# Yet Another Moonbus, You Hosers



## idMonster (Jun 18, 2003)

My first moonbus - all finished.  This was a "practice" build - finding any problems or hitches in the construction process. Since I wanted to do something a little different for this one, and since I had some interesting decals in the spares box, I decided to do a Canadian 'bus. I also slapped on some service stenciling since I thought it odd that a piece of machinery this complex wouldn't have any maintenance instructions.

Since putting everyone in silver spacesuits would be boring I decided that the silver ones were "generic" suits for transient personnel like Dr. Floyd or for residents whose job normally does not entail going "outside". People who frequently work on the lunar surface would have a custom-fitted suit tailored just for them. The astronaut would also be able to choose from a selection of colors for the suit, as well.

I went with a light tan/dark tan/brown (Tamiya TS-46, AS-15, Testors 1183 (Rubber)) paint scheme for the interior. I used Tamiya Vietnam Camo Light Grey (AS-16) as my overall exterior color. The weathering is simply a wash of Tamiya Smoke, X-19, thinned with rubbing alcohol (in my hurry to get it finished to be photographed and put on display at a friend's hobby shop I forgot the exhaust staining on the RCS quads). 

I'm definitely looking forward to building a few more of these!

Gordon
(Who Is Not Really A Canadian)


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## kenlee (Feb 11, 2010)

Great work, I love the weathering, both inside and out. It gives it the feel of a heavily used, but not abused vehicle.


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## skinnyonce (Dec 17, 2009)

I'll drink to that, Eh!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I love it!!


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Great job but when did Canada's space program grow up??? And thanks for giving some of the details on your paint job. My box is open but that is as far as I've gone so far. However it is the next project when I get my others completed. And you guys are giving some good ideas for my build.


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## Jodet (May 25, 2008)

'Luke, I'm your Pa'. 

Great job, love the weathering.


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Beauty, eh!

However for a truly Canadian version there should be some cases of Moosehead or Keith's in the storage bay.

Parts Pit Mike in Toronto


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

is that guy in the red wearing a moobase alpha suit?


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I like the alternate graphics- it is good to see Canada being involved in the space program beyond robotic arms...

I grew up with the original kit with the conforming windows. It is taking some getting used to seeing the corrected windows after seeing them wrong all these years. I like your build a lot- it looks like a working duty craft instead of a showroom model.

.


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## teslabe (Oct 20, 2007)

Fantastic work and I love the Canadian touch.....:thumbsup: I'd have a case or two of Labatts in the fridge just in case it's a long trip .....


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Excellent build and paint job, also good to see an alternate version to the boxed one.


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

Good weathering of Moon Bus colors,so to speak.Nice interior and variety of space suits colors.This Moon bus is powered by beaver engines.Two big buck teeth in front of the Moon Bus just below the front windows would have been the perfect touch.:thumbsup:


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## idMonster (Jun 18, 2003)

Thanks for the love, everyone!

Late in the project a friend of mine had a great idea that I would have stolen if I had not been so far along on the build - convert the object in "standing guy's" hand to a rock and paint the aisle up as a sheet with a house next to the rear door. A couple of brooms for the seated guys and that's how astronauts from the Great White North kill time on their way to Canada's Lunar Farside Observatory! Well, that and a couple of cases of Molson's... For those of you that are going "huh?" the terms above are Curling references (I had to Wiki the names for those things myself).

I have to admit that after seeing it with all those markings on it, it seems a bit boring to do one with just put a couple of USAA decals on it.

That's OK, though, I've got at least 2 "special" moonbuses planned inckuding a tour bus for the 2003 reunion of a certain rock band and the 30th anniversary tour of their most famous album...stay tuned!

Gordon


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Everyone knows Canada will never make it to the Moon. No one would let them set foot there because they would tax the place to death.


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## idMonster (Jun 18, 2003)

This post has been edited by the author to retract his complaint.

