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1:200 AMT Man In Space (on steroids!)


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I used both decal set's from IndyCals and Tango Papa, individually choosing the one that looks better to me, ending up in a mix of both decal set's on the models.

But anyway, an additional (better?) set of decals for the Man In Space kit would be very welcome for future builds.

 

Hotdog, if you're planning to release a set of tile decals for the shuttle kit, you can be sure that I'll purchase a couple of them. I tried to find a set of the tile decals designed by Keith McNeill but it's impossible to get them. I contacted him once and got the information that they're no longer in production. So....a good set of tile decals for the 1/200 kit would fill a gap and will find it's customers!

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On 1/1/2019 at 4:10 PM, Hotdog said:

I also noticed that the Redstone booster was too short, but only after I had finished building and painting it. 😟 It was bugging me that the spacecraft and tower looked so big and tall compared to the rest of the rocket. 🤔 I didn't completely figure it out until I started mocking up a Jupiter-C using the Redstone parts from the old AMT kit I built in my teens, and the scale for it wasn't turning out quite right, either. So I opened up my copy of Peter Alway's "Rockets of the World" and did some homework. I used it to create this graphic file that, when printed at 100%, gives you the Redstone, Mercury-Redstone, and Jupiter-C at 1/200 scale. As it would turn out, the 3D-printed Mercury spacecraft and tower compensate for the missing length of the booster.

 

That being said, I was still a bit bummed I didn't catch the kit error during the construction phase so that I could correct it. But thanks to the mishap with the melted Atlas booster, it looks like I'll be buying yet another AMT kit at some point, so I'll get another chance to rebuild the Mercury-Redstone and make it correct for the final display.

 

So being generally lazy in nature, has anyone done the math and come up with the correct length in 1/200 for the Redstone booster?  Just curious.

 

Edit - Found this on a German web site https://www.raumfahrer.net/forum/smf/index.php?topic=15720.0.  And it seems the author is none other than our new member to ARC, Pilotace!  Well done sir.

 

Translated into English it says "the length of the booster to the separation ring is 59 feet, which is 90mm scale scaled down to the scale. The corresponding length on the model is 75cm exactly 15mm too short."

Edited by Drifterdon
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4 hours ago, Drifterdon said:

So being generally lazy in nature, has anyone done the math and come up with the correct length in 1/200 for the Redstone booster? 

 

I did some (literally) back of the envelope calculations and it looks like the Redstone booster is almost exactly 1/2" too short (100 scale inches)

 

As molded it is almost exactly the right length for the Jupiter C booster (that is, to the base/beginning of the conical taper up to the second stage) used for Explorer 1 (within ~1/32")

 

Also noted the AMT Redstone diameter measures out at a scale 75" vs 70" for the real thing.

 

Feel free to check my math, as I said this is 'back of the envelope'

Edited by habu2
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5 hours ago, Pilotace said:

I used both decal set's from IndyCals and Tango Papa, individually choosing the one that looks better to me, ending up in a mix of both decal set's on the models.

But anyway, an additional (better?) set of decals for the Man In Space kit would be very welcome for future builds.

 

Hotdog, if you're planning to release a set of tile decals for the shuttle kit, you can be sure that I'll purchase a couple of them. I tried to find a set of the tile decals designed by Keith McNeill but it's impossible to get them. I contacted him once and got the information that they're no longer in production. So....a good set of tile decals for the 1/200 kit would fill a gap and will find it's customers!

 

If I recall correctly, the Keith McNeil shuttle tile decals were for the belly only. That being said, I have created photorealistic shuttle belly decals that fit (like a glove) the 1/200 Hasegawa shuttle, the 1/144 Revell and Airfix shuttles, the 1/100 Tamiya shuttle and the 1/72 Monogram shuttle. Those decals by themselves are ready to go if anyone wants them. What's been bogging me down is creating the decals for the tiles (and blankets) that cover the rest of the orbiter, at all of the various scales mentioned above. It's a daunting task for one person to complete. 

 

Back to the issue of the scale of the AMT Redstone: Once more, here is a file you can print out on your home inkjet that will give you the correct scale of these rockets at 1/200. Just make sure you print this file at 100%. https://www.mediafire.com/file/a6582qztaxlb7oi/1-200_redstones.pdf/file

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28 minutes ago, Hotdog said:

That being said, I have created photorealistic shuttle belly decals that fit (like a glove) the 1/200 Hasegawa shuttle, the 1/144 Revell and Airfix shuttles, the 1/100 Tamiya shuttle and the 1/72 Monogram shuttle. Those decals by themselves are ready to go if anyone wants them.

 

Pricing / ordering info?

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20 hours ago, Drifterdon said:

So being generally lazy in nature, has anyone done the math and come up with the correct length in 1/200 for the Redstone booster?  Just curious.

