Space Shuttle Challenger on Launch Pad

[Tomcat64]

Yeah - What Stokesy said!

That is very, very cool indeed!

[DrSprue]

Wow Scott, I could actually here the sound of a take-off in second picture and the last one. Man that is looking really nice.

Hmm maybe it was not the sound of the Shuttle tho, it could be my

[Twokidsnosleep]

Thanks you guys, you are the best!!!
I was going to stop posting pics and have a bit of drama at the reveal...but I hate drama and have shown the whole thing all the way through so what the heck, I gotta share the process.
Last workday for me today and then two weeks off, so I will plow into this hard over the next few days
Guys

[Stokesy44]

Thanks you guys, you are the best!!!
I was going to stop posting pics and have a bit of drama at the reveal...but I hate drama and have shown the whole thing all the way through so what the heck, I gotta share the process.
Last workday for me today and then two weeks off, so I will plow into this hard over the next few days
Guys

[Tomcat64]

Yep please keep on posting Pics Scott - I'm sure I'm not alone in loving watching this come together and the thought processes behind all the different elements you've got going on.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Yep please keep on posting Pics Scott - I'm sure I'm not alone in loving watching this come together and the thought processes behind all the different elements you've got going on.

OK Neil, thanks for that
Of course I have everything completely planned out down to the last nut and bolt and it all flows together perfectly
None of this seat of your pants, make it up as you go along, use what you have lying around kind of thing
Yep, straight out of the box.... precise, predetermined and predictable

[Stokesy44]

And I’m calling BS on that.

[Tomcat64]

Of course I have everything completely planned out down to the last nut and bolt and it all flows together perfectly
None of this seat of your pants, make it up as you go along, use what you have lying around kind of thing
Yep, straight out of the box.... precise, predetermined and predictable

And I’m calling BS on that.

Yah Agreed! I think someone's pants may be smouldering a little!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Of course I have everything completely planned out down to the last nut and bolt and it all flows together perfectly
None of this seat of your pants, make it up as you go along, use what you have lying around kind of thing
Yep, straight out of the box.... precise, predetermined and predictable

And I’m calling BS on that.

Yah Agreed! I think someone's pants may be smouldering a little!

HA HA the old "liar liar pants of fire" routine

[Tomcat64]

[Twokidsnosleep]

Building this stuff for the top surface of the shuttle’s launchpad


Supports for the SRB’s



Shower head thingies





These are all in grey paint at the moment, more later

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok all painted and installed


Used the white sprues from the kit to make some of the piping.
I used a round diamond file to make a ‘fish mouth’ joint and then some of Lysus’ magic sprue juice to cement it all together

[Tomcat64]

Amazing attention to detail on this mate - really amazing.

Have a great Christmas and looking forward to seeing this completed next week

[DrSprue]

Did not expect this base and shuttle from the start of this project. Wow, dude, so cool and quite amazing.

[HIghAltitudeScale]

That's some damn fine work you have done. I'm impressed and inspired at what you have done .

[NorthernModeller]

Looking awesome, I can only wish you the best of luck with finishing this Merry Christmas

[Twokidsnosleep]

Thanks to all the well wishers and Merry Christmas to all of you
I appreciate the kind words from Danno on the live show as well bud

Sneaking in bits of work here and there amongst the Christmas duties
This is the light tree for the solid boosters. I will hide all the wiring in the smoke



More work on the launch base




Lots to do today with family, back at it tonight
Happy Christmas mates

[Stokesy44]

And a very merry Christmas to you Sir.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some Christmas Day and night modelling like a maniac
The flame trench has these skateboard ramps that direct the flame of engines away from the launch pad.
Found a schematic of them and the ramps differ for the main Shuttle engine side vs SRB engine side


So I grabbed some cardboard from the Christmas recycling pile and cut some inclines. Then thin sheet styrene will cement down to this base.




