The NASA model building thread

[Gene DiGennaro]

Space Shuttle Discovery from Revell 1/144 kit. OMS pods and interior added from Entex/Minicraft kit. Custom decals made from Mars Center paper model files, AXM Paper Model site, and NASA Space Shuttle Operational Database site. Resin engines and stenciling from Realspace Models. This won me first place in Factual Spacecraft at an IPMS convention.

[Negative Return]

Not a model in the traditional sense, but how can you pass up anything that's 1:1 scale (even if it's $2.2 million)?

http://www.spacetoys.com/proddetail.php?prod=spaceshuttleorbiter

More details & background: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/scitech/space/full-size-space-shuttle-models-111810

[Bubbinski]

Sweet job Gene.

I've been very busy with the big bird and she's close to the finish line.  I elected not to do any mods to the ET as had been suggested earlier (a thinner piece of plastic next to the cable trays and ice frost ramp area) as I wasn't sure I could make it look good and glue the cable trays correctly.  So I just went with the kit parts and did the best painting job I could.  Now I'm working on the orbiter.

Here are a couple of pics.

[Dapholine]

I've been very busy with the big bird and she's close to the finish line.

Wow, I'm flabbergasted! How did you manage to paint the tiles (and the seams) so detailed?

[Mark Dave]

That looks great. I also believe the tiles are decals yes?

Scribbing on the tiles is very time consuming, I know.

Here is a reference on AxM for the ET/ SRB attach ring. http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/images/stack2a.gif

[Bubbinski]

Thanks both of you.

Yes, the tiles are decals...Cutting Edge put out a set which I believe is out of production now.  I'm using them on the belly as they're perfectly colored for that part but I won't use them on the upper parts as they're too light. 

My goal is to get this big bird done by the end of the year.  Once I'm done I'll take a pic of it with my 1/144 and 1/288 shuttle stacks to give a sense of scale.

[Gene DiGennaro]

Looking good yourself Bubbinski!

Yes the Cutting Edge decals are out of production, but Ed Bisconti sells an almost identical copy of the decals on Ebay. Those are what I used on my shuttle.

On the belly, I laid down a medium gloss gray before applying the belly tiles. On the sides of the orbiter, I airbrushed a darker gray where the nose decals would go. I also took a soft pencil lead and smudged graphite over the nose decals and sealed them with Krylon clearcoat. The end result was that the nose area was nearly black, with the faintest suggestion of individual tiles on the nose. If you look carefully in the last picture I posted, you can just barely see individual tiles on the nose.

I didn't use the Cutting Edge/Ed Bisconti white tile decals at all, although they might look nice if you're building Columbia or Challenger. Instead, I scaled the 1/100 MARS center paper model orbiter into 1/144 waterslide decals to simulate the white felt insulation blankets around the nose and wings of Endeavour, Discovery, and Atlantis. The MARS center paper model also provided decals for the insulation on the OMS pods. I used the OMS pods from the Minicraft kit as the Revell pods are of the wrong shape.

NASA's Space Shuttle Operational Database has very nice diagrams of tiling and insulation on the orbiters. What's neat is the PDF files can be converted into vector artwork in CorelDraw. I scaled the PDF's to fit the Revell fuselage sides and changed the line colors to a very faint grey and made all lines hairline thick. I then printed the artwork onto 8x10 clear decal sheet and placed them on the orbiter's fuselage sides. I also did that for the tail.

I used AXM's site to make decals to add detail to the SRB nosecones. They needed to be enlarged slightly to fit the Revell SRB.

NASA meatballs, orbiter names, the USA flag and "United States", fuselage stenciling, warning arrows and triangles, hatch, and SRB stenciling came from the Realspace model decal sheet.

I used an awful lot of decal solvent and Johnson's Future clear acrylic gloss floor finish ( that's Johnson's Klear for the rest of the world) to get the decals to snuggle down over the orbiter. Even then I had to cut open a few bubbles with scalpel and apply additional solvent and Future.

The model was weathered with an artist's tortillon and pencil shavings to represent Discovery in her current state. Once weathered the model was sealed with Krylon clear flat.

[Bubbinski]

Thanks Gene.  Here's another shot I just took of my big bird.  I realized tonight I had made a major mistake with the bottom SRB segments---I had glued them on backwards!  Fortunately the things hadn't been glued on too tightly and I was able to remove them without incident and glue them on correctly, so that the aft sep motors faced the orbiter.  Now the SRB's are glued on tighter too.  I'm so glad I caught it before I got the orbiter glued on or else it would have been disastrous.  (think a personal mishap review board convened to investigate why SRB segments were stacked incorrectly on a shuttle stack! ) 

Here's the correctly glued ET/SRB stack and the nearly-finished orbiter awaiting decals and finishing touches.

[Mark Dave]

Why are the windows on the orbiter covered?

