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Problem with 747/Space Shuttle Model


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After 2 weeks of work, I finally thought I completed the Revell 1/144 scale Space Shuttle atop the 747 model. Was I disappointed when placing the Shuttle atop the 747, the Shuttle won't stay! I've tried re-arranging the supplied plastic struts, which are very poorly made and 1 strut broke and had to be glued together. The kit was so well-made otherwise, even featuring over 80 precision decals. I can't believe they made thin "wishbone" shaped struts to hold the Shuttle atop the 747. I studied the genuine arrangement, and the real struts have 3-prongs and not just 2. Of course, the real struts are made of metal rods. Any suggestions? I am losing sleep over this. Drilling holes into the top of the 747 is out-of-the question and may crack the 747.

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I've never heard of anyone having issues getting the shuttle to sit in place but I've never actually built the model so I can't say for certain. It sounds like maybe you'll need to add a couple of brass pins or something to the top of the shuttle mounting struts and drill a couple of small matching hole in the bottom of the shuttle itself to accept the pins. Glue it with some good strong cyanoacrylate "super glue" and you should be good to go.

I have built the shuttle stack and the mounting struts appear to be similar design. I don't think those struts were under sized or innadequate to support the shuttle, but again, I don't have the actual kit in question....yet.

Hope that helps some. Perhaps post some pics of the problem area and maybe someone can see what the issue might be.

Bill

Edited by niart17
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Yeah I don't have the SCA kit but it sounds like your best solution is to either sink some brass pins in the struts or replace them altogether with brass rod. Drilling should not crack your 747 or the Shuttle. Use a pin vise with the appropriate sized bit and just use moderate to light hand pressure to drill the holes you need. If you need to englard the hole lightly use the tip of a #11 x-acto blade. The Brass should be more than sufficient to hold the Orbiter. You can take the opportunity to add the third strut as well if you like.

Post some pics of your build. We'd love to see it.

Zach

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No success. I am an amateur so don't have the ability to drill some brass rods as struts which would be the perfect solution. I have tried to add some support by placing some plastic rods underneath the Shuttle but to no avail. Plus, the original struts have snapped into 2 pieces again and while drying, I missplaced the struts altogether. So now my beautiful model is using rubber bands to keep the Orbiter atop the SCA 747. I contacted a place called Muroc which makes replacement resin struts but got no response; I guess they're sold-out. Also, I am uncertain if these $12 resin struts must be constructed or come pre-assembled.

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You could try contacting Revell to get a replacement part. I did that for the 1/72 shuttle kit. If I remember there is a place on their website to order replacement parts. You can get up to five different parts from a given kit and you will just need to provide the kit number and the part numbers/descriptions. It did take a while to get the parts, but it did work out well for me. I hope this helps.

Troy

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No success. I am an amateur so don't have the ability to drill some brass rods as struts which would be the perfect solution. I have tried to add some support by placing some plastic rods underneath the Shuttle but to no avail.

Gee whiz, we're ALL amateurs here ... don't sell yourself short.

Rather than Brass tubing or rod, you can use styrene tube or rod. If you've got an x-acto knife, you can drill a hole in it. You can dress up the tubing with strips of styrene to detail 'em, or you can use something stronger like ... a clotheshanger, just cut off a couple of small sections that'll work.

There are a hundred solutions you can use, with stuff just around the house. if you've got a small pin vise, ( it's a small, really small hand drill ) you can use that. If you don't have one, it would be great to go to your hobby shop and buy one for less than $10.00. You'll use it a lot!

Just don't get disappointed, a fix is pretty easy.

But photos of your build would help us make more useful suggestions for a successful fix.

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Pete is right. You can give building the struts a shot. What have you got to lose if the shuttle is rubber banded to the SCA now? Can't display it like that any more than you can use the broken struts.

Grab some photos of what you need and see what you can build. I think you will be surprised by what you have in front of you when you are done. You can use any material that you are comfortable with, wood, foam, styrene, brass, etc.

Zach

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Yes. I'm trying to improvise struts that will keep the Shuttle atop the SCA 747. It's a challenge to me. A big problem is that I can't drill holes into the fuselage so I must depend on Testors Plastic Cement which is not strong. I've tried Super Glue but it won't stick to plastic. I accidentally missplaced the struts included in the kit. I was about to reindorce by gluing metal nails against the plastic but the 2 struts are missing. I have ordered replacements from Revell Germany which will take a long time. A new Shuttle will probably be in service by then. I will keep trying. Thanks for your suggestions.

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...so I must depend on Testors Plastic Cement which is not strong. I've tried Super Glue but it won't stick to plastic...

Hmmmm...unless you're actually flying this thing and/or trying to hang the whole assembly from the ceiling by the shuttle alone, then Testor cement should be plenty strong enough to hold the assembly together. Are you letting it dry completely before you move it? Also, I don't know why you couldn't get Super Glue to stick to plastic, it is used all the time by many many modelers here for not only assembling plastic pieces but as a filler, myself included. It would really really help us help you if you could post some pics of your delima. You would be surprised of what you can accomplish with just a little help and some persistence to try different things.

Bill

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A big problem is that I can't drill holes into the fuselage so I must depend on Testors Plastic Cement which is not strong. Thanks for your suggestions.

Su-u-ure you can drill holes ... when I mentioned the X-acto knife, you can make a small hole by putting the knife point where you'd like a hole and just rotate the knife point back and forth. Now, you don't need to go all the way thru the 747, just make a divot where your strut can rest and then glue 'em.

It's quick and cheap and you'll be done in less than 4 minutes and 22 seconds! Go on, give it a try! ......... I'm assuming you've got styrene rod or tube to glue in there ...

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Hmmmm indeed....

Are you perhaps trying to add the shuttle and the struts all at one time? That could be part of your problem if that is the case.

Super Glue should work. If you are having issues with it you might try getting some super glue accelerator. It speeds the drying time to almost an instant.

When you say testor plstic cement you are meaning the thin cememt in the jar and not tube glue. Provided we are talking the former then you should be able to place the part and allow it to dry for a few hours or even overnight and it should be good to go.

Can I ask why drilling is out of the question?

Zach

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I have no drill but I fear the fuselage could crack as I am not adept with tiols. The Super Glue I bought at a 99cent store is junk; it sticks to my finger and clothing but not to my plastic model so I go back to Testors in a red tube. In the meantime, I improvised my own struts and it appears to be holding. Its drying as we speak. Thanks for everybodys' assistance. I am disappointed that Muroc never responded about selling me new struts. I have complained to Revell about how poorly their included struts are. Don't they have modellers test before production? I see that Hasegawa makes a similar kit but the 1/200 scale is too smsll. Their struts look to be wrll-designed. Thanks again.

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