Apollo CSM (Apollo Command/Service Module, Block II) 1/96 scale by RealSpace Models   Kit Review by Alan Nadel This review originally appeared at MundoHobby.com

    What the engineers at NASA and the rest of the world could not anticipate was the tragedy that followed. An electrical spark ignited the flammable interior of the Apollo Command Module in a nearly pure oxygen environment, killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

    This incident would prompt NASA and the Rockwell Corp. to redesign the Command and Service Modules into what would become the Apollo Command/Service Module, Block II.

    At this same time, model kit manufacturers were rushing to produce kits depicting the Apollo spacecraft. What they didn't anticipate were the visible changes that would be made to the spacecraft after their kits hit the shelves. (This is not unusual. The same thing also happened some years earlier with Revell's kit of the Gemini Space Capsule.) Rather than retool the kit molds to reflect the changes which would, no doubt, be very costly, they chose to continue selling their kits of the Apollo “CSM” in its Block I form.

    RealSpace Models, operating out of Tallahassee, Florida has been producing highly accurate resin kits of factual spacecraft since the mid 1990s. One of their kits is a reproduction of the Block II CSM in 1/96 scale. Although it's primarily sold as a replacement for the Block I CSM that is supplied with Revell’s tremendous Apollo/Saturn V kit, I decided to build it as a companion to Heller’s 1/100 scale Lunar Module, which I had already built. I had determined that the scale difference would be minimal.

    Out of the box, the kit contains only four parts: The conical Command Module ("CM") molded together with the Service Module ("SM"), the main engine bell and heat shield and the CSM umbilical which transferred air and power from the Service Module to the Command Module. Other parts, such as the four Reaction Control Thruster assemblies and the four-dished High-Gain Antenna are to come from the Revell kit. (I had the parts from a 1/100 scale Heller kit. I figured the difference should not be enough to notice.) The kit also comes with a vacuform part representing the Command Module's Boost Protective Cover or "BPC". This conical part shielded the Command Module during launch and was carried away from the spacecraft by the Emergency Escape Tower shortly before reaching orbit. Since I was modeling the Apollo spacecraft in space and not in launch on a Saturn V, I omitted this part.
 

Click on the above image for a larger view

The quality of the castings, as is usual with kits from RealSpace, is excellent. RealSpace’s casting quality rivals and in some cases exceeds that of many injection-molded kits. Part surfaces are mostly smooth although the Command Module has a rather uniform pebbled surface texture. The straight panel lines are raised and very fine. The ½ inch long umbilical had a large “pouring stub” which was easily removed and cleaned up. The Heat Shield/Engine Bell also had a resin "plug" on the front end that went against the Service Module which was easily sanded off. The same was true about the back end of the Service Module. Though the resin was soft and sanded easily, care must be taken to sand both surfaces as flat as possible. These sanded ends are joined to each other.     Problems with this kit are few, the biggest being the Command Module's tripod shaped docking probe. The three struts of the probe are molded with flash filling the space under them and the docking collar. The struts themselves are delicate, making the thick flash very difficult to remove. So difficult to remove, in fact, that I broke off one of the probe struts trying to de-flash it. This prompted me to remove the entire docking collar and scratch-build a new one out of spare parts.     Also very fragile are the "scrimitar" antennas, two semicircular, paper thin resin shapes extending directly out of the Service Module. Care must be taken in handling the part to avoid breaking one or both off as I did. They were replaced with the antennas from the Heller CSM kit.

    Another problem, and this one cannot be blamed on RealSpace, is that the parts from the Heller kit are out of scale and appear too small when placed on the model. The same parts from Revell's 1/96 scale kit are no better. Of course, this didn't bother me; I scratch-built replacements out of more spare parts.

   In an old parts box, I found some sprue for an old Lindberg aircraft kit that had a trapezoidal profile. (Sprue is the familiar "trees" that plastic kit parts are attached to in the box.) Sections of this sprue were the perfect size and shape for the RCS units. The RCS Thrusters came from a Heller Lunar Module kit in 1/100 scale. The 16 tiny thruster cones are much more convincing than the RCS units from the Heller CSM kit.

   The four-dish high-gain antenna was scratch-built using spare parts for the armature and the dishes. The docking probe was made from a wheel from a 1/72 scale armor kit and three pieces of stretched round sprue.
 

    Painting the model was very simple. The CM was masked off leaving the docking probe exposed and the SM was sprayed with Flat White Krylon Primer. After that coat had dried completely, the ribbed cooling panels were masked off with Parafilm-"M" laboratory film and the model was sprayed with Model Master Chrome spray enamel. When the last coat of Chrome was almost dry, the Parafilm was removed, as was the masking over the CM.

    The CM was covered with Bare Metal Ultra Bright Chrome foil. I considered sanding and smoothing out the surface texture to achieve the mirror finish of the real thing but I didn't want to sand off any surface features, particularly the panel lines and EVA hand-holds. The foil followed every detail and texture of the resin beneath, bringing out the delicate raised panel work and gave the Command Module a realistic metallic sheen. The surface texture of the part, however, detracts from the look slightly but not enough to make me want to remove the foil and sand it smooth. Raised detail like the EVA hand-holds were hand-painted with Model Master enamel Chrome Silver. Windows were painted gloss black by hand.
 

As with the RCS thrusters and the High-Gain Antenna, the decals from the Revell/Heller kit are meant to be used. This decal consists of little more than an out-of-scale pair of American flags with "UNITED STATES" printed above each, to go on opposite sides of the Command Module.  I purchased Space Model System's Ultimate Apollo Command & Service Module (CSM) Decals which include every marking found on the surface of every CSM from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17. They were researched by, among others, space artists Rick Sternbach and David Weeks.These decals, flawlessly printed by Microscale went on easily and really finish the model. The decal sheet came with instructions which include detailed placement maps (below). These maps, which look very confusing at first glance, prove very helpful in determining which markings go where. The decals made a huge difference in turning this kit into an impressive model.

    The model sits atop a 3/16 inch (4.76mm) diameter acrylic rod mounted on a flat resin Space Base upon which also sits the Lunar Module model.

    RealSpace's Block II Command/Service Module is an excellent model kit, whether used as an improvement to top off Revell's  Saturn V kit or, as I built it, as a stand-alone model. With (or without) a little scratch-building, it's possible to get an accurate model of the spacecraft that carried men to the moon.

Pros:  Very accurate, easy to build

Cons: Pebbled texture on the CM, fragile parts that will break if not handled carefully,
            recommended use of Revell RCS units and High Gain Antenna not adequate
            for accurate model

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