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Tamiya 1/100 Space Shuttle


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Hi everyone,

I'm new to the board and I have decided to share my new shuttle build project here since I was inspired by the works of crowe-t, jetplane, niart17 and Jay Chladek. I am not new to space modeling, having built the Revell and Monogram orbiters and shuttle stacks in 1/144 and 1/72, but 20 years ago. It's probably been 8 years since I last built a model kit of any kind (an Testors SR-71 that I goofed up on and ruined the entire model). So, don't be surprised if I ask a lot of questions or make a few mistakes along the way with this kit.

I plan to build the Discovery orbiter in landing configuration, circa 1992 (before drag chute and NASA meatball logos were added). I wanted a scale that was small enough to fit on my desk at the office where I work, but not too small, so I chose the Tamiya 1/100 kit. I also liked this kit because it seemed to be the most accurate of the three brands. I'm just getting back into this hobby, so I'm trying to avoid as much scratchbuilding, drilling and sanding as possible. I am a professional graphic designer by trade, so I'll be modifying or creating a lot of the decals for this kit myself. I'm hoping I can get this Tamiya kit to turn out as awesome as the Revell and Monogram kits I've seen built by the beforementioned members of this board.

So here we go! Let's get a quick look at the kit before we begin:

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I'm showing the cement tube in the pictures so you can get an idea of the scale. The model should be 14 inches long when it's done.

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Here are the decals that come with the kit. I will be modifying some of these for sure!

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I like how the forward RCS thrusters are in their own separate piece, and do not require drilling :)

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The OMS pods appear to be the correct shape, unlike the other kits.

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Check out the detail on the wings! The tiles and TPS are etched on. Nice! Now if only the rest of the tiles were included in the tooling.

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The speed brake and beaver tail can be easily positioned as desired. A nice touch! However, the wing elevons will require the usual cutting and repositioning.

Now on to the things that I don't like about the kit:

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The engine bells are incorrect. I have not been able to find an aftermarket kit from RealSpace or anyone that corrects this. So, I plan on using some metal wire to make more realistic fuel lines, as well as scribing in some of the details by hand.

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DSC03193.jpg

Tamiya incorrectly scribed in a panel around the star tracker on the nose. This will have to be filled in with putty after I drill out the holes.

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The sprue with the windows and display stand are tinted BLUE! I don't know how to correct this without attempting to fabricate my own window pieces. The display stand isn't very appealing and will require either heavy modification or some kind of scratch build (if anyone knows a company that makes model display stands, let me know!).

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The outside of the payload bay doors are RIBBED! Ugh! How can I correct this without having to sand it down?

Here's what the doors SHOULD look like:

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Any and all suggestions welcome!!

Edited by Hotdog
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Now let's get into the build:

DAY 1 (4.5 hours)

Got my work area set up and ready to start the initial building steps!

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My first order of business: the space shuttle main engines!

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Look at these circles inside the engine bells. Did they think no one would notice? Some moderate sanding removes these.

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A real SSME has grooves inside the engine bell. So, let's do a little scribing:

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There, that should do it. That's better than nothing, anyway.

After gluing the engine bell halves together, I decided to etch in the insulation around the opening ring.

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Here's a photo reference to what I'm talking about.

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Meanwhile, let's glue the fuselage together and give it time to dry.

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Here are the engine fuel lines that come with the kit:

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Don't worry, I didn't glue that thing on! In the next step, I will be fabricating my own fuel lines with some thin metal rod that I purchased at the hardware store.

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Hotdog,

It's great to see you getting started on this build. Excellent work so far on the SSME's. :thumbsup: You really seem to have a great eye for details.

Mike.

Edited by crowe-t
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Hi Hotdog,

welcome to ARC and already at the beginning much success in your shuttle build. :salute:

I can only agree with Mike, you have apparently great interest in details and scratch-building, which I like and makes me really curious about the further progress of your project. :coolio:

And by the way the Tamiya Kit looks really good and shows already nice details.

:wave:

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The outside of the payload bay doors are RIBBED! Ugh! How can I correct this without having to sand it down?

