of this recessed detail has evidence of band saw marks and was probably the point where the blade entered before cutting the hole for the Gemini part.


In contrast to some of the other areas 5


of Alpha, Building 10 exhibits a wonderful array of handmade and artistically created details. Fig. 6 shows a good example of strip material laid in such a fashion as to create an almost ‘tree bark’ texture. Interestingly, the circular detail above left had material clipped and punched through to create holes and semi-circular details with nothing more complex than a paper hole punch. Even the punched material was used in many places on Alpha to add interest, so little was wasted.


Figure 5: the large recess detail. Figure 6: tiled complexity.


There are perhaps half a dozen kit parts in this section, mostly from the Gemini kit, with minimal plating detail. You can see that one of the Sasco labels has become displaced as the vinyl has


shrunk slightly and the glue has softened. Much more evident is the vertical face detailed tiling. Organised more or less at random but always within the style design limits, this detailing pulls the design together and is one of the key features of Alpha as a whole. Styrene sheet of between 0.5mm and 0.75mm (20–30 thou) has been used extensively to capture this look. There seems to have been a conscious decision to leave a margin from the edge on almost all sections of the model.


Fig. 7 shows a good example of the Letraline Flexatape graphics tape made by Letraset, the same company that produced the rub down lettering used extensively at the Anderson studios over the years.


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