks reaches down to the bracket.

And further down

Bracket surrounded by sticks.

Test fitting of bracket.

Some grinding to make a flat area.

Both halves completely closed up.

And after some sanding.

Marking where to mill later on.

Bracket mounted.

Both halves sanded.

Both brackets mounted.

Enjoying the completed Command Module.

Front frame fitted

The side brackets needs to be grinded hollow to fit CM.

Brackets to lock the two halves together.

Originally two in the back were planned.

But without acces from the outside it is pointless.

Suddenly the two halves wouldn't come together...

...properly.

The flat bracket were too long.

So I made room for them.

It would have been easier cutting the bracket.

But now it fits... and a bolt through.

Grinding a little on the side bracket.

Comparing the two sides after a little grinding.

Now to the boxes inside the cages.

Working outside when the weather allows it.

Sides sawed.

Loose test fit.

Battens split into thinner battens... to save wood.

Side with thin battens.

Box without ends.

Another test fit.

Work space indoor.

Bettens for the ends.

One end...

...and the other end.

Test fit...

...a bit too tight it showed.

Disassembling to correct.

Now there's just a little space.

Marking the square holes for the
transverse loadbearing beam.

That's about right.

Jigsaw.

Ready for a test fit.

Perfect fit.

Now... piercing all the way through.

In place.

Maybe a magician could use this!?

Both beams in place.

A lot of tubes makes a criss-cross pattern.

Test of one gable in place.

A look from the other side. Boxes done!!!

Collecting parts from all over our house.

Most are in the garage.

Two cages in place.

Spine coming down.

Laid on top of the two (four) cages.

It all raised up on saw horses.

Body boxes fitted.

The two transverse beams fitted along with the pods.

Lars Skovmand are looking when it is gonna fit.

Two legs and feet in place.

and the final two.

Boosters.

The roof of the passenger pod.

Passenger Pod done.

Gotta remove this shelf to make room for the CM.

There!

Getting the CM ready.

And the front frame.... will it hold?

The CM hinged down

The 55 kg CM would like to pull out the front frame.

Temporary fixed with strips.

All done without direction boosters.

Direction boosters added!!!

Mid section... the passenger pod.

A view from one shoulder pod to another.

A view from the road to our double garage.

Now hollowing up the side hinges.

Step by step hollowing the surface with angle grinder...

...until it fits.

Looking good.

A hole drilled

in bith brackets of course

Now drilling into the CM for later use.

Fitting the bolt.

Check!

The landing gear need to come down a little

This area needs to be opened up.

Dissassembling the elbow/arm.

Marking.

Grinding.

Removind the teeth.

Need some more opening up.

Same method.

Too low now.... but it will come a bit up again.

To be continued.....!

Template drawed for the inserts of the main boosters.

Template cut...

...and placed. A little bigger.

Now on to the 6mm plywood.

Jigsaw ready, steady...

Some time and concentration later. The 16 edge holes.

And the center holes also done.

The final fit will be a little higher in the booster bells.

Weekend February 19th + 20th 2022 - a status assemble, without the Command Module,
for television (DRTV) that came visiting (see below).

April 23rd 2022 - Second assemble once again for television (TV2) that came visiting.
Now with the Command Module attached.

I found this roll of old cable warning band.

Along with the pvc tube from an old outdoor lamp...

...it made the perfect fit for a distance part.

Test.

Then I could go on with the next three.

Which made four in total.

But they needed to be gripped inside the bells.

So I made these sockets.

Mounted in the center of the bottom of the pot.

It gripped perfectly.

Now the four booster bells are almost done.

The oblong engine pods in the engine section.

I also made from the wide warning band.

Gaffa tape and filler glue hold it all together.

Now I just need something 'spherish' for the ends.

Used globes!!!

Cut in two halves...

...and narrow bands added...

...they made a perfect job.

I made this bracket template of wood (as usual).

But at Kurt's shop I got some aluminum.

Cut i smaller blocks.

...and shapes.

They began to look like something

The curves...

...I made on a large band grinder, which made the item extremely HOT.

Meanwhile Kurt made the other parts for me.

Bolts added.

And thread cut.

For these sticks.

Now they are almost ready to fit the pods.

But one of the parts...

...shall be welded onto the engine frame.

Perfect!

Some of the weldings had to be grinded off,
to make room for the bracket part.

The brackets needed to be curved - with the grinder.

