Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) Craft Model for 1:96 Revell Saturn V – MUST READ

Please note:  This UNBUILT PAPER CRAFT model was produced by
Edu-Craft*Diversions
, not Revell or Monogram.  ROCKET IS NOT INCLUDED.
1000s of satisfied builders…!
The
CRAWLER TRANSPORTER
1:96 is also available separately… Just search around for the Crawler Transporter 1:96!
ROCKET IS NOT
INCLUDED
This is an
UNBUILT
,
heavy paper model craft kit
of NASA’s Apollo
Launch
Umbilical
Tower
(LUT)
and Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP) in 1:96 scale
for any like scaled
Saturn V Rocket model
.
The rocket is not included.
It is designed to hold the Revell 1/96 Saturn V model rocket and stands about 56″ high.
The rocket is not included.
The rocket is not included
but if you are having difficulty locating a Revell 1/96 scale Saturn V model kit, I would welcome you to express your interest in the model to Revell Inc.
This heavy PAPER (60 lbs. test) model kit includes:
1 set of 38 quantity 11″x17″ color laser 60 lbs. paper card stock parts sheets .
1 special CD containing the 90 page Assembly Procedure Manual in PDF file.
The heavy paper (60 lbs.) is tested and deemed best for precision and other factors.  After glueing, laminating, folding and assembly, it bears up strongly.  Suggestions for other scales can be emailed.
SKILL LEVEL
: ADVANCED, DIFFICULT
Will require scissors, water based various color marking pens (for coloring edges), cutting board, white glue, cardboard (or foamcore) for sub-support on some parts, etc (Not included).
It may require the removal of the aerodynamic venting ducts at the bottom of Revell’s 1/96 Saturn V stage 1 (The Revell 96 Saturn V was based upon the Saturn V 500F Facilities Test Vehicle
), or adapting the Mobile Launcher Platform’s
rocket hold-down supports.
A vintage 1968 Revell unaltered Saturn V model is shown, but is not included.
By the way… it is fascinating to note… that the Revell 1:96 Saturn V is an exact, verbatim duplication of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Contractor Model that appears at all of the visitor’s centers, in period press material, news broadcasts…  and is nearly unobtainable, being a highly sought after and integral part of the Apollo Program… It was built by The Hyatt Model Company, I believe, who, if I’m not mistaken, cast their product directly off of the Hyatt Saturn V.  It was made for use of upper echelon administrators and public relations  much along the same lines as the Topping or Precise Lunar Module Contractors Model, which also was the go-to model for Walter Cronkite’s broadcasts and even used by astronauts for demonstrating mission procedures.  So… when one selects the Revell 1:96 Saturn V… not only are they getting a worthy display homage to the Apollo Program… they are actually getting a replica of a historical artifact, to boot.  That’s why I didn’t alter my vintage Revell Saturn V… It sort of brings another level of connectivity to the greatest endeavor in human history, having a replica of such a contractors model.
This is a bare bones “kit” to reduce costs to you… No packaging… Comes rolled in a USPS Priority package.  Includes 38 parts sheets and 90 page instructions manual CD.  Lay the sheets flat at room temp under a load (books) for 48 hours or so.
PLEASE NOTE:
These are printed to order so please add 1 additional week of delivery time expectation.  The printing company sometimes experiences delays  and posting of items is made about once a week, so delivery time will be reflected accordingly, OK?  Shipping costs reflect required time and resources, not postage fees only.  Paypal is required unless arrangements are made prior to auction end.
COMBINED SHIPPING:
Please use the SHOPPING CART feature to have combined shipping on multiple orders.
