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Man In Space (MIS) build - Hasegawa Space Shuttle


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For my first post of the New Yaer, I thought I would start yet another thread! As I mentioned way back when we started this GB, my plan was to complete the 5 launch systems in the MIS kit along with the Space Shuttle from Hasegawa. As I have been moving along with the MIS rockets, I am starting to run into a little dead time as I wait for paint or putty to dry. I started my Hasegawa Space Shuttle kit this holiday as a break in working with the MIS kit.

Hasegawa molded the SRB halves already mated to the ET halves. This not only makes doing a orange brown paint job more difficult but the attachments are very noticably incorrect. Of course, if you opt for one of the initial launches, you don't have to worry about masking off the SRBs when painting the ET. Of course, the SRB/ET connections still are way too obvious.

First step I did was cut the SRB halves away from the ET halves.

HASShuttle001112007MJIsmall.jpg

You should be careful when you do this in order to prevent unnecessary damage to the kit parts. I must have been a little sloppy when I did my cuts, as I needed to use epoxy putty (Apoxie brand) to fill in some good size holes in a few of the parts.

I then glued the SRB halves together, and removed all traces of the incorrect ET connections. Using a small file and sanpaper, I "regrooved" the bottom attachment point on the SRBs in preperation for scratchbuilding new connections.

I also decided to add my usuual support rods to the SRBs. Here you can see where I have already inserted aluminum tubes inside holes drilled in the bottom of the SRBs. I drilled a corresponding hole in the bottom of the SRB nozzle. After I epoxied the rods into the body of the SRBs, I cut of the aluminum tubes flush with the bottom of the SRB body. This was I can mount the Shuttle on the base by sticking a rod through the hole in the nozzle and into the aluminum tube. Here's a photo right before I epoxied the rod into the SRB.

HasShuttle011122007MJIsmall.jpg

Have fun modeling in 2008!

Mike

:salute:

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Well if you don't want to have to chisel off the anti-geyser line from the left side of the tank (it parallels the LOX feedline), then that leaves STS-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 as possible mission options with Challenger flying STS 7 and Columbia flying the rest of them. Otherwise you would need to chisel that line off to do a mission with a light weight tank (STS-6, STS-8 onwards).

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Thanks Jay! I had not thought of the anti-geyser line on the ET. Could you point me to a photo so that I can remove the correct line should I go for a later shuttle mission? While I have access to a lot of photos, most are not identified as to what I am looking at! :doh:

Have fun modeling!

Mike

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Well, it is pretty easy to spot. The line sits exactly parallel to the main LOX feedline, just outside the bipod strut on the right side of the tank. It isn't as big as the feedline though. Looking at your pictures, it is rather prominently molded on the Hasegawa tank. All you really need to do to research it on a real shuttle is pull up a picture and look for the feature on the model kit that ISN'T on the tank. SIM #3 also shows where the anti-geyser line is pretty well in its ET tank diagram.

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  • 4 months later...

Well, I started this thread, so I might as well take it to completion! :) While I am battling the last few steps in my Gemini Titan build (Murphy's law keeps rearing it's head), I have been chugging along with the Hasegawa shuttle kit. This update will focus on the SRBs. as I mentioned before, the SRBs needed to be cut off from the Et as the connections are way off. After filling in all of the seams and scratches from the surgery, I fashioned representatives of the fore and aft connections between the SRB and ET. Here's a close up of the top connection. I carved these out of evergreen strip styrene. The brass rod will be used to both position the SRB at it's proper location and add strength to the bond.

HasShuttle031052008MJIsmall.jpg

The bottom connections were a bit tricky to represent, but I managed to pull this off. Even more important, I am happy with the connections! I did these with two different sizes of brass wire and two different sizes of aluminum tubing. I was going to go the easy route and just use brass wire, but the different thicknesses of the connections pushed me to represent this by the tubing pieces. Here's two close ups of the bottom connections:

HasShuttle023052008MJIsmall.jpg

HasShuttle026052008MJIsmall.jpg

Here's an overall shot of the SRBs as they look today. Hopefully, this will be useful for anyone else doing a shuttle in launch configuration.

HasShuttle030052008MJIsmall.jpg

Next steps will be to hit them with a final primer coat followed by my usual sequence of flat white and several gloss white coatings.

