Space Shuttle OV-102 Columbia.

[x3mperformance]

So, a short update.

The Monogram stack, reprecent one of the early configurations, or try to...

That means the SR's noses are representing the cast type, where STS 109-107 both have the riveted design, where the structure only have the verticaly textures.

So a lot of sandig is taking place at the moment.

here you see the project, almost all texture are gone on the right one,

and i need to sand the other one down, too.

Then a part of construction with styrene strips, and some tubing etc,

will transform it to something i can use.

Rene'

Update

I have desided to ad a small amount of fact about the Space Transportation System or in plain english, the Shuttle with its stack.

All facts is by NASA.

The development took place during the very early 70's

The Shuttle are made of + 2,5 million parts.

230 miles (370 kilometers) of electrical wire in aviation specs.

The + 27,000 tiles on the first orbiter took 350 man-hours to mount.

Each main engine produces 1,200,000 hp

At a start, it's Cold started from -423º F (-252.8º C) to +6,000º F (+3,315.6º C) in 1,2 second.

At it's peack, it performs a staggering 104% power. (More than it is build for? ? ?)

The Main Engines produce a exhaust of wather vapor and air. Eco-friendly... Yep.

The fuel turbine pressure of one main engine, could send a coloumn of liquid hydrogen 36 miles (57,9 km) straight up in the air.

The takeof weight are app. 2,04 million kilo grams, (4.5 million pounds)

.

Loosing 1,59 million kilograms (3.5 million pounds) in the 8,5 minutes of the launch to it's orbit. Quick diet!!!

The Solid Rocket Boosters deliver 72% of the total thrust power.

Thats 44,000,000 hp (44 million) Burning 10 ton of solid fuel pr. second.

When ignited, they burn 122 seconds, and ther's NO WAY of turning them off.

The SSME has a Fuel milage to 2 feet/gallon... (0.000161039283 km/liter)

Acceleration is 0-60 miles/h (0-100 km/h) in 5 seconds.

After 55 seconds more (60 sec total) the speed is 1000 miles pr. hour (1600 km/h)

It has a top speed at 17,400 miles per hour (+28,000 km/h) which it actually can do backwards and upside down!

It is out of this world, and really really hard to belive that it's actually man made.

Have a nice weekend, to all of you.

Rene'

Edited April 15, 2012 by x3mperformance

[x3mperformance]

Hi there...

I have spend a lot of time, trying to figure out, some more or less, bullit proof way about the windows problem, with the over sized winows on the Monogram kit.

This due to the huge problems, Dutycat made for him self, in his video build of this kit. (Shuttle Wars.)

This is not to blame Dutycat, at all.

There's just not been any super easy way arround this problem.

And this causes people to do it there own way. Not always turning out as intended to.

But i have come a god part of the way, thinking of that fatal error, and the "normal" way, with styrene strips.

This leaves you out with your own interpretation of the actual windows from the Orbiter.

So how the heck do you do it easy...

Well.

Now, i have tryed some different ways, and the easy one, i will guide you through here.

This is then also, the way where you get closest to the correct shape, and depending on your own tolerances, the correct placement of 'em.

I am actually celebrating this small victory with a glass of good Italien Wine. Amarone del Valpolicella

Until now, it looks like this for me.

Step one.:

Use a heavy grade of paper, hold it behind the Monogram window cut outs.

Mark the cut outs with a pencil.

The with of the pencil will make it a slight bit smaller. That's to your favor, in a minut.

Here you can compare the paper mock-up to the windows from the Monogram kit.

Gee, i wish i had the Revell's windows to compare it to now...

Here i have cut out the paper template, and you now see, that it's a bit "Under size"

But, when you outline the template onto the styrene strip, you get it almost spot on.

Told you, the under size was working the right way...

Here the styrene strip is cut, and tested.

The work is not yet finished.

From this angle, you see that now it's just to putty the new frame into the kit when finished.

Now i just need to find the correct shape, and placement of the windows,

and transfer them to the new frame. Here, it would have been nice with the Revell kit on hand...

More to come.

Hope you see the big picture of this.

I may not have revolutionised the business, but i am making some small steps into the right direction, to make it easy for the modellers to copy this and get a really god result with not so many possibilities to make errors.

Rene'

[model_insania]

I like the mileage fact - 160mm per litre!

[x3mperformance]

I like the mileage fact - 160mm per litre!

