Steven Vasko’s Aries 1B

I’d just thought I’d share with you a few photos of my recently re-built Lunar Models “Aries 1-B” from 2001: A Space Odyssey. In my reconstruction I thought I should accurize the kit as much as possible, so I started by carefully dis-assembling the model and using a Dremel tool and lots of sanding sticks to take off a lot of inaccurate panel detail (mostly on the hull’s mid-section) and then added additional details all over in various forms of styrene, especially on the ship’s upper dome and on the engines. Sections of plastic Q-tip shafts were cut to size, super-glued on the bottom of the engine bells and sanded down as units to the proper uniform height to duplicate the jet nozzles seen in these sections. Stock styrene sheet and tubes were cut to size and applied to areas on the engine sides that had been dremeled clean of inaccurate detail to duplicate tankage seen on the original filming miniature. Tiny sections of Red pin-striping tape were applied in a few locations to replicate tiny markings seen on the original miniature. The lighting system of the original build was preserved and reintroduced into the reconstruction effort, allowing for simple but effective LED lighting of the cockpit and passenger section windows. The completed model was finally painted in enamels and weathered in acrylic washes and pastel application.

Steven Vasko