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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6


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Hi Manfred,

It's taken me some time to get caught up on your build, but well worth it.  Your research is as impeccable as ever, and the build is looking great!

 

RichO

 

 

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Thanks Rich for looking in on me ones again. :worthy:

 

Yep, lately I've drifted a bit into the underworld of such bizarre details, :analintruder: which is quite time consuming to understand and scratch. :hmmm:
But it's worth it and still a lot of fun. 

 

When will we see something new from you from Cooper again? up040577.gif

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Hi Manfred,

 

I've also just caught up on your build. Absolutely outstanding details - I thought the tie-downs were impressive, then you moved onto those latches...not sure I've used the word beautiful to refer to a bit of a model before, but they are simply beautiful!

 

Where does the madness end?

 

David

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Thanks David for your nice compliments, I'm glad you like my work. :worthy: 

 

Now that I'm almost done with the tiny details on the Payload Bay Doors, I'll soon be able to tackle the Bulk heads and Side walls:thumbsup:

 

The show must go on, therefore stay tuned my friend. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

while I was looking at this image, I noticed this long steel cable to the right of the Torque tube, cool.gif which is attached by a hinge to a strut and runs across the entire Starboard Side Door

 

5aONwe.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

where it is locked in a bracket. 

 

xmTEjZ.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

At first I couldn't explain the meaning and purpose of this steel cable, but I want to try to find out somehow. Maybe someone of you knows wherefore it is good for ... hmmm.gif

 

And then it was down to business, because these linkage is really tiny. smiley_crazy.gif

 

For the left part of the linkage, which is connected to the end of the Torque tube, I cut narrow strips of Styrene (0,13 mm)

 

mFUlbW.jpg

 

which I glued onto both sides of a rod (Ø 0,25 mm x 2,5 mm)  to this small fork as the right part, which then were reduced to approx. 1,5 mm which was quite stressful to handle. up037312.gif This tiny part was so light that it stayed stuck to the tweezers for the photo. up039822.gif

 

Vk8Gbl.jpg

 

The joint of the strut attached to the rod I indicated with a tiny eyelet made of Lead wire (Ø 0,3 mm), which I 'rolled flat' by twisting back and forth under a steel ruler to Ø 0,2 mm, wherefore some preliminary tests were required.  huh.gif

 

C3ovfX.jpg

 

cFeggx.jpg

 

The final eyelet then looked like this, 

 

lSHQKQ.jpg

 

which I threaded and glued onto the rod in a rather hairy action. up046885.gif

 

oaUO0T.jpg

 

Zhl72w.jpg

 

Then I carefully glued the linkage onto the door with CA/MEK

 

AX2tFM.jpg

 

and let everything dry. huh.gif

 

3SCjPM.jpg

 

Next comes the lateral strut, which reaches from the rod joint (eyelet) to the attachment point of the steel cable. up040577.gif 

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Hello friends,

 

meanwhile I found out what this steel rope was all about, which sometimes sagged down a bit, like in this image. cool.gif

 

KSC-00pp0353~medium.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-101)

 

And if I'm interested in a technical detail like that, then, as is well known, I get to the bottom of it. And through my Swedish friend David from NSF (DaveS) I met a member of the then Can Crew whose explanation is as amazing as it is simple. up046118.gif

 

"That cable what we tied off to for fall protection when we walked down the door in the horizontal configuration to verify the latch’s we’re closed properly prior to ratcheting into the closed position." up039822.gif

 

After all, the Transporter with the Canister had a height of approx. 28 ft, and from there one shouldn't necessarily be able to fall off it. up040577.gif

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello everybody,

 

in a time full of interesting football games, fuszball2014wm.gif I want to get back to you quickly so that I don't lose the thread myself and get completely out of step. cool.gif

 

I'm still dancing around on the Payload Bay Doors without a Safety rope, up037312.gif what needs to change immediately. But these mini-struts took me some lot of effort, which is why I finally wanted to get this over with. rolleyes.gif

 

From this perspective als well as at high resolution, one can still see the details best. 

 

f4aDT7.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-114)

 

On the one hand there is the lateral strut already discussed next to the rope holder, which I tried my hand at first and even managed the small wire to be inserted between the rope holder and the turnbuckle, made of a tiny lead wire (Ø 0,2 mm x 0,5 mm), but please don't ask me how ... smiley_crazy.gif The result is already invisible to the naked eye, but I know, as always, that it's there ... up035091.gif 

 

Now only the rope sling is missing, to which the rope will later be attached. 

