Jinx

Hi, just reviving this thread to say the project isn’t dead I just took some time away due to having issues with the SRBs that was irritating me and then having some home renovation work on. I have since added the New aware resin parts to the SRBs, used styrene to scratch build some additional small details, painted it up including the slightly off-white colour in places and added decals. Couple of little additions to make but they’re essentially done. Now I am in the process of working on the ET, having removed all the kit mouldings I have marked up the position of the resin parts and am masking them ready for the glue/flour insulation phase. I’ll also be adding tape strips to replicate the banding effect which I have seen done before to great effect.

Thanks for the kind words and the prompt to add my own update! I am now calling the orbiter (99.9%) finished. I still have the umbilical doors to add and perhaps a little weathering, particularly to the heat shield but it’s as good as done! I am now starting on the boosters and ET. I have assembled the parts and cut/affixed the larger New Ware resin bits. Just in the sanding and smoothing stage now…

Looks good to me! It’s important to remember that as the modeller you see every imperfection and brush stroke up close and personal so they will be more evident to you but as an observer we see the model as a whole so those little details don’t stand out I think it’s great and worth of any display shelf! ps: thanks for the shoutout, I’d best do my own update…!

Hi, apologies for not updating recently, yet ANOTHER new job got in the way. However… I have tried out (and love) the homemade ‘dry rub’ style transfer paper so the orbiter now has its markings. Plus 99% of the tiling is done, just a small afe of the aft section remains then I can add the white areas around the engines and paint/fit the engine bells. Hope it meets your approval!

Hi all! Just another little update to convince you all I *am* still working on this shuttle! i have painted the RCC on the nose and leading edges of the wings, I don’t have an airbrush so it’s my crappy hand painting but I think it’ll do. I put down a first layer of colours then some very thin masking tape strips before over painting again to mimic the seams on the sections. Then I have also Added some small paper circles with an added layer of paint to represent the covers in the maneuvering thrusters which are in place for launch. Thanks for your continued interest!

Quick update before heading to work... Horizontal stabilizers done and cargo bay door hinges added. I am starting to see the finish line with the orbiter I think (though still lots to do!)

Well it’s taken an age but... Milestone reached! After what must be a few thousand individually hand-cut and superglued pieces of electrical tape The bottom of the orbiter is finally tiled.

Hi! Apologies for being absent for a while, I haven't had much modelling time recently and figured there's no point in updating every little bit I do. Since last time I have tiled the other OMS cowling, both sides of the orbiter, made more progress on the bottom heat shield and started on the rear section. Also some more white paint washes added to try and give better colour consistancy. Plan of action next is to finish the bottom heat shield, rear section and the horizontal stabilisers. Then I will paint the grey RCC bits on the nose and leading wing edges. After that I can start to paint the engine cowlings and add some more detail to various bits of the orbiter that need it, will also touch up any black areas that have gotten some white paint on them. Finally try this dry-rub transfer paper, so design all the decals I will need for the markings, little hatches, warning signs etc and apply them. Hope you like the pics and thanks for your interest!

Hi, A little bit of progress, was gonna wait until more was done for an update but since you asked...! I’ve done the other side of the tail and the other upper wing surface, plus I decided to give the whole orbiter another wash of thinned down white for a more even colour. Once all the white areas are done I’ll go back and touch up the black parts that need it. Be sure to share your progress once you start your model!

Cheers! I'm really enjoying the build but i'd be lying if I wasn't ready to do something other than tiles! Looking forward to getting the decals applied, I ordered some 'make your own' dry rub decal paper in the hope it'll give a nicer finish than waterslide decals. Also excited to start painting the engine cowlings. But for now, it's tiles and tiles and tiles...

Almost there! A little bit more work and that will be the underside fully tiled... I also did a very quick job on the fuel tank connections since they’re not likely to be seen much/at all.

Sorry there’s not been much action recently, I’ve a new job which is taking up more of my time than before. Progress is continuing though, been working on getting more tiles affixed to the bottom of the orbiter. Getting there!

Hi guys! Not done much in the past week or so as other things have gotten in the way, but what I have done is... - Tiled the left OMS cowling - Covered the left wing surface in masking tape 'blankets' - Painted over all the white areas with a thinned out white paint to try and get less differentiation between the different materials - Continued the slow job of tiling the bottom of the orbiter Thanks for your continued interest!

