message to Surfduke

[timhinds1@cox.net]

I wanted to start a thread to show our appreciation for your contribution to this artform. I for one have several of your designs proudly displayed on my desk. You have friends here and not just a buch of people waiting for your next "FREE" design. We miss your posts and hope to see you back when the time is right for you.

meantime,

Thank you

Anyone else want to chime in?

[George B]

Heck yeah! I second that!!

[gpw]

I second that too!!
I had a lot of fun to follow your threads and to build some of your wonderful designs. The ASTP is doubtlessly the most impressive model in my collection. Hope to hear from you.

[wedge]

I´m rookie in card modeling , but when I was starting with this hobby , the only one model that I wanted was your apollo I have a lot of models now , but I have build only three of them... When I will be good enough for your models , I will make them all - that is going to be the best day in my modeler career

[Nando]

I hope to see You here again, and I'd like to see more designs from You.

... and I promise That I'll complete Your beautiful Apollo CM

Nando

[paulhbell]

Nice build GPW. I've not buillt a 'surfduke' model yet, although I've downloaded some of them, I must get time to build one.

[Hans Christian]

This guy is one of the few people here that should be given at least healthy recognition for his muesum like works!

[dhanners]

Yeah, I haven't heard from Carl in quite awhile, either. I hope he's ok. I know his life and work can get busy, so I hope he's off making jillions of dollars so he can retire early and devote his time to designing and building great card models.

Here are some photos of my build-up of his Apollo CSM. I modeled Apollo 7, since Carl and I were both big fans of Wally Schirra. I used different types of metallic paper, including a cool lined paper I found that, when cut to the right shapes, seemed to match the Kapton strips on the exterior of the CM.

I also included a photo of the High-Gain Antenna that I built, using fine mesh that I found on a paint filter that I bought at the hardware store. Of course I got the thing built and installed on the model, only to discover later that Apollo 7 didn't carry the HGA. So I had to carefully remove it.

Apollo 7 also didn't have the docking tunnel ring, so that made it easier to model in that regard. At some point, I'd like to do an Apollo 11 CSM so I can use the HGA, plus super-detail the docking probe.

[timhinds1@cox.net]

CArl should really be impressed with this fine piece of work. How did you achieve the metalic look so perfectly?

[londonbluemisty]

WE MISS YOU
One of Surfduke's last entrys was dated 10/15/07:
"I am back, (and ready to party,(LOL))! I have moved,had a computer crash,Family problems,New Plant Start-up problems, etc......."
Then Nothing!!!!
Come on Home
I miss waiting patiently for you to release one of your Fantastic Designs...

Wayne
( Surfduke's Mercury-Atlas 1/96)

[dhanners]

Thanks for the kind words, Tim. I got the metallic look by using metallic paper. I used at least three different kinds. The paper on the CM is what's known as a "cast coated text" paper, and it is made by Wyndstone and the particular name of this paper is "aluminum lines."

For the SM, I used another type of silver paper, but I can't recall the name or manufacturer offhand. I found it at an art-supply store. The paper comes in several colors, including some metallics like silver, gold, copper and a dark color. I used some of the gold paper for the rear section of the SM, where the SPS nozzle attaches.

There's more about the model here:
Starship Modeler: Gallery (Real Space)

(You might note that in the model in the photos there, the RCS nozzles are gold. I "toned" them down with a silver Sharpie to make them look more silverish-gold, if that's a color....)

[Bengt Fredén]

David,

That is a BEAUTIFUL Apollo 7 CM! You´ve got outward-bulging the frames of the windows just right and the Kapton Mylar tape pattern is simply mind-blowing - that fine lined silver paper sure does the trick in this scale.

I am still struggling away, half-way through the enlarged version of the CM - I have made a pattern for the silver Mylar tape strips and I am thinking about using thin strips of duct tape, or wider bands of the same, although embossed to achieve the line pattern.
Slowly getting there . . .

Thanks for sharing those fine photos, David
and thanks a million, Carl, for all your fine scale models!

All the best from Stockholm,
Bengt

[jparenti]

Carl, you've done an awesome job with your models. Finally, I have an Apollo CSM and Skylab that I can take apart and peer inside at all the little details. I can't thank you enough for that. I hope that when you return, you'll see how much the community appreciates you. Good luck!

[Lex]

Mind Lex barging in... but may I ask what happened to Surfduke?

[dhanners]

I think the issue is none of us knows what happened to Carl. He seems to have dropped off the face of the card modeling Earth. He was a frequent contributor, and it seemed like he was adding new models to his site every 15 minutes, and then.... Nothing. Nary a peep.

Prior to that, I'd e-mailed back and forth with him and even spoke with him on the phone a couple of times, and I can attest he is a good, solid chap and I'm inclined to believe he's probably just off working hard somewhere, or is taking a breather from the hobby, which we all could use from time to time.

The thing is, none of us knows, so there's really no reason to speculate. I just know he does great work, and his efforts have contributed greatly to our genre of the hobby.