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I have been purchasing airplane and space models for over 25 years.  Your models are among the finest I have ever seen...

We are honored to have them in our museum.
 

- Carol Nelson, Director of Development & Marketing, 
                          Cradle of Aviation Museum, Long Island, NY

Creating custom models for corporate and private collectors since 1994

We have been commissioned to work for NASA and many astronauts. Major media outlets such as CNN, CTV and others look to us for models to use in their coverage of space-related stories.

CELEBRATING 29 YEARS OF BUSINESS

Since 1994 Proach Models has built on the history and evolution of 20th and 21st century spacecraft that has created the infinite possibilities for space exploration today and in the future.

NICK PROACH built his first model at the age of 11 and was making space models at the time of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969.

What started as an all-consuming hobby in the late 1960's for a gangly 14 year-old fascinated with the space program has grown to become a full-time business undertaken with passion by a man still in love with space flight.

 

1971 Nick built a small model of the Lunar Rover prior to the flight of Apollo 15 to the moon in late July of that year. He told the Canadian CTV network about it and before he realized it he was building the entire Apollo 15 landing site for the network's use during their coverage of the moon mission.

space model apollo soyuz

1975 Nick built a model for CTV to use in their coverage of the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, which saw the first International meeting in space between Russia and the United States

1985 Nick did something no other model maker at the time was able to do: he created a 1:5 scale working model of Canada's Anik C communications satellite for Telesat Canada. The model was based on the Hughes 376 design and was intended to simulate its deployment sequence by spinning and fully deploying itself, a sequence which was completed on budget.  

Other model makers had tried for years to accomplish this feat without success. It was Nick's intimate knowledge of the satellite and its functions that lead to this success.

 

1975 - Astronaut Scott Carpenter with CTV news anchor Harvey Kirch and Nick at CTV studios in Toronto.

Take a journey through the fascinating history of Nick Proach and Proach Models!

Our models can be found at the following locations: 

  •  Kennedy Space Center

  •  Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, ON

  •  Cradle of Aviation, Long Island, NY

  •  Los Angeles Air Force Base, Los Angeles, CA

  •  Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology, New York

  •  Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado

 

Our vast knowledge of spaceflight history and aerospace technology and an experienced staff of artists and craftsmen combining years of model making experience come together to build the most highly detailed, accurate museum-quality space model replicas in the world.

We also create authentic and richly detailed models of replica aircraft for air flight enthusiasts!

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Timeline
Astronaut Alan Bean
Space model surveyor 3

1986 With the help of Longin Reich, Nick created two large models purchased by the Canadian Government to use in the Canada Pavilion at Expo 86, the world's fair held that year in Vancouver, British Columbia. One model was the early US Space Station "Freedom", and measured over 15 feet long. The other was a 1/4 scale model of Canada's proposed MSAT (mobile satellite), which measured over 28 feet in length.

 

1994 Together with his wife Connie, Nick combined his knowledge of space flight and space hardware with his expertise of model making to establish Proach Models.  Currently, Proach employs a small team of talented individuals that assist Nick with his projects.

 

1997 It was a great honour for Nick to be commissioned to build a 1:100 scale Saturn 1B and 1:32 scale Apollo spacecraft to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Apollo 1 accident. Unfortunately this was the site where Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee lost their lives in a spacecraft fire on January 27, 1967.

 

The model was displayed at a private memorial ceremony for the three astronauts at Pad 34 where the real Saturn 1B was poised ready for lift-off at the time of the accident.

 

Today the model is on display at the Astronaut Memorial Foundation at the Kennedy Space Center.

Space shuttle space models

1998 CNN commissioned Proach to make 3 John Glenn Commemorative Set models for a giveaway celebrating astronaut John Glenn's return to space as part of their coverage of STS-95.

PICTURED: Nick with Myles O'Brien (CNN) and Walter Cronkite the night before the launch of STS-95. It was John Glenn's 2nd return to space with shuttle Discovery mission since his 1962 Mercury mission.

 

1999  Astronaut Alan Bean commissioned Proach to build a 1:7 scale model of the Surveyor 3 moon probe that he and fellow astronaut Pete Conrad visited on their second moonwalk during the Apollo 12 mission in November of 1969.

