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#1760 by roma847 on 15 Dec, 2019 23:07
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Hello everybody,
after these details on the Micro level, which were surely stressful for the viewer too,
now again to somewhat larger parts on the ET, which I slowly want to prepare for the SOFI Insulation using the "Flour technique". 
To do this, I first had to recap once again how I wanted to do this with gluing of the ongoing Tape spiral (Barber pole) using the 0,75 mm wide tape strip for simulating the SOFI Pattern Texture.
Regarding this, I had come to the conclusion at the time that it would be easier to mark the adhesive points for all add-on parts, such as the entire ET/Orbiter Aft Attachment incl. Longerons, as well as Ice Ramps and PAL Ramps, etc. and to make recesses for it on the spiral, before the Flouring process, which are then to be covered separately with tape pieces, and only to glue these parts onto the ET after the tank has been floured, primed and painted, and only to paint the add-on parts finally by hand.
And now step by step to the missing details on the ET.
Among other things there was still to be due the extension of the LO2 Feedline, which is too short in the Airfix Kit, which I found to be easier due to the already existing Bracket rings of the Feedline Support Brackets than replacing the complete Feedline including the application of new rings.
For doing this I've thought about cutting the line in front of the "last" ring, which is actually the penultimate ring, because the last Support bracket in front of the Intertank is missing in the kit as is well known.
The replacement piece of the line (Ø 3 mm) I drilled out at the rear end, which thus can be plugged onto the centering pin (Ø 0,4 mm) in the rear part of the line,
and ends in front flush with the Feedline Fairing on the Intertank.
Then I've still glued the front Bracket ring, what for I used an Evergreen Strip (0,4 mm x 0,6 mm), which I had previously bent under hot air around a steel core.
But right next to these narrow Bracket rings there are also somewhat wider rings, of which the front four are missing on the Airfix Feedline, and these are the so-called LO2 Feedline Bellows, which sit in front of the Support Brackets and are numbered green in the following image.
Source: NASA
These Bellows enable the Feedline to be balanced by expansion/contraction both during refueling and during flight. For those interested, a NASA Facts PDF is linked in the following image with further information.
Source: NASA
The dimensions of this rings I have determined from this image,
Source: NASA
for which I used an Evergreen Strip (0,5 mm x 1 mm), which I wrapped around a steel core and formed into a spiral under hot air,
which has also retained its shape even after cooling.
The diameter of the Core wire (Ø 2,5 mm) I've chosen deliberately slightly smaller than that of the Feedline (Ø 3,0 mm), so that the the spiral threaded onto the rest of the feedline fits closely and all I had to do was cutting off the Bellow rings with the razor blade.
I started with the anterior of the four Bellows right in front of the Intertank, in front of which there is still a narrow ring,
Source: NASA
which I've then also glued.
And this is what this group looks like on the ET,
and just for the fun of it I've have threaded the two Press. Lines, which overall makes a pretty good impression, I think.
Now I can confidently glue the three rear Bellow rings (2-4), which I hope that the spiral will give the rest, wherewith the LO2 Feedline would be done.
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#1761 by roma847 on 22 Dec, 2019 21:53
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Hello friends,
meanwhile the remaining three LO2 Feedline Bellows are now glued too, so that the Feedline is now complete.
Next I've set out to pimp the ET Aft Dome a little bit, that is the rear dome-like end of the tank, in whose Aft Dome Cap there are these two Covers as one can see here on the ET-8 (STS-6),
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)
as well as here on the ET-45 (STS-47).
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)
These are the so-called Manholes, of which I did already know the marked Manhole (Ø 36'') from the book "Remove Before Flight", written by my friend Scott Shuttleman Phillips,
Source: Scott Phillips
through which, after the final inspection and acceptance of the ET-1, he was the last person of his team to leave the tank for the STS-1 Mission and even got handed over the red Remove Before Flight Ribbon by the quality inspector, whereupon he was of course very proud of.
Behind the other Manhole (Siphon manhole) was the so-called Siphon with the Anti-vortex baffles, which should prevent an interruption of the fuel flow to the Main Engines, which can be seen on this indoor shot at the end of the LH2 Feedline next to the open Manhole.
