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Updated  11 27 07

Kit # 829-250
Here you will find some really cool pictures of how
I restored a very rare 1969 Aurora ^® Moon Bus.

CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING

I purchased the model already built up through an online auction.
I had been looking for an unbuilt kit but they are rare and average $ 400 at auction.
A pre built kit goes for around $ 100 - $ 150 when you can find them.

As luck would have it, the same week this model came up for auction, one of my
favorite modeling web sites called STARSHIP MODELER   ran a featured article
called " Deconstructing Aurora's Moonbus " by Rob Caswell. Complete with plenty
of pictures and text it gave me the courage to go after a built up kit. I bid high and won.
 

Armed with Rob's story, a little common sense and a lot of patience,
I went to work on the model.  Here is what it looked like when I first got it.
 
 

I'm sure the the previous owner did his best, but the model was unpainted
and just begging to be redone correctly. It was also missing a few small
pieces which I had to fabricate from scratch.
 

About 30 minutes into it I realized it wasn't going to be easy or quick.
It did not come with the instructions so I would need more reference material to
understand how the pieces fit together and therefore how to separate them.
It also didn't help that the original builder went wild with liguid glue.
 

This is where another of my favorite sites helped save the day.
 CultTVman's Sci-Fi Modeling Page  has a section called
 Modeling Aurora Sci Fi --- 2001's Moonbus
that gives you a tour of an unassembled Moonbus kit. It has very clear
views of what the individual pieces looked like before assembly.
I found this to be invaluable in understanding the fit and placement of the parts.

LANDING GEAR

The next area to tackle was the landing gear.These weren't too bad to remove,
just score around the edges as much as you can reach and then insert an X-acto
chisel blade all around the sides you can get to. Next gently rock the gear assembly
back and forth and side to side holding it down low, close to the base until it breaks loose.
Go slowly and have patience. It will break loose. Then clean it up by laying fine
sandpaper on a table then turn the gear upside down and move it in a circular
motion around the sandpaper. This will assure a square, level and even finish.
 
 

All three gear assemblies are identical, one in front, two in the back.

Now use a combination of the chisel blade and the Dremel Moto-tool with
a cutter bit ( at a low speed ) to clean up the landing gear mounting points.
You'll need to get the ragged edges cleaned up on both surfaces for the
restored gear assemblies to fit properly and the model to sit level.
 

Below is a bottom view after the gear have been removed.
You will most likely loose the the positioning squares but that's ok.
It's pretty obvious were the landing struts go back on.
 

MAIN FUSELAGE

I chose to remove the left and right side walls in order to clean them
up and reattach them with a tighter fit.
 
 

I also used contour putty to fill any remaining gaps

Probably the hardest part to separate and the most important in terms of looks is
the nose cone and cockpit assembly. I began by using the sharpened scribe to get a
line started.Then I used a fresh # 11 blade to keep scoring the seam between the nose
and body over and over and over again. Patience and a quiet place to work without
interruptions is essential at this point. Just keep repeating these steps until you break
through. You can pry just a little with a chisel blade but scoring is the best + safest way.
 
 
 
 

I decided not to try to remove the rocket engine nozzles. They had been put on with
way too much glue and since they were pretty straight, I figured I'd just leave 'em be.
With the side walls gone, the rear bulkhead just about fell out. I carefully and slowly
pried up on the interior floor to free it from the base. I removed the two forward
cockpit walls by scoring at the base and rocking back and forth. The mid ship bulk-
head had to be cut free with chisel blade ( again because excessive glue was used ).
The second forward most interior bulkhead was missing and had to be made from sheet
styrene and plastic odds and ends from the scratch building box.
 
 
 

For those of you who always dreamed of flying the
moonbus yourselves, here is a pilots eye view.
 

INTERIOR DETAILS

I was able to pry the two pilots up out of their seats but the remaining crew were
secured forever with excess glue. To remove them would have definitely destroyed them.
So, I opted to clean them up as best I could and paint them right in their seats. I used
an eye loop and removed flash and glue. Then, still with eye loop, I proceeded to paint the
seats and astronauts in stages. First the floor, then the seats and seat backs. then the space suits.
On to the boots , hands and faces and finally the hair. I was able to break loose the one standing
figure. The original builder positioned him up on the ledge in front of the open seat.
Both his feet snapped off at the ankles, but crazy glue ( CA ) saved the day. I chose to
recreate the famous synthetic ham sandwich scene from the movie and positioned
him just about to serve Dr. Floyd and the others their in flight meal.
 
 

And from another perspective...

At this point the armrests and final seat details have not been finished.
 
 
 
 

Finding detailing info on this model is hard. The only real source of  info
is the movie itself, but the entire Moon bus scene is filmed with blue light
so you can not determine correct colors. I have read that Kubrick was worried
that his sets would be used in the future by B and C grade movies. He did not want
his work cheapened in this way and so he ordered all sets destroyed after filming
was complete. I did not have access to the original model instructions, they may
provide painting instruction details.
 
 
 

I have also read that Piers Bizony 's " 2001: Filming the Future " is another
great reference for building ships from 2001, but I did not have access to it either.
I was able to find pictures in several web site galleries and they all seemed
to have the same paint scheme. The most impressive pics
I found were from the UK at the COMET MINIATURES  site. At that time they
had a built up Moon bus for auction that appears to have been done by a pro.
This is the one I really wanted and copied from. The reserve price is £ 450,
which at the present exchange rate converts to about $ 746.
 
 
 
 

Here's a view of the interior floor pan with figures.

 
 
 
 
 
 

GOING TO PIECES

Here is an exploded view of some of the parts before reassembly.

THE RECONSTRUCTION PROCESS

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