Gordon


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

Richard Baker said:


> I like the alternate graphics- it is good to see Canada being involved in the space program beyond robotic arms...
> 
> I grew up with the original kit with the conforming windows. It is taking some getting used to seeing the corrected windows after seeing them wrong all these years. I like your build a lot- it looks like a working duty craft instead of a showroom model.
> 
> .


 
Canada's official contribution to the space program may seem restricted to the remote manipulator arm, but Canadians have been making critically important contributions to the space program for decades now.

For example, an engineer from Ontario was the prime designer of the Apollo Lunar Lander.

Lovely Moonbus model!!!


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I did not wish to turn a model build up thread into a bash Canadian Space Program thread, but the remake was intended to be in keeping with the 'Canadian Pride' alternate graphics on the Moon Bus. Perhaps it is due to ignorance or lack of identity promotion, but the Arm was the only element I could think of- come to think of it hte Canadian markings on the Arms are the only nationalistic symbols I recall seeing on camera with the ISS. I am sure there are Japanese markings on their module, but it is hard to miss the Arms waving around.


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## g_xii (Mar 20, 2002)

OK Folks -- Don't make me get out my Moebius Sheriff keys and hat...

Keep the discussion on MOEBIUS MODELS (and this is a very cool build!) and away from POLITICAL topics. Let's all try to be adults here.

Or, I may have to do something drastic...

--Henry


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## Parts Pit Mike (Jan 3, 2001)

Actually I wasn't thinking about getting a Moonbus, but this Canadian Version turned out so well I probably will get one.

Now not a political note but a historical one.. when Apollo 13 was in trouble NASA called on the University of Toronto's Institute of Aerospace Studies to figure out the calculations for separating the crippled Command Module from the Lunar Module so the Astronauts could get home. 

This team was never recognized until last year.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

That moon dust makes a mess--really! I like the weathering job! Decals are cool, too!

I imagine at some point, there'll be representatives of a LOT of countries permanently on the moon. Canada will certainly be well represented.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Very cool! I always thought that space suits for the moon would be colored like Bowman's and Poole's. I wouldn't want to be running around out there in something that would blend in to the lunar surface. But, maybe Floyd and the guys were going more stealth...
Great build, I'd love to see a lot of variants to this kit.


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## liskorea317 (Mar 27, 2009)

My Canadian friends here in Korea loved this build! I printed out your photos for them, both huge sci-fi fans, and they were really impressed!
Great job!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Great weathering, eh!


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## Dave Hussey (Nov 20, 1998)

No intention on my part to make this political, or to imply that folks are ignorant of any one country's contributions. I just thought that my info was a "gee - I did not know that" kind of thing for folks here.

In any case, its a lovely build-up of the Moonbus. One of my fondest memories is getting one of the original Aurora's for Christmas when I was a kid and sitting at the kitchen table that morning eating my breakfast and opening it up, trying not to lose any small parts!

My wife was thoughtful to get me one for a father's day gift earlier this year and I'm really wanting to get some time to build it. I like the touch here of using custom suit colors for the astronauts; that really adds a bit of color to the build!!

Excellent weathering too!!!

Nice work!!!

Huzz


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Parts Pit Mike said:


> . . . However for a truly Canadian version there should be some cases of Moosehead or Keith's in the storage bay.


And don't forget a couple of hockey sticks!


Dave Hussey said:


> . . . I like the touch here of using custom suit colors for the astronauts; that really adds a bit of color to the build!!


It's an idea that's been around for at least 60 years.


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

idMonster said:


> Hey Antimatter,
> 
> What part of Rule #1 of DaRulz were you unable to understand?
> 
> ...



Nah....nevermind, it's not worth it.


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## mr}{ix (Aug 9, 2008)

I love our Canadian brothers and sisters but they do go crazy over that maple leaf and they'll put it all over anything. IF there actually were Canadian moon buses, they definitely would have maple leaf markings all over them. 

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Nice build, I love the moon-grime. The moon-grime is why I think the interior should be / would be gray. I think that with any other color you'd constantly be fighting the dirt and it would look filthy. But then again, maybe in a future where heavy moon buses can fly effortlessly around the moon, they'd have some space age super vacuums that could easily suck up all the moon crud. Moon dust eating nanobots maybe.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Antimatter said:


> Nah....nevermind, it's not worth it.


