Gemini Titan
This is the Gemini Titan rocket. In the race to the moon, they needed to learn about manevouring in space and how to dock with other space craft. To do that, NASA came up with the Gemini program. They made a larger capsule that holds two people and used some old ICBMs and made themselves a new rocket.
They also made some companion rockets out of Atlas missles and an Agena upperstage to give the ships something to dock with. This didn't always work, and once they had to launch another crew up on another Gemini mission to give them something to do.
I got this model from The Lower Hudson Valley Paper Model Giftshop. There is a 1/48 scale model and a 1/96 scale model available. The 1/96 scaled kit is just a scaled down version of the big one. Both are highly detailed and make great models.
Making the Kit
This model takes a little more skill than the Mercury Redstone kit. There are some pretty small parts and some tight tolerances on this model. The engine section was also pretty challenging. There are some pretty complicated parts in there, but with a little effort it will look good.
Interstage and surrounding sections
I had actually built this model once before, but the cat got to it. I had a few holes in it and some of the parts were falling apart. So I started new with this one. I also wanted to finish off the engines right this time.
My wife went to a scrapbook store and managed to find me some copper paper. Not just copper colored, but it actually had a metalic sheen to it. It was too thick to roll into tubes for me to use, so I had to thin it down. I did it by getting the back of the paper wet and scrapping off a few layers. I let it dry and then rolled little tubes out of it.
The final results were great. The piping looks great and it really brings the model together. Adding these little bits to the models will really make them look good. At first glance you might not even realise that it's all paper.
This was my first paper model in a while, and it was a good return. They are a good diversion from normal models, and are pretty easy to get together quickly. I would recomend trying to make a paper model at some time if you are feeling burnt out or just want to try something different.