~ ~ ~ INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING ~ ~ ~
PLEASE READ:
Actual tracking and delivery confirmation is not offered for International Shipping, due to its cost which can double shipping amounts.  It is deemed cost prohibitive.  But, if actual tracking is preferred, it can be ordered at a substantially increased rate prior to purchasing.  PLEASE ADVISE BEFORE PURCHASING IF ACTUAL TRACKING IS DESIRED TO BE ORDERED for International Shipping.  Our main point here is FUN… But, sometimes long delays are experienced due to customs and international posting in general, but a package has never been lost…  They have always arrived safe and sound, even if seemingly late.  SO IF THERE IS A DELAY, YOUR PATIENCE IS SINCERELY REQUESTED…  However… If the package has not arrived after 4 weeks, please advise so the issue can be worked from this end.  Customs rules will be adhered to.
Every effort is always made to insure your eBay experience to be FUN and complete customer satisfaction secured…
Your questions and concerns are always welcome.  Please be sure to read the above description carefully.  This item is sold with money back guarantee on purchase price only.
FEEDBACK
:  If feedback is desired, it’ll gladly be given when it is requested after positive feedback has been left, due to eBay policies.
Be sure to stop by my other auctions. Lots of fun and interesting items! Have a great day!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Saturn V Launch Umbilical Tower and MLP, Rendered by artist David R. Maier, it is printed on 60 lbs. card stock.  Please see the 144 auction for additional detail pictures.
It occurs how silly the 96 scale Monogram (or Airfix) Saturn 5 96th scale rocket looks, displayed without it’s Launch Umbilical Tower. In reality… the Saturn V rocket existed on its Mobile Launcher Platform for the entirety of its tenure on the planet… having been constructed upon it.  Indeed, it existed in flight wholly, for a matter of only 3 or so minutes on its flight to the Moon. You can get away with Gemini, Mercury, even Constellation… But, this rocket’s just
got
to have a tower next to it.
So, here it is! An excellent display accouterment for your plastic model launch vehicle.
Interesting to note that the Revell model, still in production, is actually based on early NASA Saturn V designs and the 500-F test vehicle, which was never intended to fly.  It is now housed at Kennedy Space Center’s museum.
Assembling this piece might seem daunting, but it is really only a matter of
just
starting
… Then going step by step through the Procedures Plan.  Oh, maybe have a stack or 2 of your favorite dvds running in the background.
The printing on the parts sheets is quite rugged, but if you need replacements, they will be made available.  The pictures accurately depict the finished model.  But, if a mistake occurs… Anticipate full project support and simply email
.
No painting required, at all!  All the intricate graphics detailing is already done.  Just coloring of exposed white paper surfaces and edges with your water based (preferred) color marking pens (not included).
The strength of the paper is more than adequate, especially in load bearing parts, which will be folded and glue-laminated, creating a type of “ply-paper” strength.  The engineering design of the actual L.U.T. also comes into play.  Also, larger parts will have a cardboard, (which you provide) sub-support.  It ends up being sturdy.  Included in the kit, is a desk wedge-bar display sign depicting an actual lunar Moon rock slice.
This paper model kit comes professionally color laser printed on 38, 11″ x 17″ card-stock sheets.  The 90 page instruction manual is patterned after the official Apollo program Flight Plan (just for fun) and is on a CD.  A trip to Kinko’s will provide you with a hard copy… black & white or color.
The parts graphics capture a lovely, weathered, flight used LUT, which is how it looked for the majority of its service.  It is as complete and accurate as the medium will allow for.  It is, though, quite more accurate than the one seen in Tom Hank’s Apollo 13 movie, excellent dvd as it is.
The detailed photographic images on the model add a trompe l’oeil 3D effect.  In many ways, it is more realistic than plastic, resin or photo-etched brass parts can possibly achieve.  As it turns out, there is just something about a plastic model, as fine as it may be, which the viewer thinks, “That’s a really detailed plastic model.”  But when you take actual photographs of the real item and use them for your color cover, the brain doesn’t quite know what to think.  It’s seeing the real thing…  With plastic or brass etched kits in general, you’ve perhaps got a precision form, but it’s covered with a layer of non-scale glomular paint, which has always lessened the viewing effect of the model.  With printed on imagery, you have a higher scale precision in many respects.  Even unpainted plastic parts add an undesirable translucence which again, is non-scale.  The printed parts read as opaque.
…
Are you GO or no-GO?