Great restraint, Antimatter! I think most of us realized you were teasing and not meaning to open up a can of worms.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

mr}{ix said:


> I love our Canadian brothers and sisters but they do go crazy over that maple leaf and they'll put it all over anything.


Sorry about that.


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## idMonster (Jun 18, 2003)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> I think most of us realized you were teasing and not meaning to open up a can of worms.


On the basis of the above I have edited my earlier post to remove the complaint about Anitmatter's post.

Gordon


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

SteveR said:


> Sorry about that.


And don't forget - we tend to apologize for everything! 

Great build by the way! Love the colours on the moon bus. I am so looking forward to getting this kit! I've got one on order!


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## ajmadison (Oct 18, 1999)

mr}{ix said:


> I love our Canadian brothers and sisters but they do go crazy over that maple leaf and they'll put it all over anything. IF there actually were Canadian moon buses, they definitely would have maple leaf markings all over them.
> 
> Not that there's anything wrong with that.
> 
> Nice build, I love the moon-grime. The moon-grime is why I think the interior should be / would be gray. I think that with any other color you'd constantly be fighting the dirt and it would look filthy. But then again, maybe in a future where heavy moon buses can fly effortlessly around the moon, they'd have some space age super vacuums that could easily suck up all the moon crud. Moon dust eating nanobots maybe.


Thanks to cable television and edu-tainment, something I didn't know is that lunar dust is razor sharp. It is potentially lethal if even small doses of it are inhaled. So Kubrick, et. al were either lucky or very smart, and showing the interior of the bus as being squeaky clean is extremely appropriate. What isn't clear is how to remove the lunar dust & dirt from the spacesuits and their boots after an EVA and before entering the Moon Bus.


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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

Can static electricity cross a vacuum? A emitter ring in the hatch could do it as they reenter.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Here are a few articles on moon dust:

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080410-ladee-moon-dust-mission.html
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2005/22apr_dontinhale/
http://www.universetoday.com/20429/moon-dust/


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

idMonster said:


> On the basis of the above I have edited my earlier post to remove the complaint about Anitmatter's post.
> 
> Gordon


That's cool, Gordon. Don't sweat it, though, most of us have over-reacted at times--I know I have. Just one of the limitations of cyberspace and not seeing people face-to-face. Use lots of smilies!!!:freak:


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## mr}{ix (Aug 9, 2008)

_"Moondust was a real nuisance for Apollo astronauts," said NASA researcher Mian Abbas, whose team studies the interaction of lunar dust and solar wind at the National Space Science and Technology Center's Dusty Plasma Lab in Huntsville, Ala., in a statement. "It stuck to everything - spacesuits, equipment, instruments."_

See what I mean? Gray is the color I'd go with if it were my moonbus. They may not like it, but those moon men were going to have to put up with the dust anyway.

I still like the idea of moon dust eating nan-bots though.


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## wander1107 (Aug 12, 2006)

Gordon,

Nice job on the decals and weathering.


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## g_xii (Mar 20, 2002)

idMonster said:


> On the basis of the above I have edited my earlier post to remove the complaint about Anitmatter's post.
> 
> Gordon


And here I had just ridden into town on "Gee," my trusty steed, and was pulling out my moderator keys to steady this-here rowdy saloon, and the crowd has apparently policed themselves back to behavin'.

Well done, folks. I didn't know ya had it in ya.

I'll just mosey on back to the Sheriff's office and wait for the next round of mis-behavin' to commence... but I'll be a-keepin' those keys handy.

--H


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> Great restraint, Antimatter! I think most of us realized you were teasing and not meaning to open up a can of worms.


I was ribbing the Canucks a bit. :wave:


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Nothing like a bit of moondust-geekery to pacify the townsfolk!


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

That's a really excellent build. I like the alternate colour scheme and decals, and the weathering is really spot on. Not too much or to little and that can be a tricky sweet spot to find.


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