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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6


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OH MANFRED! The things we do for our craft!! A lot of holes, a lot of needles, fronts,backs,..it makes my brain hurt sometimes. You are doing an amazing job with this build my friend, just keep building and sharing the photos. We want to see it all!

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Hi there,


after all the holes for the support brackets of the ladders and rungs were punctured, today I wanted to glue the rungs final. First, I have bent the remaining rungs of the LH2 TSM,


EGL33f.jpg


and subsequently inserted. As the spacer, this time I have used a profile 0,75 x0,75 mm, because these rungs sit slightly lower than the ladders. ja.gif


OjIJfL.jpg


After all the rungs were fixed at the same height, I have removed the spacer,


logX64.jpg


and the rungs dabbed at the base points with CA droplets and glued it. rolleyes.gif


9RuGnH.jpg


So everything was now ready for the lacquering of the rungs.


fFzk2A.jpg


Then I picked out my finest brush and carefully painted the rungs with freshly diluted paint. This went relatively well, although I had to aim at the feet of the rungs very closely with the brush tip to paint not the surrounding area. flehan.gif For this job I needed again the headset magnifier and a sensitive and quiet hand. gut.gif


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But with the result as far as I can be quite happy, I think so. icon_thumb.gif


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And thus a small step is done again and I can now move on to painting the ladders, what I will do, however, with airbrush, because the brushing of perceived 1000 sprouts I will not expect me really. shocked.gif


In this sense you all a great weekend, see you soon. cool.gif


hallo.gif

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Anxious to see how the Paint Dept. dose with the ladders. Not to worry tho, they will turn out great. I was thinking that you have been building these TSM's for pages now, and maybe almost finished? No matter tho, they are turnning out beautifull.

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Anxious to see how the Paint Dept. dose with the ladders. Not to worry tho, they will turn out great. I was thinking that you have been building these TSM's for pages now, and maybe almost finished? No matter tho, they are turnning out beautifull.

Hi Rich,
tomorrow there is a large-scale operation in the paint shop and I hope that the guys will finally paint all ladders and support brackets. rolleyes.gif But then a very hot action is waiting for me, namely the tricky mounting of the six ladders on the TSMs. undecided.gif
But I have to consider before even a clever sequence, because with the mounting of each additional ladder the TSMs are becoming unhandily. gruebel.gif
But this is still not the end, because if the six ladders are attached, then these four ROFIs here are still missing, the so-called Radially Outward Firing Ignitors for flaring possibly from the SSMEs emanating hydrogen, at T-10 sec be ignited before the lift-off and sprinkle like burning sparklers. gut.gif
cee198.jpg
Source: NASA
But these are truly the last parts of the TSMs. zustimm.gif If it's only already so far would be ... rolleyes.gif
omgsign.gif
But that reminds me just in time that is not true indeed, because then are still missing the Umbilical connections between the TSMs and the orbiter, which I have almost forgotten. embarrassed.gif
cfa552.jpgup020932.jpg
Source: NASA
But they will initially be placed on hold until the shuttle stack will be finished and I can define the locations and distances of the TSM's final. But this is again a chapter in itself, as I then also have to install the support strut(s) in the TSM(s) holding the stack in the balance ... shocked.gif
Therefore, all in good time, step by step ... zustimm.gif
hallo.gif
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Thanks Houston and Graham for your kind words. 377.gif

Your compliments are a nice reward for my work and motivation to keep going at this level, what I'm going to try. coolio.gif
These details are really a lot of tiny stuff that cost a lot of time, and also the search for these details on close-up photos. w00t.gif It may be a little bit crazy, especially at this scale, but I like this tiny detailed stuff. whistle.gif
hallo.gif
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Hello together,


as previously announced, it went further today with the painting of the ladders. Here you can see the prepared parts, I have fastened with Patafix on toothpicks. These are at first the 6 ladders for the TSMs


RRY7YG.jpg


with the associated support brackets that you can hardly see. :rolleyes:


5wonZ6.jpg


Then there was still the first series of lampshades for the MLP, which was prepared for a long time, and were painted together now, let's go the whole hog. zustimm.gif


96d8wh.jpg


And now could follow the first airbrush pass with gray, here the pictures in sequence without big words. cool.gif


0sthBJ.jpg


KP9BHk.jpg


IXWuUw.jpg


Tomorrow then follows a second pass, and then it should also be enough with the paint.


