Orion 3 model

www.planet3earth.co.uk

NOW AVAILABLE (Via Starship Modeler)

I have completely re-mastered this model... and the new masters have been molded and cast by

David (Blappy) Guertin and are for sale ONLYvia

new cargo-bay... new 'bomb' and pod... and the fuselage, will be the same as the one used for the 'new' version of the Orion III

This new (2008) version will supersede the 2005 model (seen pictured below).

2005 version

Reason for the scale size of this Orion 2

The interior cabin and flight deck of the Orion 3 is the crux of the matter for the scale of the Orion 3... and so also the Orion 2.

This scale for the interiors is absolutely correct !! however the interiors will not fit into the Orion3 at the size that both Airfix and Aurora have made their Orion kits...... these kits are also both meant to be 1/144 th scale.*

I have made my Orion larger than this by the minimum amount possible that will allow the correct scale 1/144th interiors to fit inside. Because of this and other things, my Orion model is I feel the REAL 1/144 scale and I would like to market it as such.

At 1/144 real scale © My Orion's are 17.5 inches long, and so work out to be 213 ft long if real **..) at 17.5 inches this model (by coincidence) is also very near half the 3 foot (36inch) studio model size

For more details on my reasoning for the scale of my Orion 3 please click here or see my site on www.planet3earth.co.uk (under the 2001 section.)

Decals are included In this kit. They are done by a friend Mike Middleton, who is most excellent at this sort of stuff.

Also included are a 'Orbital satellite' as seen in the movie, and a 'Pod', also to the same scale.)

I would recommend purchasing MGM's 2001: A Space Odyssey on DVD, not only for reference but because it is still today a darn good movie.

The castings you see in the pictures have had all the flash sanded off.....My kits will not be pre-cleaned of 'flash' or 'overspill'

As is usual with resin kits, some effort is required to make the most of the model... the use of tools etc., and so this kit might not be suitable for 'beginners' in modelling

( * both at 13.5 inches long and so would work out to be 165 ft in length .)

( ** 19 inches overall by Including the 'twin tail aerial's')

Stargazer Jan. 2005

The cargo bay of my Orion 2 is the same size as the bay on THE Shuttle.........is this coincidence ???

So here, I have put a space lab from the 1/144 th Revell shuttle kit in for effect....this means that any payload that will fit into THE shuttle will fit into the 'alternate 2001 universe's' shuttle, the ORION. The finished kit though, includes a 2001 related payload.

stargazer July 2004

Click on the below links to see John Payne's Orion II build

From the book 2001: a Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke.

As the plane banked Dr Floyd could see a dead-straight scar across the flat Florida landscape - the multiple rails of a giant launching track. At its end ,surrounded by vehicles and gantries a spaceplane lay gleaming in a pool of light. Then tiny figures on the ground brought home to him the real size of the spacecraft. It must have been two hundred feet across the narrow V of its wings..........................

The launching track began to sling its thousand ton payload out over the Atlantic. It was hard to tell when they lifted from the track, but when the roar of the rockets doubled in fury Floyd knew that the first stage engines had taken over....

...the noise abruptly slackened and captain Tynes announced "Preparing to separate from lower stage"

The spacecraft was flying now beyond all the dreams of da Vinci....and its exhausted companion was winging back to earth, in a thousand mile arc....the empty lower stage would glide down through the atmosphere and in a few hours, serviced and refuelled it would be ready again to lift another companion towards the stars.

Floyd shielded his eyes, out there the swept back wing of the Orion was blazing like white hot metal in the reflected sunlight.

The 2001 'alternate' universe

*The original 'Orion' orbiter, is the Orion II. ( Orion 1 being the larger 'booster' stage of the two stage Boeing Orion combination ) the Orion II cargo fleet, are the workhorse of the 2001 (what might have been) world. Used to deliver and retrieve satellites, and also used in the construction of the giant Orbital Stations, and later to ferry components of the Discovery spacecraft, notably the 'linkable spine' units and antenna module components, for final assembly in Earth orbit. The Orions II's are used exclusively by NASA and the USAF.

The later Orion III passenger fleet versions, are operated both by PAN American, and BOAC Airlines between Earth and the orbiting Space Stations.

*by Stargazer.