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Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6 (1:144)


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You won't believe it, but this is my first space project, consisting of several models. yikes.gif

 

On the other hand, this Space Shuttle Launch Complex is famously also the most complex real space model there is and was therefore designed as a long-term project, and that takes time, which is not so important to me. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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6 hours ago, spaceman said:

You won't believe it, but this is my first space project, consisting of several models. yikes.gif

 

You're correct, hard to believe because your skills are "off the charts!" I had read a previous post

of yours stating, you wanting to keep this model in your Model Museum. So I thought you might

have others in your collection.

 

Well, you choosing the most complicated model to build means... "You went BIG, instead of just

staying home."

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Hello everybody,

 

and thus to my test bores in order to test whether the minimum depth of approx. 5 - 10 mm could be achieved by hand with an appropriate caution and care. smiley215.gif

 

Since my Dremel is already nearly 10 years old, I wanted to test it once again in the associated drill stand, although I had doubts whether the lowest speed of 10.000 rpm already would be overkill and too risky.  hmmm.gif 

That's why I started by doing some manual tests true to the motto Better safe than sorry!.  For this I have clamped a Resin strip in my Mini vice and started turning the Dremel-chuck with a drill Ø 1,3 mm in the Dremel-stand with the left hand , while at the same time I've soulfully forced down the lifting rod with my right hand, which was not so easy.  analintruder.gif

 

QFqRzi.jpg

 

While the orthogonality of the bore in longitudinal direction was acceptable, huh.gif

 

G2G3XU.jpg

 

it left something to be desired in the transverse direction, rolleyes.gif 

 

Ry2wb7.jpg

 

which is why I was not completely convinced of this hand-drilling variant. nono.gif

 

Therefore, in a second series of tests with the Dremel in the drill stand I have drilled at the lowest speed (10.000 rpm) in a Chipboard with Ø 1,3 mm,  

 

K5Q4zZ.jpg

 

what went smoothly. cool.gif

 

7A8KMD.jpg

 

Then I've drilled with Ø 1,4 mm and then took a look at the orthogonality of the bore in the longitudinal and transverse directions, which looked surprisingly good at least over the minimum length.  speak_cool.gif

 

WeVsSE.jpg

 

ilCknc.jpg

 

Then I've drilled with the diameter of the SRB support rod (Ø 1,5 mm) and tested again in both directions, whereby the orthogonality was still unchanged good.

 

uRhLRx.jpg

 

dVQlLh.jpg

 

And the support rod also fit well into the bore, which was about 15 mm deep, which should be sufficient for the stable fixation of the boosters in my opinion, whereby I still could then drill a bit deeper with a Mini hand drill.  top.gif

 

dBX8dc.jpg

 

Axi0pP.jpg

 

So I could now venture on the bore of the two SRB Forward Skirts from the Newware Kit, whereby in addition to a stable support in a corresponding holder, especially the skirts have to be precisely aligned so that their bores are in line with the support rod. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

so far so good. cool.gif

 

Next, I've determined the position of the base point for the bore of the Support rod, which was not so easy, because it could not be marked in the narrow space, which is why I had to improvise a little bit with masking tapes. huh.gif

 

LW54Hi.jpg

 

The next problem was the necessary level support of the part as a prerequisite for an exact drilling, which was also not easy due to the disruptive Systems Tunnel at the bottom, which is why an exact clamping in the vice was rather difficult. smiley_worship.gif

 

9Ptrmw.jpg

 

That's why I clamped a brass angle for orientation in the Z-direction

 

ndltcH.jpg

 

and aligned the center line on the back of the part as good as possible parallelly.  cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif

 

Du7Bpf.jpg

 

For the alignment in the X-direction I oriented myself on the upper edge of the vice. huh.gif

 

fm7CMP.jpg

 

For better orientation here one can see the Orbiter vehicle coordinate system.  top2.gif

 

CAmYX0.jpg
Source: Marshall Space Flight Center, Space Transportation System HEAR No. TX-116

 

And in this position I will try now drilling the hole, again step by step, carefully pre-drilling with Ø 1,3 mm, and then drilling out with Ø 1,4 mm and Ø 1,5 mm. top.gif

 

Hopefully I can do this successfully, so please keep your fingers crossed!  JC_doubleup.gif

Edited by spaceman
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That's right! :clap2:

 

But there is also a more precise method to mark the bore point on the SRB Forward Skirt. To do this, I colored the front face of the holding rod with ink and then placed it on the ET's Intertank, which allows a contact line to be marked. The more precise point for the bore results at the intersection of this line with the longitudinal engraving on the skirt. speak_cool.gif

 

That's why I applied this method also still at the right SRB skirt with the tapes, the result of which can be seen here. 

 

al8VuF.jpg

 

The more precise point is therefore a little bit further ahead. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Thanks my friend! :worship:

 

Hello everybody,

 

and therefore: Nothing ventured, nothing gained! - Let's get on with it! top.gif

 

Before with drilling it could really come down to business, the vice onto the drill stand was carefully aligned so that the drill came to stand directly over the pre-drilled hole, whereupon this arrangement was then firmly fixed to the table top with a screw clamp. 