Have fun modeling! :worship:

Mike

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Thanks guys! B) You definitely have me motivated to complete this build along with the Gemini Titan. I am starting to make progress on the 3 components of the STS (SRBs, ET and Shuttle), so I should be able to post some progress on a more frequent basis. I still have some cleaning up on the ET to do, but the shuttle is getting ready for it's first primer shoot. I know I have some seams and lost panel lines with the shuttle, but it is at least moving forward!

Have fun modeling!

Mike

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Nice work Mike. I wouldn't worry so much about lost panel lines on the orbiter since in this scale, you shouldn't be able to see any panel lines away (control surface splits, but that should be about all). Plus, the TPS pattern seems to be Columbia/Challenger based, so if you plan to do Discovery, Atlantis or Endeavour, then the lines won't be quite right for some features anyway. Just do a good job with painting it and it should look fine.

BTW, did my "research materials" arrive at your house safely? :rolleyes:

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Nice work Mike. I wouldn't worry so much about lost panel lines on the orbiter since in this scale, you shouldn't be able to see any panel lines away (control surface splits, but that should be about all). Plus, the TPS pattern seems to be Columbia/Challenger based, so if you plan to do Discovery, Atlantis or Endeavour, then the lines won't be quite right for some features anyway. Just do a good job with painting it and it should look fine.

BTW, did my "research materials" arrive at your house safely? :rolleyes:

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Hi Jay! I agree with you in regards to the panel lines. I am not a fan of panel lines in general, as they are not frquently visible on the 1:1 item from a distance. I'm now trying to fill the panels on the shuttle, but will leave the major lines such as the control surfaces. Just something else to delay my completion of the model!

I did receive the reference items the other day. Thanks! They are really cool! I especially like the shot of the SCA landing. That is very nice! Thanks again for donating the items and co-running the GB!

Mike

Nice work Mike. I wouldn't worry so much about lost panel lines on the orbiter since in this scale, you shouldn't be able to see any panel lines away (control surface splits, but that should be about all). Plus, the TPS pattern seems to be Columbia/Challenger based, so if you plan to do Discovery, Atlantis or Endeavour, then the lines won't be quite right for some features anyway. Just do a good job with painting it and it should look fine.

BTW, did my "research materials" arrive at your house safely? :thumbsup:

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  • 2 months later...

Well, I keep making (a little) progress in getting this GB finished! :bandhead2: I have completed one of the 3 major sub-assemblies for the Shuttle. I finished up the SRBs this weekend. There was more work done on these suckers than I had planned! Catching everyone up on where I left off, I shot the SRBs with several coats of gloss white after I was certain that the seems were filled. I gave the frustrum and top section a light coat of very pale gloss tan (mixed a little radome tan in with gloss white). Then came the decals. I used only the "loaded" decals from Tango Papa. The black & red stripes are Scalemaster stripe decals applied in small sections and slowwwwwwly due to their tendency to wander all around the booster except where I wanted them to be. :stupid:

After these were applied and wiped clean, I did a dark wash to bring out some of the details like rocket openings and the metal structures on the bottom. This was followed by PollyScale satin for the main boday and PollyScale flat for the tan upper portion. I completed the foam insulation around some of the bottom joints by carefully applying Vallejo water based putty and letting this dry. Then I just brushed on Velllejo Ochre on the putty and instant yellow foam! You can see this in the close up photo below. Finally, I finished everything up by adding the tan exhaust shroud and brush painting the SRB-ET connectors MM Steel. Well, one sub-assemby down two more to go!

HasShuttle051072008MJIsmall.jpg

HasShuttle052072008MJIsmall.jpg

Have fun modeling!

Mike

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Good to see it's still progressing nicely. Can't wait to see it with the rest of the display. Here's a shot of the other vehicles I took at the model expo back in June. Very impressive work. It's amazing seeing the precision you achieved in this tiny scale, even more so in person.

04.jpg

:thumbsup:

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Thanks Jay! It's great to hear a positive comment from perhaps the Shuttle model guru! I decided to depict STS-26, as I was there for the landing at Edwards. I also had recievd letters & a patch from 3 or 4 of the crew members a few months before the launch. I had mailed them a "fan" letter and wished them luck, so I was really happy to get a few letters back from the crew.

