1965 Astrodome Model

[fitch94]

That is unreal. Keep up the good work.

[PhillyFan]

Just for fun...

How much would you sell something like that for? I would be interested to hear. Also, you deserve major kudos! AMAZING JOB!

[DGDGBD]

Nice work! What scale are you using? Its hard to tell how big it is from the photos.

[Astros]

How much would you sell something like that for? I would be interested to hear. Also, you deserve major kudos! AMAZING JOB!

I have no idea. I've never considered it. I've been working on this model because I wanted a decent replica of what the Astrodome looked like when it opened. There are no models out there that exist showing this. I saw the original model a couple of years ago that was used at the ground breaking ceremony in 1960 and it had been badly damaged, although fixable. I appreciate the comments. It takes a lot of patience as every piece is hand cut, painted and glued.

[Astros]

Nice work! What scale are you using? Its hard to tell how big it is from the photos.

The dome span is 30 inches. The overall span of the model is about 42 inches including the exterior grass areas and entrances.

[Doug C.]

WOW! This is absolutely incredible. My eleven year old son found this page. He is obsessed with the Astrodome and does internet searches daily to look at replicas and photos of the dome. Man I wish I could take him into the Dome just to see the inside of it. It would be the thrill of his life. I wouldn't mind seeing it again either.

Very impressive. Please keep posting updates.

[Astros]

WOW! This is absolutely incredible. My eleven year old son found this page. He is obsessed with the Astrodome and does internet searches daily to look at replicas and photos of the dome. Man I wish I could take him into the Dome just to see the inside of it. It would be the thrill of his life. I wouldn't mind seeing it again either.

Very impressive. Please keep posting updates.

That's great. I was the same way about the Dome as kid and the Astros. When I was about 12 I built a little model of the Astrodome and put it in our front yard one afternoon. I was pretty proud of it but looking at the photos now it was pretty shabby, although not bad for a 12 year old. I built a few more models and learned more about how the stadium was built. It led to this model today...21 years later.

[Doug C.]

This Astrodome model will compliment another model previously built that looks the way it did at the end of its baseball run in 1999 (after '89 seating expansion, rainbow seats, exterior ramp towers, Astroturf, etc.)

Do you have a link for pictures of that version?

[JMC Bomber]

Do you have a link for pictures of that version?

Look on post #1.

[Astros]

Okay, as requested above, here are some photos of the other Astrodome model I built. I began building it in July, 1998. This version is the post-1989 renovation and depicts what the Dome looked like at the end of its baseball run in 1999. The infield dirt used for this model is actual dirt taken from the real Astrodome around home plate. I scooped some after the very last game ever played there on 10/9/99. There is also a shot of how football field conversion works with the Astrodome.

You may ask, "What is different from the 1965 to 1999?".
- The large scoreboard across the outfield is gone and replaced by the extension of the suites, loge, upper deck and sky box level.
- The seating colors reflect the renovation update in 1985.
- The astroturf field with sliding pits instead of dirt base paths.
- The exterior ramp towers.
- Slight variation of paint to the exterior.

I will post more photos of the 1965 Astrodome model as I progress. I appreciate the interest. I've always wanted to see what others would think of these models.

[Doug C.]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Incredible. VERY nice work.

My son checks this thread everyday - you've really inspired him. We didn't have foam board so he cut up some paper plates and made a model and he did a couple of clay models too.

[LetsGoMets687]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Incredible. VERY nice work.

My son checks this thread everyday - you've really inspired him. We didn't have foam board so he cut up some paper plates and made a model and he did a couple of clay models too.

That's AWESOME!

[Astros]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Incredible. VERY nice work.

My son checks this thread everyday - you've really inspired him. We didn't have foam board so he cut up some paper plates and made a model and he did a couple of clay models too.

Wow...those are awesome. I had some flashbacks to when I was a kid. I had go dig up the old photos I took of my first Astrodome models. There are four photos below, each featuring a different model of the Dome. You can see some progression along the way. The first one was taken in 1987 (I was 12) and the last one was sometime in 1989. Back then I used posterboard primarily and lots of tape. To color the model I used markers. I'd color the pieces and then tape them down. Building those models was real good practice. Back then I always wished they would sell model kits of stadiums that you could paint and glue together just like the kits for airplanes, ships and such.

[Doug C.]

That last one was made with posterboard? WOW!

LetsGoMets - thanks for the link. Very cool.

[Astros]

That last one was made with posterboard? WOW!

LetsGoMets - thanks for the link. Very cool.

Yeah each rib of the roof was a piece of poster board since it bends so well. I used wax paper from the kitchen under it. In that last photo I had put some of it under a couple of roof sections.