SATURN V - THE BIGGEST MACHINE IN THE WORLD

Above - The real Saturn V at Cape Kennedy

Golden Astronaut MLP

Spacex MLP courtesy of Mike Burrows
Century 21 Project Sword Cape Kennedy Set
Century 21 Project Sword Cape Kennedy
Set box

Whilst nursing one of my pesky migraines today I surfaced from my cranial gloom well enough to catch 2 excellent space-based TV programmes on BBC2 tonight: NASA ( part 1) and James May's 20th Century. Amid a whole welter of cosmic facts and revelations, several things stood out for me. The 1960's Apollo 8 and the iconic Apollo 11 missions utilised the SATURN v rocket, the biggest machine ever biult. It was assembled in the largest biulding at the time, the VAB, Vehicle Assembly Biulding and it, along with the gantry, was transported to the launchpad on the largest road vehicle, a huge crawler on tracked wheels.

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Whilst watching I was struck by the bright colour scheme of red, white and blue of the rocket, gantry and crawler shining majestically in the Cape sunshine. Of all the mobile launch pad- based toys it's appropriately the US Golden Astronaut Launch Site MLP that is the truest replica of the actual colours. A close second is the Project SWORD Cape Kennedy Set, which has the closest colour match of the crawler and gantry's blue and red, only let down by the pale blue of the Saturn V itself (rectified in the Project Sword Apollo Saturn, which was white). The SWORD set even pictures the VAB biulding on the box - what a great 'toy' addition that would have made!

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The least-true colouring was on the UK Spacex MLP, opting for a yellow tower and green rocket. The silver command module on top of the rocket is one of my favourite spacex craft so I will let those toy boys at Tri-ang off! Besides, I know of at least one other colour variation for this set - a green crawler - so nI suppose it's possible that a blue, red and white Spacex combination might be ready to launch out there somewhere. Or?

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One other thing occurred to me as well. I can well imagine that sales for the Cape Kennedy Set and it's Spacex/ Golden Astronaut cousins shot up after the Moon Landing in July 1969, 40 years ago. As no sales figures exist it's pure supposition on my part.

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Part 2 of the NASA story is on BBC2 Wednesday 1st July at 9pm in the UK.

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Per ardua ad astra!