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Challenger deploys LDEF in 1/100


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Thanx Mike ...

Nice to see ya here crackerjazz! I've been watching your F-14 cockpit come together!

 

Tracy, I hope to be using Hotdog's belly decals this week, if not, then soon.

 

 

The Payload Bay doors have been getting some attention

 

Here the Radiator panels are being clamped to the kit's doors.

 

2v2JUSPdqxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

The Elevons have been glued as if free floating

 

2v2JUSkoqxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

The Radiator panels glued and a coat of Model Master Chrome ... I like it!

 

2v2JUSizyxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

 

The handholds for the PB doors. This is .020" square rod

 

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Starting to install 'em

 

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The kit's Radiator panels. They're pretty good ... close, but not quite!

 

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PB doors almost done

 

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Homemade decals for the PB vents and the auxiliary items, I don't know what they're called, that hang off the PB sill. I'm having trouble with the Bare Metal Foil Expert's Choice decal film ... seems the decal won't release from the backing paper. I've got an email into BMF and see what they say.

 

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The Fwd bulkhead done

 

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The Aft bulkhead done

 

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And the PB doors done

 

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Next will be Decalling ... I sprayed the Shuttle with Krylon White and when it dried, it was Flat, even though the label stated "Gloss". So I then sprayed on a coat of Krylon Gloss "Clear". I'll be using both Hotdog's decals and the kit's.

 

Then it'll be the LDEF and then all the little details.

 

Hope you all had a nice visit with friends and family and especially Santa Claus!

Edited by K2Pete
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Thanx for watching Manfred!

 

Ret, I did not make it to Ajax ... but I hope to be at Hamilton and showing a few models.

 

 

Hotdog's decals came in and they look really ni-i-ice! I'll spray on some black tile areas and then a coat of Future to make it all nice and Glossy and smooth for decalling, then apply his Belly decals. I'm toying with the idea of using First Aid tape for the blankets and still haven't decided ... we shall see ...

 

I glued in the Pallet and some auxiliary equipment. I won't be gluing in any little details till the PB doors get clamped on.

 

2v2JUSDYhxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

In preparation of painting the nose tile area, I photocopied Hotdog's decal of the hatch and rubber cemented it on to the model. I'll use it to cut through the masking tape underneath. Tamiya tape is nice stuff to work with, isn't it?

 

2v2JUSDwgxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

The Tamiya tape is for the specific area and regular masking tape for the larger areas just to prevent overspray. 

 

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I use Gunmetal mixed with Light Sea Grey. It may be a bit too light, but I don't like using Black because, it's just too black. You can see where I had to fill and sand the windows too. I think going with opaque windows was the way to go, for me anyway.

 

2v2JUSDuVxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

The window pulled away in 2 spots and I glued in a tiny piece of .005" styrene to strengthen it. Then it was filling and sanding the window.

 

2v2JUSDiTxAnAAS.jpg

 

Next will be the decalling ... 

 

Thanx for taking a peek!

 

 

Oh and ... HAPPY NEW YEAR guys!!   :woo:   :yahoo::banana:

Edited by K2Pete
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This and the Airfix shuttle are looking really great so far! The payload bay and the doors on this one are especially outstanding.

 

One thing you must know about the decals I sent you, they are transparent. This means that areas that are "white" on the decal sheet, like the hatch, are going to be clear when applied to the model. I noticed you painted the entire hatch black and did not mask the white part.

 

The same goes for the belly decals...if you have painted the belly black, then the decals probably aren't going to look as good. A lot of detail will be lost since the decals are transparent. I would recommend spraying the belly a gray color (maybe the same as the RCC wing panels). It really all depends on if you want to represent a newer shuttle with less wear, or a shuttle that's at the end of her career and had many flights. Keeping the belly dark is going to hide some of that wear and give you a newer look. Maybe that's what you want since LDEF was an earlier mission. Just wanted you to be aware.

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Oh oh ... thanx for the heads up Hotdog! I re-read your 1/100 Shuttle thread just before Xmas and noticed the belly was White but you were, IIRC, still debating on whether to use White or Clear Decal paper/film.

The Tamiya shuttle's belly is 'black' ... so is the Airfix's ... I shall make some adjustments.

I'll see if the Hatch decal is on one of the other decal sheets.

 

Thanx again!  :thumbsup:

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I repainted the belly a light Grey hoping it would show the decals off nicely.

 

2v2JUS4vqxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

I then painted the nose cap using electrical tape as a mask. I also gave the model a quick spray of Future to make it glossy for the decals.

 

2v2JUS4sGxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

And the belly decals went on bee-yoo-tee-fully!

Now, the decal film is really thin stuff. And it releases very easily after 10 seconds in the water. Almost too easily. 

But, the wing section of the belly decal spans the width of the model and it got a little fiddly adjusting it and getting the wrinkles out. But the decal did not tear. A couple of applications of solvent and it fit ... like a glove!

 

The nose section of the decal went off without a hitch. And they look EXCELLENT! 

Nice job Hotdog!

 

2v2JUSDhWxAnAAS.jpg

 

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And after applying the decals, I noticed they didn't go up far enough and then ... realized I had screwed up a mask on the wing chine. So I'll have to repair this.

It's nice when the decal maker can correct the model maker!

 

2v2JUS4KCxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

The only glitch was the NLG and MLG doors, they were off by a fraction of a millimetre. I'll fill the gaps with spare decals from the sheet.

But just look at this lovely detail! Ooo-o-o ... I'm liking these decals!

 

2v2JUS4aGxAnAAS.jpg

 

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Onward and upward. There's still some building and repairing and such, but it's getting there!

 

Till next posting!