 

xSs9zJ.jpg

 

And here this strut made of Styrene (0,13 mm) is now mounted, which one can just barely make out. up039822.gif

 

o8Vj7h.jpg

 

The thin wires ordered for this have also arrived in the meantime. The upper roll is the steel wire (Ø 0,1mm) shipped from China, and below are two NiCr wires (Ø 0,1mm/0,2mm) - Made in Germany.

 

HWpKNh.jpg

 

I proceeded in the same way for the rope holder and the turnbuckle on the other side. 

This time I glued a short NiCr wire (Ø 0,2 mm) between the two Styrene strips of the holder. The overhangs of the parts that are needed for handling are important. 

 

JO1yz8.jpg

 

7d8Ctg.jpg

 

For the turnbuckle I prepared a Styrene rod (0,4 mm x 0,4 mm), using an Evergreen strip (0,5 mm x 0,5 mm).

 

urdABN.jpg

 

The shortening of the connecting wire between the bracket and turnbuckle to approx. 0,8 mm was a delicate procedure, for which backup tapes were helpful so that nothing could fly away. smiley_crazy.gif

 

ZLM7wg.jpg

 

Bending the loop of rope from NiCr (Ø 0,2 mm) into a small eyelet was a stressful fiddling too, up046885.gif but finally worked after a few tries,

 

yp1B7P.jpg

 

as well as the gluing on the turnbuckle.  up045518.gif

KtmBT9.jpg

 

And then the same procedure again on the other side. 

 

xjpwrU.jpg

 

TLmH4C.jpg

 

P8NnhQ.jpg

 

The rope is only glued in later so that it is not damaged when assembling the small parts that are still missing. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

here the Safety rope made of NiCr wire (Ø 0,2 mm) has been put on at least as a test. cool.gif 

 

udVfVJ.jpg

 

With gluing the cable onto the door, I will wait until the upper linkages of the Door Actuators are glued onto both doors, 

 

J8CBiM.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

io0AEH.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

which I have now planned, but for which I first had to determine various dimensions again. 

 

hl9Pkd.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

In the closed state of the doors these linkages are folded and are only folded out to support the opened doors, as can be seen in this image. 

 

up077629.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-101)

 

As one can see from the small dimensions, it's again about tiny parts, whereby the two outer sickle-shaped holders seem particularly tricky, whose shape I first drew in order to create a corresponding template for scratching. up046118.gif

 

As one can see in this image, these holders are extremely narrow at < 1 mm and also very thin (0,13 mm), which are probably difficult to handle.  up037312.gif 

 

On the upper Evergreen Styrene Strip (0,13 mm) the contour is pre-drawn and the lower bow has already been cut out, which was still reasonably easy to do.

 

boJq0Y.jpg

 

7vw4zR.jpg

 

Cutting out the upper contour, on the other hand, will become a stressful affair, up046933.gif because one can hardly hold tight this narrow sickle in the tweezers. smiley_crazy.gif  

 

X9zCr0.jpg

 

For gluing the linkages between the lateral holders I thought about a Balsa jig, idea1_2.gif the top of which I filed to match this lower contour. up039822.gif

 

At10Y5.jpg

 

It doesn't matter how, but first I need a total of 8 such holders for both doors. That's why I transferred the lower contour 8 x to a Styrene strip,

 

tExXCA.jpg

 

and carefully cut out with nail scissors. And I now have to transfer the upper contour to these parts and cut them out, file them out, or whatever ... undecided.gif

 

ExVPzc.jpg

 

Maybe it will be advisable, to glue the sickles to a bulged Styrene strip, 

 

jzYTBA.jpg

 

then glue in the linkage parts and then glue the holders made in this way onto the doors. hmmm.gif

 

It may all still sound pretty bold and adventurous, but somehow I'll be succeeding already ... up040577.gif

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Hello friends,

 

after carefully cutting out the holder, up046933.gif I held it in tweezers and carefully smoothened it for a while at the top side with my finest TAMIYA Diamond file for photo-etched parts, measured its height again and again and compared the contours with the STS-132 -Photo, cool.gif

 

