# My Moonbus - done at last



## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Finished up my Moonbus last night, and thought I would post some quickie pics (sorry they aren't that great, I'm taking my Canon home from work today to do a better job, but my old Sony did okay for last night). I didn't use any after market enhancements, just right from the box, except for my own lighting rig. Many thanks to Model Man for his videos - first "real" light job I did (I lit the eyes of a Horizon T-800 endo years back, but that was pretty easy). It was a learning experience for me, and I know what I can do to make it better next time. Honestly, I'm just shocked it worked! 
On the whole I'm happy with how the kit turned out, considering I hadn't done anything like it for close to 20 years. I know I could do a better job if I were to do it again, but this will have to do for now. I think I suffer from what plagued me when I was a kid building kits - a rush to finish it up.

I scratch built the monolith-type base. All I can say is I'm glad the resolution of the pics don't show all it's flaws. Someday I will re-do it.









More of a side shot to show the blue lighting better:









And before I sealed it all up:


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Great work on this!


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## Xenodyssey (Aug 27, 2008)

Ah. I was wondering when someone would do the red lighting in the moonbus cockpit. Excellent.


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Solid, dude!


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

That is very nice, really well done. A friend out at work, we work at NASA KSC, were talking about the moonbus today. While 2001 was a magnificent movie and one of the most accurate technology wise, the moon bus has always seemed a bit out of sync. The reason being that to hover like that would have required a significant amount of energy while a ballistic hop would have been far superior. In fact the fuel required for an extended trip hovering like that would have been basically impossible. It was still a neat vehicle but technologically impossible around the time frame of the movie.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

GORgeous!


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## johncal (May 26, 2010)

rkoenn said:


> That is very nice, really well done. A friend out at work, we work at NASA KSC, were talking about the moonbus today. While 2001 was a magnificent movie and one of the most accurate technology wise, the moon bus has always seemed a bit out of sync. The reason being that to hover like that would have required a significant amount of energy while a ballistic hop would have been far superior. In fact the fuel required for an extended trip hovering like that would have been basically impossible. It was still a neat vehicle but technologically impossible around the time frame of the movie.


Except it was supposed to be "2001" technology. Let's face it, none of that could be done back in the late 60's. Plus with the moon bus weighing in at about 1/6th of earth weight, it probably wouldn't be all that bad. But that's just my opinion coming from a rookie.

BTW, the model the builder made looks great. Very nicely done. I'll be doing one of those some day as well.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks for all the kind words. I had a lot of fun with this kit, helped me get back in a modeling groove and I hope to improve a lot - I have a 1/350 Refit with my name on it! I got a lot of inspiration and information from you all that helped tons, and I'm mighty thankful.
Think I'll finish a Batmobile, maybe refurbish a Star Wars dio a friend and I made, and then on to the Refit.


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

Very nice! I've been procrastinating about starting this one not being a hardware guy, so kudos to you for jumping in after such a long absence. Look forward to seeing more in the future. Model on!


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

looks great


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## JeffG (May 10, 2004)

Kubrick would be proud. Nice job!


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## miniature sun (May 1, 2005)

Excellent work Bob, especially the lighting....got mine waiting in the pile to do....


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## spindrift (Apr 16, 2005)

GREAT work! Inspiration for all of us! :thumbsup:


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## DocJam00 (May 18, 2010)

Best I've seen finished so far!


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Nice work - the lighting worked well!


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

That's a great job--I especially like the subtle paneling which is what I want to go for.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks again for all the kind words! I truly appreciate them. I took some better pics this weekend. The top one is kind of a cheat - two pics layered. One I just used the lighting I have in my work area, and then a long exposure for the interior lighting. The other two are one shot, I just set it for a 25 second exposure while I held my strobe over the model or to the side of it. As I hit the shutter release, the flash popped and then I just waited for the exposure to be finished. Pretty easy.