So far it seems to become not bad, I am hopeful. gut.gif


hallo.gif

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Hello folks,


yesterday the guys in the paintshop have done a second pass with this stuff, which should now be enough. :rolleyes:


hCtq4E.jpg


Not exactly brilliant however was the separation of the ladders from patafix because residues partially still remained attached to the rungs which only hardly could be removed with tweezers little by little. shocked.gif Therefore need to be retouched some places a bit after assembly here and there.


1RwWJr.jpg


But with the long ladder I had already times make a first fitting on the LH2 TSM, because I was simply interested in the visual impression, and it looked promising. cool.gif


Cl6Ny2.jpg


UKE8SI.jpg


Next, the support brackets followed and had to be glued into the prepunctured holes, what I had already practiced several times "dry", but this time, now finally with CA.


And that went bracket for bracket : First of threading the feet and wetting by acupuncture needle with CA, then slide the spacer and insert the bracket up on the spacers, and then remove the spacers again. And then came the next bracket, admittedly a somewhat tedious exercise, but what the heck. happy.gif


1qQPW4.jpg


Here you can see the last bracket before wetting the feet with CA, which slightly protrudes further out.


XLZGiq.jpg


And finally all nine brackets were glued,


wDIfWt.jpg


and so now finally ready for the ladder.


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And it looks like this on a trial basis,


IlwYBp.jpg


and results in an entirely coherent overall picture, I think. icon_thumb.gif


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Now I have "only" to glue the ladder on the brackets, and I hope that it will succeed me. gut.gif


And that inevitably arises now the question is whether this effort has really paid off with the PE ladders. undecided.gif


But please judge for you, so the TSM would look with the Plastruct ladders, which I initially wanted to use. :analintruder:


ZGYrjM.jpg


So, just as well that I have accepted this challenge, because that would probably still have been a bit too much break in style beside the thin pipes, or what do you think? gruebel.gif


hallo.gif

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Thanks Rick and Will for your recognition, of course, I also think that the effort has really been worth it. icon_thumb.gif

Then, when the other two ladders are also still be installed on the boxes and the TSM is then standing, it should already be quite a sight, let's wait and see it. cool.gif

Yep, many details are at this scale at the limit of what is possible, but so far I've done it.

hallo.gif

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You can guess what I might say about the ladders. The PE ladders are much more elegant and much finer detail. The paint Dept. did a good job and the delicate nature of the PE matches the abstract characture of the TSM's very nicely. Great looking TSM's!!

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Thanks Rich and Phil for your kind words. :worthy:


Yep, the PE ladders are the way to go, they are really very delicate but also very fragile and look great on the TSM beside the thin pipes. icon_thumb.gif


BTW, from the scale both ladder types are about the same, but the thickness is the main difference. Since the PE ladders with 0.1 mm thickness are very close to the real thing, while the Plastruct ladders with 0.7 mm are simply too thick and do not fit optically into the overall picture. :analintruder:


Although it was a hard piece of work, and still is, it was the right decision. gut.gif


Thanks guys for your continued interest and kind feedback.


hallo.gif

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Hi there,


after the support brackets on the LH2 TSM were successfully installed, I have continued on LOX TSM to not get out of practice. I went back to the same procedure, inserting the brackets and bringing with the spacer to the same height, and then gluing. rolleyes.gif


b1TkfT.jpg


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After that was done, I looked at the fitting, if the distances of the supports coincide with the respective rungs, which fit quite well so far.


b2BxYF.jpg


And so it was ready to start now with the gluing of the ladders, before what I have been scared stiff so far. flehan.gif


Before applying the glue I have carefully located the ladder with tape, so it can not slip when gluing. And then I dabbed the first two brackets at the top under the ladder with CA and slightly pressed the ladder, which glued immediately, luckily in the right place. cool.gif


FTaFcM.jpg


And so it went on to the lower bracket, and finally the top two angled ends were glued. Thus the first ladder was finally firmly glued and I could now stand up the TSM and viewed relaxed from all sides. happy.gif


40YqQx.jpg


How do I find the overall picture can be seen, at least I had it all imagined at the beginning. icon_thumb.gif


eoHOYn.jpg


At the brackets under the rungs as well as in some other places I still have retouched something, and that's about it.