 

Edit - Found this on a German web site https://www.raumfahrer.net/forum/smf/index.php?topic=15720.0.  And it seems the author is none other than our new member to ARC, Pilotace!  Well done sir.

 

Translated into English it says "the length of the booster to the separation ring is 59 feet, which is 90mm scale scaled down to the scale. The corresponding length on the model is 75cm exactly 15mm too short."

 

Ah, you got me!😁 Yes, I stretched the booster by 15 mm. Don't nail me down to this dimension, my quick calculations came damn close to this and the plastic tubes i used for the operation where already 15 mm long. The overall proportions of the Redstone looked right to me so I stayed with it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm working on the same set and did a little research on the Mercury Redstone. A post with pics is on the Starship Modeler FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/starshipmodeler/permalink/10155794720531319/

 

 Based on photos, I cut a 0.25" extension piece off an old 1/200 Redstone I'd stopped work on. I cut the capsule/booster adapter off the kit Redstone. Eyeballing it wasn't a good idea. I took a piece of tubing that fit (with some sanding) inside the booster to straighten out any cattywompus cuts and threaded on the booster, extension, and adapter. It looked a lot better, possibly too long. THEN, I did a bit more research. One NASA source on Wikipedia had the integrated capsule/booster at 83.38 feet or 5 inches in 1/200 according to an online scale converter. My model now clocks in at 5.25 inches. As Hotdog noted, the 3D capsule and escape rocket makes up for the lost length exactly, just in the wrong place. The booster alone measures 58 feet according to another Wikipedia NASA source. That scales to 3.54 inches, whereas my stretched booster is only 3.25 inches. So while my height is a little over, the booster-to-capsule proportions look about right. 

Edited by Space Tiger Hobbes
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Hi, I am a new member on this forum. I have rekindled my interest in the early NASA program rockets and have also (slowly) started building the AMT kit. Been a bit distracted looking into a 1:12 paper model Apollo Command Module lately...

Hotdog, can I PM you? I am also interested in the 1/200 Hasegawa shuttle decal set as I have just purchased that kit.

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  • 5 weeks later...

DAYS 24-27
3.5 hours
40.5 hours total
Build cost to date: $108.35

 

AeVRiDq.jpg

 

With the Jupiter rocket completed, it was time to move on to the Juno II. Like the Jupiter, this is another 3D model that I created, uploaded to Shapeways, and finished here. The 3D model was printed in what is now called White Processed Versatile Plastic which is very rough and doesn't allow for fine details. My plan was to simply wrap the body with a decal, and fabricate the antenna from scratch. In the pic above, you can see where I've made an antenna with a bit of plastic sheet and a wire from a stripped twist tie. I think I ended up making 2-3 of these because they kept falling out of my tweezers and getting eaten by the carpet monster. Tiny parts can be difficult to handle!

 

MguFmxx.jpg

 

Like the Jupiter, the rough plastic surface of this 3D printed rocket would have to be smoothed out before painting and finishing. In the above photo, I've sprayed the rocket with Rustoleum Gray Filler Primer and begun the sanding process. I think I ended up having to repeat the spray and sanding process 2-3 times before I finally got a satisfactory smooth surface. On the right, you see the model after a few coats of Rustoleum Painters Touch 2x Gloss White.

 

5eeFuQ2.jpg

 

Here is the model after applying my homemade decals. I still need to give it a final coat of Matte Clear to take the shine off and seal everything in.

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  • 2 months later...
4 hours ago, Hotdog said:

Work on this build is on hold while I race to finish the Estes Saturn V. So updates won't likely happen here until August.

Got it.   And your Estes Saturn V is turning out awesome!   Always wanted to do the Estes Saturn IB when I flew model rockets in my younger days but could not afford the kit.

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  • 1 month later...
9 hours ago, Aussie-Pete said:

Hey Brian. Mind if I ask what app you use for your decals?
I've got Photoshop CS but find it over kill for model decals.
I was looking for something less complicated.

 

Actually Photoshop is not ideal for decals. It's a raster graphics program (pixels) so you lose quality when scaling your decal art to different sizes and scales (which you will often find yourself doing when people see your decals and go "Hey can you print me some of those in X/Y scale for me?").

 

For my decals I use Adobe Illustrator, which is a vector graphics program (geometric mathematical shapes, not pixels). Vector allows you to change the size of the graphics you create without losing any image quality. The tools and functionality are very similar to Photoshop, so I can't say it's any less complicated. You might try a free vector program like Vectr.

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I've been using the vector graphics capability in Paint Shop Pro.  It's a bit cheaper than Illustrator, but using vector graphics will be a learning curve no matter what software you end up using.  But will be worth it when you can resize your decals without loss of detail.

 

Good luck and keep your eye on the prize.

 

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