1/72 Revell Orbiter

[mkjm]

On 3/13/2021 at 5:25 PM, K2Pete said:

To attach the PB Doors I just used glue ... and a few clamps. As well, because the sides of the fuselage bow in an 1/8th inch or so, I used 2 solid steel rods clamped to the doors and fuselage as supports.

 

If you haven't seen my cutaway Shuttle, it's in this forum at the bottom of page 3 or maybe the top of page 4 of this Real Space forum.

 

I also did a 1/100 Shuttle with the LDEF ... again, on this Real Space forum.

 

Pete

 

Ah I was wondering about that. I was thinking big binder clips and something to support them under the fuselage, like wooden dowels that would keep the doors at the right position as glue dried. 

 

Also your threads have been very helpful in figuring out what to put in between the radiator panels and the doors, so thank you for that!

 

On 3/15/2021 at 9:58 AM, niart17 said:

Yeah, I hear ya. I apologize to ALL you shuttle guys, I've not only dropped the ball on providing some more good shuttle parts, I think I forgot where the stadium is located to even find the ball again. 🙂  I hope to get back there......one day.

 I had (and still have good intentions of getting back to shuttles and triyng to come up with some more products for it. The payload bay is something I've always wanted to tackle and just never seem to get the time to really work it out correctly. That and the cost of maintaining the software program I'm used to using is hard to meet sometimes. The good thing is there are a lot more people doing wonderful shuttle parts for 3d printing so that new generation can pick up and run with that ball. 

 

And Mike! Wow dude, this is coming along awesome! I can't wait to see this thing done! Great job.

 

Bill (the long lost shuttle builder)

 

Thank you for the kind words Bill! Your parts are what I consider to be some of the best but I'm sure designing parts is incredibly time intensive. I am thankful for what you've got so far though, that docking collar probably saved me a year of build time since I am incredibly slow when it comes to those smaller bits. I would say, if you ever get back to designing parts for the payload bay please consider a KU-band antenna first...😶

 

-Mike

[mkjm]

Some slow progress, but progress nonetheless! I used a wash of white acrylic paint and picked out singles and sets of tile to represent newer tiles. The body flap needs to be darkened some to match the rest of the orbiter. 

 

 

I also painted and used a dry brushing technique on the SSMEs. I need to weather some of the tile around the OMS engine bells as they don't match the rest of the tile.

 

 

Very slowly, payload bay details are being added. 

 

 

 

I need to figure out what to use for the wiring between conduits in the bay. Maybe some black floral or jewelry wire.

 

And lastly, the ODS has been covered in a piece of grocery bag and white glue - a technique I read on K2Pete's thread's. The railings are .020 brass wire, inserted into holes made with a pin vise.

 

I'm waiting on some Evergreen Styrene #2050 V Groove styrene sheets to use for the radiator panels to come in the mail, that is one of the bigger hang ups right now on finishing, and then the hand holds on the hinge and picking out some of the other PLB detail. I also need to go through the body of the orbiter and weather it. 

 

Hopefully more to come!

[K2Pete]

The Belly looks GREAT! I had forgotten that you had made your own tiles ... this belly looks like a decal! NICELY DONE!

When you get your Evergreen for the PB Doors, try gluing them in Groove side down. I did a 1/100 with the doors open and the Groove side out, and the grooves are out of scale. Just test fit 'em first and see ... 

Your ODS looks terrific! The Grocery bag texture is nice and subtle. But White glue's adhesion may be too tenuous .. a little more than a static electricity charge, but it still looks GREAT! Just be careful in handling it. Is it a 3D print?

And your little Door latches on the PB bulkheads, really well done! Mine always seem too big, yours look perfect!

 

A small suggestion mkjm, there are additional Black tiles at the base of the tail and the inside edges of the OMS pods ... you're doing such a nice job on this Shuttle, so I just want ya to be aware of 'em.

 

Once we all get back outta this virus stuff and can attend contests again, do you enter them? This Shuttle is gonna be an Award winner!

Pete

[mkjm]

Thank you for the kind comments Pete! The tiles are overscale, but I think its better than the usual raised tile detail that comes on the stock kit. I'm thinking I want to try a Vallejo weathering pigment in a light grey or white to give a better charred appearance.

 

Good call on the radiator panels, I never would have considered flipping them over but that's a great idea! The ODS is a print from Bill of these very forums. I had dreaded the thought of scratch building that part so I am very grateful he made it available in 1/72! The use of white glue was a questionable choice but once I got it to lay down and it dried it seems to be okay. Once it's mounted in the PLB and I'm not touching it, it should be a-okay. 

