Saturn V - Airfix 1/144

[bianfuxia]

52 minutes ago, Mike N said:

 

Thanks both

 

The swap for the resin was indeed a no-brainer in that instance, but some of the other bits are not so clear cut - more on that in the future!

 

Having this in 1/72 blows my mind, it will be mightily impressive!

Haha yes - a bit of an impulse buy for myself at a recent milestone birthday and when it arrived I was like 🥶

Edited September 12, 2023 by bianfuxia

[Mike N]

Work and social stuff has recently got in the way of modelling, but I've picked up the Saturn again.

 

While perusing the Haynes Apollo 11 manual for details of the Command and Service Modules, I worked on the interstage between that and the S-IVB. This section is missing from the KSC display but I wanted to include it in mine. Once again the interior of the kit parts was devoid of any detail, so a search on the web came up with some decent photos. There's actually quite a lot of structure in there, so it was out with the plastic strip again. Here's a few pics of the nearly finished assembly, it just needs some tidying up at the ends and some scars from removal of the tabs.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Mike 

[bianfuxia]

Good to see this one again - looking great!

[Mike N]

22 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

Good to see this one again - looking great!

Thanks, and yep, I'm still plugging away at it!

 

This weekend I got on with the Service Module (SM). This was one of the areas that Airfix re-tooled in the later editions of their Saturn V, and the plastic has a more textured feel. The detail is a bit better too, but only in comparison to the stuff done 40 years earlier.

 

Here's the KSC example of the SM in the 'stack':

 

 

When I visited there was a curtained off area below, I believe for some filming, so this is all I saw. Looking at images from the www it appears there was another Command and Service Module shown at ground level. I'm now not sure how representative the one shown above is...

 

Here is Airfix's rendition of the aft and forward ends for the SM, and considering the fact there was lots more information and hardware available to get up close to when they did the re-tooling, it's a shame it's both so basic and inaccurate.

 

 

The aft end was easy to deal with as I had a replacement resin part which comprised the engine bell and the bulkhead. The Airfix version of the bell bears little semblance to reality. Here they are side by side, the resin just needed a bit of cleaning up:

 

 

And installed - it looks basic but the real thing is not too busy either:

 

 

At the front end I decided to try modifying the kit part to represent the recessed domes at the correct spacing. The holes needed to be about 7mm in diameter, so I had to reach for the DIY drill bits, gradually working up the size range. The centre hole was easy enough to create but drilling out the other holes led to disaster as the bits just chewed up the plastic:

 

 

I therefore had to resort to scratching the whole thing. Taking some thin plastic card and using a stencil I scored all the holes and popped out the centres. I then used short lengths of tube to create the recessed areas:

 

 

For the domes inside, I rummaged in the spares box and found some drop tanks which would be close enough to the shape I needed after flattening the ends:

 

 

Once all installed, they looked much better:

 

 

To try to represent the support structure for the Command Module, I used some I-section beam:

 

 

Once added to the rest of the assembly, some punched disks represented the pads at the ends. It's not to scale but gives the idea:

 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Mike 

[bianfuxia]

So good!

 

I had two further thoughts. First is how this is simultaneously making me excited and deeply fearful about my 1/72nd Saturn V 

 

Second is - I'd bet money that more kit drop tanks end up in scratch builds or upgrades of other kits than end up under the wings of the model they came with! They're such a pain to make into actual drop tanks but so versatile for everything else!

[Mike N]

2 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

So good!

 

I had two further thoughts. First is how this is simultaneously making me excited and deeply fearful about my 1/72nd Saturn V 

 

Second is - I'd bet money that more kit drop tanks end up in scratch builds or upgrades of other kits than end up under the wings of the model they came with! They're such a pain to make into actual drop tanks but so versatile for everything else!

Thank you

 

I reckon you're right about the drop tanks, I have more spares of them than anything else! 

 

As for your Saturn, I'll look forward to seeing a WIP build on here, that would be great to see!

 

Mike 

[Bengalensis]

Good improvements, especially in this small scale. It will do a lot for the impression when displayed in sections.

 

Are the resin parts by any chance from "Martin's Models"?

[Mike N]

On 9/25/2023 at 8:28 AM, Bengalensis said:

Good improvements, especially in this small scale. It will do a lot for the impression when displayed in sections.

 

Are the resin parts by any chance from "Martin's Models"?

Thanks! I'm hoping that painting will make the details look better.

