In his book "The Last Man on the Moon", Gene Cernan [GT-9 PLT, Apollo 10 LMP, Apollo 17 CDR] writes that the Saturn V was alive...a living, breathing entity. Even in 1/96 scale, you can only imagine the immense size of this being. For those lucky enough to make it to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida [or as many of us say, paying our respects at the shrine], the Johnson Space Center in Houston, or the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, you can see a full size Saturn V in all its grandeur.  What makes it even more unbelievable is that this machine was built and sent to the moon with 1960's technology. How I miss those glory days of early man in space.

The Project

This was a fun filled project. I'd build it again in a second.  It's a shame that Revell has chosen to discontinue most of its space models. If the 25th anniversary Saturn V is the last we'll see of this at 1/96 [or 1/144], we're losing a good friend. I would think it would be worthwhile to produce the "missing parts" from Tomas' and Glenn's kits so that this model could be built without having to rely on Revell. These parts would include the F-1 engines [and the J-2's, if you want to separate the stages], the S-IVB/S-II interstage, the S-IC and S-II systems tunnels, the SLA and the LES. The thrust structures for the S-II and S-IVB, along with the tank domes for all three stages could also be an option. You would either have supply your own tubing and stringer wraps via Plastruct and Evergreen, or these could be included with the kit. I'd bet that the entire kit could be done for under $150 [which isn't too much more than the Revell kit sells for as of right now], and you would have a much more sturdy and accurate Saturn V than the Revell version. Just a random thought. I would REALLY like to build this model in 1/72 or [gasp!] 1/48. The same holds true for building the Saturn 1b.

As for the general building of my particular model, I'd make the following suggestions and adjustments based on problems that I encountered or mistakes that I made along the way:

S'Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!

I want to thank a few people out there in cyberspace and to also point out some additional web sites that helped me with this challenge.

The astronauts of the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo era were, and still are, my heroes. I've been fortunate enough to meet several of you over the years. Some of you have commented on and/or signed some of my models. They are my greatest treasures.

I STAND AND SALUTE ALL OF YOU!

Once again, I thank my good friend Barry Davidoff for rekindling my interest in building space models. It's too bad that we're now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, but e-mail gets the job done as do the occasional long distance phone calls. Come and visit, will you? Barry also gave constant input into the design phase of this site along with a few "how did you do that?" comments.

Glenn Johnson of RealSpace Models and Tomas Kladiva of New Ware manufacture great kits. They are true artisans who always seem to know what we need. I wish that I had one tenth of their talent. The same holds true for David Weeks and his detailed drawings. You all are truly the modeling gods of the 21st century. Rick Sternbach has had great advice about scratch building a Saturn V.  His Apollo decals in 1/32, 1/48, 1/96, 1/100 and 1/144 cannot be beat. The documentation alone is worth the price. I guess I should blame him for my MasterCard charges of the past couple of months.

Sven "Ninfinger" Knudson has the best resources for space modelers on the net. I often wonder how many gigs of space stuff reside on his server. You can get to his site by clicking here. Sven also has photos that I took of the Saturn V engines and thrust structures at the Saturn V museum at KSC. You can get there by clicking here. Chances are that if you're looking for something bizarre in space modeling, you'll find it on Sven's site. Be prepared to spend hours/days/weeks/months surfing around.

The members of the space modelers, Apollo modelers and astronaut autograph collectors internet listserv groups provided valuable information through their daily postings. I may not speak up much in these groups, but I DO read everything.

Rob Pearlman of CollectSpace.Com not only runs a great site, but offers great advice on all things that are related to space even though he was born AFTER the last Apollo flew. He will also lend a helping hand when it comes to taking pictures at an event.

Kevin Nolan at Countdown Hobbies has the best space hobby shop in the USA. Lucky for me, he's only two towns away from my house. Well, maybe I'm not so lucky [if you know what I mean]! Order one of his "Actually, I AM a rocket scientist" t-shirts [if he still has them left]. A great source for rare kits.

Peter Alway's book, "Rockets of the World" is another great reference. You can order the book directly from Peter at Saturn Press, or from Kevin at Countdown Hobbies.

Kim Poor of Novaspace Galleries in Tucson, AZ is the best source for genuine astronaut autographed items at reasonable prices. His gallery is also the largest source of space related artwork from various artists including Kim himself. 

The following list of links was stolen directly from Rick Sternbach's site [without his permission]. I agree with him 100% as to his description of these fine resources:

There is a wealth of information and photographs of the Saturn V and the overall Apollo program available on the Internet. The sites listed below lead to many other links that will be helpful in studying the history of manned and unmanned spacecraft, and aid in the construction of space models.

Apollo Archive -- Kipp Teague’s Apollo Archive contains many photos, videos, and other documents. Photos of each mission, plus photos of the Saturn V specifically, highlight this invaluable library. New pictures from the period are being rediscovered and scanned all the time.

Apollo Saturn Reference Page -- John Duncan’s site devoted to the Saturn V, Apollo, and other historical space subjects. Take the time to study the photos and drawings before attempting any Saturn V model.

Apollo Lunar Surface Journal -- A companion site to the Apollo Archive, the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal documents all of the lunar mission surface activity and catalogues most if not all of the available mission photography. Lunar Module and Command & Service Module images abound.

RealSpace Models -- Glenn Johnson’s RealSpace Models sells historical space resin kits, including accurized Apollo spacecraft in 1/96 and 1/144 scales. A variety of other Apollo hardware, including a CM 1/32 interior, hatch, and SIM bay are also available.

Ninfinger Productions -- Sven Knudson runs a large website devoted to scale models, model rocketry, and space history. Look for kit reviews, model references, and great lists of old space kits, among other topics.

My Little Space Museum -- Karl Dodenhoff runs an on-line "space museum" with specialized information on Apollo hardware. Look for detailed photos of the real equipment.

NewWare -- Tomas Kladiva’s NewWare model company sells resin detail sets and decals for historical spacecraft. He offers resin and photoetched brass detailing sets for the 1/96 Saturn V and Apollo CSM.

space-modelers -- Join the ongoing space model discussions here on yahoogroups and learn a thing or three about historical space subjects, contemporary space missions, what-if spaceships, how to build and detail kits, and what the best paints are! Sven Knudson moderates this group and archives the files section on his ninfinger site.

Apollo-modelers -- Join this discussion group as well for specific coverage of the Apollo program and the Saturn family of boosters.

As always, a big thank you goes to my wife, Lori.  She knows when to leave me alone when I've got my head buried in a reference book or when I'm surfing the net for information and when NOT to leave me alone when model parts, rods, decal sheets, etc., tend to take over the living areas of  the house. She also has learned that "Just five more minutes, dear" really means two hours from now.