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Science Fact or Science Fiction? EVA Models' Cosmonaut in Krechet Space Suit

By John Lester

Scale: 1/32
Media: Resin, with wire and styrene parts.
Price: $25 USD plus postage. 
Available from: EVA Models

History

The Soviet Union raced against NASA to get the first human on the moon, but political rivalries, technical difficulties throughout the program, and the death in 1966 of space pioneer and program chief Sergei Korolev (which robbed the Soviet space program of its main driving force) eventually forced them to cede the glory of that accomplishment to NASA.

One bright spot in the program was the Krechet ("Gyrfalcon" in Russian) space suit. Designed and built by the Zvezda bureau, it was the first semi-rigid design ever built, with a hard metallic shell for the torso and (relatively) soft cloth arms and legs. This is the same concept that is now incorporated into both the Russian and American spacesuits. The hinged backpack, when opened, allowed the cosmonaut to climb into the suit through the rear, greatly simplifying donning. It was also considered more reliable than suits with a more conventional zipper opening. The control panel on the chest area of the suit provided the wearer with consumables status and communications; it could be folded out for use or stowed against the chest when the cosmonaut was busy.

The Model

EVA Models' latest effort comes with 11 resin parts, one wire rod and one plastic rod, plus instructions. The Russian flag and shoulder patches are printed on paper. The instruction sheet is good, containing notes on working with resin and how to assemble EVA's figures, but provides no illustrations or exploded assembly views. The figure may be built up in one of two poses: planting a Soviet flag, or filling a soil specimen bag. Extra arms are included to complete either pose.

After building my first EVA kits, I came to realize that they're like potato chips - you can't have just one. The casting quality of each figure is among the best I have seen, in or out of the sci-fi/science fact segment of the hobby. There are no pits, bubbles, voids or other flaws to worry about. The detail on every one is simply fantastic, and the Krechet suit is no exception. Parts fit together almost magically, requiring no putty because there are no seams or gaps. I know it sounds like I'm gushing here, and that this is just to good to be true.... but it's not. Once you open the bag and see for yourself, you'll be as enthusiastic as I am.

Construction

Like all the figures in the EVA line-up, assembly is straightforward - and fast, since there are only a few parts. Clean-up is a snap. In my case, it took me all of five minutes to remove the thin flash between the figure's legs and lightly polish away the faint mold seam there. After a quick scrub with a toothbrush and dish soap, the parts were ready for painting.

I chose to depict the cosmonaut planting the Soviet flag, but used the left arm from the soil sample pose. Using superglue, I attached the arm holding the flag, but left the other off to simplify painting. Then I affixed the figure to a temporary wooden base using white glue (again, to aid painting). The other arm and his fold-out chest console were similarly attached to temporary stands. I then turned to the indispensable first stop for space modelers,"Sven Knudsen's Space Modeling Site" for research. Within short order, I had found a series of "walk-around" images on Karl Dodenhoff's excellent "My Little Space Museum" of all the info I needed to depict Alexi Leonov, the man who was slated to become the first Soviet man on the moon.

Painting and Detailing

Painting began with the basecoat, in this case Testor's Model Master (TMM) Flat Header White to which a drop of blue had been added (helps to keep the white from yellowing over time). When this had dried, I used Testor's Chrome silver to fill in the area on the torso where the arms meet the suit. The palms and the bottom of the fingers on each glove were painted TMM Semi-Gloss black, as was the faceplate of the helmet. I used PollyScale Signal Red acrylic paint for the suit's striping and the EVA tether on his right thigh.

While that was drying, I tackled the base. It received an overcoat of medium grey primer from a spray can of Wal-Mart's finest. I then gave it several heavy washes of flat black to fill in all the depressions. When that had dried, I drybrushed several shade of grey in patches over the entire base.

I then turned my attention back to the figure and began "weathering" him. Shadows are more pronounced in space (at least it seems so, based on all the NASA photographs I viewed) so I used a wash of flat black to fill in all the wrinkles on the suit. I then drybrushed TMM Flat White, followed by Tamiya White (gloss) to highlight the high spots. The area around the pressure gauge on the left arm was painted TMM Radome Tan, and the gauge itself Semi-Gloss Black (as were the instrument displays on the chest console). Wiring around the bottom of the console was painted a reddish-brown. The various knobs and levers on the front of the suit were painted white, and the rest of the associated hardware grey. After this all dried, I attached the left arm to the figure with superglue, and then attached the figure to the display base the same way.

Now it was time for the final touches. Rather than use the paper patches, I made decals of them on my ALPS printer. (if you use the paper patches, simply cut them out with a sharp knife, pre-form them by pressing against the figure's shoulder, then affix them with white glue). I sprayed the entire figure, base and all, with Testors' Dullcote. While that was still tacky, I ground up light grey pastel chalks (by rubbing the chalk against an emery board) and blew the resulting dust across the base. The tacky Dullcote captured enough of the dust to make the base look more like a slice of the lunar surface, instead of a resin base painted to look like a lunar surface. I used an old paintbrush to carry some of the dust up on to the figure's boots and ankles, making him look like he'd actually walked across the surface.

When the Dullcote was dry, I finished the helmet area. I placed a decal of the earth (from another EVA model) on the visor, then painted the area with Johnson's "Future" to get a high gloss shine to the visor glass.

Finishing

Two last details remained. The first was the flag. Looking over NASA photos from American flag-plantings, I decided I would have to do more than cut the flag out and wrap it around the pole. The American colors were wrinkled, and stretched out with a pole across the top of the flag. I cut the flag out, folded it over and glued the two sides together with white glue. While it was drying, I noticed a white border (from the paper the image was printed on) all around the edge on the flag. I tried coloring this in with a felt-tip marker, but the colors did not match. Worse, when I tried to wrinkle the flag, some of the red ink on the flag cracked, revealing more white. Fortunately, I had already scanned the packaging for this article and had a copy of the flag on disk. I airbrushed red paint onto a sheet of tracing paper, then printed the flag on this with my ALPS. This paper was thin enough to wrinkle easily, without damage to the surface. I used superglue to attach this to the wire provided in the kit, plus. To another wire I snipped that I glued to the top of the flag pole to make the "L" shape that holds the flag out).

The finishing touch was something I'd read about. Because the Soviet LK spacecraft could only carry two cosmonauts, and one of those would have to remain with the main module in orbit, the cosmonaut landing on the moon would do so alone. Much thought was given to ensuring his safety. In the event he should fall, there would not be anyone to help him up - so one plan was for him to carry a steel hoop that he could use to roll himself back into a position where he could get on his feet. No pictures exist of this - or at least, I could find none - but the idea intrigued me. I made the hoop by forming a piece of wire around a chair leg. The area where the ends were glued together was then covered with a strip of masking tape formed into a carrying strap. This contraption was then placed over the figure's head and I was finished.

Conclusions

This model was a blast to build - and it took me maybe 8 hours, tops, from start to finish. I highly recommend any of the EVA figures to any modeler, no matter their skill level. They're easy to build and easy to paint, and easy to make look good (and for you trophy hounds, they're also almost guaranteed to win awards at IPMS shows!). The subject matter is unique, and for those times when the creative juices seem to have dried up, they can really rekindle a person's modeling enthusiasm.

References:

My Little Space Museum: Kretchet EVA Suit
Portee, D.S.F. "EVA and the Soviet Manned Lunar Mission Plan (1969)", (excerpt)