 

I'm not too sure who made the resin parts, I got them off eBay a long time ago, but from what I can gather from the net Martin's Models is probably the manufacturer.

[Mike N]

Not much noteworthy progress on this over the past couple of weeks, but I did get most of the parts that will be white primed and then a coat of Halfords Appliance White on.

 

 

I always try to lay the Halfords stuff on before any enamels as I've had some bad reactions the other way round.

 

Next I'll be masking and applying the black exterior paint so I can then cover the outside for protection and move on to the interiors.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Mike 

[Mike N]

After spending an hour or two masking, grabbing half an hour here or there over last week, I managed to get some black on at the weekend. I went for gloss as I wanted to do the Command module at the same time in preparation for its Alclad coat. After a couple of days in the cupboard with the hot water cylinder, the paint is now nicely cured and the masking removed:

 

 

The black's a bit stark and shiny, but after the decals go on I'll tone it all down with a clear coat. Amazingly, I got very few bleeds under the tape, I was sure all those corrugations would give me grief. There are just a few areas to rectify, including a light but large bleed that can be seen on the S-II stage (back left), there must've been a gap in the Tamiya tape-with-plastic-sheet that I used for the first time.

 

For other builders of this kit, note that the painting instructions show the black on the lower portion of the S-IC extending over the corrugated section in the middle. I believe this was only the case on a dummy rocket built to test the launch facilities, all the real hardware has this area left in white. The main box art shows it correctly...

 

Mike 

[Mike N]

Oh dear, only two weeks to go and I'm nowhere near finishing! Real life has just been too demanding of my time. I have been plugging away at the Saturn occasionally, so I thought I'd better give an update.

 

Starting with the Stage I, the upper bulkhead dome is a primer green.

 

 

I couldn't find an out of the pot match in my collection, so mixed a green and yellow from Xtracolor tins and got fairly close I think, better once it's been matted down.

 

 

Moving on to the second stage, the upper bulkhead colour resembled that of the Space Shuttle's main tank.

 

 

First of all I airbrushed Humbrol Ivory (#41) to get the walls sorted, covering the dome as well to get an even texture. I then had a rummage in my paint collection and was delighted to find Humbrol #82 was a decent match. I have no idea why I had this colour as I'm sure I haven't used it before, but it certainly helped me now! I brushed it on over the glossy cream and after a first coat I had this:

 

 

Normally I'd be cursing that the patchy appearance needed a second coat but the thinner areas were perfect for the faded look of the real thing. I used a reddish brown for some more effects and to replicate what looks like a patch on the KSC's tank. I'm quite pleased with how it looks, just the pipework to add later.

 

 

The S-II kit thrust structure was replaced with a resin part that had more detail. The only additions I added were the ribs on the boxes which are quite prominent on the real thing.

 

 

The S-IVB also got its upper end airbrushed, this time silver. There isn't really much else to add in here, making it a bit monochromatic.

 

 

At its other end, the resin thrust structure has been painted to best replicate the KSC example, although it's not a totally true rendition.

 

 

The Service Module is a bit behind, still needing the silver spraying on the outside, but the internals have been done. I couldn't tell what the colour of the four tanks was, so went with gold.

 

 

So that's about it for progress. All the engines need cleaning up and painting, the decals need to go on and some clear coats airbrushed to seal things in and tone it all down. Not impossible in two weeks, but a stretch. And then I need to get the display base sorted... I'll see how far I get!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Mike 

[81-er]

That's looking good, Mike. The effect you've got on the second stage bulkhead is very nice indeed

 

James

[bianfuxia]

It's looking great. I know what you mean about life getting in the way - it's really held me back from my ISS as well. 

 

We could really use another fortnight hey?

[Mike N]

6 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

It's looking great. I know what you mean about life getting in the way - it's really held me back from my ISS as well. 

 

We could really use another fortnight hey?

Thank you!

 

Yes, another couple of weeks might see it completed, although I'm away the weekend after the current end date so it'll still be something of a last minute dash!

 

Mike

[Bengalensis]

You both deserve an extension, I'd vote for that.

[Mike N]

Well, given today is the last day of this GB, I'm going to declare my build unfinished. I'll give a status update on a few things I've done in the meantime, and hopefully later I'll post a final shot where I'm up to today.