 

Ah yes, I have a running spreadsheet of little details that need to be added before I call this done, I'll add those black tiles at the base of the tail so I don't forget. Thanks for the heads up!

 

I've never actually entered a contest before. Surely there is something in or around Austin that I could attend, although I'm hesitant at the thought of entering this if only for the myriad of flaws in the construction. For instance, the fuselage and front bulkhead are warped somewhat - if you look at the windows on the bulkhead and compare them to the windows on the top of the cockpit, you can see that the bulkhead is off-kilter (and as a result, those door latches are too. It's not too noticeable at an angle). Still, it might be fun to just say I did it so the option is on the table! 

 

Back to making and mounting railings for the afternoon. I still have to figure out the KU-band antenna, that's the other thing I'm dreading 👀

[JPaunicka]

Wow...I've been sold on the medical tape version up to now, but those cardstock blankets really do look like the real deal. You may have me re-thinking how I'll go about them when I get around to tackling my first 1/72 build.
Last time I was at the local craft store, having read about your earlier developments with that method, I sought out that very cardstock out, just in-case I wanted to attempt it.
May want a detailed write up - application, coating/painting/sealing - that you clearly figured out to near perfection with this build.

[K2Pete]

17 hours ago, mkjm said:

 

I've never actually entered a contest before. Surely there is something in or around Austin that I could attend, although I'm hesitant at the thought of entering this if only for the myriad of flaws in the construction. For instance, the fuselage and front bulkhead are warped somewhat - if you look at the windows on the bulkhead and compare them to the windows on the top of the cockpit, you can see that the bulkhead is off-kilter (and as a result, those door latches are too. It's not too noticeable at an angle). Still, it might be fun to just say I did it so the option is on the table! 

👀

Ah-h-h-h ... don't concern yourself with that. I've entered a lotta shows, both local, Regional and one IPMS Nationals.

The judges don't know what they're looking at when it comes to Real Space subjects. If it was a Spitfire or a Tank, oh, they'd parse every seam and slightly crooked track link ... but an Apollo Spacecraft or Shuttle, sorry, they're useless!  

 

My shuttle cutaway was entered into a show and it got beat out by a Star Wars Y-wing ... you see Real Space and Science Fiction were lumped into one category ... and the judge KNEW Star Wars! The fact that one was fictional and one was depicting a Real, Designed, Engineered, FLOWN piece of hardware made no difference.  

 

So go ahead and enter it ... you'll meet other modellers, exchange techniques maybe buy some aftermarket items and maybe even win an award!

It is really good fun ... !

Pete

 

[nnkk]

That belly! Insane work :)

[mkjm]

On 7/28/2021 at 2:29 PM, nnkk said:

That belly! Insane work 🙂

 

Thank you! I'm glad to say that the belly is more or less finished. 

 

I've taken a bit of a break during which I was looking for a good styrene for the radiator panels. I ended up with Evergreen #2100 V-groove sheets that were .020 thick with .100 spacing. I like the effect! I took two weeks off from work and decided to dedicate some of my time to Atlantis. 

 

I haven't installed the PLB doors yet, the photo is just a test to see how I could set the doors in place and if there would be any shifting over time. I'm going to use a thin application of E6000 adhesive which takes a day to fully cure but should be rock solid, and I wanted to ensure there would be no movement after everything is in place. The wood dowel is taped to the wing to support the door and provides a suitable gap between door and wing. 

 

I need to replace some decals and give the model a coat of flat clear before committing to attaching the doors. Unfortunately some of the kit decals have decided to flake off. Can anyone recommend some 1/72 orbiter decals? All I've seen are Warbird decals for shuttle markings (as opposed to their tile decals), and all I need are some of the rescue and name markings, are those any good?

 

 

[K2Pete]

For your Decals, I used Real Space Models Decals for years ... now this sheet looks like it's for the ENTIRE Shuttle Stack, so you may want to contact Glenn directly and see if he has Decals for just the Orbiter.

 

http://www.realspacemodels.com/decals-1

 

But I would contact him anyway just to say "Hi" and to see if he has Decals in stock.

 

The Styrene Sheet you chose for the doors looks really good! And it looks like you've installed 'em groove-side down!

[mkjm]

On 9/1/2021 at 5:34 AM, K2Pete said:

For your Decals, I used Real Space Models Decals for years ... now this sheet looks like it's for the ENTIRE Shuttle Stack, so you may want to contact Glenn directly and see if he has Decals for just the Orbiter.

 

http://www.realspacemodels.com/decals-1

 

But I would contact him anyway just to say "Hi" and to see if he has Decals in stock.

 

The Styrene Sheet you chose for the doors looks really good! And it looks like you've installed 'em groove-side down!

 

Thanks again Pete! I'll email Glenn and see if he can do a smaller sheet for me.

 

Indeed groove-side down! I remember you mentioning that tip and I really like the effect! It's not very noticeable until paint is applied so I was a little unsure at first, but it's really did the trick 👍

[VicnetStardust]

Hey mkjm, I come here maybe a bit late but I'm currently working the same way as you on my 1/72 Revell Shuttle and have a few questions :

1. I have strips of 0.25mm styrene, like you have, I cut the strips and lay them on the belly and when it's glued, I cut them in order to create the individual tiles. The problem is that once I apply even a tiny amount of paint then, the cuts disappear (not between the strips). Do you have advice on maybe the width of the cut I have to apply in order to then paint and not have this problem?

2. Which paint did you use to create the "weathered effect" on the tiles? The styrene is white naturally, then what?

 

Thank you 🙂

[mkjm]

3 hours ago, VicnetStardust said:

Hey mkjm, I come here maybe a bit late but I'm currently working the same way as you on my 1/72 Revell Shuttle and have a few questions :

1. I have strips of 0.25mm styrene, like you have, I cut the strips and lay them on the belly and when it's glued, I cut them in order to create the individual tiles. The problem is that once I apply even a tiny amount of paint then, the cuts disappear (not between the strips). Do you have advice on maybe the width of the cut I have to apply in order to then paint and not have this problem?

2. Which paint did you use to create the "weathered effect" on the tiles? The styrene is white naturally, then what?

 

Thank you 🙂

 

Hi Vicnet! I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

 

1. When creating the tile pattern, I simply used light pressure and one or two passes on the styrene sheets to score the styrene with an x-acto blade one way, and then cut it the other way. As far as depth and width of the scoring, it was more or less just applying enough pressure to not cut through the styrene since I was using paper-thin .010 sheets. When I went to finally paint the tiles on the belly, I first primed the model with Tamiya fine surface primer (in white) with one or two light coats, then matte black for the black color. The primer and paint did fill in some of the grooves, but the texture should still be there depending on how heavy one applies paint. I use Tamiya rattle cans since I don't have an airbrush, but I imagine an airbrush would be a much better option for paint control. That texture is what matters though, and if you can feel it then that's where point 2. comes in. 

 

2. After priming the tiles and painting them black, I did some washes of white paint, and then some dry brushing techniques to bring out the tile details. For the wash, I dipped my brush in white paint, then some water, and then onto a paper towel to soak up some of the water before carefully covering the tiles. That's mainly the white on the belly that you see on my model. The watery paint spreads into the grooves which helps highlight them. 
I also put some variations of black, dark grey and light greys, and white onto a pallet and dip a flat brush (I used a 1 inch or similar) and then wipe the brush off on a paper towel removing most of the paint. Then I drag the brush onto the details. The lighter shades of grey help bring out the details as the paint catches in the grooved surfaces. I exclusively used dry brushing on the top and sides of the nose, as well as the back where the SSMEs are (in addition to the SSMEs themselves).

I then picked out some tiles with a small detailing brush and a flat black paint to represent newer tiles. 

 

All of the weathering effects are just those techniques of wet and dry brushing. And the paint is nothing more than your cheap .50 cent craft acrylic paint. Nothing gloss or enamel or made for outdoor surfaces, nothing specifically for models, just basic acrylics in the plastic tubes. The top of the orbiter, especially the nose, will be getting this treatment eventually too on the 'thermal blankets', showing the charred surfaces. I just have yet to finish decals. I just searched for examples of wet and dry brushing model kits on youtube, and took what I saw and applied it as best as I could. I hope this answers your questions or at the very least helps somewhat!

 

 

With that, if anyone reading has spare name decals for the sides of the cockpit for Atlantis in 1/72, doesn't need them and lives in the US, I'd be happy to pay for them. I haven't been able to get any, other than paying another $25 for a full decal sheet I don't need and it seems like a waste! The decals are my current hang up, but I'm hoping to start working on the Canadarms, adding some railings in the PLB, and that KU-band antenna that I'll probably do once everything else is done since finding a small dish the size of a dime has been difficult. 

Edited February 3, 2022 by mkjm

[VicnetStardust]

15 minutes ago, mkjm said:

 

Hi Vicnet! I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

 

1. When creating the tile pattern, I simply used light pressure and one or two passes on the styrene sheets to score the styrene with an x-acto blade one way, and then cut it the other way. As far as depth and width of the scoring, it was more or less just applying enough pressure to not cut through the styrene since I was using paper-thin .010 sheets. When I went to finally paint the tiles on the belly, I first primed the model with Tamiya fine surface primer (in white) with one or two light coats, then matte black for the black color. The primer and paint did fill in some of the grooves, but the texture should still be there depending on how heavy one applies paint. I use Tamiya rattle cans since I don't have an airbrush, but I imagine an airbrush would be a much better option for paint control. That texture is what matters though, and if you can feel it then that's where point 2. comes in. 

 

2. After priming the tiles and painting them black, I did some washes of white paint, and then some dry brushing techniques to bring out the tile details. For the wash, I dipped my brush in white paint, then some water, and then onto a paper towel to soak up some of the water before carefully covering the tiles. That's mainly the white on the belly that you see on my model. The watery paint spreads into the grooves which helps highlight them. 
I also put some variations of black, dark grey and light greys, and white onto a pallet and dip a flat brush (I used a 1 inch or similar) and then wipe the brush off on a paper towel removing most of the paint. Then I drag the brush onto the details. The lighter shades of grey help bring out the details as the paint catches in the grooved surfaces. I exclusively used dry brushing on the top and sides of the nose, as well as the back where the SSMEs are (in addition to the SSMEs themselves).

I then picked out some tiles with a small detailing brush and a flat black paint to represent newer tiles. 

 

All of the weathering effects are just those techniques of wet and dry brushing. And the paint is nothing more than your cheap .50 cent craft acrylic paint. Nothing gloss or enamel or made for outdoor surfaces, nothing specifically for models, just basic acrylics in the plastic tubes. The top of the orbiter, especially the nose, will be getting this treatment eventually too on the 'thermal blankets', showing the charred surfaces. I just have yet to finish decals. I just searched for examples of wet and dry brushing model kits on youtube, and took what I saw and applied it as best as I could. I hope this answers your questions or at the very least helps somewhat!

 

 

With that, if anyone reading has spare name decals for the sides of the cockpit for Atlantis in 1/72, doesn't need them and lives in the US, I'd be happy to pay for them. I haven't been able to get any, other than paying another $25 for a full decal sheet I don't need and it seems like a waste! The decals are my current hang up, but I'm hoping to start working on the Canadarms, adding some railings in the PLB, and that KU-band antenna that I'll probably do once everything else is done since finding a small dish the size of a dime has been difficult. 

This is great thanks, I'll try that way then, I did half of the belly so I still have some work to do 🙂

 

Thank you so much !

[Vito Pastorini]

mkjm, what a great job! I want to buy one orbiter and I dont know which one is better or more accurate, revell 1/72 is available here in Chile, monogram is not (it could be found on ebay though) but my first option would be Revell because is easier for me to aquire.

to me the worst problem would be the payload bay being "too short" (that is what i learned in other threads), but I want to know if you really can notice that, I mean, I downloaded images from the kit (almost an ortophoto) and I compared it with the orbiter blueprint and in fact it seems to be a little bit shorter but nothing serious.  What do you think?

 

greetings from Chile

[K2Pete]

Vito ... the difference in length isn't noticeable, whether you build it with Payload Doors open or closed. The difference is less than 0.5 cm.

I've built many Shuttles, all the WIPs are here on ARC, my favourite is the Monogram but the Revell is accurate enough.

 

Don't be shy about posting your new build thread right here on ARC, in your own thread of course!  ;^ D

Pete

[Vito Pastorini]

22 hours ago, K2Pete said:

Vito ... the difference in length isn't noticeable, whether you build it with Payload Doors open or closed. The difference is less than 0.5 cm.

I've built many Shuttles, all the WIPs are here on ARC, my favourite is the Monogram but the Revell is accurate enough.

 

Don't be shy about posting your new build thread right here on ARC, in your own thread of course!  ;^ D

Pete

Thanks K2Pete! in your opinion or taste, why do you prefer the monogram over the revell?

[K2Pete]

I prefer the Monogram mainly because the Payload Doors open more accurately. I like to build my Shuttle with those doors open.

The Revell kit seems to be more of a toy, the cockpit roof is designed to come off which I didn't want.

 

If I recall correctly, they both definitely look like a Shuttle, the wings are accurate, the nose is shaped correctly, the aft area is good, I just preferred the Monogram.

 

If you have easy access to the Revell, it will build into a very nice, good looking Space Shuttle ... nobody will even know the difference!

Go ahead and buy it. And the next time you want to build a Space Shuttle try the Monogram ... ;^ D

 

Just FYI, I've built the 1/72 Monogram, twice, ... the 1/100 Tamiya twice, the 1/144 three times, the 1/144 Buran and the little 1/200 scale Shuttles ... all of the WIPs are here on ARC.

 

One more thing, on this Forum at the top of the page is a thread titled, Space Shuttle Questions ... it'll give you all the answers you'll want about the differences of the kits.

 

Pete

 

This is my heavily modified Monogram  ;^ D

 

[Vito Pastorini]

On 6/22/2023 at 7:21 PM, K2Pete said:

I prefer the Monogram mainly because the Payload Doors open more accurately. I like to build my Shuttle with those doors open.

The Revell kit seems to be more of a toy, the cockpit roof is designed to come off which I didn't want.

 

If I recall correctly, they both definitely look like a Shuttle, the wings are accurate, the nose is shaped correctly, the aft area is good, I just preferred the Monogram.

 

If you have easy access to the Revell, it will build into a very nice, good looking Space Shuttle ... nobody will even know the difference!

Go ahead and buy it. And the next time you want to build a Space Shuttle try the Monogram ... ;^ D

 

Just FYI, I've built the 1/72 Monogram, twice, ... the 1/100 Tamiya twice, the 1/144 three times, the 1/144 Buran and the little 1/200 scale Shuttles ... all of the WIPs are here on ARC.

 

One more thing, on this Forum at the top of the page is a thread titled, Space Shuttle Questions ... it'll give you all the answers you'll want about the differences of the kits.

 

Pete

 

This is my heavily modified Monogram  ;^ D

 

 

whaaaat? do you have a web or an instgram to follow you and see this work other than looking the threads here? im gonna check them. What a wonderful work! cheers to you!

 

ps: I am a big fan of the space shuttle and i remember as if it was yesterday in my grandparent's cabin at the lake when iI heard about the challenger desaster at age of 9, since then I develop a even more interest in space and everthing about the space program, I still have a drawing (im gonna seaarch for it to attach it) it is in fact a a Infographic about the disaster. I also have a space album about the space shuttles, halley comet, space station and with it came a space shuttle orbiter to construct from cardboard. I also have a Columbia with the boosters and fuel tank and I think it is the revell 1/144 scale, I bought it from a kid who used to travel quite often to the states with his parents in the 80s and he bought a lot of toys, figures, scale models that later sold me becasue he was no longer interested (and may be he needed tha money for parties at that age he was like 9 years older than me) so i bought from him that shuttle (but is not in good shape) and some first edition os star wars figures and models like of AT AT, Darth Vader spaceship, R2D2, C3po, Han solo and so on... haha

so, a couple of weeks ago I came back from United States, I was ther for a month (my second time there, my first in 2015) but this time I went to Washington (Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia) to see for the first time and in person that beautiful space ship, the discovery! I intended to go to the Kennedy center to see the Atlantis, but even as  I was in a friend house in miami, I thought It was a little hard to get there (to Orlando, and then to the space center and the best way was renting a car and i didnt have enough time and money) since I had to go to philadelphia and washington and the discovery was there anyway, i thought it was better leave it for the next time. later I went to Los Angeles because i went to Yosemite and Joshua tree parks, and of course again, i didnt miss the opportunity to meet in person another orbiter, the Endevour! 🙂 so i know now in person 2 out of 3 of the orbiters who went to space and still exists, so happy with that experience, and of course as a photographer, i took detailed images of both with my camera.

you can see some of my work (as a photographer but i am graphic designer by profession ) on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/vitopastorini/

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Vito Pastorini

[K2Pete]

Vito, very briefly, we are on mkjm's thread, this is poor etiquette to hijack  in this way, please start your own topic/thread.  ;^ D

One more thing, I'm not on any Social Media, if you wish to see my builds they are just on this forum.

 

I look forward to see your build

Pete

 

 

[Vito Pastorini]

understood! thanks