TheFlyingDutchman Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Hey, the second kit I ever built when I was about 12 years old was this kit of the Revell 'Space Shuttle Discovery'. It was also my first attempt of painting a model, though the smaller black sections are done using a CD-marker As a kid I had a LEGO Space Shuttle with a launch tower, external tank and booster rockets and this set triggered a fascination to spacecraft and especially to the space shuttle. I remember when we got a primary school assignment to write a report about a subject you liked. Of course I chose to write a report about the space shuttle, and when I almost finished it the Columbia disaster happened. That disaster really impressed me at that moment and I added an extra chapter to my report as an honour to the killed crew members. I really have to search for that report to read it back one time. After finding this model kit in a store I was infected with the modeling virus.. forever.. I found a photo I made years ago of the model. At that moment I was really proud of it, but I threw it away several years ago.. my space shuttle fascination disappeared after a few years and changed into an interest for aviation. A few weeks ago I discovered this kit again on the internet and I bought it. Unfortunately the sprue containing the cargo bay was missing, but I planned to close the cargo doors anyway. They are constructed to be movable, but this results into gaps of more than a millimeter between the doors and the fuselage. The cockpit window also has a horrible fit. I could have filled the whole window, but being an airliner modeler hating closed cockpit windows I tried to make the best of it. I applied a lot of putty around the cockpit window and sanded the whole thing down to make the windows blend into the fuselage. After that, I polished the windows using toothpaste. I already attached the cargo doors to each other. It might seem to be an unusual construction order, but I think this is the easiest way to remove all gaps between the cargo door parts.. By the way, I'm planning to make the Atlantis because that was my favourite space shuttle when I was a kid. Don't ask me why because I don't know, but it must have been some childish reason. greets, Jelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 I've only built one 1/144 shuttle but found that glueing the payload bay doors together on the fuselage was easier. There are so-o-o many fit problems with that little kit! And on the cockpit windows, rather than using filler, try using strips and scraps of styrene to fill the gaps, then sand 'em down. And does toothpaste still have the abrasive power to polish the clear plastic? Keep on posting pix! This one's coming along nicely! Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MiG31 Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 I have built both the Airfix and Minicraft full stacks, though I would like to try the Revell kit some time. (I would recommend the Airfix kit but not the Minicraft. The latter has a good ET and SRBs, but the orbiter is a write-off.) Are you planning to use any aftermarket decals or parts? If so I would recommend Real Space Models' SSMEs to replace the kit engines, and their decals aren't too bad. For my builds I used a combination of Real Space and JBOT decals. And does toothpaste still have the abrasive power to polish the clear plastic? It depends on which brand you use. Some are okay, while others are a bit too abrasive, as I've found out the hard way recently. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Jelle, It looks like you are off to a great start. Did you have any problems attaching the wings? I'm currently working on a Revell 1/144 shuttle/stack, well I have to get back to it, and the fit of the wings need some work. This is most likely made worse since it's a Columbia version of the kit from 1981. I have an unbuilt Airfix kit and the way in which the wings attach looks to be a better design. After I complete the Revell stack I'll build the Airfix. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted October 24, 2010 Author Share Posted October 24, 2010 I won't use any aftermarket stuff for this build. I've got a lot on my stash (and the Dutch IPMS nationals are next week.. oh boy) so I don't want to make this build last for months. It is just to bring up some nostalgic feelings.. :) but I will try to give it a dirty and used look. A good excuse to practice my airbrush skills. Toothpaste isn't the best solution to polish cockpit windows as brass polish works better, but it was raining so I didn't feel like buying a new can (I ran out of it). But with some gloss varnish painted on the windows it looks fine. The wings were the only parts that did fit.. relatively well. Or well.. the gaps between the wings and the fuselage were smaller than one millimeter.. Maybe I will build the 1:288 Academy orbiter with external tanks when I can find it somewhere, but on this scale it would have been simply too big to stall it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 Did some more work today Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Yeah, that seems to be about the right putty level. Nice work so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Any updates? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Any updates? Sorry. I am a very chaotic modeller who always has at least five models in progress. Eventually I finish all of them, it just takes some time At this moment I am still in the progress of sanding and puttying the whole thing. I applied a cool wallpaper of the Discovery on my desktop a few days ago to trigger some motivation. I will pick up the work on this soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I'm the same way. I have 3 models on the bench right now including my Discovery STS-133 build. I also have a Discovery wallpaper on the computer for motivation. It's a shot of it landing from last week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 I've got this one: http://galaxywire.net/2009/06/19/space-wal...tps-inspection/ I will try to give my shuttle a very worn look, and this picture in full size is really inspiring! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Here's the one I have on my desktop. http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa234/c...1-2061_full.jpg This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Discovery. I love the stance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 It's already a year ago when I said I wanted to make this build not last longer than a few months. Well, I guess that's a part of the hobby Today I found the shuttle again during archaeological research on my room under a thick layer of dust so decided that it was time to catch up the work on this one. I drilled the steering rockets on top of the nose because they were absent and gave the shuttle a layer of grey primer. I planned to start the weathered and faded paint job coming week :) greets Jelle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crowe-t Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 (edited) It looks real nice! Great to see you back at this one again. Keep us posted. Edited October 8, 2011 by crowe-t Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jetplane Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Wowww... Another 1/144 Shuttle Atlantis..its great to see more shuttles in this forum. Looking very good this far. Keep it up and post more pictures and progress. George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlyingDutchman Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks guys! I have decided to still order the real space models rocket engines that MiG31 recommended in his post as my attempt of detailing the original ones with copper wire was not very successful. I also ordered their orbiter decal sheet :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
catfan Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 dose tango papa decals exist any more? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkD Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 They do. I am still awaiting a reply from them on a request on decals. After that I'll order them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.