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| Steve Yorks 12" Major Matt Mason Conversion |
This is a series of photos detailing my project to construct
a team of 12" astronauts and a space station inspired by the 60's
Major Matt Mason toy line. My base astronaut uses the Ultracorps
Series 2 Astronaut suit on a variety of Ultracorps bodies. So far
only one suit has been seriously accessorized, and even it isn't
complete or final, but it give you a good idea of the final result.
The station is still in the early stages of construction. The
material is 1/2" PVC pipe, and what you're seeing is the structure for
the upper platform, center console, and roof, along with a single set
of support girders. Shortly I'll add a lower platform and a second
set of girders. Obviously, there will be a lot of work finishing and
detailing the console roof, and adding solar panels, among other
things. I've thrown in a scattering of accessories to give it more of
that old Matt Mason catalog feel.
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Major Mike Mycroft
This is Major Mike Mycroft, my "hero" astronaut, showing some of the basic modifications to the Ultracorps suit. I've added bands of 3/4"
black sewing elastic to the legs and arms to suggest the joints in the
old bendy. A black hair elastic has been added to the neck. Later
I'll probably paint the visor frame silver, and replace the orange
crotch strap with another one. Boots are from the GI Joe "Intruder
Defense" carded set. A couple of prototype silver packs (neither is a
final design) are Velcroed to the legs. The name/flag patch is also
attached to existing Velcro on the suit. Backpack is from a carded
Action Man set. Accessories are a mix of Ultracorps, Joe and pink
isle items. The backdrop is a platform from an original Major Matt
Mason station.
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Space Station and Figure Overview
This picture gives an overview of the Space Station project. Various figures and accessories have been included to give some sense of scale
and what the final project will be like. On the right is an original
1/12 scale Matt Mason station for comparison.
What you see represents only the upper platform, roof, center console,
and one set of girders from the original station. The lower platform
and girders will be added shortly. Note that none of this is an
attempt to do a direct upscale, but rather to take inspiration from
the originals and create something completely new with a "Next
Generation" feel. In some cases liberties will be taken for ease of
construction or to use found materials. In other cases, I'm making
changes to clear up some of the logical problems with the original
station.
For instance, the upper platform floor is solid rather than an open
grid, and the lower part of the center console will be closed too. A
door on one side of the console will open into a central airlock. The
4" round fitting in the middle (with a Star Wars Pit Droid sitting on
it) will be sunk into the floor and act as the outer hatch for the
airlock. A roof hatch will also be added, provided I can fit it in,
as will ladders going up and down. I may also add a panel in the
airlock marked as a fold down toilet, allowing the airlock to double
as a bathroom. This makes a certain kind of sense. What better way
to get rid of foul smells than to vent them directly to space?
One major structural change is that because of the limitations of the
PVC pipe fittings available, this station is an octagon, not a
hexagon. The console will have four major sections rather than three,
but one of these will mainly be the airlock hatch, leaving the
remaining three to take on pretty much the same overall function as
the originals. Obviously there are four sets of support girders, not
three.
You'll note some drooping and misalignment of parts. Actually, only a
few pieces have been glued yet. Most are "dry-fitted" at this point
in construction.
The chair is the seat from a Vintage AT escape car, some hardware from
my shop, and the base from a Labtech computer microphone.
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Space Station Side View
A side view. That's a redressed "Intruder Defense" Joe in the
background. Near the girder is "Captain Action as a alien." The mask
is a squirting novelty I got at a party shop for a quarter. I cut out
the flat bottom, put a slit up the back of the neck so it would fit
over a figure's head, and painted in the mouth (which was just a
molded recess) with a black Sharpie pen. He's wearing an Ultracorps
flack vest (backwards) and has a Intruder Defense minigun over his
arm. Except for those lilly-white hands and forearms, he makes a
pretty good "next-gen" Callisto.
The canisters on the platform are from the Tuskeegee Bomber Pilot set.
I know they're someone's coffee and lunch, but they looked NASA issue
to me.
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Space Station Top View
A top view, more clearly showing the roof construction. Actually,
under the floor the platform is built much the same way, except the
pipe sections in the outer ring and spokes are longer. There are also
eight additional "T" connectors for the girder attachment. A center
platform will probably be much the same except for the open flooring
and that it will have 90-degree cross fittings instead of the "T"
connectors, allowing the girder pipes to attach top and bottom. The
floor is 1/8" hardboard.
I plan to add a beacon or antenna (or both) to suggest the lighted
beacon on the original. This one won't retract though. I need to
provide an attachment point for it, and I'm trying to decide if I
should add a cross member with a T in the central ring for this
purpose, or simply make a removable wooden lid that gives clear access
to the airlock.
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The Astroteam!
My current Astroteam. Matt Mason was USA all the way, but I'm going for an international feel here. Middle is base commander Major Mike
Mycroft, USA. To the right is surface operations chief CPO Stepka
Burankov (a relatively unmodified, as-yet, Ultracorps 'naut), Russia.
(One translation of "Buran," by the way, is "snow-storm," just so you
know.) The one on the left is an as-yet unnamed Brazilian astronaut.
Behind them is an unnamed Space Marine assigned to defensive duties,
and a Strange Visitor from Another Toy Company. I'd like to add a few
more ethnic types and a female or two to the team.
Obviously the console uprights are about an inch two short to allow
for helmeted figures, and will be modified before the station is
finished.
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Major Mike Mycroft
If you look closely at one of my prototype MMM leg packs, it's covered with... duct tape. I've been having a bitch of a
time finding a silver material that lends itself to making those
little packs. Most of the stuff frays, doesn't like to fold, doesn't
glue well, or has other drawbacks, so in desperation, I tried
duct-tape. Unfortunately, it looks pretty much like duct-tape, so I'm
still working on it.
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All images and text are © 2001 J. Steven York - Writer
Generation X Novels: Crossroads, Genogoths Bolo, Old Guard (Now in stores, from Baen Books), and used with permission.
You can contact Steve by clicking here or visit his website here. Or you can contact John Eaton, by clicking here.
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