[SAustin16]

Hello to All,

As a kid in the 1960's with both parents highly involved in aviation and activities at Edwards AFB, I have always been fascinated with the Gemini Program. The Gemini Era was a very exciting time. Gemini was always considered a "Pilot's Spacecraft", where Apollo was the next step with its own certain design elegance.

Here are several 1:96 scale Gemini variants I've been working on. These are a tribute to Gus Grissom and all of the McDonnell Douglas engineers who never got to see these craft built and flying.

Two variants of Big Gemini, to re-supply the envisioned space stations, and the Gemini SSTO (Single Stage to Orbit). All of these are my "first builds" and of very rough craftsmanship. My eye sight isn't what it used to be, and it really shows on these 1:96 scale builds.

The RCS systems are always time-consuming and very fiddly. On the SSTO i used scrap wood and toothpick ends to model in 3D (Thank you David Hanners for this idea). They came out OK, but hours of work. On the Big Gemini I tried to model 2D RCS quadrants in MS Word, but they are only acceptable when looking straight on...they really lack realism when viewed at an angle.

More Gemini models to come.

Hope you enjoy...Good Day from Texas.