Yes, 16 cm... i even think, if you poor a liter out on the floor, it fills MORE than 16 cm...

But back to the build.

Here's an little update on the windows.

I make a template from a scan of a decal, that are sooooo close to the original size and shape,

as possible, and compared to the template i made.

BUT... It's even worse with that Monogram shuttle, than expected...

But i will keep on fighting this, until i come out as the winner...

D... I am at work, and the shuttle is at home...

Here you se my "Hobby- room" for the next week...

I've noticed some build a plane in a hotel room, i build Space shuttles in a truck.

[JMChladek]

Hmmm, that printout looks familiar. Just remember that 2D printouts of a 3D shape, even if accurate may not necessarily be accurate to the dimensions of the part that you are modifying. The trick as I see it is to improve the appearance of the windows without necessarily making them 100% bang on accurate.

That is one of the main reasons I went with the styrene strip method I used since I was able to adjust a little at a time. As for the diagnal edge on the front most windows, I cut the strip at a similar angle. I didn't do anything about rounding the corners until I got to the primer and paint stage and for that I just cut the window masks with rounded corners so primer and paint would build up in those spots. Once frame decals were applied over the top (which I sectioned so I could manipulate them easier) the window frames looked a lot better.

[x3mperformance]

Hmmm, that printout looks familiar. Just remember that 2D printouts of a 3D shape, even if accurate may not necessarily be accurate to the dimensions of the part that you are modifying. The trick as I see it is to improve the appearance of the windows without necessarily making them 100% bang on accurate.

That is one of the main reasons I went with the styrene strip method I used since I was able to adjust a little at a time. As for the diagnal edge on the front most windows, I cut the strip at a similar angle. I didn't do anything about rounding the corners until I got to the primer and paint stage and for that I just cut the window masks with rounded corners so primer and paint would build up in those spots. Once frame decals were applied over the top (which I sectioned so I could manipulate them easier) the window frames looked a lot better.

Might look familiar, but only goes as a temlate for this project.

But you are probably right about the 2D and 3D principles, althought it is really hard to get the big picture.

But i do understand the part about the flat paper, and the curved shuttle.

I will give this a go, when i get home again to see how things actually line up.

IF, and only IF i manage to pull this of, by adjusting the two different temlates, i will make a set of templates that will do the trick, and share them.

But let's see.

I have plenty of time to speculate, re-think and solve these mysteries, when at work, like now.

But, at least i am giving it a go, from a different perspective.

Rene'

Edited April 16, 2012 by x3mperformance

[JMChladek]

Understood Rene and I wish you luck. I just don't want to end in disaster like Dutycat's did, that's all (please, please, let it work!).

But, all things considered even if something bad did happen, it should be easy enough to acquire a Monogram orbiter only kit in Europe if you had to as the prices of those models on the secondary market is pretty low.

[x3mperformance]

Understood Rene and I wish you luck. I just don't want to end in disaster like Dutycat's did, that's all (please, please, let it work!).

But, all things considered even if something bad did happen, it should be easy enough to acquire a Monogram orbiter only kit in Europe if you had to as the prices of those models on the secondary market is pretty low.

Ahh, thanks Jay.

I actually like the fact that you are concerned about me and the out come... LoL.

But don't worrie, i will not make anything, in-reversible, that could damage the model.

Nothing is glued or putty'ed in, before i'm 112% sure. And the Board have approved the changes.

I have had a look at the decals with the tiles now...

They are good, but.

I think the lines between the tiles are a bit on the wide side...

Am i wrong in that observation?

And most of the lines between the tiles are white, on the decal sheet, that's almost correct, but some places, ther's a more red/maroon line!

Phew, i might be too picky!!!

Keep glueing

Rene'

[JMChladek]

I suppose the borders on the decals might be ever so slightly wide, but once they are applied to the orbiter, the eye doesn't really pick out that bit as instead it looks at the overall effect. Besides, print resolution for an average decal isn't necessarily tight enough to print a line as tight as it would potentially need to be in order to be in scale. Using the tile decals is kind of like taking the approach of building the forest as opposed to building each individual tree. When it IS a forest, your eye doesn't notice the problems with the individual trees as much.

