posted 10-04-2023 10:26 AM               

Collecting factory model airplanes for over 50 years, I had a small Douglas Aircraft model in my collection for many years that always taunted me to make bigger. Since I've made many factory model aircraft for my own collection as well as for several of the Southern California aircraft companies, and having the skill, and some extra time, I decided to at long last make my own. Standing slightly over 54 inches tall, on a 19 inch triangular base, the model is constructed of fiberglass, wood, plex and metal.

I've only made two. One, a proof of concept that I am keeping, and the other an artist proof 1 of 1 that you see pictured here.

It's important to note that there are many small kits and models that have been available over the years, and last year one of the larger, a 1:24 scale garage kit model sold for a whopping $11,100.00 at a well known auction company and was only 40" inches tall. It is still available as a kit if you care to build one last time I checked but beware, It's made from a really poor casting resin.

As I said, mine is mixed media and has a fuselage that is hand laid fiberglass with metal cross supports, spun metal nose cone, and of course built to the highest quality. Custom decals and stencils make for one beautiful model. Base has the support pads, and the blast deflector assembly that is separate.

I've added pictures to show the level of detail that I put into the model as well as some detail shots. Money from the sale will go to building other large scale spacecraft that von Braun featured in the Man in Space series. Not inexpensive but truly a unique and rare opportunity to have something awesome.

Asking $8500, but will entertain offers.

Moonliner History

From 1955 through 1962, the TWA Moonliner was part of the first futuristic exhibit located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was also an early example of modern product placement advertising by TWA's Howard Hughes teaming up with Walt Disney as the Moonliner's sponsor. At 76 feet (23 m) tall, it was the tallest structure in the theme park, 8 feet (2.4 m) taller than the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Adjoining the rocket was the "Flight to the Moon" attraction, which later became "Mission To Mars" in 1975.

The Moonliner was designed by John Hench, one of the original Disney Imagineers, with the help of German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. It resembled von Braun's V-2 rocket design but depicted what a commercial spaceliner might look like for traveling to the Moon in the faraway year of 1986.

The Moonliner's retracting landing leg covers were said to resemble the fuselage shape on TWA's elegant Lockheed Constellation airliner; the rocket also featured portholes, a raised cockpit area, and a boarding ramp. A real Moonliner was envisioned to be powered by a nuclear reactor and actually be more than 200 feet (61 m) tall; the theme park's Moonliner was roughly a one-third scale model.

After Hughes sold his interest in TWA, the airline dropped their corporate sponsorship; the rocket then became the Douglas Moonliner when the Douglas Aircraft Company became its sponsor. This new Moonliner looked the same as the original, but the famous all-red TWA logo and stripes on the nose and landing legs were gone, replaced by a brand new paint scheme of overall white with blue stripes and a red, vertically stacked Douglas logo running down the rocket's fuselage.