Tintin - Moonrocket 3,5ft high

wasili

Hello all,

It's a bit different from the regular modelling subjects posted here, so i hope it fits.

I'm currently working on a 3,5ft tall red-and-white moonrocket from one of my favourite comic books: Tintin. It's a commisioned build based on a previous version i did of the rocket in the early 90's. Then i turned wooden bucks for vacvorming in 4mm thick styrene, with perspex wings. Spend ages sanding and filling a one-off. No castings or silicone back then.

This new commision gave me the opportunity to refurbish the original bucks, using silicone molds to achieve the end result in PU (cast, and metal reinforced wing) and foam filled epoxy or polyester for the body). I always wanted one myself, so here's the chance to do so while working on the one for the client.

The final result is to be a decorative piece, so no interior, stepladders, or figures.

For those that have no idea what i'm talking about, here's the cover of the french language version: "Objectif Lune" or "Destination Moon". And just so you know...it was first published in 1953.

I have to finish the build within a week, so i'll be posting pics of the build starting from tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wasili

Laffo

Please tell me there will be a kit.
Laffo.

wasili

First let me see how the castings turn out...

so.....maybe a kit...and if so, then very limited numbers...

altername

Awesome idea! I'm a big fan of this graphic novel and rocket.

Laffo

Let us know. That'd be great.
Laffo.

phase pistol

While we wait, here's one I picked up a few years ago.. wooden, about 14 inches tall.

The shape is a bit off compared to the drawing above.. note how the thickest part of the hull is higher up than the middle, on the drawing.

Jeeves

Interested in a kit depending on pics and prices...and of course if you end up making one!

MonsieurTox

That's an awesome subject ! "Objectif Lune" is one of my fav of Tintin's comic books, I will follow this thread which great interest !

wasili

This is the thing that bothered me the most when i build it for the first time. There is a blueprint of sorts in the graphic novel, with the main hull being different from the 'real' one in all the other drawings. Just like Phase Pistol describes. But the weird thing is that nearly all commercially available ones are derived from this 'incorrect' blueprint. I made my blueprints from the cover (post #1), so no incorrect lines there

Wasili

CaptCBoard

Wasili--

Please email me. AtomicCity@gmail.com

Thanks!

Scott

wasili

email send

wasili

Here's the first update with pics. I dug out the old MDF bucks for the body (main hull) and the teardrop legs ( 1 half for the top and 1 half for the dome ). Nothing for the wings themselves.

The old hull buck has warped over time. It isn't much, but still about half an inch. From tip to toe, it's ok, i just can't lie it down flat on a table. I sprayed the bare mdf with a thick layer of sprayfiller, and made an epoxy mold. Forgive the crappy looking mold, as i'm not used to epoxy, and didn't have the patience to do a proper tinted one.

Today i foamed two halves from that mold, cut and sanded them flat on the back. They do follow the warpage from the warped buck, but later when i glue the two halves together, i push them together eliminating the gap in between.



Now on to the wings. I recast the wooden bucks for the leg in pu, and glued them together. Something missing from the commercially available ones in the past was a nice sectional shape for the wing. The biggest ones even used a thick and flat piece of material, following the original profile. No fillets or anything.

For mine i went for a subtle tearshaped wing, yet thick and strong enough to withstand a beating. I decided on 12mm thick, so i cut some cibatool (chemiwood, renshape, etc.) on a bandsaw, and glued it to the leg bulb. The transition from the top of the wing to the leg bulb was tricky to make it work (i go from 12mm thick wing material to a pointy tip on the bulb), but i think i captured that. Bit difficult to see in the pic, will show it later on.

Added some sprayfiller, and touched up the last bits with poly filer.

More updates tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wasili

wasili

It's a bit of a weekend, so i didn't do that much.

Preparing the mold jacket before the silicone pouring. I have a thing with MDF boxes for moldsupport, but wanted to try a clay layup. First time i'm using this technique (or the clay for that matter), so it took me the better part of the day to work the clay. I used NSP from Chavant.

More tomorrow..

Cheers,

Wasili

wasili

Sunday update...

Both my kids are down with a fever, so taking care of them took the better part of the day. I still have to finish this build on time, so that does make me a bit nervous.

Flipped over the wing, scraped off the excess clay from the 'mohawk'. Filled the remainder of the bulb with clay.

I'm quite new with this (working with clay), but luckily it went a bit faster than the other side. I still have difficulty smoothening (as in 'no bumps') the clay. Anyone have some good tips ?

After the last pic below, i filled the corners with clay, smoothened it ( fingers, brush and water) and added some mold release.

I'm currently waiting for the pva to dry, so i can lay up the 2nd half of the polyester jacket. Finally tomorrow i can pour some silicone. Latest on tuesday i'll have my cast wings.