417mmSsqsWL._AC_SX679_.jpg
Source: amazon.de

 

until I was halfway satisfied with this prototype, which differs pleasantly from my first guinea pig (above). up039822.gif

 

HNRd6U.jpg

 

In order to make my work easier when making the remaining 7 holders, I've bored a small hole (Ø 0,3 mm) at the location of the upper leverage axis, which I can now transfer to the rest of the holders and then pre-drill, which will hopefully make marking the upper contour easier. hmmm.gif 

 

So far for the theory, let's see if it works like that. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

since the one-off production in this way is a bit too tricky and time consuming and the shape of the parts is also not very reproducible, huh.gif 

 

rcEIwr.jpg

 

e0xxPv.jpg

 

lf2eiq.jpg

 

A7MgTb.jpg

 

I switched to a kind of small series production. cool.gif To do this, I drilled through a strip at the linkage axis (Ø 0,3 mm) and then this strip with 7 other strips, with the lower contour cut out,  as well superimposed as possible and clamped in scissor tweezers.
 
Then I carefully drilled through the entire bundle and pushed a steel wire (Ø 0,3 mm) through the hole, whereby the bundle is at least fixed to the rod axis. up039822.gif

 

Then I smoothed the bundle a bit on the underside and on both ends to compensate for small differences and to set a uniform length of 11 mm.  

 

KU9HeY.jpg

 

And as one can see on this image, the bundle fits well to the curve of the Balsa jig and hopefully also later on the canister doors.up046118.gif

 

i9OGw2.jpg

 

Now I can take the bundle apart again and trace the upper contours individually, huh.gif whereby the position of the stripes is fixed by the wire. Then the upper contours are cut out one by one as close as possible, up046933.gif and put the bundle back together. 

 

Then I'll try to smoothen this narrow bundle to an even shape at the top and hope I can do that. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

and I proceeded in exactly the same way and drew the upper contours of the individual sickles one after the other using my original form on the remaining 7 Styrene Sheets (0,13 mm), cool.gif

 

tkgVbF.jpg

 

whereby the original form always has been fixed by the steel wire (Ø 0,3 mm) and by a tape strip on a Balsa plate.

 

3LN4Oc.jpg

 

Then I've carefully cut out the top sides of the sickles with the nail scissors as close to the contour as possible, up046933.gif which was a very tedious and stressful affair, since the part had to be re-clamped several times in the scissor tweezers, which meant that the strip that was accessible became narrower and narrower. rolleyes.gif

 

uthgFs.jpg

 

Then I threaded all the sickles on the wire in reverse order, whereby my original form (1) came to lay at the front position. 

 

YjMkHU.jpg

 

All my subsequent attempts to evenly trim this aligned, narrow bundle on the top were ultimately unsuccessful, despite all efforts to clamp and fix it somehow, up037312.gif which is why I unfortunately had to give up this approach. hmmm.gif

 

JJp8AB.jpg

 

Instead, I started by smoothing each of the 7 sickles individually at the top side to the shape of the original form in front of me, spiegel-smilies-0002.gif

 

UXe06p.jpg

 

for what I held them in different positions in the tweezers and worked the upper contour with different files for so long, huh.gif

 

ZOqD8J.jpg

 

until I was reasonably satisfied with their shape and almost a twin had been formed. up039822.gif

 

XDxFNQ.jpg

 

I then put the first pair of twins on a Styrene rod (Ø 0,3 mm) as a rod axis

 

PRcYVP.jpg

 

and immediately tried a test fitting on the canister, which looked quite promising, 

 

X7Yw01.jpg

 

which gives me courage to work on the remaining sickles in the same way, so that I end up with 4 pairs of twins for the Door Actuators on the doors. up045518.gif

 

So far for today. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

before I turn towards the remaining sickles, I took a closer look at the linkages of the upper Door Actuators and thought about how and from what I could best scratch these filigree individual parts, whereby it is always important for me to understand the interaction of the components of an assembly and their function to some extent. cool.gif

 

And for this it is always worth looking at detailed photos with high resolution from different perspectives, like this one here of the upper linkage in the folded state, which I want to reproduce, 

 

U8y5tp.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

as well as here in the unfolded state, in which one can see some details on the two rotary axes more clearly. 

