habu2

Are you building the XL as flown or as a what-if? If the latter then the “production/whif” jets would have had the later C/D style instruments.

According to Keith Svendsen’s article in IPMS Quarterly (Fall 1984) the cockits in #1 and #2 were essentially the same as a production A/B, respectively. Given the time frame for first flight I would assume a Block 15 layout.

Ah, reminds me of Dale Brown’s unpublished sequel, “Flight of the Old Dog Hair”... 😂 😂 😂

This is correct. The top of the fuselage is essentially straight. The ‘hump’ is just the intersection of the stab chord and the fuselage, just like at the wing root.

I have extensively photographed the Saturn Vs displayed at JSC, KSC and USSRC but very little of my efforts are online. My ‘computer room’ is under renovation and my pc / images are stored during this time. Currently limited to mobile devices to access the net. Maybe after the holidays when time and resources are more available. I’ve also photographed most of the manned US spacecraft in museums, another resource which mostly remains hidden on my pc....

Necessary? No, but the seal coat should make the edges of the carrier film virtually disappear, giving the decal a more “painted on” appearance.

They are angled/offset, like the real thing. Amazing work Pete, and Kudos on your positive outlook !!!

On mine I rounded the wingtips, slotted the elevons and tried rounding the nose. The window shapes are way off, if a window decal were available I'd fill in the kit windows and slap on a decal.

I don’t understand your logic for ignoring the Hasegawa kit. You are ignoring a huge potential market and, looking at their F-2 kit, you know exactly what is needed. Yes it would require cutting the lower fuselage and, to be complete, a new main gear bay. Hasegawa hasn’t updated their fuselage molds in decades, they aren’t going to do it now. That’s what aftermarket companies call an opportunity. Then you say “get the Tamiya” for a better result. I agree with that but then you say “Kinetic will follow”. Why do a Kinetic intake when getting a Tamiya kit would give you a better result? I don’t understand your logic. .

Block 60 is different than 30-40-50. And some “52+” are different than 42-52.

Don’t intend to hijack this thread but thought some of you might find this interesting. On Dec 10 2018 Voyager 2 crossed over from the heliosphere into interstellar space. http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum33/HTML/000186.html#121018a And where are they now? https://heavens-above.com/SolarEscape.aspx

I can get to the home page and some sub-pages but any database queries appear to fail. Anyone else having this problem? or is it just me?

Oh yeah.....

Regardless of your stash size, let’s talk about stash preservation. I almost started a thread on this topic a while back. For reasons that should be obvious, temperature and humidity should be regulated. Garages and attics should be avoided. Sunlight will also fade box art if you are concerned about that. I open every kit I buy as soon as I get home. In addition to a quick inventory for missing or broken parts, there is the all-important aspect of styrene fondling... 😎 I keep a supply of ziploc bags and cookie sheet paper, all clear parts get put in a ziploc to minimize scratching. Another small ziploc to capture any small parts that have fallen off the sprue. Decals are also placed in a separate ziploc and, if it may be a rare sheet, I cut a similar sized sheet of cookie sheet paper to put in the ziploc so the decals won’t stick to the plastic bag. I got this idea from the protective sheets some manufacturers thoughtfully provide iin their kits. Aftermarket decals get a similar treatment, and sorted groups are kept in larger ziploc bags, and those stored in plastic shoebox containers, and those are kept in a closet away from sunlight. One final “stash threat” I’m still battling is the dreaded silverfish. These buggars will eat decals, instruction sheets, boxes.... ruining them. I dust my stash storage shelves with DTE but these b*stards still occasionally hold a buffet in a random kit box. I used to use post-it notes to mark kit boxes and for notes on instruction sheets but soon learned the “glue” on post-it notes attracts silvrfish like crack cocaine does a junky. Fortunately rodents are not an issue in my house. Share your stash preservation techniques and ideas so we can all learn something to protect our stashes. edit: of course none of this would be necessary if I would just build the d*mn kit before buying another. And another. And another..... .

My edited wiped out my saying Hotdog was right, it was my memory that failed me. I had these numbers “memorized” years ago when I first got the abomination that is the Dragon Saturn V kit. Still shaking my head in disgust at all the mistakes made on that kit in the name of “shortcuts”.... 🤮