2010 Discovery by Jean-Marc Deschamps

2010: a Re-Discovery Odyssey
An heavy modification of the Lunar Models kit
by Jean-Marc Deschamps

The world is strange… Having spent years trying to find the proportions and details of original Discovery from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, discussing and exchanging information and opinions in forums (among them Atomic City of Scott Alexander aka CaptainCardboard), here is the 2010 version of this majestic vessel that so many criticized for not to being completely accurate with the Kubrick’s movie!

Over the years, the only available kit was from Lunar Models, produced at the end of the 1980s. The general look of this model represents the model seen in the movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact, which was based on the plans of illustrator Shane Johnson. These plans were based on the shooting models made by Boss Films, Richard Edlund’s company that was responsible for the special effects. Kubrick’s original filming models were destroyed some years after the end of the shooting.  The model makers of Boss Films, Mark Stetson and his crew, had to recreate the vessel by using movie stills and enlargements of the original movie images. These interpretations give a ship which varies considerably from the proportions and the details of those original models used for 2001.

Among these differences, the Command Module is almost 2,5 times as big as the original, making a vessel of about 800 feet of length (240 meters, and even 280 meters in the French version!). The director, Peter Hyam, seems to have determined that the original dimensions were not important… Other major differences: the “neckcollar” is undersized, and the “containers” or “cargo modules” are different when compared with those imagined by Harry Lange and Con Pederson.

Anyway, I realized I had a 2010 Discovery version, which would look good with her skate yellow sulphurates.  It was obvious I should transform my old Lunar Models 2001 Discovery into a 2010 yellow ship!

The kit

Conceived in the end of the 80s, this kit was re-tooled into a simplified version a few months later to facilitate the assembly of the vertebral column.   This was a big mistake.   This revision – which consists of metal rods which are directly molded with details – does not allow the modeler to make changes, in particular to modify the length of the tubes on which the cargo modules are mounted,  which are too short. Constructed as it is, the model is several centimeters too short.   Goodbye to the elongated aspect of the XD-1 Discovery!

The vertebral column (or “spine)

If you possess the original version of the kit, the problem is minor because new, accurately measured support tubes can be made from a plastic to replace the defective ones.    On the other hand, if you have the later version of the kit,  it will be necessary to  to modify the pre-assembled column.  One of the solutions is to cut of the molded parts with a bandsaw. This technique requires careful control so as not to damage the details.    Then you can rebuild the column as  previously described  with the new support tubes.

the 2010 Discovery has 60% and 40 % containers ordered in combinations 40-60 and 60-40. The kit by Lunar Models does not contain such elements; they are made from moldings of a module 100 % cut to dimensions and detailed. I added pipes running inside the models, as per the original ship. They are brass rods, straight and bent.

The antenna module is refurbished and detailed  as seen on the original complete model.  But in the scale we are working (about 1/300  – the model is more than 80 cm long), fixing the antenna dishes is not easy.

The Command Module

To transfer astronauts from the Leonov to the Discovery, Peter Hyams took the liberty to move the access door completely on the right side. This modification is not easy because of the thickness of the resin walls. The best way is to drill and refine edges with files. The new door is made of plastic and detailed. The sensor “spots” must be revised too. They are only four : 2 up and 2 bottom.

The Command Module is covered by strips of self-adhesive paper and foil, which gives more texture to the surfaces, even if it is not really as on the real studio model (except the contour of the front windows). I thought it is the best way to add details and panels on a already assembled model, without having to scribe with a X-Acto surfaces that are very hard.

The neck-collar

Let me say it once, it is completely necessary to redo this part. To do this, I used small blocks of machinable resin which I sanded with a rotor sanding machine, having no lathe. I used adhesive paper and foil cut in fine strips to add details here, too. The kit part that goes behind the CM was used but modified  by moving the “fins”towards the outside. The neck then received a fine layer of primer.

Reactor bells and engine module

Another mistake: the reactors bells. Those parts supplied in the kit follow the plans made by Johnson and are inaccurate. My good friend Olivier Herman executed magnificent new bells from scratch. Olivier is the model maker who created the US satellite from scratch, and considerably modified the Airfix shuttle Orion with astonishing results (there are lights, pilots and even a tiny professor Floyd assisted with by a hostess. A microscopic pen floats in the cabin!)

The engine module also underwent some modifications by adding stencils which add texture to the surfaces, and by the addition of various pipings. The front elliptic block is made from a solid synthetic resin called Lab, replacing the kit part.

Painting

An original module gave this color reference for the paint of the new version of the Lunar Models Discovery. Note how the result is extremely close, even the difference of the size between the two subjects.

This kit was built back in 2001 for the special issue 2001 : l’Odyssée des maquettes.   I worked as if the ship had been completely covered with sulfur. Surfaces were painted at first in grey to tone down the brightness, then in yellow with nuances of orange, based on the paint sheme given on the original Big Discovery module. The paints used are acrylic and enamel. Luckily, I used numerous photos taken during an exhibition of the real models, some kindly provided by Greg Harmon who restored the full model of Discovery. The new Discovery stands over a black board, and I realize it has never looked so nice!

Conclusion

I used to live with the 2001 version of the Discovery for many years (I had only this one !), but I must admit I like the yellow colored version of this ship much better. Not only because the Lunar Models kit has to do more with the sequel than the original movie, but because this kit is now dated and not up to current modeling standards. So, I had no regret to transform it!

Another Discovery kit was produced recently  by TimeSlip Creations (the double of the LM size) which was a correct 2001 version.

And if you want a 1/144 Discovery to practice as I did, Ian Walsh produces a new kit under Stargazer models name and cast by Blap! Models.

For me, it is the first time I’ve built a 2010 version of the Discovery. And it is perfect because we are at the beginning of the year 2010, and a new Odyssey is presented to us!

• Reference and source : 2010 a Scrapbook Odyssey by Jean-Marc Deschamps, edited by Ara Press.