Source: Scott Phillips
From these Manholes there are three exemplars in the Newware Kit made of Resin (R42),
and two as PE parts (P44).
I will use the Resin parts, since their rear is slightly curved, which means that they lie better against the dome.
As one can see from the sketch, the two Manholes are not arranged in the middle, but the exit manhole sits slightly below the middle, the location of which I have marked here on the Aft Dome Cap,
and then both discs were temporarily put onto the dome.
I've glued both Manhole covers with Pattex-CA because the normal Revell plastic glue for gluing Resin parts is not suitable.
And with that straight to these lighter Closeouts, which can be seen here on the ET-45 (STS-47), and in a similar form also on all ETs, the meaning and purpose of which was initially unclear to me.
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)
But since I like to know what the parts I'm building are actually good for, I first have asked my ET expert, Scott Phillips, and also DaveS, which both had a simple explanation for it, for which I've then searched for appropriate photos and also found.
These are the ET's rear contact surfaces/points on the transporter specially designed for him, which I've circled in red in the following image, which can be seen more clearly in the zoom.
Source: NASA
Strictly speaking, these are the socalled ET Aft Support Transportation Fittings for which there was this special device on which the ET was bolted down to the transporter, whereto I've found this drawing in the ET Bible.
Source: System Definition Handbook SLWT, Vol. II (Lockheed Martin)
An interesting fact is to note that before each ET's transport the SOFI foam of these Closeouts had to be removed and then reapplied, which resulted in different shapes and colors of these areas.
And also for these Closeouts there is a corresponding PE part (P43) in the Newware Kit,
that could already be seen on the right edge of the PE board in this image, with what it should continue soon.
So far for today, and thus still a nice 4th Advent evening.
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#1762 by roma847 on 24 Dec, 2019 21:01
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Hello everybody,
to Christmas Eve quickly to the Closeouts, which I transferred from the PE board to an Evergreen Styrene Sheet (0,2 mm) because it makes it easier to transfer the contour to the ET. The part should not be glued for the time being, but only after the SOFI Pattern-Tape-Spiral has been glued on, i.e. immediately before the Flour coating. 
After I had determined the exact position of the Closeouts on the ET,
I've fixed it with masking tape (2 mm) and was able to trace the contour.
Now I can start soon with gluing on the Tape spiral and then to cut out the contour so that I can subsequently glue on the Closeouts.
And with the two Longerons I will do it same way.
With that I would like to leave it for now.
I wish you all Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
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#1763 by EG on 26 Dec, 2019 18:35
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And I hope you had a very merry christmas as well brother.....
Looking good and still as amazing as it was before..... -
#1764 by roma847 on 26 Dec, 2019 22:38
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Thanks my friend,
we had a peaceful Christmas, unfortunately there was no snow ...
At the moment I can only make small steps, but that's how I'll achieve my aim too ...
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#1765 by roma847 on 31 Dec, 2019 23:03
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Hello everybody,
before the champagne corks will pop later, I actually wanted to present you one last update in this decade, regarding some small details at the Thrust struts and the Longerons, which I still would like to modify because the original items look a bit different than in the Airfix Kit.
As one can see in this image of the ET-6, the diameter of the Thrust strut in the front part is a little bit larger and the front ring a little wider. 
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)
But unfortunately I can't make it anymore, even though the images are ready, which is why I have to postpone it to the next year, but I'll get in touch back tomorrow, I promise.
With this in mind, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, see you later!!!
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#1766 by EG on 01 Jan, 2020 05:15
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Hey Brother.. Two hours to go here, goodbye to the teens, welcome to the '20's The century has become an adult....
Lets see if it can act like it..... (highly doubtful)
Happy new year to you as well my friend.... -
#1767 by roma847 on 01 Jan, 2020 21:27
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Thanks my friend for your good wishes,
and a happy and especially healthy New Year to you and everyone!
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#1768 by roma847 on 01 Jan, 2020 23:02
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Hello everybody,
and with this again back to the ET, where there are still a few little things like these Thrust Struts and Longerons, which I still would like to modify because in the original they look a little different than in the Airfix Kit.
As one can see in this image of the ET-6, the diameter of the oblique struts in the front half is slightly larger and the front ring is a little wider,
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)
which one can see more clearly in this image of the ET-33 (STS-36), from which I determined the dimensions for the sheath.