Just a suggestion...you could use a #17 Xacto chiseling blade or a rotary tool (like a Dremel) with a fine grit grinding stone to remove the bulk of the ribs, then sand the remainder down to smooth out the surface. Obviously some sanding would be involved, and perhaps a little putty work to repair any gouges or depressions, but it has to be better than sanding all the way through those ribs. I dislike sanding, so I'll try to find any way to minimize it as much as possible. :D

This thread is gonna be fun to read! :thumbsup:

Edited by Zombie_61
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Just a suggestion...you could use a #17 Xacto chiseling blade or a rotary tool (like a Dremel) with a fine grit grinding stone to remove the bulk of the ribs, then sand the remainder down to smooth out the surface. Obviously some sanding would be involved, and perhaps a little putty work to repair any gouges or depressions, but it has to be better than sanding all the way through those ribs. I dislike sanding, so I'll try to find any way to minimize it as much as possible. :D

Thanks Zombie. I have discovered that the payload bay doors do have ribs, they are just overly exaggerated on the Tamiya kit. So I may try to sand them down about halfway. Trouble is, I've already glued the doors together, so I'm hoping I can do the sanding without breaking them apart and not have to glue them again.

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Well I didn't feel much like doing any building today, so I chose to work on some custom decals instead. I wanted to replace the generic cockpit control panel details with more realistic-looking ones. I spent WAY more time than I should have hunting down images of the Shuttle flight deck control panels, which are pieced together from screenshots of space flight sims. 8 hours later, I completed the graphics. Whew!

Original Tamiya Shuttle cockpit decals:

original_cockpit_decals-1.jpg

My new custom realistic cockpit decals:

detailed_cockpit_decals-1.jpg

I added a new decal for the lower aft panels that were left out of the Tamiya kit. I may also add the panels that go around the aft windows.

While scaling the graphics down to fit, I noticed that Tamiya stretched the cockpit a bit wider than it should be.

A lot of WORK and TIME spent on a part of this orbiter that really will not be visible!

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Ahhh, welcome to the show. I wouldn't worry about the blue clear used for the windows. Once you install them, the darkened cockpit will obscure the fact that they are colored anyway. So far you are off to a decent start I would say.

I've got a couple of these Tamiya kits myself (I need to try and get the STS-135 version with the MLPM payload though) so I'll be watching with interest.

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...

Original Tamiya Shuttle cockpit decals:

original_cockpit_decals-1.jpg

My new custom realistic cockpit decals:

detailed_cockpit_decals-1.jpg

...

A lot of WORK and TIME spent on a part of this orbiter that really will not be visible!

Your cockpit decals are really great. It would be even more beautiful, if you would put something in addition for size comparison, e.g. a coin or a scale. :coolio:

Even if the cockpit decals will not be visible afterwards, you have created it, that's essential and makes your shuttle inimitable. :thumbsup:

:wave:

Edited by spaceman
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Thanks Zombie. I have discovered that the payload bay doors do have ribs, they are just overly exaggerated on the Tamiya kit.

Not only has Tamiya exaggerated them but, based on this photo of Atlantis being prepped for STS-135, they've doubled them up. The "ribs" are actually expansion joints; there should be only one at each location, with the door surfaces flush on either side.

Beautiful work on the cockpit control panel decals!

Edited by Zombie_61
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The "ribs" are correct IF there was no coverings on the doors. Two raised strips with a groove between then, that's pretty much what it looks like. I would maybe suggest the opposite and build up the surface around them using real thin sheet plastic, paper, and/or tape. That will give it the very slightly raised ridges with a joint between them. Plus it will have the multi-material look of the real thing. Just a suggestion. Here is a good image that shows the double strips slightly raised with a seam between them.

doorsup.jpg

I'm very interested in this build. I don't think I've seen a build up of the Tamiya shuttle. Keep up the great work!

