A dubious Orion....

[dhanners]

Thought I'd post some photos of the first card model I've gotten around to building in awhile, Orion, in 1/96th scale. It is based, in large part, on an artist's rendering done soon after it was announced that Orion's Service Module would be based on the Propulsion Module from ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle. (I've attached the drawing below.) I think whomever did the drawing just cut-and-pasted stuff from the ATV (including the Avionics Module) and stuff from Orion, like the big engine bell and stuck them in one drawing. Subsequent drawings I've seen omit the Avionics Module, but I thought the thing looked cool so I built it.

The capsule is Ton Noteboom's fine model, available on his website. I printed it out on silver paper, though, because I've seen a handful of drawings showing a silver capsule, ala Apollo (The CEV is just "Apollo on steroids, right...?) because I thought it looked neat.

I scratchbuilt the Avionics Ring from a cardboard tube, modeling the larger-mouthed design that I understand is now to be used. I read where it is meant to better protect the capsule's heatshield from micro-meteoroid impacts.

The ATV components are from Alfonso X. Moreno's nice ATV model. It is 1/100th scale, though, so I had to enlarge the parts 104% to get them to 1/96th. I printed the ATV parts out on various types of textured white paper in an attempt to get the look of the insulation blankets on the actual ATV. I used Alfonso's ATV solar arrays, but cut off one panel from each since the drawings I've seen show three-panel arrays, not four-panel ones.

It struck me afterwards that I need to add some sort of high-gain antenna.

I'm no rocket scientist, but it strikes me that there are things about the artist's renderings that might be problematical. On the ATV, the solar arrays unfold midway up the side of the PM, and they stick out on arms, away from the vehicle. On this design, the arrays unfold from the bottom of the PM, leaving them very close to the RCS quads. I'm thinking that would probably be a bad idea, but I left the arrays and quads were they were.

Also, I've not seen other renderings showing the vehicle with the ATV's Avionics Module AND Orion's Avionics Ring. I guess this vehicle will have a lot of space for avionics....
 
For comparison, I've attached a photo of the "new" Orion next to my build of the "old" version.

[Prober]

Point me in the direction of some 3D digital content and we can run with it from the growing 3D end.

[jgoldader]

I've looked for a 3D model of Orion with the same intent, but the only ones I've found are at the sites where you buy the 3D files, and I don't have a spare $100...

Would love to see something in 1/72 with new service module.

Jeff