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## stargazer (Oct 13, 2001)

Great job...I love the lighting

Stargazer


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## xsavoie (Jun 29, 1999)

Nice choice of colors.By the way,what are the colors suggested for the Moon Bus,and are the instruction suggestions the best.If not,which ones produces the best effects in your opinion.:thumbsup:


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Very beautiful and inspiring! The red and blue lighting brings it to (movie) life!
BTW, I, too, would like to know the hull colors you used!


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Basically I primed almost all of it with Tamiya flat black, even the silver bits. I decided this would be my pre-shading. Then I used basic Tamiya white airbrushed over and over until I got density I liked in specific areas: I used this model as kind of a test for masking since I had never done it before, and I must say it was pretty easy - if time consuming. I think I could have been more accurate and subtle with the masking, but again I wasn't sure on what my results would be. The rocket nozzles and "footpads" I airbrushed gun metal then dry brushed with silver, the same with the space suits. The inside walls I mixed to a light gray to what I liked, then added a drop or two of green to give it a hint of a minty-green look. The tan seats and padding I just used Tamiya buff. I think the floor is too dark, but probably can't bee seen now anyway. I think I should have put an extra LED (bright whites, painted clear blue and red) in the back, but I was sure what I had already would be too bright. Ah well, lesson learned.The weathering was just flat black watered down and then brushed in with a fine brush, with a little air-brushing on the modules and on the back door area. Oh, and I did use Future on the clear parts.
Thanks again for all the nice comments!


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## buzzconroy (Jun 28, 2002)

Very nice clean work, just beautiful.

Randy


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Nicely done! The red lighting in the cockpit is uber cool!


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## dklange (Apr 25, 2009)

Very Cool! Nice work and the lighting really adds to it!!:thumbsup: - Denis


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## scotpens (Sep 6, 2003)

Bobj812 said:


> . . . I took some better pics this weekend. The top one is kind of a cheat - two pics layered. One I just used the lighting I have in my work area, and then a long exposure for the interior lighting. The other two are one shot, I just set it for a 25 second exposure while I held my strobe over the model or to the side of it. As I hit the shutter release, the flash popped and then I just waited for the exposure to be finished.


A cheat? Nope, that's called professional photography technique. The results speak for themselves. The interior lighting is just gorgeous!


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## johncal (May 26, 2010)

scotpens said:


> A cheat? Nope, that's called professional photography technique. The results speak for themselves. The interior lighting is just gorgeous!


Yep. Not cheating at all.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Well, maybe not cheating so much. I guess in the layering of two images you don't see the red reflecting onto the nose like in the other shots, and no reflection on the outside of the window. It does give it a movie-like "matted in" look to it the others don't have that I like. I've worked in Photoshop now for over 15 years, and spend over 90% of time at work with it now, so it's not like I'm anti-digital or anti-Photoshop. But having been an avid photographer since I was 13 waaaay back in the '70s, a part of me feels like a cheater when I Photoshop an image. You can take the boy out of the darkroom, but the darkroom in the boy still likes to give him some guff now and then!
Thanks again to everyone for the kind words.


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## Steve Mavronis (Oct 14, 2001)

At least he didn't have to use rear projection like in the movie!

Excellent model and the lighting colors look dead on. Bravo


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## louspal (Sep 13, 2009)

How many LEDS total did you use and what did you use to power them (AC/DC)?
If I haven't chimed in already, great build and thanks for the great photos!


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Thanks louspal!
I used a total of 4 bright white LEDs: 2 in the cockpit painted transparent red, and two in the back painted transparent blue. I then took a strip of clear plastic, sanded it down to make it more opaque and then white washed it a bit to diffuse the lighting in the back. I had planned to put an extra LED in the back, but I was almost certain that it would be way too much light back there. Now I wished I had. I had to leave out the arched "padding" parts in the back because of the clear plastic. I had thought of ways to get around that, but for me the kit was always more on how it looked from the outside than being able to take the top off. So I just linked the LEDs together, ran the wire down either side in the cockpit. I had drilled a hole in the front footpad (I had originally thought to run it through one of the rear ones, but thought the wires would be less visible in the cockpit) so the wires ran from the under the cockpit, through the footpad and under the base I built to a battery pack under it (2 AAs). The switch is visible in the pic below - maybe I can find a bigger switch to use next time, this one doesn't look like it stands out enough! : )