 

After a close look at the linkage, its lower part seems to be a coherent strut construction, which I have marked in blue, 

 

pYQe9m.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which this photo in the zoom also seems to confirm. up046118.gif The longer support strut lies on top of it, which is rotatably mounted at the upper end between the side parts. 

 

xMVbN9.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Before opening the doors, both linkages of the door drives are folded out and screwed together, thus forming their upper supports, which are taken up by the drives on the canister walls on which the opened doors rest.

 

For replicating the individual parts this photo of the STS-125 is ideal suitable, on which I determined the dimensions of the most important parts and immediately searched for suitable material in my inventory. up039822.gif

 

LGRSyY.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

I started with the lower rotary axis, for which I used an Evergreen strip (0,5 mm x 0,5 mm), on which the four struts are attached, which are probably welded together to a kind of a fork. hmmm.gif 

 

Then I glued the upper rotary axis on one side with MEK, adjusted the distance between the two sickles with a suitable spacer (3 mm)

 

4U4zz0.jpg

 

and then glued the axle on the other side as well, 

 

p4UubJ.jpg

 

and separated its overhang. 

 

For the longer rod attached to the upper axis of rotation, I first glued a rod (Ø 0,25 mm) onto a small styrene triangle (0,13 mm), which is not entirely correct since the bar actually sits between the triangles. rolleyes.gif

 

aoK6TC.jpg

 

For the struts of the small fork, I first used Evergreen Strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm)

 

1shtJI.jpg

 

But when I had laid on the longer rod and compared this thing with the filigree structure of the side parts (0,13 mm),

 

qJgKtv.jpg

 

I saw that the proportions couldn't be right, which didn't convince me overall and therefore couldn't stay like this. nono.gif

 

pAMcKr.jpg

 

So I measured all the dimensions again more precisely, after which I used a rod (Ø 0,3 mm) and ground off the Evergreen strips (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm) for the struts between two cosmetic polishing files to a thickness of approx. 0,15 mm, up037312.gif what should then match better with the sickles. 

 

Then I also had the daring idea up047090.gif to glue the rod between the triangles, that only had a usable side length for clamping of about 1,5 mm, which is why I was rather skeptical about being able to glue them accurately to the rod. hmmm.gif

 

f2X9Xh.jpg

 

But that was too much of a good thing, which is why I remembered to another solution, idea1_2.gif which I have used already successfully in such cases several times, namely with the MLP-SSWS-Pipes, and most recently also with the Crawler Gear Boxes. up046118.gif

 

up053176.jpg

 

OMG, that was already 6 years ago ... up037692.gif

 

So I've cut narrow Styrene strips (0,13 mm) with the height of these triangles (1,2 mm) and glued them from both sides onto the rod (Ø 0,3 mm), which could still be done with appropriate fixation, 

 

fy8Qrx.jpg

 

and with the necessary patience and caution. up035091.gif

 

NBUmCe.jpg

 

Here's a comparison of both variants, whereby one hopefully can see the difference. cool.gif

 

rbWsy4.jpg

 

And then the strips only needed to be carefully cut off at an angle, 

 

5S3Hn2.jpg

 

and with this result I was more like satisfied already. up039822.gif

 

a9dMQW.jpg

 

As a test, I've laid this rod on top of the rotary axis, which of course it will later be glued in front of the axis. 

 

tMWhm2.jpg

 

So the picture is slowly rounding itself off, and with it I want to leave it at that for today and wish you a pleasant evening. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

it went on with the fold-out strut construction that lies between the sickles and is marked blue. cool.gif 

 

pYQe9m.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

As a spacer for the sanded off lateral Evergreen strips (0,15 mm x 0,5 mm x 3,7 mm) I used a strip (0,7 mm x 1 mm)

 

f1954t.jpg

 

and have tried to laboriously fix this structure, which is carefully held in the tweezers, between three steel rulers, which was a hair-raising action, up046885.gif because the strips tipped over several times doing so, up043952.gif before I managed to glue them to the bottom rotational axis (0,5 mm x 0,5 mm). rolleyes.gif

 

JYkQ2o.jpg

 

Here one can see both forks in comparison, whereby the thinner struts fit the picture better. up039822.gif

 

M88JBv.jpg

 

Then the slanting lateral struts were glued with a lot of feeling and a steady hand. huh.gif

 

KPzzvm.jpg

 

mKYEXs.jpg

 