Surveyor 3

Apollo 12 Astronaut Alan Bean with Nick, holding the actual hammer that Bean used on the Apollo 12 mission.

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2008 Richard Garriot commissioned Proach to make a tiny model of the Soyuz spacecraft for him to take into space aboard the real Soyuz spacecraft, bound for the International Space Station. This marks the second model built by Proach which was flown in space.

 

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2009 Proach joined with Vancouver BC's HR Macmillan Space Centre to build an exhibit celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

2002 Proach is commissioned by NASA to build a 1:50 scale model of the S1 truss segment of the ISS. It was launched into space aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to be used by the astronauts to help plot their spacewalking activities and during in-flight press conferences. It was the first time a Sunshine Coast based company launched an object into space.

 

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2003  Northrop-Grumman commissioned Proach Models to make 76 models of the Chandra X-Ray Lab satellite.

 

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2008 NASA commissioned Proach models to create 4 models of the new Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle for NASA centers in Cleveland and Florida.

 

2008 Proach Models completed its first contract for SpaceX, building 12 Falcon F1E models in 1:48 scale.

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2010 Proach is commissioned to build a 1:25 scale Saturn V rocket standing almost 16 feet tall.

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2010 SpaceX commissioned Proach to build 50 1:72 scale Falcon 9 rocket models.

 

2010 Proach is commissioned by Lockheed Martin and the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto to build 2 1:24 scale Hubble telescopes.

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2011 Proach staged an exhibit at Vancouver BC's HR MacMillan Space Centre celebrating 50 years of human space flight. The exhibit featureed models of every manned spacecraft.

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2011 Proach is commissioned by astronaut Alan Bean to build a 1:7 scale model of the Lunar Rover, which Alan Bean intended for use in his well-known paintings.

2012 Proach Models signs a license agreement with SpaceX to produce and sell models of Falcon rockets and Dragon spacecraft on its Spacemodel  Store, www.spacemodel.com

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2014 This marks the 20th year in business for Proach Models.
Proach Models moves its shop to a large, brand new facility in Sechelt, British Columbia.  Laser cutting and printing services were also added to aid in the production of model orders.

 

 


2015 Proach is contracted by Iridium Communications of Tempe, AZ to build a total of 86 models in 3 different scales of its new NEXT Communications satellite.

 

2015 Proach also receives a contract from SpaceX to build 5 - 1/24 scale Falcon 9 1.1 Full-Throttle version rockets for use at trade shows and promotional events

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2015
Iridium NEXT satellite hanging on displa

2016  Proach Models completes the largest project in its history....over 100 satellite models in

three different scales of the NEXT spacecraft for Iridium Communications of Tempe, AZ. Six of the models were half-scale replicas of the main spacecraft buss, of which one was photographed hanging in one of Iridium's facilities.

 

2018  Proach Models celebrates 10 years of building models for SpaceX.  One recent project for the company was the fabrication of 60 of the latest version of the Falcon 9 rocket in 1/72 scale.

Proach Models Open House July 2019.JPG

2019  Proach Models celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission by hosting an open house at its facilities in Sechelt, British Columbia. Over 300 members of the public came by to view the Proach Model museum and workshop on the evening of July 17, 50 years to the date that Apollo 11 was on its way to making the first Lunar landing.

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For over 50 years, Nick Proach has closely followed the US, Russian and Canadian Space programs and can produce a model of any aerospace subject. Whether the craft has flown or is currently under development, Proach Models can create any model display project.

A Wealth of Space-Related Resources to Draw On

We have numerous contacts in NASA and the aerospace community at large. Nick is well-known as a "Space Historian" and has a vast library of records from all manned and unmanned spaceflights.

He also takes time to keep up with developments in the aerospace field and is a regular contributor in space-related magazines and periodicals.

 

We are big promoters of aerospace education and will address groups of any size to discuss developments in the various Space Programs from countries around the world. We are also more than willing to talk about Proach Models' experiences building various complex projects.

Space Vehicle Lunar Rover
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