PMLAR1.jpg


So friends, this positive impression gives me real boost, so it can go on with the same ladder on the LH2 TSM tomorrow. gut.gif


hallo.gif

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Thanks Guys for your nice compliments. 377.gif

Let's go on, now the long ladder is to install to the LH2 TSM. The support brackets I had already glued, so that only the ladder had to be glued, which has worked quite well. ja.gif
And so the panoramic view looks without much deviation.cool.gif
3OVX0q.jpg
pjRoFc.jpg
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Well, and also from the side this couple looks very nice, right? gut.gif
MXYeAM.jpg
And in contrast to the rustic Plastruct ladders these PE ladders fit now great with the other details. :speak_cool:
u7wyrs.jpg
And for a change, here's another size comparison that is perhaps clearer than ever this cent coin. rolleyes.gif
nhcHlf.jpg
Tomorrow I'll try my luck with the ladders on boxes, which are those with the different length feet. For their assembly I've been thinking that it is useful first to put the ladder on the back of the box, because then I can use the front of the box or as additional support, but which is then unfortunately occupied.
But for mounting the ladder on the front of the box I can hang up the TSM on the back above the head, because there are no pipes, as opposed to the front, which is therefore not suitable as a bearing surface, what is essential to note. zustimm.gif
hallo.gif
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Hello all together,


today the ladder on the box of the LOX-TSM is to be installed, first on the back, as already described. cool.gif


First I've inserted the support brackets up to the spacer,


c2EHIn.jpg


and then fixed with CA.


mrhKQ8.jpg


Here the ladder is provisionally placed to check the distances of the supports that fit quite well,


YpUmem.jpg


and here it is already glued and also sits quite well. icon_thumb.gif


oPA4dx.jpg


8ZV4fe.jpg


8DvvG5.jpg


So, that would be also done, now only the slightly longer ladder on the front of this TSM is missing, but not for long. cool.gif


hallo.gif

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But before that I have yet installed the rear ladder on the LH2 TSM. cool.gif
Here are the already known steps in the picture, the support brackets with spacers,
BxyyB9.jpg
glued with CA,
NOKwzE.jpg
and the ladder fitting.
mUiPzR.jpg
So, and now it is (hopefully) fixed in place and can be climbed. rolleyes.gif
wRxznd.jpg
Mn8zUH.jpg
And so is the back of the TSM's now almost complete.
axY8vc.jpg
Now only missing the ROFIs (Radially Outward Firing ignitors), whose task I had already briefly explained.
up040574.jpg
Source: NASA
Here on this amazing panoramic picture you can see both versions clearly, the simple ROFI front and rear the double, and you can scroll from one to another TSM around. shocked.gif
KuEcqK.jpg
Source: NASA
These things are quite small, but I will try anyhow and gather the stuff I need. icon_thumb.gif
hallo.gif
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Good luck finding some small parts for the ROFI's. I know how you are tho, you will use some found objects to build these I'm sure! Also I noticed that in your photo of the TSM's (with the red arrows) that the LH2 TSM has a retaining loop around the two pipes at the center top that I don't see on your model. It almost looks like a vertical ladder rung? Anyway, just an observasion. The build continues to inspire us all. Great Job!!

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This may sound like a very stupid question but is this a scratch build, or the Revel Kit. - Mind blowing work you have done, a true pleasure to read and over look all you have done, absolutely brilliant. Hope to see more of this build very soon.

Jamie.

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Good luck finding some small parts for the ROFI's. I know how you are tho, you will use some found objects to build these I'm sure! Also I noticed that in your photo of the TSM's (with the red arrows) that the LH2 TSM has a retaining loop around the two pipes at the center top that I don't see on your model. It almost looks like a vertical ladder rung? Anyway, just an observasion. The build continues to inspire us all. Great Job!!

Thanks Rich for your nice words and a compliment for your watchful eagle eyes. cool.gif
This elbow pipe that you see was a part of the SSWS that did not exist in this form on MLP-2 during STS-6 and was retrofitted later there, as seen here at this image of STS-51F (1985).
d4FrTw.jpg
Source: NASA
BTW, you've guessed it, I just try some variants of the rear double-ROFIs, icon_thumb.gif but it's very tricky stuff, shocked.gif but you know me. up037139.jpg
hallo.gif
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