1/30 Scale Ogonek Soyuz 7K-OK

Among one of the most interesting of real space model subjects is the Ogonek 1/30th scale Soyuz spacecraft. I was lucky enough to snag one at the 1991 IMPS Nationals in St. Louis, MO. At that time I was totally unaware of its existence and judging from the box art I thought I was buying a kit of the Soyuz 19 from the 1975 Apollo/Soyuz mission. Once I returned home and upon opening the kit I discovered that this was a model of the earliest of Soviet Soyuz spacecraft: the original 7K-OK variant.

Although the kit's instructions  (Ogonek Soyuz Instruction Sheet) were in Russian it went together fairly smooth. The frustrating part for me at that time was that major reworking would be required to convert this Soyuz into the version for the Apollo/Soyuz mission. The built up took its place among my collection for twelve years. By the late 1990's I had become involved in research on the Soviet manned lunar program. Part of that research included the Soyuz 7K-OK.

It was at this point that I decided to rebuild by Ogonek Soyuz to more accurately reflect the real spacecraft. Candy foil wrapping was used to simulate the thermal blanketing. Detailing was also added to the service module area. The rebuilt version was featured as the cover story for the IMPS/USA January/February issue of Modelers Journal. For a PDF of that article visit -January/February 2004 IPMS Journal .

Below are a few recent photos of my model that feature the detail of this wonderful model kit!

The minus X side of the Ogonek Soyuz. Pactra Trim tape was used to highlite the solar panels

The plus X side of the Soyuz. Again, Pactra Trim tape was used to add detail on the solar wings.

The forward end of the orbital module. I added a multi-path reflector at the top.

The aft end of the service module. Additional "wings" were add to the solar wings.

Detail of the descent and service modules. Wiring details were added to the service module.

This kit has become extremely hard to find. When one does show up on places like Ebay they command astronomical prices. New Ware Models out of the Czech Republic offer a highly detailed kit of the 7K-OK variant in 1/48 scale at this URL:  New Ware's 1/48 Soyuz 7K-OK Kit.
                                                       
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Ohio Valley Space personnel will be away from the launch complex over the next several weeks with out-of-town trips. I am currently working on the Dragon 1/72 Apollo 17 kit and hope to have a report on it in July.

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