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)
As can be seen from this, the sheath in 1:144 should only have a wall thickness of 0,2 mm, which makes the selection of a suitable material somewhat difficult, since insulating hose, I like to use for such things, for inner diameters of approx. 3 mm but is too thick-walled and this time is eliminated.
So I had to think about something else and first had thought of adhesive film, as it can often be found in the supermarket as a price label. To do this, I cut a 9 mm wide strip and wrapped it around the strut a few times until it had a diameter of approx. 3,6 mm. 
That would also work if necessary, but then one would have to accept the overlap at the end of the winding, which gradually opened again, which I didn't like.
Then I came up with the following idea,
and these were the well-known Drinking straws, some of which I had put aside a long time ago. Their diameter is indeed a bit too large at 5 mm, but the wall thickness of approx. 0,2 mm would fit to get the required Ø 3,6 mm. 
To do this, I've slit a 9 mm long sheath lengthways and then wound it as tightly as possible on a steel rod with a smaller diameter (Ø 2,5 mm) and fixed it with a clothespin,
and then placed in a hot water bath for a few minutes for molding.
The circumference of the resulting wrapped sheath I've then shortened accordingly,
so that there was no overlap on the Airfix strut. By the way, on the left in the image one can already see the prepared spiral for the wider front rings (0,5 mm x 1 mm).
And as the test measurement showed, the required diameter of the sleeve was actually 3,6 mm.
Here one can see a comparison of both variants, whereby I've chosen for the lower one.
Before I could glue the sheaths onto the struts, I first had to remove the rings that were too narrow to be able to thread on the wider rings,
that are already glued here.
Then the sheaths could be pushed on and glued.
And now still for the modification of the Longerons, for what I've used again Apoxie Sculpt, of which both components had to be mixed in a 1:1 ratio by kneading,
until a bright color appeared. With that it was then possible to fill in and model the middle areas between the slants,
in order to match them to the shape of the real Longerons.
In this condition I've let everything dry,
and then carefully sanded from all sides.
The Thrust Struts are only temporarily layed up and have yet to be glued in. Then the front connecting bolt can also still be scratched.
And finally, here is the ET with the temporarily layed up struts and Longerons.
With that it's enough for the beginning in the new year.
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#1769 by roma847 on 17 Jan, 2020 14:55
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Hello everybody,
well, the same (art)break as every year, and the longer it lasts, the harder it is to get back in ...
But nevertheless it should go on, and that's why: Go right ahead!
For the masking of the connection areas of the ET Attachments before the Flour process, one interface is still missing, and that is the one between the ET Vertical Struts and the SRB Aft Attach Struts,
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (Jester)
which were unfortunately not taken into account in both the Airfix Kit and the Newware Kit, which results in this gap, which of course should not exist there. 
Via the local cable connections running in the Cable tray and through the Upper Strut, u.a. the ignition of the SRB Separation Motors took place, which initiated the separation from the ET after the burnout of the Boosters.
As one can see from the following image, the round cladding of the Upper Strut cannot be overlooked,
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (woods170)
and is not nearly just a puny thing like at the dainty Airfix Strut,
which can also be seen in this photo by Steve Patlan,
Source: live.staticflickr.com (Steve Patlan)
who was close to the action at the time and has great photos in his albums. 
Source: live.staticflickr.com (Steve Patlan)
This comparison inspired me to show these details at the interface in a more real way, whereby I was starting with the cladding of the Upper Strut. But since I had already glued the struts at the right SRB, I've taken the struts of the left SRB and first removed the annoying bobble.
Then I've drilled off a Styrene Rod (Ø 3 mm) step by step up to Ø 1,4 mm,
so that a separated sleeve of it could be pushed over the strut. In between there was placed a punched disc (0,25 mm, Ø 3,4 mm),
which then was glued together with the sleeve on the strut, which already looks more similar to the original strut. 
The same procedure I will now carry out on the right SRB Strut, for what I will carefully separate it off the booster.
And now once again to the connecting cable tray between ET and SRB Attach Ring, for what I once again did use this overseeable photo of the ET-32 ( STS-32) by George Gassaway, what I've turned by 90° for better orientation, from which I've also determined the dimensions (in mm) of the individual details.