There is one word you
will
hear as your friends enter the room and see the impressive piece you’re building. And that word is, “Wow.”  The paper idea lent itself quite nicely to the actual LUT construction, since it was essentially made from flat metal stock, and the card-stock finishes with a higher crispness in edges and precision feel in many of the parts.   One advantage to having parts with printed graphics is that no painting is required and lends much higher detail.  This gives it a level of artistic expertise in its texture not commonly available, creating a fine faux effect to many of the surfaces.
It will take some doing, (sometimes arduous)…. and a bit of overall “MacGyver-ing” to craft this stately addition to your den or party room’s decor.  (I view the more painstaking phases as being a sort of astronaut  psychological training test as in the movie The Right Stuff…!  which really took the edge off… ).   But, once done… it’s done!  It is designed to allow for a bit more of a simplified construction, if fewer parts are used at the builder’s discretion, still capturing a sense of being a worthy platform for this grand piece of space equipment. So… one may skip or simplify many of the more intricate assemblies and still have an impressive piece.
I liken the construction of this
Apollo Launch Umbilical Tower Model Kit
in card stock, to that of building say, the larger sea vessel models such as The Constitution Sail Ship or Academy 350 Titanic with rigging and brass etched add-ons. So now … a more recent addition to the history of exploration is added!
Expect to trim and fit a few parts, since no 2 towers will be precisely identical, due to variations in individual assembly. I would say there is more “trimming to fit” involved than a ship model… but less than a balsa wood B17 aircraft.  If you would like one built for you, just let me know. Probably cost prohibitive, due to time, etc… But, you never know.
The 144th scale tower (for Monogram, Airfix, Ultimate Apollo Space Voyagers) is online…  The 1:96 Crawler Transporter (CT) paper model is now online.  The 1:100 Launch Umbilical Tower (for Estes), is now online.  The 144 CT is soon to be online.   Be sure to add to your eBay emailed search notification list and you’ll receive a code 3 response.  Other Apollo kit ideas are also being considered
including 1/24 scale Apollo CSM/LM/Adapter spacecraft, as well as a 1:32 Lunar Module for Monogram’s CSM.  Suggestions are welcome and can be emailed.
You are looking at the first prototype, which has been slightly revised, but without any casually noticeable changes. Over 1000 hours of  painstaking engineering and rendering have gone into this unique piece.
Equitably priced… considering printing costs alone…  (Kinko’s charges $3.50 per 11×17 color sheet)  But, add to that… your completed Apollo Saturn V Launch Umbilical Tower model will be worth quite a pretty penny…  So if anyone gives you guff about how much time this is taking… They can be informed that the finished piece will be worth 100s and 100s and 100s and 100s… (and 100s).  To put it in 2001: a space odyssey terms…  I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over…
SIDE NOTES
The LUT and Command Module (CM) represents the only flight used piece of hardware that survived the Apollo program, the only endeavor in history which succeeded in landing a human on another satellite.
S
adly… the actual, original Launch Towers were only recently destroyed because of lead paint environmental concerns. There was a most illuminated and concerted effort to save LUT #1 and erect a monument to human kind’s singular successful venture to another satellite, but, though a superbly gallant effort was made to save it, unbelievably, this unique piece of space flight history is now gone forever. Can you imagine if the USS Arizona wreck or mighty Memphis Belle had been scrapped?  …Or the Mayflower had been saved?  Since the only part of the Apollo mission to return to the Earth was the space capsule itself, the LUT represented the only other piece of actual, direct, flight used hardware which survived. The most ultimate of historical artifact losses.  But… nice to know that parts of the original launch system were incorporated into the STS Space Shuttle’s… the Colby Crane, many of the tower sections and launcher platform base can be discerned in the current pad array.  Perhaps they will be used in NASA’s new Moon Shot program, Constellation.
As we embark on the next chapter of manned space flight… This is sure to be an impressive… and valuable homage to one moment of pure, inspired human endeavor in exploration… space or otherwise.
~ ~ ~