Leo's Buran

[dhanners]

Leo Cherkashyn's models need little introduction; he's been producing well-engineered and detailed card models of space-related subjects (mainly Russian) for years. I've built a few and have never been disappointed.

I built his Energia-Buran combo several years ago and decided to tackle his Buran again, this time shrinking it from 1/96th to 1/144th.

The model was built pretty much stock except I cut out the openings for the reaction control thrusters and backed them with black card.

The entry scorching is graphite smudged with a cotton-tipped swab, as well as dry-brushed gray paint. I went from photos I found online. Buran came back pretty scorched (there were even rumors of a burn-through) and the splotches add a bit of character to the big white expanse. There were some interesting patterns....

Leo provides a base, but I'll probably build my own, posing the model as it flairs on landing, right before it drops the landing gear.

[Texman]

Well done David! What is the size in 1/144?

[umtutsut]

The Master strikes again! Most excellent build, David.

Les(The Voice of Authority)

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by Texman

Well done David! What is the size in 1/144?

Thanks for the kind words. My build works out to 23cm long, with a wingspan of 16.5cm. The fuselage is 3.9cm wide. I printed Leo's parts at 66 percent. Or maybe 67. Can't remember. It should've been 66.6 percent (96 divided by 144) but the printing shop I had it done at -- we still don't have a printer -- couldn't do fractions.

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by umtutsut

The Master strikes again! Most excellent build, David.

Les(The Voice of Authority)

The "Master"? Does any money come with that title?

In all seriousness, thanks. All y'all have been a great inspiration. Once we move back to the U.S. this summer, I'm getting a printer and hope to resume fairly regular building.

[eatcrow2]

Wonderful clean modeling!

[jparenti]

That’s the cleanest build I’ve seen of Leo’s Buran. Well done, especially scaled down.

I’ve had the idea of modifying his model into the OK-GLI version and got partway into it a while back. Seeing it built up again gives me some more inspiration to try it out.

[Texman]

I could see that on my shelf. Could you provide a link to Leo's kits?

[jparenti]

This is Leo’s site. Space flight paper modelling

I’m in the middle of his Zond right now. I’ve built a few of his models over the years and they’re all very well engineered.

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by Texman

I could see that on my shelf. Could you provide a link to Leo's kits?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Then again, I do live on the other side of the world so I was asleep....

I actually gave some thought to building Buran at 1/288th. I've built Alfonso's U.S. Orbiter at 1/288th and while shrinking it that much provides some challenges, it is still doable.

The thing that made me settle on 1/144th (other than it is a common scale for space stuff) was Leo's internal wing skeleton. It is a great design and really aids in construction. I wanted a relatively quick build, though, and the thought of miniaturizing the wing formers -- while not impossible -- would've required more investment in time.

Were I to do this model over, I'd scratchbuild some sort of landing gear for it. Or I'd tackle Energia in 1/144th.