Therein one can also see well the green drawn TPS Cladding, which lies in front of the Cable Trays like an oblique ramp and should have a similar protective function like those of the elongated LH2/LO2 PAL Ramps in front of the cable trays in the middle and front tank area.
Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)
With these dimensions I have drawn this sketch (1:1),
which I then have put onto the interface to try on, with which I can mark the masking areas on the ET.
The remaining dimensions for scratching the parts I've determined from this side view,
Source: forum.nasaspaceflight.com (woods170)
wherewith again a further small step was done.
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#1770 by llanitedave on 21 Jan, 2020 17:57
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I'm glad you couldn't stay away, Manfred!
Your keen eye and fine work always makes me appreciate the subtleties of the shuttle's design even more. So much incredible engineering! -
#1771 by roma847 on 21 Jan, 2020 22:20
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Thanks Dave for your nice comment,
I keep clenching my teeth and won't give up yet ...
Therefore stay tuned my friend.
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#1772 by roma847 on 28 Jan, 2020 22:14
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Hello friends,
in silent memory of January 28, 1986 I would like to commemorate the tragic 25th Space shuttle mission and the tenth and last flight of the Space shuttle Challenger, which broke 73 seconds after launch ...
Source: wikipedia.org
It was the first launch of a space shuttle from the new Launch pad Pad 39B, in the construction of which my friend James MacLaren was instrumental, to what all employees had been proudly looking forward to. All the greater were their disappointment and sadness that the first launch from the new pad ended in such a tragic way.
It was the worst accident in US space history by that time, in which all seven astronauts were killed,
Front row (L-R): Michael Smith, Francis Scobee, Ronald McNair;
Back row (L-R): Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik
Source: wikipedia.org
but seven new stars were born!
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#1773 by roma847 on 17 Feb, 2020 07:04
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Hello everybody,
don't panic friends,
after a somewhat longer break it should finally go on.
In the meantime, the second SRB Upper Strut (right) has also been modified by the thicker sleeve, but the strut, unfortunately, could not be removed from the bonding without being damaged and therefore has to be lengthened somewhat, so that the distance of the booster from the ET is correct.
For the test fitting onto the ET, I was able to use it like this for the time being. Then I've marked the contours for the Longerons and Cable Trays, incl. TPS cladding,
and then taped them off with tape so that I can expose the adhesive surfaces again after the flouring and priming/painting.
Then I took a closer look at and measured the SRB front parts (SRB Forward Skirts) from the Newware Kit, the surface of which is surprisingly finely structured and therefore looks much more real than that smooth from Airfix,
whereby they come pretty close to the original.
Source: NASA
Since the Newware Kit is specially designed for the Revell Shuttle Stack, the question arose whether the SRB Forward Skirts would also match the Airfix-SRBs. But since the diameters of the SRBs of both kits are surprisingly the same (Ø 26 mm), I was relieved and have carefully cut off the front part with the fine saw. 
And lo and behold, the Newware Forward Skirt makes a good match with the Airfix booster
Now I just have to drill the hole for the brass support rod in the right place and take care that the drill does not run away in the Resin part.
So I'm still trying to figure out how to do it best ... are there any thoughts?
We will see ...
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#1774 by roma847 on 17 Feb, 2020 23:06
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Hello everybody,
I actually don't need to drill 25 mm deep, because 5 - 10 mm should also be enough if I shorten the brass support rod on both sides accordingly. Therewith the boosters' forward attachment point should be fixed sufficiently and, together with the rear SRB Aft Attach Struts, ensure a stable three-point support of the boosters.
This is this circled wedge-shaped Fastening part (SRB/ET Forward Attach Fitting) between the ET and the SRB, in each of which is a Separation Bolt, which is blown up together with similar bolts in the rear SRB struts when the SRBs are separated from the ET and thus releases the booster.
Source: NASA
Source: Marshall Space Flight Center, Space Transportation System HEAR No. TX-116
As one can see in this image, this fastening wedge is in place on the Airfix booster, but it is missing on the Newware SRB Forward Skirt, what in turn proves that apparently no kit is perfect.
