markmcguire25 Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) Here's the start of a Mach2 kit I bought on a whim. I love NASA kits, and there's not that much available in 1/48. I'm thinking of modeling the boxart, or the olive drab army version. We'll see; Section halves were glued and bound with thick rubber bands, then I rotated the sections 90 degrees and cleaned up the seams. Here I've marked out the Gantry connection points, and filed the sub assembly gaps that are visible on the actual rockets. Here's the main Fins for the craft. I did my best to clean them up and get them accurate, but... They just didn't cut it. So I'm starting on a scratchbuilt, more accurate version; I'm going to mold the master and make more copies of the main fins, I'll mass produce the rest. Replicating the upper directional vanes. Here's the exhaust, filled and cleaned up. The marks help me keep the insert aligned as I sand and fit. The black is carbon and rubber infused CA that helps reinforce the seams from the inside. Get to the Choppah! Every time I use this, I hear Arnold in my head :). Using this to keep all the vanes the same size is helpful. Once the vanes are clamped and glue dried. I use milliput to make the final shapes. It's easy to manipulate with water and a few clay tools. I'll get the final finish with standard filler putty. Original part on left for comparison. Bottom half of mold set. Ready to pour the top. Top poured after release agent and stubs shortened. The pour sprues will be expanded after its cured. Here's the vanes and fins, drying and almost ready for final sand/shape. Edited January 13, 2019 by markmcguire25 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Some serious work being done here,looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 Not much progress this weekend, cold temps kept me from putting a primer coat to assess my progress. But... fins are finished and ready for cleanup. I got most of the umbilical connectors for the gantry in place. Although they feel a bit over scale. I'll finish up the small upper fins and hope the weather cooperates. The garage is sealed up tight, but we're in the 30's (O's Celcius) this week, so painting is probably out for the foreseeable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 3 hours ago, markmcguire25 said: cold temps kept me from putting a primer coat to assess my progress. Texas eh? Tsk! Good to see a bit of space history. Men with slide rules and a mission! Thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Quick update. Replaced and improved some access panels Cleaned up the bottom exhaust for some new detail. Those jet exhausts were a nice fit ' Main fin attached with exhaust update additional details and some white primer The last pic before disaster struck! The white primer (Testors Automotive Enamel Primer White) was really clogging up the sanding sticks and I still had a few blemishes to fix. I decided to switch to a Grey Microfiller. While I was refilling the airbrush, a gust of wing grabbed the rocket and it hit the garage floor hard. A crack in the main body, the tip broke off, and several of the fins were damaged and/or knocked off. I really wanted to finish painting before the cold weather rolls back in this weekend. 🤬 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 and it was coming along so well. Disaster! we've all been there. I'm sure you can bring it back to a good result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 (edited) Disaster averted! Sort of... Although it's no longer an -11, technically. I managed to repair the fins, fix the crack in the fuselage, but the tip of the rocket was a different story. I tried a couple times to repair it, but it never looked correct. I ended up adding a large pitot and an faired it in, ala an early Redstone/Mercury testbed. About 6 coats of Testors Insignia White over the Mr Surfacer Gray. I started with a standard 50/50 "creamer" coat and slowly covered with thinner coats to enhance the shine. Once it's fully cured, I'll start on decals. Edited January 25, 2019 by markmcguire25 pic size 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Definitely found the version I want to model. While it's not NASA, this photo exudes cool. On to paint lower fins, and find suitable decal for the army font and I'm pretty sure I can make the logo... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 A little progress this weekend. Masked up and ready for the black stripes. I decided to paint the stripes rather than decal. And a coat of future after the paint is dry and masking removed. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 looks absolutely brilliant - I would love to see the kit for real Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morty_3333 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Hi Mark! I'm liking the way You have approached Your build of the Redstone, and a good recovery from the attack by gravity!! Happened to most of Us I know, I've put carpet tiles down the soften any impact, anything deeper and the Monster would be rubbing It's tummy!! Keep Sticking! Cheers, Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Thanks for all the encouragement! I should have updates this weekend, once my 45degree lettering arrives. Can't believe I didn't have any in my decal stash. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 Quick update. Nothing like disappointing decals to steal your mojo?!? I ordered 1/48 24" 45degree letters, which is what I got - but the "M" is wayyyy off and the "R" is slightly wrong. And my laser printer botched the Chrysler/Redstone/DeSoto logo. I think because the max DPI was only 1200, the decals are less than crisp. I'm still working on the "firepot" logo near the fins. I really wanted to finish this last week, but been on the road for work. I'll coat and (very) lightly weather next week. Give a bit more detail to the exhaust, and call it finished. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 Handmade decals came out pretty uniform, and um...acceptable? circle template on silver decal sheet. Hand drawn flame logo and red permanent marker. And...firepot! They actually look better in person, as the lights and camera show silver under the flame that doesn't show to my Mk.1.A eyeballs. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markmcguire25 Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 I originally wanted to do some sort of gantry or launcher, but didn't want to detract too much from the kit. The basic shape - "bones" are really nice. Some flickering white and orange LEDs with a couple brights pointing straight upward. Test fitting and everything looks good. I had some nice directional vanes, but they kept catching on the cotton, and you can't see them, so... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Very nice build and very cool stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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