I saw an Aoshima Apollo rescue vehicle kit. Googling led me to a history of NASA rescue vehicles and I nearly choked when I saw one that looked exactly like my beloved Tamiya Apollo 1 tank!
It was only on further reading, that I discovered it was a 1990s design, so a case of Life imitating Art, instead of the other way around!
Seeya,
Looey
OZ
That reminds me, this is the right group to ask. Anyone recognize this from my description? I had a model kit that I got in the 1970s. It was molded of dark blue plastic. It was some sort of space transport, kind of like a "moon bus" of some kind. It had a really big "windshield," and the front quarter of it or so separated from the rear three-quarters of its length. With some difficulty. It was very streamlined (unnecessary or not for being in space). The Volkswagen of space vehicles! I remember I had a lot of trouble building it without getting excess glue all over it, especially on the clear pieces. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure it didn't have treads like the one above.
ReplyDeleteThe M113 was the basic vehicle in a series of light armoured vehicles that entered service with the US Army in the 1960s, and saw a lot of action in Vietnam (some with the Australian forces). The original M113 had a petrol engine, but it was quickly replaced by the M113A1 with a diesel engine.
ReplyDeleteThe M113 was mainly an Armoured Personnel Carrier, but there were many specialised versions as well. NASA acquired a few examples as astronaut escape and rescue vehicles, with various modifications.
The M113 series normally have five road wheels per side (the Tamiya Apollo 1 only has four wheels per side, and a glassed-in nose), but the vehicle in the middle photos has six wheels, and appears to be a lengthened version of the M577A1 Armoured Command Vehicle, which had an enlarged rear compartment.
What baffles me, is that with all the M113 APC kits out there, no one seems to have done a NASA rescue version. A few extra parts would be needed, but it would sell to space buffs as well as armour enthusiasts. At different times the vehicles were painted either white or light green.
The inspiration for this post was an Aoshima kit of that very subject with glorious hand painted box art and price tag to match!
DeleteSadly my accompianing photo seems to have been lost in space...
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aoshima-0015-apollo-emergency-vehicle--1270133