 

Starting at the very top, the Launch Escape System in the kit comprises what I think is a newly tooled nose cone with a somewhat simplified tower structure. I wasn't going to tackle correcting the framework but I did want to add the booster exhausts that are missing from the top. For this, I returned to the spares box and cut the tips off some 1/48 rocket projectiles:

 

 

Once painted and glued on, they look fairly decent:

 

 

Onto the Command Module, I'm not sure this was a part that was re-tooled since the original release despite the rest of the CSM being done, as it looks really undersize. Below left is the kit part, in the middle is the resin replacement I have, and at right is the kit nose cone.

 

 

I think the resin part is designed to simply mate to the Service Module as it's base is not the convex surface of the real CM's heat shield. Hunting for a suitable curved part, I found some kind of dished plastic cover kicking around the house, and not knowing where it came from just decided to use it

 

 

 

This was cut down and glued to the base. The resin CM is fairly rough and despite some sanding is still not great, but once painted was adequate. The heat shield was painted white from the few photos I could find of it.

 

 

Finally for this brief update, the Service Module was painted and decaled:

 

 

Hopefully more later!

 

Cheers,

 

Mike 

 

 

[Mike N]

Moving down to the S-II and S-IVB, the kit engine bells had their moulded part numbers and alignment pins removed. Once assembled and painted they give an adequate representation of the real thing, but without all the pipework.

 

 

The S-IVB resin thrust structure offers no real securing features, so I drilled a hole in its centre. The engine had its side spigots trimmed and the centre drilled and pinned to give a positive joint.

 

 

The S-II thrust structure was more confusing (there were no instructions provided with the part). There are holes around the ring which I took to be for the centre of the engine bells.

 

 

Having drilled holes inboard of each one for the engine spigots, I installed the engines but they looked too close together. I then realised the moulded holes were for the spigot and the centre of the engine should sit over the moulded (silver-painted) pipes. Luckily, the real structure has lightening holes along the cruciform so I added another to match. The engine bells were again pinned, and lengths of plastic tube added to the outboard pipework. These have yet to be painted in the photo below. The real engines are covered in small diameter pipework so it's difficult to see what's going on really, so this was just a guess. Maybe later I'll add some wire to represent that stuff.

 

 

Down at the base of the S-1C, the kit fins are devoid of any detail. I chose to paint them to suggest different skin sections and then run a riveting tool over in approximate patterns.

 

 

Once dipped in Future and the decals applied, they don't look too bad.

 

 

Finally, the mighty F1 engines were assembled. These are so thin at the lower edges they were verging on short-shot, and I ended up gently sanding them back after assembly. The ribbed areas were quite a pain to clean up, though the halves did match quite well.

 

 

Like with the smaller engines, the internal surfaces had their part numbers and alignment features removed, which was very difficult to do cleanly.

 

 

After some filler and paint they were OK. The KSC's engines have no doubt changed colour from how they were originally, with a weathered look. I decided to go with this appearance, so they were painted overall in RLM02 (left) and then dry-brushed with bronze (right). I'm probably going to do a bit more with them yet to add more shadow and highlights.

 

 

So that's pretty much it for progress at a detail level.

 

Final photo of progress to follow...

[Mike N]

Here's an overview of where I've got up to, with a few bits temporarily held in place:

 

 

Fairly close, but even with the extension to the GB deadline it was too big a challenge for me, unfortunately. I'll hopefully get the modelling side of it finished over the Christmas break, but the display side will take a bit more head-scratching. Once done, I'll post it in the Ready for Inspection area of the site.

 

My thanks to the GB hosts and all those who commented, liked or simply viewed the story so far.

 

Mike 

[81-er]

That's looking very good, Mike, particularly the weathering on the main engines. I like that a lot

 

James

[Mike N]

9 hours ago, 81-er said:

That's looking very good, Mike, particularly the weathering on the main engines. I like that a lot

 

James

Thank you, James. I'm sure they looked very different brand new, but I'm going for the museum appearance!

 

Mike

[81-er]

Brand new is boring, this is much better 

 

James

[dnl42]

You've done a fine job on this! The detail you've added is excellent. 

[Mike N]

7 hours ago, dnl42 said:

You've done a fine job on this! The detail you've added is excellent. 

Thank you very much. I've enjoyed the project and hopefully I'll get it all done soon!

[bianfuxia]

Just caught up - it's really amazing. Keep posting in here after Christmas as you close it out.

[Mike N]

7 hours ago, bianfuxia said:

Just caught up - it's really amazing. Keep posting in here after Christmas as you close it out.

Thank you. I'm taking a break from it for a short while to finish some other builds that were sidelined but will post back when I get onto it again.