And this is what the finished strut construction looks like,

 

8lgUIK.jpg

 

here also with the support strut laid on. up045518.gif

 

rOI6Oq.jpg

 

This procedure was then repeated three more times, which made me sweat quite a bit, icon_sweat.gif

 

ZD4k2Y.jpg

 

wherewith now all four lower linkages for gluing between the sickles are prepared. up035091.gif

 

UwUqnE.jpg

 

But beforehand I will still finish the remaining 5 sickles and scratch the remaining 3 upper support struts. cool.gif

 

Strictly speaking, these support struts still have these coupling forks at the end, which are screwed to the fork struts when unfolded,

 

MaHedC.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-135)

 

which perhaps would also still be feasible. hmmm.gif

 

In the folded state, however, they are usually surrounded by a protective cover, therefore let's see ...

 

U8y5tp.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Finally, here is a test fitting with the inserted strut construction and provisionally applied support strut between the sickles,

 

rpKCra.jpg

 

what doesn't look bad at first glance already. up040577.gif

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This is, by far, one of the most detailed projects èver. Been scrolling through all 96 pages and this is what we call “a long term build” since it seems you have been working on it for the last 10 years…😵💫😵💫.

The extremly small size of a lot of parts is amazing……you must be wearning +15 glasses to even see them (and steady hands too…😬).
With small parts like this there must be a “Bermuda Triangle” in your room…. ( that’s the spot where all the stuff is that fell on the floor never to be found again….). What’s the scale and what will be the total size once it is finished. Are there some “overall picturs” yet?
As said, an amazing build !!! 

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Thanks Hans for your nice compliments. :worthy: 

 

Hard to believe you have been scrolling through all 96 pages:yikes: For that alone you deserve my STS-6 Endurance Medal 1st Class.

4nCWkN.jpg 

 

On your journey you should also have come across the image of this mini diorama (1/700) from Tomytec on p. 81, whose base plate is only 35 cm x 29 cm "big".
 

up073332.jpg

Source: Andromeda24.de

 

My Diorama of the Launch Complex 39A (1:160) could look something like this, on the other hand it is supposed to be 160 cm x 90 cmup046118.gif

 

up073324.jpg

 

Strange, what a coincidence, related to the “Bermuda Triangle” there is a current event, smiley_crazy.gif which I will briefly discuss in the next post. Therefore stay tuned.

 

BTW, I've also checked out your interesting website and saw how versatile your talent is, really impressive. :speak_cool:

 

This reminds me of the Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg that you may know. up040577.gif

 

 

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The 1/700 lookes great. As you might have seen in this forum I’m working on the 1/700 scale Tracy Island. 160x90 is huge!!
Yep, I know miniature welt. Never been there but seen it on Youtube.
Thanks for the compliment. Yes, I build a lot of different things. Mostly for a museum of a friend of mine, like the Tainanman square and the Anne Frank House. Next project for the museum is a 1;35 cutaway dio of the Fuhrerbunker with full interior.

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Your Tracy Island looks very futuristic. :clap:

 

Hello everybody,

 

the remaining three support struts were produced in the same way as described lastly. cool.gif

 

up077888.jpg

 

During the drying I brought the second sickle pair to the final shape. huh.gif

 

up077889.jpg

 

After cutting off the strips on the support struts, both sickles were glued with the rod (Ø 0,25 mm) for the upper rotational axis,

 

up077890.jpg

 

then the excesses cut off, 

 

up077891.jpg

 

and smoothed the ends.

 

up077892.jpg

 

Then I tried my hand at a coupling fork and have carefully slit the spacer (0,7 mm x 1 mm), which was used lastly for making the stand fork, on the narrow side with a Fine saw blade (CMK)

 

up077893.jpg

 

and widened the slit with fine sandpaper. 

 

up077894.jpg

 

But since this strip with 1 mm is too thick, I would have had to cut it in half or grind it down, but I didn't want to do that to myself. rolleyes.gif

 

up077895.jpg

 

That's why I slit an Evergreen Strip (0,4 mm x 0,7 mm) in the same way.

 

up077896.jpg

 

up077897.jpg

 

To cut off the only 1 mm long coupling fork, I secured the slotted end with tape to prevent it from jumping away. huh.gif

 

up077898.jpg

 

From that point of view, the fork could even be a bit narrower ... hmmm.gif

 

up077899.jpg

 

To glue it to the support strut, the fork had to be fixed again. 