Bill

Edited by niart17
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The "ribs" are correct IF there was no coverings on the doors. Two raised strips with a groove between then, that's pretty much what it looks like. I would maybe suggest the opposite and build up the surface around them using real thin sheet plastic, paper, and/or tape. That will give it the very slightly raised ridges with a joint between them. Plus it will have the multi-material look of the real thing. Just a suggestion. Here is a good image that shows the double strips slightly raised with a seam between them.

doorsup.jpg

I was wondering if something like this might be an option. My only concern is that if I add a layer of tape or thin plastic to the doors, they may no longer be flush with the side of the orbiter, and I would also have to add a thin layer to the sides in order to make it even...which would then creep up to the nose...and next thing I know, I have coated almost the entire outside of the shuttle with a second layer. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that kind of challenge just yet! Especially after having seen the work a Mr. Phil Smith did on a kitbash of the Revell and Monogram 1/72 shuttles (google that for a real amazing shuttle build). In all likelihood, I will take the easier route Zombie suggested, if I can find a Dremel.

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DAY 2: 3.5 Hours

I can't seem to locate my set of wire cutters, so I'm going to skip making the engine fuel lines for now and go on to some of the other parts of the kit build.

Let's get on those payload bay doors:

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The doors are attached to the parts sprue a little too well. They leave these nice big shards that require more cutting and sanding down than normal. One must be careful not to also sand away other details along the seams while doing this.

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After removing the shards, I glued the doors together and after letting the glue dry, I ran a line of putty down the inside of the door seam to strengthen the hold. I did some sanding around the outside of the seam to even it out a bit. I'm gonna see if I can borrow a Dremel from a friend for sanding the expansion joints down a bit.

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Here I have assembled most of the remaining parts that I'll be using. Pretty straightforward and the pieces fit together pretty well with only some very small areas on one of the OMS RCS modules that required a little putty to fill in a couple of gaps. I'm in love with the vertical stabilizer speed brake flaps that I can open and close. I thought about gluing them open, but the axle joint fits so snugly that I think I can leave it free to position either way. I may do the same with the beaver tail since I had planned on having it in the down position anyway.

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Here is where I may need some more input from you guys. I have puttied and sanded the seam on the bottom of the fuselage, and still can't get it smooth. I'm worried about applying too much putty for such a small imperfection and creating more work than necessary. I'm not sure if its that, or if I'm just not doing enough sanding, or not using the right grits of sandpaper (sanding is not my best skill). I'm using foam sanding sticks of different grits as well as some loose sheets. I'm also using an old tube of Testors Contour Putty. Thoughts?

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It looks to me that you may need to both sand some more and then add a little more putty once you get that down to fill in some of the small areas you missed. Don't be afraid to sand the heck out of the bottom because once you get the wings on, you'll probably need to sand that down as well. then you can sand the whole bottom surface to get it smooth. The beauty is, theres no details you have to worry about sanding off, it's just a big ol' smooth surface. After watching Dutycat bust out the orbital sander on his build, I'm convinced that might be the way to go on the 72nd scale build. But even on this smaller kit, I still think a good sanding over the whole belly once it's together will help make it a nice consistant surface.

What are you planning on doing for the tiles? Or you going to paint it or decals or what?

Keep up the great work.

Bill

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I agree with Bill regarding the bottom. Just keep sanding and fill in whatever areas are low. You might need to repeat this a few times. That's how I did mine. This is just another issue with some of these old shuttle kits. Too many parts make up the bottom. The 1/144 Airfix and 1/72 Revell shuttles seem to have done this a bit better using one piece for the bottom of the wings eliminating most of the seams.

I'd suggest using a sanding stick to sand down the ribs on the payload doors. It'll take a while but you'll have more control over what's removed. A Dremel may be a bit overkill for the plastic.

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Block sand the bottom. I used spray glue (3M 77) to glue some 400 grit wet or dry paper to a block made out of hard balsa to sand the bottom of a ship hull. It worked like a charm. You could probably use double stick tape or gator glue or something like that, but I had the 3M stuff lying around.

Edited by Grey Ghost 531
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Great advice guys. I'm gonna glue the wings on first, give it another hit with the putty, and then break out the heavy grit sanding sticks and go to town on it!

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The "ribs" are correct IF there was no coverings on the doors. Two raised strips with a groove between then, that's pretty much what it looks like.

I'm constantly amazed by the way details are more or less obvious depending on the circumstances under which they're photographed. It almost makes me believe you can't be absolutely certain about anything unless you have the actual subject available for examination ad nauseum.