To fit the globes curve. Perfect.

And then...
simple holes drilled in the sockets of the engine bells

Ready to try on...

Along with the rods and brackets on the frame.

Looks great.

Last I needed to adjust the holes
in the ends of the globes to fit the rods.

Each disc are different shaped.

Glue added.

Some has to be fitted vise versa.

Test.

Test... all good.

Two of the pods (top and bottom) needed to have two grooves cut to be able to fit correctly.

That did the trick.

Some extra filler-glue added
to hold the globe ends to the middle band.

Alle four engine pods now in place!

The very first try with Edding silver paint spray cans.

Second layer outside and first layer inside
on the four main booster bells.

Now to some smaller plant pots.
These shall be used for four of the vertical boosters.

Along with some cuts from my second hand tabletop.

Four blocks.

Used as base for the bells.

Cutting then from square to octagonal.

And further more to nearly round.

The band grinder takes the last edges.

I had to mill tracks in the blocks
to match the bottom of the pots.

Several cuts around the top edge.

Ends up in this edge form.

Fits great.

Now the pot has to be cut down in size.

The shape begins to take shape.

The pots gets mounted to the base with screws.

Last the crack gets some filler.

And smoothening.

Here are the four vertical bells all painted.

A closer look inside.

Three years ago I made the feet.

Time to take them apart for some maintenance.

See how dark sun makes the wood.

Now some glue on.

And then srew back on, but not the 'horse'.

It also has to be taken apart and glued well together.

Some gently strokes.

Brings it nicely together again.

No time to smoothening roughnesses away.

The underside...

...also get the treatment.

Same goes for the side corners.

Sanding tools.

Now filling up some cracks here and there.

Also more glue needed.

The screws also get filled.

all filled up.

And sanded.... finally ready for some paint.

I went straight ahead with my plan using Hammerite
both as primer and as finish.

Not used to paint I was surprised to see how much the wood sucked the paint in.

Took several coats.

Here are seen areas with two and only one coat.

Two coats all over.

After a third layer of thick Hammerite it looked quite black.

After giving the sides the same treatment...

...I just wanted to see how the Hammerite would act when having grey Edding sprayed on t it.
The plan was to give it just a thin coat for a starter.
But when I saw the result... how it popped up.
I took a break considering if I will go with this non-original look. I haven't settled for anything yet.

Step 1,2,3

and four feet done.

A piece of drain tube. I only needed 16 wrinkles.

Each cut seperately.

Think they might fit in here...

...when trimmed. Now I'm looking for a
slightly larger diameter of drain tube.

Preparation before painting.

Gotta seal all cracks and fill all holes and grooves.

Oh the top is still loose. Gotta glued it on final.

And seal it.

Three leg pods filled.

Ready for some sanding.

Because all edges look rough.

Much better after.

Getting there...

...and there.

Where I have used OSB board needed a lot more filler.

And sanding.

Grooved plywood also ned extra attention.

Rub it on...

...like that.

Work area.

A corner done.

Holes after cams also need extra filling.

Alle around the trapez formed details.

Almost done... now to the Saturn V part.

Metal bolts removed.

Also the four small wings hasn't got glue on yet.

Well amount of glue.

Excess glue used to make smooth edges.

The fourth pod (which is truly the first proto type pod)...

...needed a kilo of filler becaused it is
made of all OSB board.

A lot filler to sand down.

Time...

...passes...

...and finally all four pods are ready for primer paint.

First coat of primer. First pod.

Second pod.

Third pod first coat.

Third pod second coat.

Fourth pod.

Eagle parts scenery on the terrace.

Pods primer paint drying on the terrace.

The pods also need protection from the inside.

First coat of special anti mould paint.

Cracks filled and second coat.

Bottom plate for the leg pods.

All four cut customized to each own pod.

For perfect fit.

Primer paint will come later.

Making a upside down test setup...

... on the terrace.

Fitting the heavy stainless legs.

Now ready to see how centered the legs are.

They are pretty good centered.

Only had to cuat a slightly larger whole.

The landing gear plate will cover any uncenterness.

Looking promissing.

A third and final coat added.

Making an rubber-like surface.

Once again drying on the terrace.

Line-up.

After closing up the back of the Command Module, there still remained to be routed some tracks.

Let's see if I can remember how to...

...use this in free hand.

Some correction made in hand afterwards.