Therefore I will scratch this wedge-shaped part and glue it to the attachment point behind the drilled hole for the support rod, with which the attached booster will be glued onto the ET, which should ensure a sufficient hold.
And these 5 - 10 mm deep drilled holes should be carried out by hand with the appropriate caution and care, I hope so.
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#1775 by roma847 on 22 Feb, 2020 20:11
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Hello everybody,
and thus to my test bores in order to test whether the minimum depth of approx. 5 - 10 mm could be achieved by hand with an appropriate caution and care.
Since my Dremel is already nearly 10 years old, I wanted to test it once again in the associated drill stand, although I had doubts whether the lowest speed of 10.000 rpm already would be overkill and too risky.
That's why I started by doing some manual tests true to the motto Better safe than sorry!. For this I have clamped a Resin strip in my Mini vice and started turning the Dremel-chuck with a drill Ø 1,3 mm in the Dremel-stand with the left hand , while at the same time I've soulfully forced down the lifting rod with my right hand, which was not so easy.
While the orthogonality of the bore in longitudinal direction was acceptable,
it left something to be desired in the transverse direction, 
which is why I was not completely convinced of this hand-drilling variant.
Therefore, in a second series of tests with the Dremel in the drill stand I have drilled at the lowest speed (10.000 rpm) in a Chipboard with Ø 1,3 mm,
what went smoothly.
Then I've drilled with Ø 1,4 mm and then took a look at the orthogonality of the bore in the longitudinal and transverse directions, which looked surprisingly good at least over the minimum length.
Then I've drilled with the diameter of the SRB support rod (Ø 1,5 mm) and tested again in both directions, whereby the orthogonality was still unchanged good.
And the support rod also fit well into the bore, which was about 15 mm deep, which should be sufficient for the stable fixation of the boosters in my opinion, whereby I still could then drill a bit deeper with a Mini hand drill.
So I could now venture on the bore of the two SRB Forward Skirts from the Newware Kit, whereby in addition to a stable support in a corresponding holder, especially the skirts have to be precisely aligned so that their bores are in line with the support rod.
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#1776 by roma847 on 23 Feb, 2020 11:48
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Hello everybody,
so far so good.
Next, I've determined the position of the base point for the bore of the Support rod, which was not so easy, because it could not be marked in the narrow space, which is why I had to improvise a little bit with masking tapes.
The next problem was the necessary level support of the part as a prerequisite for an exact drilling, which was also not easy due to the disruptive Systems Tunnel at the bottom, which is why an exact clamping in the vice was rather difficult.
That's why I clamped a brass angle for orientation in the Z-direction,
and aligned the center line on the back of the part as good as possible parallelly.
For the alignment in the X-direction I oriented myself on the upper edge of the vice.
For better orientation here one can see the Orbiter vehicle coordinate system.
Source: Marshall Space Flight Center, Space Transportation System HEAR No. TX-116
And in this position I will try now drilling the hole, again step by step, carefully pre-drilling with Ø 1,3 mm, and then drilling out with Ø 1,4 mm and Ø 1,5 mm.
Hopefully I can do this successfully, so please keep your fingers crossed!
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#1777 by Starbase101 on 23 Feb, 2020 13:14
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There are inks which remain wet longer for use with rubber stamps. Why not apply a little of that to the end of your metal rod after it's fed through the ET hole and then make contact with the SRB part? It should leave a small dot of ink precisely where the hole is to be drilled (more accurate than tape strips).
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#1778 by roma847 on 23 Feb, 2020 19:30
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Thanks Mike,
thats right, but you won't believe it, exactly this method I have meanwhile used on the left SRB Forward Skirt, which is clamped and aligned in the vice as already shown.
But it is almost impossible to hit the exact point for the bore, because one cannot align the SRB skirt so precisely by hand onto the Intertank. But this is not necessary either because it is sufficient to mark a short contact line with the rod's ink circumferentially on the Intertank, because the exact point for the bore results at the intersection of this line with the longitudinal engraving on the skirt.
That's why I applied this method also still at the right SRB skirt with the tapes, the result of which can be seen here.
The more precise point is therefore a bit further ahead.
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#1779 by Starbase101 on 23 Feb, 2020 19:33
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Of course, no pun with "bit"
