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


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Hello everybody, here we go. cool.gif

 

At first I've caught up the four-part clamping ring with the longer screw connections (1 mm), 

 

TZcZmF.jpg

 

and compared it with the previous one with the too short screw connections (0.75 mm), the edges of which I have also rounded off somewhat.  up045518.gif

 

W7lnsk.jpg

 

On this macro recording one can still recognize the difference, but from some distance probably already not more.  huh.gif

 

And now to the small series of the nine four-part clamping rings, for which I wanted to apply the Lattice technique. JC_idea.gif

 

Originally I had also thought of a similar jig with spacers, as it had worked well for the cartridge belts of the Rainbirds. denknf8.gif But for these only nine clamping rings then I have renounced on it and have used only tapes. a040.gif

 

First of all I attached the strips (0.38 mm x 0.5 mm) for the clamping rings with the ends on a tape strip.

 

m7L3JT.jpg

 

For bonding of the strips (0.25 mm x 1 mm) for the four screw connections per clamping ring with MEK, however, I have precautionally changed over to a metal sheet. top.gif

 

zEjaq6.jpg

 

Then I have placed these four strips over the clamping ring strips and laterally fixed with tape. 

 

qbv1qD.jpg

 

And in order for the screwing strips to lie tightly on top of each other during gluing, the lattice was still loaded by a weight. Afterwards, the superimposed strips on both sides were carefully dabbed with MEK, wherefore a brush tip MEK is really enough. speak_cool.gif

 

3uy9HQ.jpg

 

After the same gluing procedure was done on the back, the tape strips could be removed, and the clamping ring lattice was finished. top2.gif

 

3UWjIp.jpg

 

And lo and behold, the lattice is at first sight relatively stable, wherewith the lattice technique has proved itself.  top.gif

 

fyQxiG.jpg

 

That's it for now, and next time the clamping rings will be separated.  up040577.gif

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Thanks Pete for all your kind words! :worship:

 

Especially your comments give me again and again encouragement to keep pushing on.  top.gif

 

I admire all of the work and skill that you and the other guys put into your models, what gives me new inspiration and fresh courage for my own work.  up045518.gif

 

The small details are particularly appealing to me and are always new challenges for me.  up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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6 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

Hi Spaceman, I really admire your work and your determination.   With such a daunting project like that I'd probably feel overwhelmed early on and just give up.  You have a jeweler's eye, a watchmaker's hand and the patience of a saint.

 

Thanks Joseph for this grand compliment, which I am very happy about. :worship:

 

Maybe you'll hit the nail on the head, but for God's sake, my project should not deter anyone. i5684_no2.gif

 

But if I am honest, the SSWS has been actually the biggest challenge so far and is also stretching my patience, eek.gif but I'll never give up.  s-boese-wand02.gif

 

Only good thing that this chapter is finished soon.  pray.gif

 

In this sence I hope you don't get discouraged in watching further on!  up040577.gif

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Hi everybody,

 

even if it is currently something tiring, here it goes on with the clamping rings, it is no good ...  up035091.gif 

 

Since the rounding of the edges on a single strip is quite difficult and obtently stressful, analintruder.gif I have not completely separated the lattice, but only the outer overhangs are cut off. As a result, the outer side of the clamping ring, including the screw connections, can be rounded off relatively comfortably over the entire length since the lattice itself is surprisingly stable and flexible. speak_cool.gif  

 

2V59kb.jpg

 

On the other side of the strip, one has to work carefully, particularly when rounding off the interstices,  shocked.gif for which I have made myself a 1.5 mm narrow grinding stick. top.gif

 

CxRM6P.jpg

 

This business was very time-consuming, but then the nine clamping rings were finally (like myself) done. up045518.gif

 

MHr3ua.jpg

 

How good that I had planned a spare strip, because at one strip, during rounding off actually one screw connection was canceled. smiley_worship.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

after the four-part clamping rings were securely stowed in a small box, I kept doing with the six-part rings, however 19 of them are needed. huh.gif

 

For the clamping rings 0.38 mm x 0.5 mm strips were again used, and 0.25 mm x 0.75 mm strips for the shorter screw connections. 

 

6Phen0.jpg

 

I will use the same method again to prepare two lattices each with 10 clamping rings, because the size had been okay. cool.gif

 

h6m4Ff.jpg

 

pMlOcj.jpg

 

In order to hold down the screw connection strips, they had to weight again, 

 

15ZoOi.jpg

 

whereby I almost had forgotten one strip.  shocked.gif

 

ZC7xnp.jpg

 

After the transverse strips were aligned once more, in order to have approximately equal distances, I have additionally two narrow masking strips glued, so that the lattice can not slip during MEK gluing. 

