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Launch 14 - Cooper's Rocket


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Hey Dio fans,

 

  The piping extension is going great.  The trickiest part is to get things lined up so everything is square.  I started with the angled duct that is in the front....

 

pmEP4qKKj

 

I had to trim the end off and make an elbow around a corner.  I got busy and didn't take a photo during the surgery.  You can see below how the corner turned out...

 

po9j1Hchj

 

The next thing to do was to extend the set of piping that is just above the duct work.

 

pofvLhO4j

 

Once I got the kit piping extended to the other side of the roll up door, I had a stairway to consider....

 

pnfYvCR2j

 

The stairway on the actual structure dose not have the support legs.  The stairway is supported from the side attached to the wall.  This will all be addressed when I get there.  However i still had some piping to go behind this and needed to make sure about clearances. 

 

Then time to lay the pipe.  This went easy enough but with a real tricky bend...

 

pmURBSn1j

 

Once I got the bend worked out on this inside pipe, it was easier to get the bend on the outside pipe.

 

poD1784xj

 

Then I got to replicate the the spacer/supports for the piping.  The measurements from the kit parts...

 

When all looked good it was time to start welding this together...

 

pnGlikVUj

 

pmQbQPUrj

 

Always test fitting...

 

pnqEgaq3j

 

potIg7tPj

 

pn2Nvfwwj

 

Everything looks to be going according to plan....but we all know about that.....

 

Thanks.......Rich

 

 

 

  

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  • RichO changed the title to Launch 14 - Cooper's Rocket

Hi Rich,

 

your piping system is coming along nicely, speak_cool.gif but with the bending of these two bows you could have been a little more careful, though it's just a small detail. up040577.gif

 

CkwBAT.jpg

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I sort of have to walk a fine line here Manfred.  The Revell kit has already established a certain amount of spacing with the kit parts, so I try to match the spacing and size.  I may have chosen a different size or radius to render the parts, but I think the overall look will be fine.  And with the Service Tower and the Launch Tower to look at, this might not be to noticeable.

 

Thanks.

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Okay, Rich, that is all a matter of taste and one's own claim, nothing else.

 

I always try to be as close as possible to the real thing, if I have such good reference photos like this one. up040577.gif

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  Manfred,  The reference photo you just posted is better than the one I am using for reference. Higher resolution.  I saw a few items that did not show on the photo I am using.  Now I have to fix them.  What web site did you get this from?

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Hi Rich,

 

but this is only an enlarged detail of the same photo you have shown in your first post ... hmmm.gif

 

I have found this smashing photo (2347 x 3000) in a Google search, which led me to this website: top.gif

 

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_354.html

 

118907main_image_feature_354_ys_full.jpg

 

BTW, do you know that LVM Studios offers a special LUT for the Revell “Everything is GO” model kit to complete your LC14 Mercury-Atlas launch pad? speak_cool.gif

 

Bildergebnis für 118907main_image_feature_354_ys_full.jpg

 

Here you can see the LC14110 Assembly instructionsup040577.gif

 

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Hey Manfred,

 

Thanks for the photo. A much sharper version of the one I am using.  I can see more detail.

 

As for Leon's kit, That is the very one I will be using for this build.  Looks good, doesn't it?

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I got this kit years ago when I was collecting the items for this build.

 

poHOiWncj

 

Just a teaser tho...You'll get to see more later...stay tuned.

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Hey Guys,

 

  I'm sort of going on a posting binge today.  

 

  Thanks to Manfred and the higher rez. photo.  I saw a few items that needed correcting a bit.

 

  I added a couple of more pipes and some more pipe supports.

 

pnXA5Cncj

 

pmD7ClXNj

 

podudtE4j

 

pozqpvRqj

 

Thanks for watching...

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Hey Manfred,

 

Good Eyes,  Yes, a better alignment is possible.  I have not glued this down just yet.  This is why the alignment is not so good at the moment.  It is just leaning up against the wall.  When things get applied permanently I will align this all better.  And remember, I still have to make this look like a toy model from the 50's.

 

Thanks........

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  I always play with it Manfred....  And remember that Revell has already established the spacing of the pipes.  I'm just matching the status quo.  I want this to look like it was produced with the kit.  Not like I have added anything.  It needs to stay simple.