That's the nice thing about forums like this--just when you think you've got something figured out, someone will come along and prove you wrong...and I mean that in a good way. ;)

I'd suggest using a sanding stick to sand down the ribs on the payload doors. It'll take a while but you'll have more control over what's removed. A Dremel may be a bit overkill for the plastic.

I like this suggestion far better than either of mine. There might seem to be more hand work involved initially, but I believe it will yield better results and probably require less "clean up" work and/or re-creation of lost detail after the fact.

Edited by Zombie_61
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After removing the shards, I glued the doors together and after letting the glue dry, I ran a line of putty down the inside of the door seam to strengthen the hold. I did some sanding around the outside of the seam to even it out a bit. I'm gonna see if I can borrow a Dremel from a friend for sanding the expansion joints down a bit.

Just FYI Hotdog, adding putty won't strengthen the joint. You're better off making some styrene gussets, or just strips, to make that delicate butt joint stronger.

I built a Tamiya Shuttle ( one of my first builds upon re-entering the hobby 4 or so years ago ) and used a lot of First-Aid tape to replicate the tiles.

And when you make your Instrument Panel decals, let us know what type of Decal Paper / Film and whether or not you'll be using your ink-jet or the fancy-schmancy printer at work :woot.gif:

Just make sure you have a lotta fun building this one and hopefully you'll be a regular on this forum!

Pete

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Just FYI Hotdog, adding putty won't strengthen the joint. You're better off making some styrene gussets, or just strips, to make that delicate butt joint stronger.

I built a Tamiya Shuttle ( one of my first builds upon re-entering the hobby 4 or so years ago ) and used a lot of First-Aid tape to replicate the tiles.

And when you make your Instrument Panel decals, let us know what type of Decal Paper / Film and whether or not you'll be using your ink-jet or the fancy-schmancy printer at work :woot.gif:

Just make sure you have a lotta fun building this one and hopefully you'll be a regular on this forum!

Pete

Yeah I already found that out today the hard way when the glued and puttied doors split back apart while I was sanding on the expansion joints. Doh!

I would love to see your Tamiya shuttle build. Is it posted on the board here? I thought about using some kind of medical tape to do the tiles, but I was a bit apprehensive about the scale. I'm hoping I can get enough realism at this scale with the decal approach.

I have on-order a set of laser decals from Bel Decal. Both white and clear. I'll be using a fancy-schmancy Xerox 550 color office machine :coolio:

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DAY 3: 6 hours

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I did some sanding on the expansion joints. All that elbow grease and you can't really tell I done anything, except accidently sand off some of the hinges. Could it be the foam sanding sticks I'm using are not sturdy enough? I'm tempted just to leave the doors as they are in order to keep from messing things up more. I guess I will glue some small bits of styrene onto the doors to make up for the lost hinges.

I found my wire cutters and was ready to start making the fuel lines for the engines, when I realized I should paint them first. I painted the insulation bands Testors Light Ghost Gray and the rest of the outside Flat Black. The insides and the tops of the engines got Chrome Sliver.

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I decided to paint the cockpit while I was at it. I used Dark Ghost Gray but it turned out too dark.

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Here is the cockpit again after I corrected the color with a couple of coats of Light Ghost Gray. Note the blue used for the seat cushions. I painted the astronauts with Testors International Orange and a black sharpie marker. I will wait to glue them all in after I have printed and applied the control panel decals.

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I decided to go ahead and glue the speed brake in the open position. I got to thinking how messy things might get when trying to spray paint the bird with loose speed brake flaps flapping around.

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I got a little ahead of myself and glued the wings together without first gluing one of the inside wheel well panels. I ended up having to cut off one of the glue tabs and carefully inserting it inside and gluing around the edges.

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This got me to thinking, what am I going to do about the landing gear? I've got sanding, painting, and tile decals to apply to the bottom of the fuselage before I can glue the landing gear in. How will it fit into the holes if I were to go ahead and glue in the other inside wheel well panels? I decided to leave the panels off and wait until the very end of the build and glue them at the same time I glue in the landing gear.

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So here she is with the wings glued on. Next step will be to putty them in and do some more sanding. Joy!

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By the way, something looks fishy about the shape of the wing elevons, down at the wingtip where it is notched. Does the shape look a bit off? Could be another Tamiya detail issue...

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