Cam holes and other holes...

...and cracks needed to be filled. Just like the leg pods.

So a couple of days later I was finally ready
to add some primer paint.

I just rolled on... back...

...and front. This is the lower half of the CM.

A fine coat. Almost transparent.

Unseen unevenness showed up and needed filler.

The tracks also primed.

Side view (just to write something).

Now for the upper half of the CM.

Same procedure.

Exciting.

I used the end of a roller to get down into the tracks.

Various views after first coat of filler.

After second coat I began to see areas that I wanted to correct. Here a tile that reached a bit too high.

And some unevenness in the curved surface
sanded down.

We can't having rain water running into the CM.
So better close the top hole for the top disc.

Back to cutting a lot of short sticks.

A pile of them.

Each one gets its own customized shape.

Like this one.

One by one...

...around...

...the circular hole.

Doesn't look waterproof yet.

Sanding and filler.

Getting closer. Done for now.

This track is where the bolt from one of the
side brackets goes into the CM.

The other enteres right below the mid-board.

Gotta make a setup to be sure where to fit the two nuts.

Here...

...and there.

Tools for the job.

Hammer and wood chisel

To make room for the nut.

It doesn't need to be bearing,
so the nut shall just be in place.

Ready for some protecting paint inside the CM.

Just like the leg pods. I tell you....

A LOT of panel to paint in here...!!!!

I'm not sure why I made this setup.

Maybe just because it looked good.

Until I noticed this fold in the curved surface.

The lower half of the CM needed the same treatment.

Halfway through.

Better glue the supporting bars firmly on.

Seen here. For the lower (removable) triangular panels.

A little adjustment to the Gemini part #25

I want the tip to reach just a bit onto the tile next to it.

Glue added in top for a start.

Glued on... and wait until dry.

Then filled up with several layers of glue form beneath.

The mailman cam with some Plexiglas.

Tinted plexiglas.

I think it will look good.

But before... I needed to add a
thin batten to the windows section.

Measured and cut in 22.5 degree.

I only need two, but they weren't just long enough.

Here loosely in place.

The bearing strong rounded batten
needed to be glued on.

A lot of glue and a lot of pressure.

Ready for the Plexiglas that needed to be cut.

It reach a bit too high.

But now it fits.

The thin list also glued on.

Supporting screws. While the glue dried...

...I decided to prime the Gemini parts meanwhile.

Gemini parts #28 and #29.

#25

First coat... drying in the open.

Second coat.

When dried...

...the under side got a coat also.

Even though these will be glued onto the windows section.

The end gables needed the details glued on too.

I use the indispensable drawings of Chris Trice and Daniel Prud'Homme for perfect placement.

Glue...

...and pressure.

The tile details in place all glued on.

The doors got a back board.

Screwed and glued in place.

Glue also used in edges as filler.

Time to deal with the ugly fold on the top of the CM.

Sanded down and add primer once again.

First coat.

Second coat.

A third coat is needed... but will have to wait.

Another pain in my eyes were
the lower panels of the passenger pod.

But first it too they had to be glued firmly onto
the sides of the passenger pod.

And then some serious sanding.

First panel done... clearly shows the difference
between right and wrong.

Both panels made.

The grooved panles of the sides also needed
to be glued on.

To stabilize it all.

One side.

Second side...

...glue...

...also works as a seal.

Both sides done.

I painted the Gemini #29 part with semi mat Hammerite, but it was way too shiny.

Preparing spraypaint stands.... screws.

Then I add some Edding mat black spray.

Which looked much better.

All done.

Back to the sides of the passenger pod.

I got an (old) idea, which needed a top batten.

Sawn lengthwise in 22.5 degrees.

Sawn in length.

Marking where to trim the door panel in the heigth.

Off came the door panel and on came the top batten.

Might as well glue it on right away.

Lots of glue.

And submerged screws that were filled afterwards.

Gluing the details onto the doors panels.

Second tile added to the first tile panel.

And temporarely lots of small screws
to keep it all in place.

The other door had a large cam hole to be filled.

Once the cam hole were dry and sanded...

...same glue treatment.

The two sides with now free doors panels.

Back to the top list of the windows sections.

I had been speculated how to make the list curved.

Forth with the belt sander.

And then again... in free hand... holding my breath.

The result became satisfying.

Maybe not 100% partial circular...

...but since it wont even be seen, it will do fine......