[Bubbinski]

The windows are masked - there are a lot of layers of paint over the masking.  One of the very last things I'll do is undo the masking and the windows will be exposed.

[Mark Dave]

I see.

Here is something on Saturn V I noticed http://www.lunar.org/docs/LUNARclips/v6/v6n2/SV-tips.html I never heard of Saturn V being modified for such missions. The only mods I know of are for Skylab and Icarus.

[Downix]

I see.

Here is something on Saturn V I noticed http://www.lunar.org/docs/LUNARclips/v6/v6n2/SV-tips.html I never heard of Saturn V being modified for such missions. The only mods I know of are for Skylab and Icarus.

Check out Astronautix sometime for some really good details on the options for Saturn V:

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/saturnv.htm

[Gene DiGennaro]

I see.

Here is something on Saturn V I noticed http://www.lunar.org/docs/LUNARclips/v6/v6n2/SV-tips.html I never heard of Saturn V being modified for such missions. The only mods I know of are for Skylab and Icarus.

I built my Estes 1/100 Sat V as a display model. I'm too chicken to fly it!

[clongton]

I see.

Here is something on Saturn V I noticed http://www.lunar.org/docs/LUNARclips/v6/v6n2/SV-tips.html I never heard of Saturn V being modified for such missions. The only mods I know of are for Skylab and Icarus.

I built my Estes 1/100 Sat V as a display model. I'm too chicken to fly it!

Ah come on Gene - the thrill of victory - the agoney of defeat! There's nothing like it! But I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I flew my scratch-build 1/48 Saturn-V.

[Gene DiGennaro]

Any pictures of that? Must have been awe inspiring!

[clongton]

Any pictures of that? Must have been awe inspiring!

Photo opp just prior to launch.

[Mark Dave]

I'm planning to build a 1/72 scale Saturn V. Though how tall and wide would each stage be to scale?

Also does anyone have the diagrams for the Saturn V F-1 engine thermal insulation blankets? I remember once seeing a diagram of the blankets unfolded.

[clongton]

Any pictures of that? Must have been awe inspiring!

Photo opp just prior to launch.

Replying to my own post because I forgot an important feature; it's a true paper rocket hehehe.

This model was built entirely from paper. The goal was to come in at 3.3 lbs or less *with* the motor installed. That allowed me to fly it without getting a high power FAA waiver. I succeeded. With a single RoadRunner G-80 installed in the center F1 engine bell, it tipped the scales at 3.21 lbs, classing it as a LMR (Large Model Rocket), exempted from the FAA. I now have a large historic model I can bring to Cub Scout launches anywhere, anytime. The scouts and their families love it every time I fly it.

BTW, did you notice that the Launch Guide Rail cannot be seen? It is completely internal to the airframe and serves to align the lower and upper halves of this flying model. It is a 7-foot 2-piece rod that goes right into the ground below the pad, anchoring the whole assembly; rocket, launch pad and guide rail, with almost 6 feet (5 feet 8 inches) buried completely inside the rocket, sliding on an internal 6-foot 2-piece launch lug. Nice stable launch.

Here is a video of its first launch. Note that the 36" rip-stop nylon parachute from Apogee did not get out until just before touchdown; it got stuck inside. I didn't include a restraint to keep the chute near the top and it dropped all the way down in the airframe at liftoff but I've fixed that now. The model was so light & fluffy that there was no damage at all! Great 1st flight!

I am currently building (on and off again) a 1/48 HP version that I can fly at the regional meets. There will be an engine in each of the (5) F1 engine bells, and the 2nd and 3rd stages will also be powered. They will use fins that collapse inside the fairing below them and spring out and lock into position as soon as they leave the stage below them when its engine fires. In this way the scale appearance of the vehicle is preserved while still maintaining stability in flight. I'm seriously considering building a matching 1/48 LUT to fly it from, with functional swings arms, lights and all.

[Gene DiGennaro]

I'm planning to build a 1/72 scale Saturn V. Though how tall and wide would each stage be to scale?

Also does anyone have the diagrams for the Saturn V F-1 engine thermal insulation blankets? I remember once seeing a diagram of the blankets unfolded.

Mark, Apogee Rockets makes a very nice ( but very expensive) 1/70th scale Saturn V. As I recall, it's about 5-6ft tall. David Weeks has Saturn V drawings in 1/48 available on the Realspace Models website.

Here's some links to paper Saturn V's in 1/96 and 1/48 scale.

http://jleslie48.com/gallery_models_apollo.html

You could print the 1/96 scale paper model at 1.33x its original size to have 1/72 scale drawings.

[Gene DiGennaro]

Chuck that sounds like a great project! I bet you were nervous as the chute deployed at the last moment. Did you build your Sat V from a kit (Sherri's Hot Rockets) or was it scratchbuilt?