The Crawler Transporter 1/96 Model
More than 11,000 parts, ranging from 0.4 mm to 40 cm and a building time of one year and above - this model is not for the faint-hearted, and more a Once In Your Life thing.
However, in the end you are rewarded with a museum quality 1/96 replica of the Crawler Transporter, as it looked like during the moon landing missions.
Based on the original NASA drawings and hundreds of pictures, this kit gives you a reliable reference of the historic Crawler Transporter, and hence has also scientific and educational implications.
The Design
Organizing the access to +11,000 parts brings its own set of difficulties. To ensure that the construction does not turn out into a hide & seek puzzle, the parts are grouped into construction units.
The comprehensive building instructions consist of 48 full color pages, and each step comes with a parts list together with a sheet reference, so that all needed parts can be easily identified and found on the kit’s sheets.
Working marks, cutting economy and gluing strips are additional features, that were specially designed for the Crawler Transporter kit for better results and building comfort.
Most of the sheets are printed on both sides, and all paper ware comes with the required thickness, so no cumbersome laminating is required. The kit contains all necessary parts and materials to build the Crawler Transporter model.
Required Skills
If you have never built a paper model before, you might want to try some easier examples first to learn how to deal with paper, glue, and to get used to the needed tools.
Most commercial paper models are assigned to a skill level defined by the vendor, typically ranging between 1 (easy) to 5 (very difficult).
Although in these terms the model would range into the high five’s, it is up to you to select your wanted level of detail. In principle, you can reduce the model to a core of around 3,000 parts, and you still have a great looking model. Optional parts are indicated in the building instructions thus giving you the chance to select our own skill level.
Scalable Skill Level:
You can adjust the level of detail to your own taste and skills. To the left you see a fully featured surface of the truck’s bearing housing, to the right no surface details are added.
The Production
A model kit, that demands endless time, skills and patience from the builder, should come up with a level of quality, that rectifies the efforts.
Besides the two transparent foils all sheets are offset printed. Furthermore, for the dominating gray tone a separate 5th spot color was used instead of the standard 4C offset print. You can compare the result at the picture to the right.
Finding the right paper was a chapter on its own. It had to fulfill the demands of the modeler and the offset print as well in four different weights and highest quality standards to ensure your Crawler Transporter model looks great even in twenty years from now. We accomplished the task after hundreds of preprints and hours of testing.
The kit was produced at Druckerei Jentzsch & Co. in Vienna, Austria, and the kits are stored there for delivery.
Spot color 5C print
For the dominating gray tone a separate color is used, thus resulting into a homogenous tone of the colored area.
Standard 4C print
Same color as printed in the manual. The tone is mixed from the basic CMYK set and hence has a grained appearance.
Limited Edition
Yes, the kit is limited to 499 pieces worldwide, and each kit carries its individual serial number on the front cover. Ten years of hard work went into this kit, and the limitation reflects the aspiration, that this is not just another card model kit, but also a piece of art and dedicated to the unbelievable efforts, that were made to bring a man to the moon and back home safe.
Kit 001/499 was gifted to the NASA and will be built for the visitors complex at KSC. I had the great honor and pleasure to meet Perry Becker, Ray Trapp and my dear friend Ed Griffith, who is Mechanical Lead of Crawler Transporter #2 and source of great technical advise during the last months before the kit was published. More about my visit at KSC can be found here.
Availability
Yes, there are still kits available. If you got to have one, please look here.
