Redstone - Jupiter C

[Eric Mc]

Continuing in my "spaced out" theme, one that was lying around unfinished for ages was this Revell 1/110 Jupiter C rocket. The kit is ancient, originally being issued in the late 1950s and, typical of Revell at the time, it was not to a recognised standard modelling scale.
The model also features a quite extensive launch pad and gantry but I decided to go ahead and finish the rocket first. I may get around to working on the gantry later - although when put together, the gantry actually overwhelms the rocket.

The model as issued depicted a test Redstone rather than a Jupiter C derivative. As a result, the decal sheet shows the rocket in US Army markings. The Redstone was an Army project and was designed by Werner Von Braun and his German team. It was, in may respects, an upgraded V2 using very similar guidance and control systems.
I decided to modify my model to show the rocket as it looked when used to launch America's first ever satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. This involved adding a scratch built spin stabilised upper stage and the explorer satellite itself (the little "rod" on the top). The decals are all cobbled together from black trim and generic lettering.