Progress on Two Fronts
I’ve been working on two projects simultaneously: Zoukei Mura’s 1/32 Messerschmitt Bf-109 in Swiss markings and Moebius’ 1/48 Aries 1B from 2001: A Space Odyssey but modified heavily to be a medical transport. The F-104C is also in progress, but very much in the background.
On the Bf-109, it has been a little slow-going, but the engine and cockpit are finished. The next stage of the build involves the fuselage, and for this kit a fair amount of detail is included that may not be entirely visible through the small radio access door.
On the Aries 1B, a good deal of progress has been made, with completion of the propulsion section and the cockpit. Focus has now been shifted to the complicated main deck, which I’ve decided will represent part of the storyline in 2001: A Space Odyssey that has never been described in detail. The scenario involves transport of Victor Kaminski, Peter Whitehead, and Charles Hunter from the Moon to Discovery (these are the three fellows murdered by HAL9000 as the crew enters Jupiter space). I’ve no idea how the backstory was described and may never have been. In my conception, these three individuals traveled to the Moon for specialized training and likely visited the Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1 (monolith) as part of this training. For security reasons, they were put into suspended animation on the Moon, then transported from Clavius Base to Discovery (it is unclear in the story where Discovery departed from - in my version it was orbiting the Moon, having been assembled there). I figure the transportation of crew to Discovery took place in a cislunar transport like the Aries, but I liked the idea of this happening in a medical version. Such a vehicle would be necessary for a variety of medical and rescue purposes. It also allows me to play around with the colors and other aspects, especially since this is a fictional vehicle anyway.
