as205

It’s been a while, time for an update on the SA-5 build. There are quite a few details that need to be added to the S-IV and interstage areas. But before that I needed to add the payload section to the S-IV interstage. There are a lot of details that go on the S-IV interstage and that would make it harder to get a relatively smooth transition from the S-IV interstage to the payload section (which includes the instrument unit). I used CA to bond them and then started filling and sanding the areas to get a fairly smooth joint. I then added the tunnel that

I've got one on pre-order as well. I saw some info that the S-IB may be delayed to December. Randy

Thanks Pete. Sometimes it takes putting it down and walking away for a while. When you come back you can give it a fresh look and carry on. Just remember the reason you started the project and keep heading for the goal. Besides, I'm making notes going through this model, since I'll be applying almost all the lessons learned on this one when I tackle the SA-10 conversion which will have 90% of the same parts as this one. Randy

I decided to add a few details to the interstage. It needed standoffs for the three gaseous hydrogen vent pipes and also needed to have the camera canisters added next to the stub fins at positions 1 through 4. I then sprayed on a first coat of primer. Then glued on the S-IV interstage and sanded the junction with the S-IV body to a more rounded profile. I sprayed a coat of primer on the S-I stage and did a bit of additional filling and sanding on some of the fins. Next I sprayed on a final coat of primer to complete the

Progress continues on the SA-5 model. I made the decision to replace the S-IV that came in the upgrade kit with my own that I would make out of some resin that I already had. This would give me a round S-IV stage that would match the interstage without massive amounts of filler and hours of sanding to get it round. I started by gluing three rods into the bottom of the interstage part. Next I glued a circle made from .010 sheet stock to the top of the three rods. I applied thick CA to the edges to seal the circle to the inside of the interstage. This would be t

Aussie-Pete, They can be challenging. The quality varies from vendor to vendor. I've built some resin kits from RealSpaceModels and they were pretty good without a bunch of extra work. NewWare is also pretty good but I have yet to build an all resin kit from them. But it is still fun to work on a subject that I probably wouldn't have done without a resin kit starting point. Even injection molded kits can present a challenge if you are trying to build an accurate version. The Saturn V I built last year was a conglomeration of a Revel Saturn V and an Airfix Saturn V

A little more work on the S-I stage. First I took out my Dremel and thinned the walls of the eight H-1 engines. The kit engines have nozzle walls that are far too thick. The picture doesn’t show it well but the walls are much thinner than before. The one on the left has had the walls thinned. Next I glued on the stub fins with CA. When those were cured I added the large fins at Positions I, II, III and IV. After those set I added the hydrogen vent extensions to three of the stub fins. Also note the inboard turbopump exhaust fairings at

Nicely done. More pictures would be great. Randy

Here is a quick update of the SA-5 progress. I glued on the antennas, the umbilical door, and the hydrogen vent pipes. The umbilical door is cut from .005 sheet stock while the antennas are cut from some strip stock I had that looked close. The hydrogen vent pipes look a bit different that the last update. I added the short straight section after the bend at the top of the pipes. I at first thought I could leave it off, but the more I looked at it the more I knew that the short sections needed to be added. The bottom of the vent pipes needed to have a slit cut into them

Thanks Pete, The only problem is with as slow as this build is going I keep finding things I want to fix. But it is a good problem I guess. I really enjoy researching the vehicle and trying to modify the parts to make them better. Not perfect, just better. Randy

Back to work on the SA-5 model a bit. Work continues on the S-I first stage. I got the puttying and trimming on the tanks done and they should be pretty smooth. I scratch built the gaseous hydrogen vent pipes that go down the first stage at three points. There was plastic rod included in the conversion kit but they did not include the bend at the top that was required to make the pipes meet their counterparts from the S-IV second stage. I had some Evergreen plastic tubes that were a close match to the diameter supplied in the conversion kit. I cut them to length and then cut a small sect

No problem. When I'm airbrushing, I used about 1 drop per 15 to 20 drops of paint. I did mix it in the airbrush cup. Hope that helps. By the way you build is looking fantastic! Randy

Sorry for the confusion. I use a drop of Vallejo Flow Improver with both Model Air and Model Color. It seems to work with both. I used the custom thinner for the Model color. When I used the Model Air I used Vallejo thinner. Randy

