Creating Space: The Story of the Space Age Through Models: Apogee Books Space Series 24 [Paperback]

Mat Irvine (Author), Sir Arthur C. Clarke (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002 | Series: Apogee Books Space Series

Gives a complete chronicle of space vehicles developed worldwide, side by side with pictures and details of models.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I defy anybody not to be fired up by the author's obvious enthusiasm..." -- Spaceflight, May 2003. "An absolute joy to dip into..." -- The Observatory, June 2003. "This book is ideal for model hobbyists, and for space history enthusiasts..." -- Astronomy Now, July 2003.

About the Author

Mat Irvine is a former member of BBC’s Visual Effects Department and the cameraman behind programs including Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and Edge Of Darkness. He is a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.; First edition (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896522866
• ISBN-13: 978-1896522869
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,416,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful reference for a webmaster who fields questions!, October 19, 2002

By 

John C Duncan (Waynesville, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating Space: The Story of the Space Age Through Models: Apogee Books Space Series 24 (Paperback)

This book was a much anticipated addition to my library. As a webmaster of a Apollo website, I'm often asked questions about space models. This book has it all with great descriptions and color images of space model kits. The table of scales of each type available is very useful for collectors.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A profusion of pics, proficiently picked., June 26, 2008

By 

Armchair Pundit "Armchair Pundit." (Durham City, England.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creating Space: The Story of the Space Age Through Models: Apogee Books Space Series 24 (Paperback)

Through this book you go on a wonderful illustrated journey through the space age (and beyond),

the twist being, it's within the model world of spacecraft, not the life sized versions.

The author Matt Irvine, well known among Doctor Who and Blake 7 fans as one of the long serving FX guys (20 years), really shows off his love and knowledge of the subject.

Here's a brief synopsis of contents, 352 pages with 500 photographs, 170 in full colour.

And listings for 250 modeling subjects and 300 model manufactures.

Some Examples, Revell, Monogram, Strombecker, Airfix and many more.

The era's covered in detail are World War 2 and the Nazi built V2's all the way through to the International Space Station, with everything in-between.

Chapter twelve called; "Beyond the Infinite" goes from Roswell to 2001, not surprising since the foreward is written by the late great Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relive Your Childhood..., August 11, 2006

By 

Terry Sunday (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creating Space: The Story of the Space Age Through Models: Apogee Books Space Series 24 (Paperback)

If you were a male child growing up in the 1950s or `60s, the chances are very good that you will remember many of the models that author Mat Irvine describes in this fine volume covering an obscure aspect of spaceflight history.

"Creating Space" consists of two parts of approximately equal length. The first half is full of nostalgia, at least for me. Logically organized into 12 chapters covering, for example, "Early Dreams," "Rocket Planes and the V-Weapons" and "The Visions of Wernher and Willy," the first 200 pages include superb glossy color photos of assembled models and, stirring even more pleasant memories, their boxtop art. All of the models I built as a kid growing up just down the Florida coast from Cape Canaveral are covered in detail here: Strombecker's RM-1 Lunar Rocket Ship, Revell's XSL-01 Manned Space Ship, Lindberg's Lunar Lander, Monogram's Space Taxi and Passenger Rocket (designed by Willy Ley) and Hawk's Convair Atlas Space Station. The early rockets and guided missile kits are well represented also. Remember Revell's X-17 Research Rocket and Aerobee-Hi (with its exquisite set of decals), Adams' Honest John "Atomic Rocket" and Renwal's Terracruzer with Mace Missile? They're all here, along with hundreds of others. Closer to today, there are chapters devoted to current Space Shuttle, Mir and International Space Station kits, and a whimsical chapter covering U.F.O.s (such as the classic "Adamski Flying Saucer") and cinematic spacecraft such as those from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Destination Moon." The quality of the photos is superb, and the extensive text describes the kits in great detail.

The second half of "Creating Space" is a tabular listing of virtually every spacecraft, rocket, missile and science fiction model kit ever made. Each entry includes a description of the kit, its scale, the manufacturer's reference number and the year it was first released. This is an excellent reference guide which appears to be both exhaustive and definitive. It is sure to be an invaluable resource for the collector or serious retro-hobbyist. There's also a useful dealer's reference, a list of other reference sources and some Internet links.

"Creating Space" is a unique and valuable book. I no longer have any of the space model kits that I built as a child. But I still got immense pleasure from reading Mr. Irvine's clear, thorough and detailed text, marveling at the crisp photos and re-living, for a moment at least, the joys of putting these kits together with tube cement that somehow always seemed to get smeared all over everything. If you're at all interested in the subject, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.