Space Station Model

Review by Geoff Coughlin (February 2015)
Price: around £49.99 (GBP)
Kit Ref: 04841 Limited Edition

1. Space Station Models
2. Revell Space Station Model
3. Space Station Model Kit Revell

Our thanks to Revell for supplying our review sample. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model stores. For details visit www.revell.de/en

A little bit of background

The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. It is a modular structure whose first component was launched in 1998. Now the largest artificial body in orbit, it can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other components. ISS components have been launched by American Space Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets.

Two versions of the station were studied: an 8-metric ton 'space laboratory' and 20-metric ton 'space station'. citation needed In 2000, the first model of the planned space station was unveiled at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. This was made up of modules derived from the orbital module of the Shenzhou spacecraft. Overall length of the. 4 product ratings - 1998 Revell Monogram Babylon 5 Space Station Model Kit 85-3622 NEW Sealed Box. Watch; S p o n s o r e d. Vintage Space Station Model Kit Built. Buy It Now +$11.01 shipping. Watch; S p o n s o r e d. Star Trek Deep Space Nine Space Station SEALED 1/2500 Model Kit AMT. A 3D model of the International Space Station. Embed this resource by pasting the following code into your website. Metal Earth International Space Station model is amazingly detailed etched models that are fun and satisfying to assemble. During 2009 - 2010 we produced and supplied to various NASA Space Centers over 30 1:100 scale models of International Space Station. Most of the models were produced in Standard Edition, which is developed for presentations. All logistics vehicles (except Space Shuttle) included in Standard Edition are painted in dark metallic color, monochrome.

The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km (205 and 270 mi) by means of re-boost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft. It completes 15.54 orbits per day.

ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz, and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US. The station has been continuously occupied for 14 years and 123 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous human presence in space, having surpassed the previous record of 9 years and 357 days held by Mir. The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft: Soyuz, Progress, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, the H-II Transfer Vehicle, Dragon, and Cygnus. It has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations.

After the US Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station, and Dragon became the only provider of bulk cargo-return-to-Earth services (downmass capability of Soyuz capsules is very limited).

The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, and CSA. The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS was funded until 2024. Roskosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024, but have proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK.

The Revell kit

It's good to see this one back having been originally released by Revell some years ago. This is going to be an enormous model and an interesting one to build – really not sure when we may get to it, but we do have someone lined up who is keen to take on that challenge – can't wait!

The moulds look to have stood up quite well and most parts are cleanly moulded with just a little excess flash here and there but this was a decent release when first out and it remains so now. The build doesn't look too daunting having read a couple of build reviews now and that's encouraging.

As you can see from this photo of the manufacturer's model, it makes up into an impressive piece.

Sprues and more sprues…

As you'd expect with a project like this it's mostly lots of solar panels and capsules that all join together in a complex assembly to create the complete ISS.

Probably the best thing to do is show the sprues to you here:

Specifically this is what you get:

• Aluminium square and round bars to support the structure are included in the kit
• Display stand with earth hemisphere
• Detailed lattice tower construction
• Movable large solar panels
• Detailed representation of modules
• Experiment platforms
• 2 Soyuz transport modules
• Solar panels with finely detailed features
• 3 robot arms
• 3 astronaut figures
• Decals with numerous emblems.

Highlights at a glance:

• Subject choice – very welcome new boxing with excellent new decals
• Sheer parts count
• Aluminium support bars to strengthen construction
• Decal options – variety of badges and insignia.

Things to watch and take extra care with:

• Carefully working out a logical assembly
• Follow the instructions but be prepared to depart from them in the interests of sanity and logic

Instructions

These are in classic Revell style with 59 exploded stages.

Decals

Very high quality and a real strength of this Revell packaging.

Conclusion

An impressive package that will give you hours of pleasure without breaking the bank.

Geoff C.

SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5

Do you know what a Zarya is? How about a Truss, Dextre, Kiba, Zvezda or Cupola? Well, these are all parts of the International Space Station (ISS), which is a large structure in outer space, that orbits the Earth, and is full of scientist/astronauts all the time. ISS is an ongoing collaboration between many nations around the world to develop new space technology and engage in collaborative space research.

Make your own ISS model just like this one at home with 3 pieces of printed paper, some scissors, double sided tape, paper glue and some patience!

Space Station Models

Here's a fun FREE (or just about free) activity you can try at home, with elementary/middle school aged children.

By making your own model, you can learn more about the International Space Station (ISS), its different sections, and what their functions are. It can also help you learn more about references in our newest Galactic Academy of Science book, the Secret Case of the Space Station Stowaways.

There are a number of freely available paper models out there, some of which are more complicated than other, and some of which are black and white or full color. NASA and other space agencies offer them for free on their websites. One that we enjoy the most is this one from CSIRO, which is Austratlia's space agency: www.csiro.au/iss . Below are some pictures from our build process, as well as a few tips that are not available in their instruction guide. We hope you enjoy it too!

Carefully cut around each piece – be sure and cut within the yellow area, as close to the black lines as you can…

Revell Space Station Model

Here you see the large solar panels, which are on the third page. Somr printers we noticed had a hard time printing this page. If that's the case, don't worry, usually at least 3 panels will print just fine. You can always print a few more pages, and cut out the good ones. Note that we used double sided sticky tape to make the panels, instead of glue, to avoid the warping that glue causes.

Note here that we cut within the yellow area, but it's actually better to cut almost on the black line, becuase when you're folding these parts, the yellow area can get in the way a bit. Expect to do some trimming later on!

Now you've got a whole bunch of parts. Be sure not to sneeze!

Space Station Model Kit Revell

The parts are coming together. One big tip here: the two zig zag folded parts in the center are ISS radiator panels. This model only comes with one side. But if you print out Page 2 twice, then you can cut out these radiator parts and glue or tape (w/double sided tape) them together front to back and you'll have a nicer looking model!

See here why it is very important to remove the yellow around some circular areas – it can look pretty bad. But you can always go back and trim these areas carefully and reglue them later on. Note here that we use an old piece of tissue or paper towel to hold the parts together while gluing so they don't move around too much.

It's coming together! It's best to glue part by part rather than a lot of parts at once, because they can slip and then you'll have to rip them apart or redo them. It's a long process, but hopefully if you have something like an Elmer's wood or All Purpose/equivalent glue, each part should be nearly dry within a minute or so, if you only use a small spot of glue.

Here is the nearly finished ISS, drying on top of a cardboard toilet paper tube, which can also be used as a mount, for display later on. We simply bent part of the tube in in two areas, so the main part of the ISS has a round place to rest. You can glue the ISS label and credits to the front of the tube and it will look like a wonderful disply piece!

Happy paper model building!

And be sure and learn more about ISS through our book, The Secret Case of the Space Station Stowaways: