DutyCat Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Greetings everyone and Happy New Year. I just wanted to let interested folks know, before heading for ebay, that the Dutycat Arts Beany Cap for the Monogram 1/72 space shuttle is once again available for purchase. The new castings are being created from a fresh new mold featuring enhanced tile relief (even in the star tracker ports) and easier window glass installation. There are 12 small pieces of glass included for the windows (8 are needed, the rest are for practice). These have to be marked with a scriber, cut to shape using a provided template, and carefully installed. Two page directions are included. Keep in mind that this is a "garage made" product which is being poured, not pressure cast, and due to the complicated shape, most castings will have minor flaws such an air bubble or two. A video about the Beanie Cap can be viewed here: Cost is $25, including domestic shipping. Paypal address is dutycat@gmail.com. Thanks! Gil Gregg Edited January 1, 2014 by DutyCat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Gil, Got mine yesterday. It looks great! Thanks for keeping me on the list. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 You are welcome, Scott. Glad you like it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
douie69 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Hi Gil, Over the years I have bought 7 Monogram Shuttles, with and without SRB/ET. I plan to build all six orbiters plus a spare. But I have only started building 2 of them because I came across the same problems that you showed in your videos. I will build them eventually but it was more important to buy them while they were available. With that in mind, I would like to buy 6 of your beanie caps. I would happily pay in advance but there would be no rush to have them made and shipped (to Australia). Cheers Doug Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hi Gil, Over the years I have bought 7 Monogram Shuttles, with and without SRB/ET. I plan to build all six orbiters plus a spare. But I have only started building 2 of them because I came across the same problems that you showed in your videos. I will build them eventually but it was more important to buy them while they were available. With that in mind, I would like to buy 6 of your beanie caps. I would happily pay in advance but there would be no rush to have them made and shipped (to Australia). Cheers Doug Doug, contact me at dutycat@gmail.com. I just did a production run this past Monday. Took me all day, but now I have a dozen ready to go. Once this lot sells out I will probably have to make a new mold as I am starting to have difficulty demolding and I expect a tear soon. I might not get around to making a new mold until this summer. -Gil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) Just got mine blended in last night. Man, it really makes the Shuttle look good! But now I'm sitting here cutting out a bazillion little heat tiles to glue on the top surface to match your molded in tiles! Already did the back. My wife thinks I'm nuts. I know I am. Edited February 20, 2014 by Scott Smith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) Just got mine blended in last night. Man, it really makes the Shuttle look good! But now I'm sitting here cutting out a bazillion little heat tiles to glue on the top surface to match your molded in tiles! Already did the back. My wife thinks I'm nuts. I know I am. Hey Scott, Will you be posting a build thread with pictures of your Monogram Shuttle build? I'd like to see the tiles your are adding and DutyCat's beanie cap installed. Mike. Edited February 21, 2014 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 I'll take a photo or two and post them up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) Just got mine blended in last night. Man, it really makes the Shuttle look good! But now I'm sitting here cutting out a bazillion little heat tiles to glue on the top surface to match your molded in tiles! Already did the back. My wife thinks I'm nuts. I know I am. You must be doing early Columbia, or Challenger, as they had the tiles all over the nose. If you were doing late Columbia or the three "block II" shuttles, the tiles are only around the windows as I have them represented. Edited February 23, 2014 by DutyCat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 The white tiles are also on the front and lower rear of the OMS pods on Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Columbia in the later years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) Let me first say, I'm not a "tile counter", but just looking at some photos on the internet of shuttles and it might be the Columbia I'm looking at. Just looking to bring out some more details on this slick model. Not trying to win any contests or 100% accuracy. But here's a few photos. What I am doing is gluing down .010 thick styrene tiles I'm cutting out of Evergreen sticks. After the glue dries, I then sand it all flat with a small sanding block. the nose has not been sanded yet, so it is still a work in progress. Some of the larger gaps I'll use a little filler to hide them some. kind of like grouting the bathroom tiles! Here's the tiles I did on the back side after sanding them down. Edited February 24, 2014 by Scott Smith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I am liking what you've done but just an FYI that might make your life a little easier. AFAIK, none of the shuttles have "tiles" on the nose cone. It appears for all practical purposes a single smooth piece as shown in this photo. http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/664907main_EC82-20211.jpg Yes it's made up of pieces, but they are very very tight and don't look tiled like the others. There are tiles immediately behind the nose, but not as far up as you're showing. Just thought I'd point that out. Looking good though. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 I think the nose cap is Re-enforced Carbon Carbon, as they say, just like the gray leading edges of the wing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) The white tiles are also on the front and lower rear of the OMS pods on Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Columbia in the later years. Yeah, I know about that. I was talking about the front of the shuttle topside area. Edited February 24, 2014 by DutyCat Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) Scott, Nice work on the tiles so far! You should start a build thread here at ARC. Bill, I think the tiles look like they are going a bit farther behind the nose due to the distortion (Parallax error) caused by the wide angle camera lens. In this picture below of Endeavour the tiles behind the nose cap also look like they go up too far. :) Mike. Edited February 24, 2014 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott Smith Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I guess I could have saved some work if I kept searching more photos, huh?! LOL!! I can fix that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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