 

up077900.jpg

 

And then I wanted to know it and try to display the unfolded state of the linkage. up037692.gif 
 
up077901.jpg

 

To do this, I carefully inserted the strut with the coupling fork between the stand fork

 

up077934.jpg

 

and carefully lifted it with a razor blade, which was pushed under it, and erected up to the point, until the end of the support strut hit the upper rotational axis, which was pure thrill. up046885.gif

 

0o9C3M.jpg

 

And after a few failed attempts, I actually succeeded in this game of patience.  up039822.gif

 

up077902.jpg

 

up077903.jpg

 

In contrast, I will build the canister with folded Door Actuators,

 

up077904.jpg

 

for which purpose the individual parts are then glued together, which will make assembly much easier. up040577.gif

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18 hours ago, Graspaps said:

With small parts like this there must be a “Bermuda Triangle” in your room…. ( that’s the spot where all the stuff is that fell on the floor never to be found again….). 

 

Hello everybody,

 

and now still a short look  for the return of the “Bermuda Triangle” in my room,  whereon Graspaps had pointed out. :analintruder:

 

The whole time the remaining three support struts were always on the table in front of me. 

 

dLehKq.jpg 

 

I was all the more surprised today when I looked at my desk and saw that there were only two struts left. :yikes: I thought I couldn't see correctly and I immediately suspected that evil forces were at play again and I remembered the said "Bermuda Triangle" ... :hmmm:

 

However, since I couldn't find the 3rd strut on my desk, I immediately looked at the floor directly in front of me and started searching on my knees, but couldn't see anything of the sort, which got me more and more frustrated ... up043952.gif

 

8j339D.jpg 

 

After pushing my chair aside, I searched the wider area. Lo and behold suddenly I spotted the strut in the "Bermuda Triangle" on the floor, about 1 meter away on my left beside my chair, was  jolly glad and put it back on the desk to the other two struts. :yahoo:

 

NMSkyn.jpg 

 

I don't know how it got there, shrug.gif it was probably hanging on me somewhere and fell off there ... 

 

gU36GQ.jpg 
 

 It certainly won't be the last time, slowly I'm experienced in finding lost things ... up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

the coupling forks for the remaining three support struts I'm now also still able to do. cool.gif

 

T9KuKs.jpg

 

But first I wanted to give the remaining four sickles their final shape in order to glued them to the upper rotary axles (Ø 0,3 mm), which was stressful precision finishing work that I had to trudge through. s-boese-wand02.gif  

 

UOxgs5.jpg

 

Then the 3rd couple of sickles was glued, 

 

9h3FGq.jpg

 

ws6Qtg.jpg 

 

and after that it was finally the turn of the last couple. up045518.gif

 

c9owt7.jpg

 

OMhAtn.jpg

 

And after cutting off the overhang, all four couples were done,

 

CdwllU.jpg

 

and I could take a deep breath. icon_sweat.gif

 

HDoTDb.jpg

 

Finally, the remaining three coupling forks and their gluing to the support struts still waited, hmmm.gif

 

BhY2cm.jpg

 

6nQCrV.jpg

 

ZZTkZf.jpg

 

KA6LeG.jpg

 

for what I've taken my time. huh.gif

 

zN4vcL.jpg

 

And to get this fragile odds and ends off the desk before it disappears again or gets damaged, up037312.gif I will now glue the linkages onto the Payload Bay Doors. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

but of course this needs to be well thought out so that nothing goes wrong with these fragile parts. up037312.gif Strength lies in calmness. up045518.gif

 

So that the linkages first get a certain stability, I first glued the lower stands between the sickles, for what they have to be fixed somehow gently, idea1_2.gif wherefore I've used a longer tape strip. 