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## Roy Kirchoff (Jan 1, 1970)

Nice job on the moonbus Bob. I really like the photo above. Your lighting looks great. :thumbsup:

~RK~


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Many thanks. Honestly, the lighting (and the model) looks better in the pics. While over all I'm happy how it came out, it was a learning experience and I know what I would do different next time. I also think I had a case of beginner's luck with the lighting! I was constantly astonished that it worked as simply as it did - things usually don't work that easily for me! While I'm not ready to design a circuit board with complicated flashing patterns, I do feel comfortable lighting up things now. And again, I owe a lot to people on here like Model Man and his videos.


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## Dr. Pretorius (Nov 17, 2000)

Beautiful!


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

Great work on the moonbus!
I love the black weathering/Burn scortches on the outside of the bus,And the detailing on the figures is outstanding!
Well if this kit was a learning process for you like you stated,You picked up on it damn well,And can't wait to see future builds from you:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Nice work, Bob! You know how to shoot, too.


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

Bob, that is a beautiful build. Your colours and shading look first rate and the lighting really makes the kit pop. Well done!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Great job!! The lighting makes all the difference. Looks like we're seeing a scene from the movie.


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Many thanks for the kind words! It was a fun build for me, and something I've wanted to build for a looooong time - as I guess it has been for a lot of us. Yay Moebius!


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## Ace Airspeed (May 16, 2010)

Great build and it looks super! :thumbsup:

Your color choice fits the model to a "T".


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## Tim H. (Jun 23, 2009)

Looks aces, very nice. Pre-shading is something new to me, I'll need to try it out. For us electronically challenged could you draw a diagram of what you did for the lighting, it be nice to incorporate that aspect, looks great especially the red control cabin. Thanks :thumbsup:


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Many thanks for the kind words!
Tim, pre-shading was new to me too, and maybe I didn't do it as it is traditionally done - I just painted most of it flat black, and then continued to layer the white over it until I was happy with how it looked. I used less white in the thruster wells and recesses to try and give some depth. As far as a diagram of lighting.....hmmmm. I'll see what I can do, but it was pretty easy - and under-lighted I think. I could have used one more (at least) LED in the cargo area. Honestly the photographs make the lighting look better than it is. In regular room light it's kind of underwhelming. There is an article on the Round 2 website about lighting the K-7 that had pics that helped me wire it up....let me see if I can find the link.... ah:
http://www.round2models.com/workbench/lighting-k7
That helped me a lot, a long with watching Model Man's videos - gave me the confidence to just do it. I think future lighting projects I'm going to try and keep as simple as that, unless I use fiber optics, but I've worked a little with them before so I know what to expect. The big problem was getting the wire unobtrusive as well as the LEDs. Since I sealed the top shut that helped. Here's a pic that might be better in showing how the wire ran up through the bottom of the front foot pad into the cabin. I just kind of chained the LEDS together, matching the polarity on either side.








I don't have a pic of the ceiling wired up - I honestly didn't think it was worth documenting.


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## koschrei (Jan 31, 2008)

Bob - Your Moonbus is looking great - nice clean build and great work on the paint, and a good job of keeping the Aurora feel to your build too ! 

Just starting to animate my models so I really liked the lighting - particularly like how did you do the red effect. Have to think about adding lighting to mine now  

Konrad


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

I wasn't sure I was going to light mine. Now I am, thanks to your rather effective, but simple (no offence ) lighting scheme! Thanks again for sharing!


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## Bobj812 (Jun 15, 2009)

Absolutely no offense taken. I was all about keeping it simple, and that's how I plan on doing it for future projects.


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