Can't wait to see the finished product.

That the sub launched plane or a rocket top plane?

This is the 1952 von Braun Mars lander. The mass of tankage is the propulsion package for the Earth to Mars trip. The winged lander is jsut that, a glider to teh surface of Mars. The little rocket body part would actually be used as a rocket to lift back off Mars to the orbital part of teh mission for the return.

Too bad the Martian atmosphere turned out to be too thin for any gliding lander to work.

No, there is enough for winged craft.

that's a neat way of glueing two halves of a cylinder together.

Huh? Which cylinder are you referring to? The lander body is a lathe turned bit of wood, the tank section is a piece of PVC pipe. No "cylinder halves" anywhere on the build.

under the springs?

Springs? I got no springs on me.

I think they meant on the upper left side in the background near the edge, two springs laying over a cylinder

That is a spare tank casting I've put there to increase the tension on the lamp springs, which get weak with age.

How big is that wing span?

137 meters, or 450 feet for the Imperial people.

Well at least that is what they are in the original plans, not sure for the model.

If its 1:750 scale it would be a bot more than half a meter.

Also... Based on the Spaceship Handbook (page 79), shouldn't the wings be longer and the tanks connected to the main body of the glider?

Nope, I'm building the earlier "magazine" version, see page 74. 508ft/154M or in 1/144 scale 42 inches/106cm. Technically, the wings would not be unfolded while attached to the booster section, but for dramatic effect, there they are. I'm also fudging many of the smaller details, in no small part due to the inconsistancy/contradictory details that show up in the various published art bits.

*nods*

Well, its not like they were working of keeping the consistency either.

to be fair, the proposals were more in the math and basic engineering considerations, not detailed features. Also, the designs were evolving even as they were working on them. Von Braun's original version was different in all kinds of details versus the original magazine version of which it was based. Then the book version was a substantial re-design along with a re-consideration of the whole mission. Bonestell's art was caught up in both the evolving designs as well as the sometimes vague descriptions.

Is this just a model, or will it fly?

solid static model.

Oh..... shame though.

The glider part could be done as a glider, ideally a bit larger (better strength/weight), say, 1/72 scale, making it twice that size.

Why do you have two light bulbs laying on your workbench? Just asking.

And I also have two vices, a 1/23.38 scale Boeing 314 engine cowl pattern, two cans of spray paint, three bottles of glue, a glass full of various sizes and shapes of brass metal bits, several square brass tube sections still in their wrappers, three work lamps, a couple dozen random urethane resin castings, a couple sanding sticks, several strip and small blocks of wood, a sheet of 1/8 polycarbonate, some oil clay, an empty apple sauce single serving cup, a glass of vodka and ice, some random bits of paper, sand paper and business cards, a former salsa container full of random bits of hardware, several loose exacto blades of various types, at least three exacto handles with Nr 11 blades, two tubes of automotive body putty, a block of steel with a bunch of holes drilled into it as a left-over from a student machinist's work, and a big multi-drawer tool chest. Your point?

Inquiring minds wanted to know, I don't know why but they was biting my ankles until I asked, damn inquiring minds. Sounds a lot like my workbench actually, just no lit bulbs and two aluminum blocks instead of steel. Those I use as soft anvil's.

Why don't we ever clean our workbenches?

My spaces get cluttered as I have the bad habit of not putting things away. I got a pile of steel chunks from a neighbor who's son had gone through a machinist's course, and as most were simple cubes or near cubes averaging a couple inches, they are great for jigging.