Edited by K2Pete
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Hi Pete,

The belly decals look fantastic! I knew you would do a good job with them.

 

The decal film I buy is expensive, but worth it. It's very thin but very strong, and never rips or curls up on ya.

 

Glad I could help out on the chines! I made a similar error when I built my Tamiya shuttle. I misjudged where the RCC ended on the chines thanks to the seam where the long wings of the Tamiya shuttle meet the fuselage.

 

And about the landing gear door decals...eeek! How did I not get these right? I went back and looked at the build thread for my Tamiya shuttle and figured it out: I was building my orbiter with the landing gear DEPLOYED, so when I made my decals, I was only trying to cover the doors themselves, and not the frames around the door openings. The pictures on this page of the build thread show what I'm talking about.

 

Spraying the belly gray before applying the decals seems like it was the right way to go! Will you give it a light, thin spray of black to darken it, or leave it as is?

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Your decals are lovely ... all I did was spray on some Aircraft Grey and it was just enough for the decals to shine! And I won't spray on another colour ... they look perfect just the way they are.

I will spray on a coat of Flat Clear though, over the whole Shuttle, except the Payload Bay, as the final step.

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Magnificent job Pete!  The photorealistic belly decals are the way to go.  No need for weathering when they look like the real thing.  I can't wait to use the set I got from Hotdog.  I'm glad I know about the landing gear door decals.  It's an easy fix.

 

Mike.   

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The LDEF needs a heckuva lot of puttying and sanding. The panels flex just a little bit and each one needs to be secured better. And with each successive sanding, another panel loosens up. But, it's gettin' there!

 

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Using wet sandpaper, I'll do this 5 or 8 times ... 

 

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Almost ... almost ready for paint and decals.

Regarding decal film, have you guys used Papilio Decal Paper/film? I use Expert's Choice and it's quality is inconsistent.

 

2v2JUSTadxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

These rings that fit around the SSMEs have a bit of First Aid tape attached to 'em

 

2v2JUSTtGxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

Masked and Painted the Elevons. The wings got a shot of off-white where the tiles are. I still haven't decided whether to use First Aid tape for the blankets ... but I'm leaning toward it.

 

Hotdog, would you, by any chance, have tile decals, for Challenger for the front cockpit area??

 

2v2JUS4mLxAnAAS.jpg

 

 

Hotdog, as a heads-up, your Hatch decal is just a bit too small. The kit's hatch is about 17/32" in diameter and yours is about 15/32". I realize you're scaling down the real thing, but it'll be easier for the modeller to use the engraved lines of the kit.

 

I re-masked the hatch tile pattern.

 

2v2JUSmjWxAnAAS.jpg

 

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I think I'm done with Paint ... I think it's time to apply the decals.

 

Hotdog, let me know if you've got front tile decals available ... if not ... no sweat!

 

Thanx for taking a peek gents!

Edited by K2Pete
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Hi Pete,

 

No, I do not have the tiles for the cockpit area. That's one of the areas I was having difficulty with when I was building my Tamiya shuttle. My decal making for the Tamiya shuttle stopped at that point and I never got back around to it.

 

That's a shame about the hatch decal! It doesn't surprise me about it being too small. The artwork for the decal I made was originally for the Airfix 1:144 shuttle and was scaled up to 1:100 mathematically. So, it *should* have fit, but was never tested or compared to the Tamiya kit to see if it did. Thank you for letting me know, I will make the necessary adjustments to the artwork.

 

This is looking really good so far! The wings and payload bay are excellent!

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I installed the SSMEs and OMS engine bells ... Hotdog's decals are on this bulkhead too. They're just nice and subtle!

 

2v2JUSTnSxAnAAS.jpg

 

But I decided that because this is Challenger and it had such a distinctive White tile pattern up front and on the Tail, that I'm gonna have to design and make my own decals. But, I haven't been able to find good reference photos. The NASA site I went to a couple years ago isn't co-operating with me ...  :crying2:

 

I ran across George TIng's superb Challenger ... hey Jetplane, do you still have those digital files?  :whistle:

 

So, till next posting!

Edited by K2Pete
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On 10.1.2017 at 6:28 PM, K2Pete said:

I installed the SSMEs and OMS engine bells ... Hotdog's decals are on this bulkhead too. They're just nice and subtle!

 

M%20SSME%20install_zpsdsqkrdm6.jpg

 

But I decided that because this is Challenger and it had such a distinctive White tile pattern up front and on the Tail, that I'm gonna have to design and make my own decals. But, I haven't been able to find good reference photos. The NASA site I went to a couple years ago isn't co-operating with me ...  :crying2:

 

I ran across George TIng's superb Challenger ... hey Jetplane, do you still have those digital files?  :whistle:

 

So, till next posting!

 

Hey Pete,

 

I don't know, if you can open this thread in NASASpaceFlight.com Forum STS 41-C Hi Res Images with a lot of great shots?

 

But I am afraid that you have no permission for the L2 Historical Sectionhmmm.gif

 

U2eiNF.jpg

Source: NASASpaceFlight.com Forum

Edited by spaceman
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Hi Pete,

 

Perhaps this old reference picture of OV-099 should help you out....:rolleyes:

 

Shuttle%20OV-099_zpsxjsdtvim.jpg

 

You gave me inspiration to make a OV-099 with several Tamiya kit that I have...

 

Can't wait to see you continue and finish this Tamiya model.

 

Cheers,

Jetplane

 

 

 

 

 

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On January 10, 2017 at 9:42 PM, Ret said:

...  I'm looking forward to seeing your LM as well.

 

Hi Ret ... the LM is being worked on in the Group Build Forum ... 

 

Thanx Jetplane!

 

No update yet ... I haven't done the decals yet ... but give me another few days!

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