 

Keep checking back......Thanks

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  I'm actually having a blast of a good time with this build.  It's really a different mindset to make an addition that I'm working on, match the old kit. Unlike the Crawler or the Maz in witch I was trying to match reality, This build is a bit more light harted, and not quite so technical.                                                                            

 

BTW,  I also watch old space & sci/fi movies from the 50's when I'm working on this build.  Just to keep things fun.

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hey All,

 

  A quick report for today.

 

  I have built the Blast Deflector and got this item installed.  This was a simple part of the build, but I had to be careful about masking for the spraying.

 

poDVi3fZj

 

The ring around the deflector is part of the Water Suppression System.

 

pmXiS48dj

 

Installed....

 

pmofdP7Rj

 

pobEDp9nj

 

I'm at a point now were I have to seal the top tarmac to the base and get all this glued down for final fitting.  Up to this point I have just snapped this kit together.  Nothing is glued down permanent.  I have to start connecting piping and bracing permanently to get to the next step.

 

pnzz3dTGj

 

More piping to add, however I can not add this until I secure all of the Launch Pad to the base and get everything tight and secured.

 

  I'll be back with more exciting news,  Thanks.........

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They say the Devil is in the detail .......

 

                                                                         there are going to be a lot of Devils running around here

 

                                                   :devil:      :devil:     :devil:      :devil:

 

Kev

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Guys,

 

 The details continue.  I have the Maz project out of the way and finished.  So back to the Dio project.

 

  The added kit piping I needed to glue to the back side has been completed. 

 

pnsRtYNtj

 

I'm now starting to work on the moving rail system for this build.

 

  This build has two rail systems to work with.  I have one to build, that carries the Service Tower, and one that carries the transporter for the Service Tower.

 

  In the photo below you can see three rails that run parallel on each side to the launch pad.

 

Mercury-Atlas--'Mercury binder; 10D; static test; 9-6-59

 

Revell dose not make the rails in the kit as separate units.  They are molded together.  So now I have to design and build a rail system that looks like Revell put in their kit. 

 

pnkGVwKsj

 

I have spare parts to work with here, so I can replicate the side rails to look close to the photos and make them look like they were produced in the kit.

 

pnI9S5NAj

 

I think I have a good plan for this part of the build.  Time to build some rails that match the kit parts

 

poKItRgij

 

 

I'll be back in a bit with my idea about this part of the build.

 

Thanks All..........

 

 

 

 

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Hi Rich

 

Wow. I followed your Maz build from the beginning with my mouth open, and have trundled over here as I said I would. Space and Sci Fi isn't my thing particularly, but that's completely irrelevant; I'm more interested in watching a master builder put things together in whatever form they take. This will be the perfect substitute for the Maz addiction I acquired and I won't have to go full cold turkey now, as I can get my fix watching you do this. Those banks of computers look brilliant and they take me back to when I was a kid; my dad was data processing manager for a large pharmaceutical company in London and would sometimes take me into work with him on Saurdays. I clearly remember the special dust-proof rooms containing those banks of machines (IBM I think) with their rotating discs. They looked huge to me as a child.

 

I'm really looking forward to watching this turn into something amazing too.

 

By the way is the Big Betty dio done? I can't find it.

 

Tim

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Hey All,

 

  The launch area is still under construction, and proceeding nicely. I have developed a plan for the Service Tower Carrier, and started with the construction.

 

  I realized that I had to establish the height of the tower carrier work surface, that has the transfer rails embedded into it, before I could establish the height of the side rails.  The photo below shows the height of the side rail and the height of the tower carrier together.

 

Mercury-Atlas--'Mercury binder; Atlas 88D; Pad 14; prelaunch; 9-13-61

 

  I just have to get everything to line up ok.

 

  In the photo below you can see the shape of the carrier rail wheels...

 

Mercury-Atlas--'Mercury binder; Atlas 88D; Pad 14; prelaunch; 9-13-61

 

I felt that the Revell carrier wheels I had to work with, for this location, just were not the correct shape.  So working with the kit parts I reshaped these to look more like the photo above.