One thing to note with the decals is the antenna decals. I applied them as Bandai specified in the instructions. But then I noticed that the photos I have of the 5-foot filming miniature didn’t match. It seemed backwards. The 5-foot photos are taken of the ESB version of the Falcon but the Bandai kit is the ANH version. So I went to a copy of the Episode IV movie and looked for views of the back of the antenna in the film. When I found one it matched the Bandai instructions. Looking carefully at the newer photos of the 5-foot version they have the antenna mounted backwa

Now on to the upper hull. Here is an overview. Engine area decals. These decals took some work to get to conform. The dark gray one on the left required a bit of work next to the "A" arm. The light gray one on the right took several applications of Solvaset and some knife work. I'm still working on a couple of wrinkles that formed. Hopefully I can get them smoothed out a bit more. Application of Solvaset before applying the light gray decal helped it to conform to the fine rivet details. Here is a good view of some of

As the underside decals were going on I looked ahead and found three places on the side walls where Bandai provided a decal to cover a section. Those sections have too many fine raised details to attempt to get the decal to conform. For those areas, I mixed up some paint (a mix of Vallejo Desert Sand and Aged White) that to my eye was a close match for the decal color instead of using the decal. While this one on the left side might be workable, but why bother when I already have to paint two other sections. These two areas just have way too many fine details to

Spaceman, Sorry for the late reply, I used Vallejo Flow Improver with the Model Color paints. Your project is looking fantastic! Randy

That is why when I did my 2001 Discovery XD-1 I did it lighter that the studio model because I wanted it to look more like it did on screen. With these Syfi ships lighting is everything. Randy

I've used both the Vallejo Model Air and the Model Color paints. The Model Air paints are made to be airbrushed. They are thinner than the Model Color paints. When I was spraying the Model Air on my Millennium Falcon model recently, I noticed that the airbrush clogged frequently. I ended up thinning the Model Air and also adding a drop or two of Flow Improver to the paint and I had fewer problems with clogging. On the 2001 Discovery XD-1 model that I did earlier this year I used the Model Color paints. I created a thinner that worked well with them so that I could airbrush the

Thanks. Decal work is continuing. I should have a small update soon. Randy

I got the Vallejo gloss and dull coat and started out by testing it on a wall of the boarding ramp. It went on fine, maybe a little thick but it did not react with the underlying paint as expected. I then took the boarding ramp part and applied the decals after giving it a clear coat. The decals are rather thick as has been mentioned in many places by others. There were some fine details that the decals needed to conform to on the boarding ramp. This required several applications of Solvaset. It really is much stronger that Micro Scale MicroSol. You do not have much time afte

This is just a quick update before I jump back to the Millennium Falcon. I was preparing to attach the fuel tank portion of the first stage to the thrust structure. As I’ve seen before when I did the SA-205 Apollo 7 Saturn IB model, the tanks don’t exactly line up well with the thrust structure. There is quite a step out nearly all the way around the stage that requires a considerable amount of clean up to get a proper looking stage. While I was messing around with it trying to get the best possible alignment, I noticed that if I rotated the tank portion a bit in one direction most of the

Wow! This will put my build to shame. My weathering techniques don't even come close. If mine comes to even 20% as good as this I'll be happy. Beautiful work! Randy

Time for a progress report on the SA-5 build. I started on the aft structure of the first stage. I needed to drill a hole for a brass tube that would attach the model to the display base. I marked an X on the top of the part and put the heat shield on the bottom of the base. I then went to my drill press and drilled a hole through the top down through the heat shield on the bottom. I then inserted a length of brass tube through the top and down into the hole in the heat shield. I only pushed it through until it was flush with the outside of the heat shield.

Well I don’t usually overlap builds, but I knew I was going to have to wait a bit before I could get back to the Millennium Falcon. I started my next project which is another kit from Martin’s Models from the UK. This one is a conversion set that modifies an Airfix 1/144 Saturn IB into a Saturn I Block II SA-5. It was the first Saturn I flight to have a live S-IV second stage. I love that rocket. It has those great classic lines. Again the resin parts are quite rough and some are out of round, but it will be a great starting point and should build into a nice model. Her