 

M3CCXy.jpg

 

AI98nz.jpg

 

Then, as with the test bores, the holes were drilled step by step, first carefully pre-drilled with Ø 1,3 mm, after which this bore was then drilled out with Ø 1,4 mm and Ø 1,5 mm to a depth approx. of 20 mm. up045518.gif

 

And as the following two images show, the orthogonality was surprisingly good in both directions. speak_cool.gif

 

pxbnVb.jpg

 

iYzbVr.jpg

 

Then the front part was inserted into the booster and with the bore put onto the Support rod in the Intertank, as well as put down with the two rear struts above the openings at the ET's rear, 

 

q6Um2c.jpg

 

whose feet had to slightly ground until they fit in the openings. cool.gif

 

oitM0M.jpg

 

At the front end a Balsa board (2 mm) was inserted as a spacer, 

 

IO4TSD.jpg

 

ebjMc8.jpg

 

since the already mentioned SRB Thrust Fitting has to be glued directly behind the support bar, which is unfortunately missing at the Newware front parts, rolleyes.gif

 

DaOTYk.jpg
Source: NASA

 

which is why I have to scratch this part.  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

the same drilling procedure I have now carried out with the right SRB front part, which has been similarly good and successful. top.gif

 

And so I have now been able to attach both SRBs provisionally at the ET, what fits together quite well and also looks good, in my opinion.  top2.gif

 

leOdwr.jpg

 

TSAiB1.jpg

 

And since  there was nothing to be seen of the MLP for a long time, I took it out of the closet and put this ET-SRB-Troika on it. smiley250.gif

 

AV34nE.jpg

 

axBEKl.jpg

 

9f8rNc.jpg

 

1E9V4n.jpg

 

That should it be for today. up040577.gif

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Manfred,

 

It looks great on the MLP!  Using the support rod to connect the SRB's is the best way to do it.  I did this on my STS-133 stack and it's rock solid.

 

Now you need to get the SSWS all painted. 

 

Mike.

Edited by crowe-t
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9 hours ago, crowe-t said:

Manfred,

 

It looks great on the MLP!  Using the support rod to connect the SRB's is the best way to do it.  I did this on my STS-133 stack and it's rock solid.

 

Now you need to get the SSWS all painted. 

 

Mike.

 

Thanks Mike, bow.gif

 

this solution with the Support rod that I've learned by watching from your stack, is really good and provides the necessary stability, especially since the SRBs with Newware's Resin front parts are quite heavy. eek.gif


BTW, I fully agree with you, but now the SSWS should finally be painted and the lights switched on ...red_bl.gif

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Incredible! It is starting to come together now.

But you're going to have to take it all apart again to treat the ET with the flour for the structure? I'm looking forward to the report on that, since I'd like to use the same method. It looks super realistic. For the rest I'm not going to apply the same level of detail on my Shuttle Stack, but I'm sure following this and try to learn a lot and borrow some of the things I see you do. Hopefully I can achieve a decent level of realism with the skills and means I have to make a respectable tribute to the STS 51L mission (using the things I learn here and elsewhere). 

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Thanks Mike for your nice comment. bow.gif

 

BTW, nothing is glued onto the ET yet and can be easily removed before the flour coating. I just have to mark and mask all contact surfaces for the add-on parts beforehand. up040577.gif

 

Have you started your STS-51-L project yet? :hmmm:

Edited by spaceman
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10 hours ago, spaceman said:

Have you started your STS-51-L project yet? :hmmm:

Not yet. The last boxes are removed from my office/hobbyroom, so I can start soon(ish). Still some things to do first, but the time is coming. I might just jump the gun and start priming some of the parts, just so I can say I started... 😆

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On 2/29/2020 at 7:22 PM, spaceman said:

BTW, nothing is glued onto the ET yet and can be easily removed before the flour coating. I just have to mark and mask all contact surfaces for the add-on parts beforehand. up040577.gif

 

I'm sure we'll see how the Flour-coating technique is applied to the ET. But, can you give us

a brief explanation of how its done. Sometimes, one would think this thread could not get

any better and then we get another posting and a brilliant surprise!

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I did post a lot of images of my Flour Technique approx. 1 year ago, therefore you have to go back to p. 84. 👍

There I've also tested using different masking tapes for simulating the wavelike SOFI Pattern.

Unfortunately I can only post from my Smartphone, because my PC ist striking since yesterday ... 😡 

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3 hours ago, spaceman said:

I did post a lot of images of my Flour Technique approx. 1 year ago, therefore you have to go back to p. 84. 👍

There I've also tested using different masking tapes for simulating the wavelike SOFI Pattern.

 

Manfred,

Thanks for the response and feedback. I've been reading and studying this magnificent

thread and construction project, I hadn't gotten to Page-84 yet. What you've been able to

do with this build is almost incomprehensible, if it were not for the detailed photos, data,

explanations, illustrations and step-by-step procedures just to name a few. The amount

of research involved on your part, then translating all that knowledge and understanding

into the scratch-building process is not only mind-boggling but fabulous! Sometimes its

more than the mind can comprehend... but I'm convinced that the right person (you) are

in-control and "driving the bus!" I'm a huge fan and will continue to follow this build, until

the countdown for STS-6 has begun prior to lift-off.

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