 

poIG482Aj

 

Using the photos above, I started to scratch the carrier.

 

  I had several kit parts that helped establish the size and spacing I had to work with.  The kit parts are now coming from different kit boxes, as the bashing is in full swing...

 

pnAlVesIj

 

pofttoZ0j

 

As I was putting things together, I ran across parts that were shaped in a manor not originally designed.

 

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The date on the kit box is 1958,  the plastic is hard and not likely to bend without snapping.  I cut this piece into a bunch of parts and replicated the areas I needed to.

 

pmeCsLoHj

 

po7yNOyxj

 

I got a bit involved with construction, but you can see what I came up with to try and match the photos.

 

polTa178j

 

pnALtdeZj

 

 

 

I'm only about half way building the tower carrier.  However, I have now established the work surface height, and now I can move to the tower rails.  

 

pnToUQsnj

 

I have laid down some hand rails so you can see about where the tower rail spacing needs to be placed.  So far everything is lining up good.  

 

I still have numerous items to place on the carrier, and a bit of fabrication to do, like embed the rails into the work surface, for one.

 

I'll be back with more of this frivolity soon, so don't touch that dial.......

 

BTW, I think I have established my people problem to a satisfactory size...

 

pnSdkR63j

 

Looks to be about as close as I'm going to find........

 

Later All.

 

 

 

 

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Hey All,

 

  I have finished with the Tower Carrier for now.  I will add to the construction as I need to, but things look good for now.  

 

  The construction is a bit of fantasy and reality mixed.  I only have a few photos to work with, but things seem to be working out ok for now, so far.  The kit bashing is getting exciting, and I have a hunch that I'll be doing a bit of resin casting with this project.

 

  With a lot of cutting and rearranging of parts and working with the limited photos I have, I came up with a pleasing design that fits the space.

 

 

Some interior bracing, I also had stairs to replicate...I had a ton of stairs and walkways when I built the Crawler, I used the same building technique...

 

pokvu5p7j

 

I also had to embed the transfer rails into the work deck.  This involved a lot of cutting and splicing...This is one area where I had to come up with a solution for the rails that Revell might use, and one that I could replicate in the build.

 

  I used an "H" beam that is 2mm wide.  This is just wide enough for the rail wheels to fit into nicely, and I just had some cutting to do.  In the real world this would be just one rail track...

 

pnFlgi1Cj

 

poQP395hj

 

pmC5xvN9j

 

Then I had a bunch of guard rails to replicate...The trick is to try to make the scratch ones look like the kit ones, at least after painting them anyway...

 

pnQp2hqnj

 

po80Fy4Dj

 

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Then it was off to the Paint Dept...

 

pnO9nw4Ij

 

pnk4VNJSj

 

pm9kGQuMj

 

pmx1ysKnj

 

This all looks really good for now.  I have plenty to work with for the next step.  The construction of the side rails for the launch pad.

 

So now I have one big dilemma to deal with.  In the real world, the tower carrier rides on just one set of tracks...In the photo below, you can clearly see that one rail is on each side of the carrier.

 

Mercury-Atlas--'Mercury binder; Atlas 88D; Pad 14; prelaunch; 9-13-61

 

   However, Revell has molded a carrier rail with two tracks on each side.  The carrier wheels are also molded with two wheels...I will admit tho, that the base for the tracks are part of the kit bashing and would make life a lot easier. 

 

poISNZQuj

 

  If I use the kit tracks, I will have about a foot and a half to work with....

 

poS7IZzHj

 

 

  If I decide to try to make this one rail, I will have to try to sand off everything but that one rail, or at least try to replicate the whole system with some other material.  Also I would have to change the under side of the carrier to one wheel to fit the one track, altho that would not be hard to do.

   

 

po5vK9Gmj

 

Check it out! I just noticed that you can see the Revell Inc 1958 molded into the surface.

 

  The historical issue is not as important as making it look like the kit parts.  If I leave everything as is, I just have to join the two track sets and be done with it.  Right now I'm thinking that the rails on the work surface of the carrier are not one rail so I should just go with what Revell has provided.

 

  Time to move to the side rails for the service tower.  I'll be back when I think things through.

 

Later...........

 

 

 

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