 

OOfCr8.jpg

 

Then all the lattice junctions were glued together on the top side,

 

Vj094f.jpg

 

and then on the bottom. top2.gif 

 

V9rIP5.jpg

 

And with the first lattice again a small step was done, the next will follow soon.  up040577.gif

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Hi all together,

 

and thus in the fast passage to the second clamping ring lattice with the known procedures:  cool.gif

 

Fixing the longitudinal and transverse strips,

 

up054391.jpg

 

up054392.jpg

 

as well as gluing the cross points with MEK.

 

up054393.jpg

 

The lattice, which has been smoothly adhering to the sheet metal, can easily be detached with a razor blade.  up045518.gif

 

up054394.jpg

 

After that the stressful rounding off of the filigree edges had to be done again, which this time because of the closer distances of the screwing strips was somewhat more difficult. smiley_worship.gif

 

up054395.jpg

 

That's why I've come up with a narrow mini-file for the narrow spaces, for which I have glued a 1 mm wide strip of fine sandpaper (500) to a 2.5 mm Evergreen channel.  up046118.gif

 

up054396.jpg

 

And these first ten of the required 19 six-part clamping rings are the result of this laborious fiddling.  up039822.gif

 

up054397.jpg

 

And next time follows the same procedure again at the 2nd lattice.  up040577.gif

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Laborious ... definitely, but the end result is SPEK-TAK-YOO-LAR!

 

I have to admit Manfred, that I wondered why you were building a lattice ... but your solution, using it, is real 'eye-candy'!  :woo:

Your ability to think through a problem, and the resulting unique solution, is a real treat to watch develop!

 

Thanx you!  :thumbsup:

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Hello everybody,

 

today I have disassembled the 2nd grid and rounded the edges on the remaining 10 clamping rings and their screw connections on all sides. cool.gif

 

And I can tell you, with the last stripes my eyes began to tear more and more,  cant-believe-my-eyes-smiley-emoticon.gif because in the long run this is too strenuous, because the edges are so tiny.   eek.gif

 

8vhAak.jpg

 

That's why I've counted once for fun the edges, which I have rounded off with my mini-files at the total of 28 clamping rings. huh.gif

 

And what would you estimate if I would ask you? denknf8.gif

 

Well, since I myself was surprised, I'm going to say it immediately: believe it or not, a total of 900, hardly to believe but true !!! yikes.gif

 

And now it's time to get the SSWS skeletons out of the SRB Holes in order to glue all the clamping rings. top2.gif

 

mD5gUt.jpg

 

zCh3WX.jpg

 

Zp3oVD.jpg

 

uEcJNB.jpg

 

But first I have to deal with the transitions at the outlets and to model them with Apoxie Sculpt. up040577.gif

Edited by spaceman
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Hello together,

 

but before I start with the Apoxie Sculpt modeling, there's still something else to do.  top.gif

 

After removal the ring lines, I have noticed that in front of the 16''/12'' transition behind the LOX-TSM the clamping ring still lacked, as one can see in the right circle.  huh.gif

 

iwqgS4.jpg

 

The rings for this I had (only) bent from lead wire (Ø 0,4 mm) at that time. 

 

up054048.jpg

 

But in reality, these are two-part clamping rings with laterally fitting screw connections, 

 

wnXtak.jpg
Source: NASA

 

ZdDbzM.jpg
Source: NASA

 

which could also be made by the successful lattice technique.  cool.gif

 

And just during this consideration, a friend from the Raumcon Forum has sent me a piece of Teflon foil (PTFE, 0.05 mm), which I should try as underlay during the MEK-gluing. speak_cool.gif

 

Onto this idea one must only come up, especially since PTFE is known for its excellent anti-stick properties. top.gif

 

For as you may remember perhaps, the strips lattice glued with MEK adhered on the metal sheet, which surprised me. shocked.gif

 

And I have now tried the same with the both two-part clamping rings, meaning no metal sheet than underlay, but only the Teflon foil on the cutting mat on which the clamping ring strips were fixed.  up045518.gif 

 

Subsequently, the crossings were dabbed with MEK as before and so glued. 

