A new build - Pioneer 1

Many times while building Rea space models, there just aren't enought kits produced out there. So what can you do? Make your own of course.

I was looking for something fairly simple to build and I decided upon Pioneeer 1.
On October 11, 1958 the Pioneer 1 Lunar Probe was launched on a Thor-Able rocket on a mission to fly by the moon. A programming error in the Pioneer 1 launch vehicle upper stage resulted in Pioneer 1 being given insufficient velocity to escape the Earth's gravitational field. Although Pionner 1 newer reached lunar orbit, it was not a complete failure. In fact it did reach an altitude of 113854 km above Earth (A record at that time) and provided data on the extent of the Earth's radiation belts. The vehicle reentered over the Pacific Ocean 2 days later.

New Ware has a kit of a Thor Able if you would like to build one. Also my friend Barry D. has an article on build on of the Thor Able family of rockets.

But anyway lets build. I started off by using the card model of it from Niels Paper Models as a template for building it in plastic. First thing I did was take the card model printout which was 1:6 scale and reduced it to the "standard" 1:24 scale. Thats makes for a small model, but I likie to have my models in the same scale. Then a quick trip to the hardware store for a few "For Sale" signs the source of the thin (0.010) plastic and I was ready to go. Here's some pics of the WIP. I'll have more as the build progresses. The black dot on the side will be the TV camera that was installed on the craft. I've yet to install a "lens."