Hi, Another quick update albeit slow progress! I have finished applying the thermal blanket tiles to the sides of the orbiter and have fully tiles one side of the vertical stabiliser. I did some tests with the Revell decals onto the fabric tape material but it's a bit too obvious that there's a shiny decal on a matt fabric so I have ordered some dry rub transfer paper that I am hoping will give a better finish. Cheers!

Hi everyone! Latest update... - I have glued in the cargo bay interior and part of the cargo bay contents (just for strength and stability) and using some of the plastic sprues added some support beams for the doors. - Doors have been primed and had the tiles applied. - The masking tape 'blankets' were looking a little yellow in comparison to the rest of the tiles so I have painted these with a very light grey. - I have started applying the tiles to the wings. - I have been rubbing a pencil on some paper then wiping my finger over it to add some 'dirt' to the cleaner areas to give it a 'well travelled' look. Thanks for looking!

As promised a quick update. Not too much to report but since last time I have... - Realised my original window plan wouldn't work/look right (the frames would've been too deep) so instead I carefully cut some clear plastic from a pop bottle to the size of the window aperture and glued it in place. Of course I used superglue which has fogged them up a bit but I am not going to beat myself up about that too much. It does mean though that the cockpit I scratch built can be barely seen! At least I will know it's there I guess... - I have re-done the window rivets in metallic (previously in grey) these are a little bigger than I would've preferred but I couldn't get them any smaller, I had to use the head of a pin dipped in paint to get them this small! - I have added some more of the thermal blanket protection to the sides and along the edges of the bay in anticipation of covering and fitting the bay doors. - I have given the wings a very quick coat of white just because the grey primer shows up too dark through the masking tape layers. - I have also added black protective tiles along the forward leading edge of the wings. Thanks again for the kind words and continued interest in my build!

Thanks for the kind words! I’ll try and get another update post up soon!

I made the exact same calculation! I’m cutting 1mm x 1mm square tiles as accurately as I can but obviously being off by even 0.1mm is a 10% fluctuation so they’re not, nor will ever be exact. I’m then cutting any irregular sized tiles by eye to fill in gaps etc. I am ‘roughly’ following the actual tile layout but I’m not worried about every tile being right! Each tile has to be dipped in superglue first to ensure a strong bond, very fiddly work but quite therapeutic. I am finding tiles all over the house though, in bed, the wife found one stuck to her boob at one point... Thanks for the kind words, I’m glad people think it’s looking good!

Hi all! Another update, I have fully tiled the nose area and also used a pin to paint in some bolts around the windows. Should give a better idea of how the tiles will look at large scale. Thanks for looking!

Figured since progress has been slow I would wait a while until there was enough done to make it worthwhile! I have been laboriously adding the heat protection to the cockpit/nose area of the orbiter, it's not completely accurate to the actual shuttle but I have tried to get the general layout and feel the same. The medical tape 'flexible blankets' pick up dirt really easily (the black paint was rubbing off on my hands from so much handling!) but this isn't to dissimilar to the patina on a real orbiter after the rigours of space flight so I think it adds a shade of realism. Curious as to what people think of the technique of the individual tiles? I personally like the way the individual squares catch the light at different angles.

Just a craft knife to be honest! I’m sure there’s probably a specific tool for the job but as a first-time modeller I only have a few bits and pieces so far.

Slow progress...

Hi guys, so latest update... I have masked off the windows, nose and tail and painted those areas black. The edges are a little rough but it doesn't matter since it's only to stop any grey/white showing through the tiles I will be adding. I have then tiled the area around the windows and added the masking tape solution to represent the nomex felt heat protection blankets. It was at this point I really appreciated how inaccurate this area is compared to the actual shuttle! The tape has gotten a little grubby since I put it on but i thinbk this is a bonus as the real orbiter is grubby so will hopefully add to the authenticity(?!) As suspected adding the little tiles is difficult and time-consuming but I think the end result looks as good as I could have hoped.

Orbiter has been primed! I can see some areas that aren't as smooth as I thought they were but they shouldn't be an issue since the whole outer surface will be covered in a physical material of some kind. Plan next is to paint the black tile areas, then I can add the electical tape detailing around the windows, install the cockpit windows and cockpit and then fit the bay doors into position.

That’s a lot of shuttles! Is the plan to build them all or will you want/need to kitbash the best parts from all the kits you have to make a few great models? Thabks for the compliments, if you can learn from my mistakes it’ll be worth the effort and if I do anything right all the better!