 

ztY3Pk.jpg

 

And lo and behold, nothing remains adhered, and the bondings can be removed from the foil easily and without any problem. yahoo.gif

 

sKw5jD.jpg

 

And these are the two clamping ring strips with the two screw connections. 

 

P89YMa.jpg

 

As far as for today. up040577.gif

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Thanks Joseph for your nice compliment, :worship:

 

I don't believe, i5684_no2.gif  and therefore I rather think that you would lose the bet, so be careful!  top.gif

 

Maybe my skill in pipework is meanwhile not bad, but the entire LLRV is another level and clearly your delicacy, so I cannot compete, sorry!  up040577.gif

 

 

Edited by spaceman
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I was more like trying to get you in a joint-effort build because of your pipeworking skills, heheh.  I've come across some buddy builds and I know it speeds up construction, although I've always wondered who gets to keep the model  :)     I  have a question -- for your piping,  what do you do if there's no styrene rod for the diameter you need -- and has this ever happened to you?  It's a quandary i'm in.   I was thinking I should have based the scale of the model on the available styrene or metal rod sizes.

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That would be a possibility, hmmm.gif but then everyone would have to build his part twice, then there would be no disput.  top.gif

 

BTW, your quandary with the variety of pipe and rod diameters, I can understand. But this is on the one hand a question of the scale you want to build, and on the other hand how exactly and close to the real thing you want to build the details.  denknf8.gif  

 

Actually there are already a lot of profiles in smaller diameter gradations by Evergreen and other producers, but certainly not everything what is needed. Then one has to improvise and make little compromises.  JC_idea.gif

 

The same problem I have to solve in correcting the incorrectly dimensioned Revell profiles at the FSS and RSS construction, which I had extensively analyzed earlier.

 

up048867.jpg

 

up048866.jpg

 

If it only deals with a few tenths, one can turn a blind eye.  up040577.gif

 

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Hello everybody,

 

unfortunately I've got a lumbago, what is not so funny, eek.gif but when sitting comfortably, it is still tolerable, so I once tried one of these both two-part clamping rings. Because of the smaller pipe diameter (2.5 mm) this time I used an Evergreen strip 0.25 mm x 0.5 mm for the ring, and for the screw connections 0.25 mm x 1 mm.

 

I hope one can still recognize the clamping ring behind the bow, huh.gif

 

up054531.jpg

 

this one here is it, up046887.gif

 

up054532.jpg
Source: NASA

and therefore here once somewhat larger. spiegel-smilies-0002.gif

 

up054533.jpg

 

Subsequently, I have started modeling the transitions at the rejuvenations of the ring lines and first rolled Apoxie Sculpt balls and then mixed them. top.gif

 

Here is the preliminary result, first at the 24''/12'' transition, which is still accessible relatively easy, 

 

up054534.jpg

 

up054535.jpg

 

and then here at the 24''/16'' transition, which was somewhat trickier because the two 6'' outlets are unfortunately in the way. rolleyes.gif

 

up054536.jpg

 

up054537.jpg

 

On the occasion I have also installed one of the two 9'' transitions, for what I had to insert the ring line again into the shaft, which however against expectation has worked, also without removing the SRB Supports. up039822.gif

 

up054538.jpg

 

Now everything has only to dry, then the transitions still can be reworked somewhat. up046118.gif

 

up054539.jpg

 

That's it for today. up040577.gif

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Well done ... very ... well done!   :worship:

 

I hope, that when this entire model is completed, and displayed, that the viewer will be able appreciate just how much work, effort and attention to detail was expended to achieve these superb results! This has "Best of Show" written all over it ... wherever you exhibit it!

 

This deserves to be in magazines too so even more modellers can see this.

 

Keep up the outstanding work Manfred!!  :thumbsup:  :woo:

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Thanks Pete for your nice laudation, which sounds like balm for my lumbago. lob3.gif

I am glad that you like my work, then I will try to keep up this level of detailing furthermore, because I believe, that the effort will be worth it at the end. top.gif

 

BTW, sometimes I am amazed at myself  :hmmm:when I'm scrolling in my endless building report, what kind of crazy stuff I have already done so far ...  up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

in the meantime, the modeled transitions have been carefully plastered on both pipe frames, using different tools for grinding to reach to the respective points.  cool.gif

 

up054606.jpg

 

These were for the bigger roundings beside normal grinding sticks also again my handmade small sticks as well as fine files and especially grinding sponge (Tamiya-2000). Since the grinding sponge adapts particularly well to the contours, I have glued a small sponge stick from a narrow strip and a balsa stick, with which one can carefully grind around the transition without producing unsightly nicks.  up045518.gif

 

up054607.jpg

 

Since hardly any rework was required on the 18'' outlets, existing unevenness were eliminated with a thin needle file (Ø 1.0 - 0.5 mm). 

