SPACE IN MINIATURE

Scale: 1/144

History:

To coincide with development of manned orbital space stations and lunar bases, a consortium of free-world aerospace companies took on the task of creating a commercial reusable cargo and passenger carrying space plane to ferry personnel and equipment into orbit. The result was the Orion shuttle. Pan American Air (Space) Lines became the commercial launch customer for both the Orion and the Aries 1B lunar ferry shuttles. But, other air carriers are also using the new Orion design for their private and commercial needs.

Model:

Modification work was done to the rear of the model to lower the top of the engine hump and alter the shape of the engine exhaust trenches to match the shape of the studio model better. The front nose intake was also slightly cut back at an angle to make it look less like an ant-eater and more like the Orion studio model.

The base coat on the Orion is an off-white mixture of Model Master flat white and light gray. Several panels were airbrushed with combinations of white, light gray and silver to give the model a very complex, multi-tiled appearance (most of which can't be seen in the pictures unfortunately).

The Pan Am globe decals are from the kit, but I used the Tangents/Griffin Games decal sheet for the other markings as they were more accurate in appearance and color. The cockpit window decal did have to be modified though, as it was originally intended for the Aurora kit.

Image: Port side

Image: Rear view