 

Then the stands were carefully grabbed with the pointed tweezers at the axis of rotation between the middle struts, both ends dabbed with a drop of glue and pushed between the sickle ends, where they were aligned a bit. huh.gif

 

TFckrz.jpg

 

And when you see them lying there, it all looks pretty easy. up035091.gif

 

AALRYl.jpg

 

POs0St.jpg

 

And if one knows how it works, one only needs to repeat it. up039822.gif

 

0CUNwh.jpg

 

Now I only have to cleverly glue the linkages onto the doors, in order to then finally glue the support struts. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

extreme caution was required when gluing the Door Actuators onto the Payload Bay Doors, huh.gif which is why I haven't glued the filigree support struts for now so as not to take any risks. cool.gif

 

The gluing was done with UHU-CA, first on the lower rotational axis of the stand-fork, and then with MEK at the sickles, which resulted in sufficient adhesion. up045518.gif  

 

yFnnG1.jpg

 

HhedBT.jpg

 

Only then the support struts were glued at the upper rotational axis, first on the Port Side Door of the canister,

 

1XkUmZ.jpg

 

Pf9hKl.jpg

 

xE4War.jpg

 

and then at the Starboard Side Door, wherewith a difficult and tricky subassembly was completed. up039822.gif

 

LXmY2N.jpg

 

In order not to have to constantly take the canister in my hand during further assembly work and to protect it, I put it down on a small cutter mat. cool.gif

 

NsdTeI.jpg

 

Next followed the four Access Platforms on the side walls, which can be climbed over the ladders when the canister is in a horizontal transport mode, in order to mount the linkages of the upper and lower Door Actuators to be able to open the doors.

 

B4uDi9.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-125)

 

U8y5tp.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-132)

 

Of course, it is much easier and, above all, safer from the lifting platform. up035091.gif

 

Ixb6Me.jpg
Source: NASA (STS-126)

 

Here I have already prepared the necessary individual parts, the platforms (0,5 mm x 3,5 mm x 4 mm), as well as the different support struts (0,25 mm x 0,5 mm),

 

KPHtgR.jpg

 

the gluing of which will then follow next time. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

and thus for gluing the individual parts of the platform for a first prototype, whereby the important thing was again a stable fixation of the tiny parts, without which it will not work. cool.gif

 

For gluing the tiny contact points I used the normal Revell glue (Contacta 39604)

 

RE5Dym.jpg

 

Since the construction of the platform and the shape of the parts is simple, the handling was no problem. 

 

9OI5I5.jpg

 

I0mwr5.jpg

 

VlpqUx.jpg

 

For the reproducible cutting of the diagonal support struts I've drawn a  true-to-scale stencil

 

UtR17e.jpg

 

FPVZeZ.jpg

 

And a first test fitting on the canister was quite satisfactory.  up045518.gif

 

8OGkfS.jpg

 

Since the lighting conditions in the evening with artificial light are unfavorable for the exact positioning of the tiny parts during gluing due to the formation of shadows, I put a LED lamp on the side,

 

QAlxR4.jpg

 

which was very helpful. up039822.gif

 

RvV728.jpg

 

And this is what the first platform looks like,

 

5j8vk6.jpg

 

which also matches well onto the canister. up039822.gif

 

WK409l.jpg

 

Since this technique has proven itself, the remaining three platforms can now follow too. up040577.gif
 

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Hello friends,

 

before the Artemis 1 will take off in about 5 hours, if everything goes well, here is a short report on the platforms. cool.gif

 

Here are the already known steps for gluing the individual parts of the platforms. 

 

ET5xup.jpg

 

sazZh3.jpg

 

XB6DYx.jpg

 

Finally it's done, up039822.gif

 

4izJ60.jpg

 

and I can glue the platforms to the side walls with UHU-CA, here first on the Port Side,

 

O9dUKQ.jpg

 

rrQVJU.jpg

 

and here on the Starboard Side.

 

zxy8KH.jpg

 

And here's a member of the Can Crew checking a Door Actuator. up045518.gif

 

0c7U12.jpg

 

And now I'm thrilled to bits for the Artemis 1 Lift-off. up050224.gif

 

nY3RnB.jpg

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Hello everybody,

 

wow, what a spectacular picture-book launch of NASA's SLS Moon Rocket with the Orion Spacecraft atop to its maiden flight Artemis 1 that leaves you wanting more. hurrah.gif

 

315951936_10222904613227264_282996248926
Source: NASA

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This is truly astounding.

 

I only glossed over it but need to set aside a great deal of time to go through all the posts. I’m blown away with every level of its creation to the point I thought I was dreaming it. Wow! And again, Wow!
 

I’m humbled rarely but this puts the cherry on top of all the humbled.

 

you have to be a nano bot to get that level of detail at such a small scale.

 

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻👍👍👍

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