Mike

Nice work so far Mike. Have you decided which mission you are representing?
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Thanks Mark! Glad you liked the Model Expo last month. As the Real SPace category was on the more quiet side of the gym, I was not sure if anyone would even notice the display. The Shuttle stack will go in the open space on the base next to the Gemini Titan and Saturn V. Did you have anything at the show?

Mike

Good to see it's still progressing nicely. Can't wait to see it with the rest of the display. Here's a shot of the other vehicles I took at the model expo back in June. Very impressive work. It's amazing seeing the precision you achieved in this tiny scale, even more so in person.

:doh:

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Yah, I had a blast at the show. I actually won the door prize (The AMT "The General" Locomotive kit). Your rockets stood out pretty well in amongst all the sci-fi stuff. It's hard to hide a Saturn V even in 1/200 scale :cheers: . I did enter one kit. That little orange X-1 in the 1/48 aircraft category was my group build entry from here as well.

:whistle:

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Mark:

I didn't know that the X-1 was yours. Nice work!! :) With all the running around I had to do during those two days, it was a challenge to get to really enjoy the finished models and match them to some of the builders I know. Hope to see you at next year's show! (same location)

Mike

Yah, I had a blast at the show. I actually won the door prize (The AMT "The General" Locomotive kit). Your rockets stood out pretty well in amongst all the sci-fi stuff. It's hard to hide a Saturn V even in 1/200 scale :cheers: . I did enter one kit. That little orange X-1 in the 1/48 aircraft category was my group build entry from here as well.

:salute:

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Hi Mike ... it's great to see your stick-to-it-iveness! I did a 1/144 Shuttle stack and had a hard time getting the decal stripes to stay put on the SRB's. I don't know how you did it, but you did it good!!

You're doing a terrific job on this, keep at it, we'll be watching. And I sure hope you're havin' fun at the NATS.

Pete

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  • 2 weeks later...

Time for another installment in my Shuttle build. Since I finished the SRBs, I have completed the ET. As I am doing the STS-26 mission, I removed the anti-geyser line on the tank, and cleaned up the damage that I did to it when I removed the SRBs. I also extended the main fuel feed line so that it will touch the shuttle bottom when the stack is put together. I used a piece of plastic rod to add some length to the fuel feed line. If you don't do this, the line ends in the middle of the gap between the shuttle bottom and the ET.

I did not worry too much about getting an exact color for the ET. As this is a moving target as the ET ages, I just went with what looked good to my old Mark I eye ball. After several coats of Mr. Surfacer primer, I shot the tank with:

Floquil Paints used

SP Armour Yellow (base coat)

Zinc Chrome Primer + SP Armour Yellow (Final coat)

The challenge is in the touch-ups/corrections! As I did need to do some touch ups, I was unable to correctly match the blended colors well. I ended up masking off and shooting another final coat using a new blend of the above paints. I also used Mr. Metallizer Iron brush painted on for the metallic sections.

The aft attachment points are not correct as they should be tubular rather than a block/square rod shape. I decided that it was not worth changing this, so I used a blend of MM gunmetal and graphite metallic for the dark areas. Here's how the tank finally looks. Now it's on to the Shuttle Orbiter!

HasShuttle057072008MJIsmall.jpg

HasShuttle062072008MJIsmall.jpg

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The work on this kit slowly marches on! With the SRBs and ET finished, it is now time to get the star of the show, the Shuttle Orbitor, completed. In 1/200 scale, there is not a lot you need to do! You need to be careful in aligning all the parts for the main body, in order to minimize any mismatches. I was not so careful, so a little correction was in order. Here's how the Orbitor looks during assembly:

HasShuttle015122007MJIsmall-1.jpg

The main event (and EXTREMELY boring) is to fill in most of the engraving on the body. In this scale, it is massively overstated. This should include the individual panels on the leading edge. I plan on duplicating these later on by drybrushing. I did keep the outline for the leading edge areas intact in order to serve as a masking aid.

After I was satisfied that all unnecessary engraving was filled, I primed the Orbitor with Mr. Surfacer 1000 (actually numerous times due to unfilled engraving lines) followed by hitting the entire orbitor with my usual MM flat white/gloss white coat. Here's how it looks at this stage;

HasShuttle065072008MJIsmall.jpg

It's time to let this dry, before I take a deap breath and start the tedious masking! Until next time, have fun modeling!

Mike

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