More tomorrow

Cheers,

Wasili

moes1

Here is a couple of pics of a build I saw in Lübeck Germany last year.
I can't remember the builders name, but it was impressive.

Btw - pictures are HUGE

Attached Thumbnails

   

wasili

nice idea, and nice figures..

MooCriket

Very Cool

3d-builder

Beautiful building thread....nice to see work like this.
I love the curved shapes at the end of the wings, you
did a great job capturing this!

Regards,
Michael

PetarB

I've been considering a cutaway build of this for some time. Your build is very inspiring Wasili! Looking forwards to more progress!
Regards, Petar

wasili

Thanx guys,

I love working on this project. The fact that research and blueprinting was done in an instant was nice for a change as well. It's a relatively simple shape.

Anyway, here's mondays update...

I finished the fibreglass jacket for the leg-mold, but haven't poured the silicone yet. I have a vacuumchamber for casting in my storage, but it takes time to get there. Scheduled for tomorrowmorning. I did run out of MEK for the polyesther (just the last layer) on the same day my supplier is closed, so had to finish it with poly filler...Looks a bit like crap now.

For the rest of the day i focused on the hull. To save time for the commisioned build, i decided to skip making a silicone mold for the hull. I don't have enough silicone to do it, and even though i ordered more immediately when i found out, i won't get it on time to finish the build before the deadline. I'll make a proper silicone mold next week when i work on my own model.

I'm using the two foam blanks i made last friday. I made the antenna from 1mm dia stainless, put a twist in it (to make sure you can't pull it out by accident after spraying is done) and embedded it in the foam with poly filler.



Next i stuck both halves together only using globs of polyfiller around the centerline. I needed a third pair of hands to squeeze everything together while the filler set, but instead ended up using my knee in the middle. It kinda shows ....Ah well, will fill that up.



The only part of the hull not being fibreglassed is the "exhaust". There's no open hole with this model, it's simply flat. From leftover plex i cnc'ed a circle with the centerlines for the wings engraved in it, and stuck it on the bottom. It's plex, so after spraying you won't see the lines anymore. I made a setup to make sure the circle is glued perfectly perpendicular and in line with the top antenna.





Using the centerlines as a guide, i roughly cut out the slots for the wings. This is where i love pu-foam. I'll keep checking the fit and make sure they are at right angles, until the moment the wings are glued in.

Everything looks a bit rough today, so go easy on me....

More tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wasili

MooCriket

Looking Great!!!

wasili

A cutaway build sounds very interesting.

There was a french book in (i think) the early 90's that dealt with Tintin and science. It featured comparisons o fthe drawings with, for example, past and current space travel technology. There were pictures inside of a large conceptmodel of the interior of the Tintin moonrocket. I cannot remember if that was made by Hergé, or after the fact for the book. I have colorcopies of it somewhere.

If you want, i can try to dig them up...

And thank you "Moocriket", it's fun to build at the same time.

Cheers,

Wasili

PetarB

Hey Wasili, I would love to see that. I have pieced together ideas from the blueprint in "Destination Moon' and all the interiors of 'Explorers on the Moon' but any other sources would be fantastique!

wasili

Hey PetarB, will dig them up. Can take a while though...

On to Tuesday's update..

I received word today that the client will not be back until somewhere this monday, so i have three more days to finish this up. Today i spend most of the day restocking on materials, and doing final prep for the leg-mold.

The fibreglass jacket split apart without much trouble, but i didn't put enough mold release in some spots. Two bits broke out of the flange. Nothing serious though, but a lesson for next time. I was hoping that the clay would come out a bit easier, still took me an hour per side to clean.

More tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wasili

wasili

Howdy ho,

Wednesdays update.

Added a block to the end of the wing, so the castings from this are easier to position and it will strengthen the bond with the hull (larger surface). The small styrene triangles are there to ensure no airbubbles are trapped in the cast.



On to the molding. I positioned the wing in the mold jacket and poured a bit of silicone in the bulb section. Once hardened it will lock most of the master, basically freefloating inside the mold without any support.



Then put the other half of the moldjacket on top, and tilted the whole a 90 degrees. Poured batches of silicone to lessen the tension on the moldjacket seems ( i had no idea if i would get a blue floor, if i filled up the mold at one ). Filled it till the top. The white strip sticking out of the silicone is the same one as the one in the first pic in this post.

I use a new silicone from a brand called Zhermack. It's blue, additionhardening, super low viscosity, lasts for about 10 minutes. Hardens in 4 hours. Because it was so warm today, i could take it from the storage (where i have my vac chamber), within 30 minutes of the last pour. Love that stuff..

More tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wasili