As for the tiles, the white you see is tile gap filler. In some cases where you see a reddish material, it is silicone RTV on the gap filler (which I believe was applied to keep the gap filler from moving). STS-114 gave us the best view of the gap fillers as an EVA was done to remove a couple of them that were protruding from the tiles on the bottom. The gap fillers act as a cushion between the tiles because the surface of the orbiter expands and contracts. Without the gap filler, the edges of the tiles might chafe and damage one another as they rub together during the expansion and contraction cycles.

Edited April 18, 2012 by JMChladek

[x3mperformance]

I suppose the borders on the decals might be ever so slightly wide, but once they are applied to the orbiter, the eye doesn't really pick out that bit as instead it looks at the overall effect. Besides, print resolution for an average decal isn't necessarily tight enough to print a line as tight as it would potentially need to be in order to be in scale. Using the tile decals is kind of like taking the approach of building the forest as opposed to building each individual tree. When it IS a forest, your eye doesn't notice the problems with the individual trees as much.

As for the tiles, the white you see is tile gap filler. In some cases where you see a reddish material, it is silicone RTV on the gap filler (which I believe was applied to keep the gap filler from moving). STS-114 gave us the best view of the gap fillers as an EVA was done to remove a couple of them that were protruding from the tiles on the bottom. The gap fillers act as a cushion between the tiles because the surface of the orbiter expands and contracts. Without the gap filler, the edges of the tiles might chafe and damage one another as they rub together during the expansion and contraction cycles.

Lesson learned again, today.

You are probably right, (Again... hmmm.) about the tiles, i need to consult the guy who will initially print my decals, to which "Tolerance" he's equipment can cope.

Then i will try a test print of the Experimentale tiles.

As for another subject, i have tryed to gather some info about the SILTS pod's dimensions.

I haven't been able to find that info, anywhere, not even in SIM#3.

Only thing i almost got together on tha size, is some rough messurements on a photo, that it's diameter is app. 3 times the with of the vertical stabilizer...

And i'm back to square one, since i have only the kit to mesure from. for wich i have made out a math formula for.

(Kit x Monogram)/accuracy= Disaster^fail

But i actually look forward to go home, this time.

A lot of ideas for the build.

A lot of Evergreen stuff are awaiting my return.

I go pick up my new Air Brush.

The SSME kit from Fisher should also soon be on it's way.

Best regards

Rene'

[JMChladek]

Your best bet with the SILTS pod is to take the a tail image of Columbia with the pod from the book, blow it up 200% (since the drawing is 1/144 scale) and use that as a visual reference. Or you can at least measure the width of the pod from its top and bottom dimension in the drawing and scale up by 200% that way (the pod is cylindrical in cross section, so it should be as wide as it is tall). The pod itself should be no wider than the top of the tail at its widest point. Here is how I did mine in 1/144:

In this instance, I just a piece of round sprue for the body and a 1/48 Hellfire missile for the tip (sanded down). Styrene tube about double the size should do fine in 1/72 and maybe a blob of epoxy putty for the front sanded to shape (or a wood dowel perhaps). The tricky bit is how the tail profile blends into the pod. It looks weird because of how the tail fattens out as it progresses aft.

BTW, pay no attention to the flat spot at the back of the tail on mine. I was originally doing this model as Endeavour from STS-88 when Columbia broke apart. So I had already added that flat area to the tail, like what all the orbiters except for Columbia and Enterprise had. After I was done adding the pod, I had to use a blob of Milliput to add back the rounded rear tail cap.

Edited April 19, 2012 by JMChladek

[GordonD]

As for the tiles, the white you see is tile gap filler. In some cases where you see a reddish material, it is silicone RTV on the gap filler (which I believe was applied to keep the gap filler from moving). STS-114 gave us the best view of the gap fillers as an EVA was done to remove a couple of them that were protruding from the tiles on the bottom.

Ooh, I remember that. They had all sorts of contingency plans on how to remove the fillers without damaging the surrounding tiles, and in the end the astronaut just pulled them out with his fingers!

[x3mperformance]

Hi.

I am still on the road... Yep, i would rather be at home...

But i have done some shopping for the project, plus some new kits...

Revell Airbrush with compressor.

A kit i will test, as it seems like a god product.

And yet a bit of the blue boxes.

Edited April 23, 2012 by x3mperformance

[Silverstone 2]

Looking forward to seeing the end results!

[Sea Vixen]

I'm intrigued, what was the outcome of this build?

[PoppaMoomin]

Thank you for this, my Revell Shuttle just waiting for inspiration, that stack is huge!