 

Now also the other 9'' transition on the ring line behind the LOX-TSM could be glued, whom I had to give especially care while further handling, since the glue point with Ø 1,5 mm is highly sensitive and extremely fragile. up039493.gif

 

up054608.jpg

 

The thin support rods under these transitions can only be glued at the very end, because their support webs are simply too narrow and would hardly provide support.  rolleyes.gif

 

Then the other two-part clamping ring came next into line. 

 

up054609.jpg

 

After I had marked the position of the screw connections with a tape strip, 

 

up054610.jpg

 

the clamping ring was glued step by step.

 

up054611.jpg

 

up054612.jpg

 

Thereby the two ring lines are now finished, so that now the 28 clamping rings can be glued, which certainly will become a stressful affair. smiley_worship.gif

 

up054613.jpg

 

At first, however, the positions had to be marked, for which I have used a small tape template, which was very helpful. up045518.gif

 

up054614.jpg

 

And now my drawing of the ring line behind the LH2-TSM came again into the game,  

 

up054329.jpg

 

by means of which I marked the position of the six-part (green) and four-part tensioning rings (blue) on the ring line, therewith nothing can get jumbled, because the arrangement of the clampingg rings on the ring line  behind the LOX-TSM looks a little different.  up035091.gif

 

up054615.jpg

 

So it can now finally get started with the clamping ring orgy, of which I already a bit dread.  shocked.gif Because this time I have to go back again to the CA, because with MEK the disaster would be pre-programmed, if you can remember, long, long time ago ... up043952.gif 

 

up047113.jpg

 

The important thing is a secure holding of the ring line, in order to be able to position the clamping rings correctly, because the first contact has to be fixed straight away, especially since correction is extremely difficult. Because if the starting point does not glue, one has to clean the glue point again, because on the old CA strangely enough no new CA glues. rolleyes.gif

 

But today I do not start anymore, because now our dog wants to go outside ... up054616.gif

 

Bye for now. up040577.gif

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Hello everybody,

 

now for the gluing of the first clamping rings on the ring line behind the LH2-TSM, which has proved to be the expected tricky affair to do.  rolleyes.gif

 

As can be seen in the picture, it started with four four-part clamping rings behind the TSM first, followed by five six-part rings. cool.gif

up054329.jpg

At that I proceeded during gluing in such a way that I first glue only the first screw connection on the underside of the ring line with CA, and the remaining ring then stepwise until shortly in front of the last screw connection, where the end of the strip is glued fitting exactly connecting with the first screw connection after cutting off the overhang.  


In order to allow the ring to be attached better when gluing, it is advantageous if the starting point behind the first screw connection is carefully pre-rounded. But already the start was a complete flop, because the first screw connection was broken off, which has surprised and frustrated me of course.  up043952.gif 

 

I can only explain it to myself, that the strip has been scratched too much during the chamfering of the screw connections and thus unfortunately had a predetermined breaking point. smiley_worship.gif 


This can happen already, but should not throw me off track, which is why I then went on still more cautiously.  huh.gif

 

So I have glued the barely 1 mm long tiny screw connection and behind it then the remaining clamping ring, which still looks quite neat.  speak_cool.gif

 

R67GV1.jpg

 

And in the same way followed the next two clamping rings, but unfortunately again not without malheur.  rolleyes.gif Because as I had already emphasized, one must clamp the ring line somehow, so that one has free hand, in order to position the clamping ring exactly and to  press it smoothly. 


I had the ring line in my little vise already, but the inner 18'' outlet layed obliquely at the vise, and during the careful pressure of the clamping ring there was suddenly a quiet click, at which I already suspected something bad ... analintruder.gif

 

And after clamping out of the ring line I got prompt the receipt, because the outlet had done its name all honor, and had gone out off the ring line, by which I was badly served and needed fresh air. erschrocken3.gif

 

26AX0f.jpg

 

Afterwards, I have the ring line again in the SRB chamber inserted and the outlet again glued on. And this gave the opportunity to try out the supports just under the first clamping rings. 

 

0O7qPX.jpg

 

qUBHJW.jpg

 

Now I just hope that the next clamping rings do not create similar difficulties and are good.  up040577.gif

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