A teacher once said to me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I replied “I want to be an astronaut, Miss” In reality… did I shite!!!
I had seen, a few months previously, the Challenger Shuttle take off from Kennedy Space Centre Launch Complex 39B and blow up just after the infamous words “Roger, go at throttle up” was uttered. This was the last communication from Challenger.
On 28 January 1986, just over a week after my 7th birthday, the news was ablaze with footage of that accident where seven astronauts "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God" as President Ronald Reagan emotionally told the world.
For weeks after, we saw this explosion on our televisions, whilst the world searched for answers on how such a tragedy happened. I won’t go into the details of the findings as there are many documentaries on YouTube explaining about the winter weather and the seal failing.
The thought of me going into space from that moment was gone. I still now wouldn’t give the gazillions of dollars for a ticket on Musk’s Falcon Rocket, or Bezos and Branson’s tinpot attempts of going into space. I have my feet firmly on Planet Earth!
But I do find space fascinating. In fact, I love the engineering of the whole space industry, whether it is real or pure fiction. It was a race to the stars. From the attempts of the 1950s of ballistic missiles to get to the edge of space, to releasing a satellite, getting the first man in space then onto the moon. We then saw the space shuttles developed including the Buran bolted on to the Energia Rocket, it was one helluva space race, until Russia kind of gave up and said “this is getting expensive!” And didn’t spend much more on it.
I grew up on science fiction books and films. I was engrossed in the engineering and design of the rockets, though I didn’t really understand it. I read books about the Skylab Space Station and looked on in awe as the International Space Station was being built. The first module Zarya, was launched in 1998 and remember being at college with a few friends looking at what it would look like when completed.
Whilst during that Original Space Race we dreamt big for the future of space exploration, we had a golden age of scale models of all things space.
Now let’s fast forward 30 years to the 2020s
I am bereft at the fact there is bugger all scale models being tooled or re-released from so few manufacturers, especially as we are living and watching the developments in a brand-new Space Race!
This time we are aiming even bigger and higher. We aren’t just aiming for the moon... we want to go to mars. and this Space Race isn’t just between governments and countries. This is private wealth ventures getting in on the act!
I read stories in the late 1980s of what the 1960s believed would be on the moon, that we would be living there, driving around in rovers and probably mining it. But alas, science fiction never came to reality. But still I built model kits related to space. I built Columbia, I built Moonraker, I built Lunar Rovers (we called them moon buggies because it sounded cute). I had a friend, with help from his father, build the Revell Space Station Mir.
But back in the day Model companies were creating concepts into scale models for us to build. Like Airfix original BOAC Concorde and the Fairey Rotodyne. Revell also built concepts, does anybody remember Space Transporter Sanger from Revell? I saw box art but never saw anyone build one.
Revell did an amazing job right up to the 1990s with their space range, American model companies bought into this too. Scale model companies were giving us futuristic models to build alongside the staples like Gemini, Vostok, Apollo and Soyuz were all out there ready for us space nuts or nerds to build. Airfix even delved in with a Lunar Module, Saturn, Vostok and a Space shuttle.
But at this moment in time, nothing from the main manufacturers to lure youngsters into scale modelling with space. I got into scale model building during the 1990’s because I wanted to have the vehicles in my room. Whatever looked futuristic or you would see in space, I wanted to build it. Yes, I get that Star Trek and Star Wars models are relatively new and spacey, but they have warp drive or Jedi powers... I’m talking space pre “beam me up Scotty” transporters and the dark side of the force, if you see where I am coming from in regards to fiction and not fantasy.
So far, I haven’t seen a Spacex Dragon capsule, nothing from the Artemis programme, no Rovers, no futuristic “what ifs” either… space has become very poorly looked over and that’s tragic. I know there are very small companies releasing limited edition models of resin or overpriced plastic that have a two-release shelf life, never to be seen again.
I would love to see Tamiya re-release some of their offerings like the Apollo 1 Rover, or Revell with re-tooling the Douglas Thor and Helios as its originals are missing, and re-release all those kits Revell have in their back catalogue from the 1960s. At the moment we are stuck with space shuttles and lunar landers on model shop shelves.
Maybe Airfix could tool a rocket similar to SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon but call it Mars Rocket if they can’t get the licence, Gecko Models will probably do it anyways.
I am left with one new rocket I could build. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin New Shepard... I’ll just buy one of those battery toys from Ann Summers, and spray it white!!
Thanks for Reading. What’s your thoughts on the lack of Space Explorations Models? Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Mos.
Airfix and Chill - Revell. What Next?
What is the future for Revell..? When was you last Revell Purchase, What was your last Revell Build Has Revell Lost their way or have they impressed you with their latest releases.. We discussed these things on This weeks Airfix and chill
Deal of the week
Airfix have launched an Outlet sale with Kits being offered for around 30% off!!
Plenty of fabulous models all reduced in price
Link here https://prf.hn/l/pmlpYoJ
Beyond the Box Podcast
New episodes are coming as we now have an editor.
To listen to our last podcast click the link below
https://www.buzzsprout.com/49144/13179647
There are plenty of rocket models out there you're just not going to find them from the plastic model companies they are all now STL or paper. Just do a search under paper or STL.
Thks Mos, my dad built the saturn V rocket for me in the early 70's and painted it too, it had pride and place on my bedroom window sill until I left home. It all came apart in stages and had a lunar module and command capsule, naturally my memory is hazy but it, as well as the Lunar missions at the time, really sparked my interest in Space and also Science fiction.
I would love a rerelease also moooore Space exploration stuff.