Great Wall Hobby - 1/48 Tiangong & Shenzhou spacecraft

[GordonD]

Mike (aka bootneck) has already posted an excellent review of this kit, including sprue shots, so to avoid duplicating those I am simply providing a link to them (with his permission): http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234944268-tiangong-1-and-shenzhou-8-spacecraft-great-wall-hobby-gwh-148/

As Mike says, the solar panels are attached by a connecting piece running through the fuselage, which means they have to be fitted before the fuselage halves are glued together. This seemed likely to cause problems with sanding and painting so I was looking for ways to attach the panels after the fuselage was complete. I'd considered cutting the connecting piece (a hollow cylinder) in half then inserting each panel from its own side, with a length of brass rod in the centre to ensure they lined up. Unfortunately this turned out not to be possible as the holes in the side of the fuselage are only the size of the panel struts and not the internal cylinder - if you see what I mean...

However it may not be as big a problem as I thought. Close examination of the parts shows that one side of the fuselage in each component has an internal lip along the edge, which should ensure that the two halves are perfectly aligned when they're connected:

This should eliminate the need for filling and sanding, though the painting will still need some thought. However I reckon if I temporarily attach the two halves, paint them, then carefully glue them permanently with the solar panels in place, it should do the trick. Fortunately out of the four main components (Orbital Module, Re-entry compartment, Service Module and the Tiangong station) only the latter two have solar panels; the other two can be assembled as normal.

I haven't actually done any building yet but will probably start tomorrow!

[GordonD]

I've started on this model, insofar as I've glued the two halves of the Re-entry Module together. As I expected, the fit is sublime - just look at that seam:

No filler required; just a light sanding where the parts were attached to the sprue.

Here's an overall view - the capsule looks like somebody but I can't think who!

Seen from the top, there's no question - it's Stan from South Park!

Edited November 3, 2013 by GordonD

[GordonD]

Some progress since last time: here is the Re-entry Module with what I presume are the window shades in place, and painted. Chinese flag decal is still to be added.

And here's the Orbital Module:

And finally the two modules connected:

I wanted to be able to separate the modules once the model is complete. The fit is quite slack so I added a strip of plasticard along the flat edge of the D-shaped connector to make it tight. You might just be able to make it out in the first photo.

A note on the colours: the instruction sheet simply says to paint the Re-entry Module dark grey and the Orbital Module light grey (with the exception of the docking ring, which is silver) but that made it look too toy-like. There wasn't much I could do with the RM as it's covered with thermal blankets, but with the OM I was able to pick out the various external boxes and antenna in black and other shades of grey. Pictures of the original spacecraft are rare and as always the apparent colour is affected by the light source, so I'm probably not too far off the mark.

Next step is the Equipment Module but that includes the solar panels so that might take a week or so.

[jetboy]

HI GORDON,its looking nice,did you not fancy the blanket approach,and as you say references are hard to come by,its looking nice,a nice adition,to the chinese rockets...keep it coming,

cheers Don

[GordonD]

Thanks, Don. On second thoughts I might try to vary the shades on the Re-entry Module - there are some panels on there (which actually show up better in the photo than on the actual model, at least under artificial light) which might benefit from being painted a slightly different colour. Maybe even just brush-painted rather than from a rattlecan as at the moment.

In my stash I have the CZ-2F (the rocket which launched the spacecraft) in 1/48, which would make an ideal companion for this. When I bought it I hoped somebody would produce the Shenzhou to the same scale but never thought it would actually happen!

[GordonD]

This is the Equipment Module, in raw form - the two halves are only dry-fitted together because the solar panels have to be sandwiched in between, and there are several small parts (antennae and electronics packages) to be attached to the outside.

And here's one of the electronics packages to be attached. I noticed a problem when I test-fitted it: the hollow backs of the outer boxes are visible when the part is in place, because of the curvature of the module. These will have to be filled and sanded off before painting.

And finally here's the Tiangong. Again the halves are merely dry-fitted, and there are external parts to be attached. I also need to pick out some of the projections so they stand out. The white areas gave me trouble, as I had problems getting even courage with a rattle can, but I don't think it's too noticeable. (I hope!)

[jetboy]

HI GORDON, its looking nice,it will look great with shading and highlighting,do you have some ref pics,do you want some?it will look good alongside its carrier,ive only built the first one,a bit plain,but ive got it x2 still to do,my plan was to build it as the other one,as i could,nt find the kit,but i managed to get one last year,so its joining the list,its nice to see some chinese stuff,coming out so quick,can you imagine if it was left to Airfix,we might get a model,in thirty years time?lol,keep it coming gordon,its looking nice,even though your pics always have a red/pink tinge to them?...heres my chinese ones again,hope to see yours built before mine?

is this the one you have?

cheers Don,

[GordonD]

I have both of those, Don.

BTW the reddish tint to my photos is actually the wallpaper in the background. I take the photos with my camcorder (in still mode) then adjust the lighting in PhotoStudio before uploading. I'm not seeing any red tint on the models themselves.

[GordonD]

Okay, apologies to the three people who've been following this thread - I got a bit lax with posting updates to the build, mainly because of Photobucket being such a pain to use. The model is now finished and pictures are available over in Ready For Inspection, here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234951139-gwh-shianzhou-tiangong-in-148th/