Made these things, I think generators, for the base near the shuttle’s rear stabilizers.
They are cardboard interiors covered in thin styreneSmith some piping, ladders and details


And finally got some led’s Wired for the SRBs onto the little tree I showed last time.

These are the three coloured lights for flame, need to add the white LEDs as well. I could not get all six lights in the same circuit, it just would not work despite logically a circuit was made and enough power given. So I chose to separate out the white lights.
Light up for fun

[Stokesy44]

Looking very cool Sir.

Really like the detail on the 2 generators.

What actually supported the shuttle, tank and boosters when they were on the pad prior to launch release?

I can’t really tell from photos of the launch set up.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking very cool Sir.

Really like the detail on the 2 generators.

What actually supported the shuttle, tank and boosters when they were on the pad prior to launch release?

I can’t really tell from photos of the launch set up.

You ask a good question and it is a relevant factor as to why the Challenger exploded.
There are four ‘posts’ that hold down each solid rocket booster (SRB)


Shown kind of orange rust here in the rectangle of a booster’s flame pit


This is close up of an anchor bolted on the base of a booster....those are explosive bolts!!!


After the main engines fire, there is a simultaneous light of the booster rockets and release of the four hold down anchors...and then up,up and away she goes.
Just before that booster ignition, there is a flex that occurs in the entire complex from the main shuttle engines blasting up to full power. NASA calls this a ‘twang’ and the Shuttle complex waggles forward and back. You can see it in the videos of a launch as they ignite the main engines.
This was a factor in flexing open the seals on the solid boosters as the boosters were still solidly anchored to their mounts as the Shuttle and main tank noticeably flex.

For my depiction, the supports have already been released and the boosters lit so no anchors to the pad.
I did make two supports to help hold and center the boosters...that will be covered up in smoke if all goes to plan

[DrSprue]

Wow it is really looking amazing so far! New about the twang, did not know about the explosive bolts. Thanks for the education Scott!

[Stokesy44]

Brilliant stuff. I’m loving the history lessons as much as the build!

Fantastic

[Kingdan]

Yeah your definitely gonna need a dark room to have a lay down in after all this superb work it's looking the part now, I hope you've had a nice relaxing Christmas and the new year brings some sanity have a great recast of the holidays mate

[Twokidsnosleep]

Yeah your definitely gonna need a dark room to have a lay down in after all this superb work it's looking the part now, I hope you've had a nice relaxing Christmas and the new year brings some sanity have a great recast of the holidays mate

Ha ha, thanks mate
Indeed going a bit
Luckily it has been a quiet Christmas and I have managed to balance having family fun with modelling.
Still, have to be finished and all photo’d up for the 27th as we go skiing on the 28th
Cutting it a bit close, aren’t we

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow it is really looking amazing so far! New about the twang, did not know about the explosive bolts. Thanks for the education Scott!

Brilliant stuff. I’m loving the history lessons as much as the build!

Fantastic

Cheers gents
Learning a thing or two is the fun part of a build.
If you watch some launch sequences videos, you really see the Shuttle,tank and SRB’s flex forward as the main engines throttle up. Those boosters are still locked down tight to the pad, so something has to give.....and the joints in the boosters flex open

[Twokidsnosleep]

My son has been busy Christmas afternoon building a little outside rink


I was telling him he was crazy and he shot back with a
“Well at least I am not building the space shuttle”


This is a running gag since he was little as I used to say to him how we didn’t have to over design a project and make it impossible to build..hem hem, smart azz kids

[Twokidsnosleep]

The fur is flying up here at the Nerd lab....paint, assembly scratch making all just crazy

So the flame trench and direction ramps are done and weathered



I painted a Ultimate black layer, darker where the engines would be as a pre shade. Then a light Ultimate grey at the top edges of the pit. Then a darkened Ultimate grey with Ultimate black added for the remainder. Then the oils and pigments



Unwrapped and with some weathering stuff used.....burnt jet engine oil and pigments


I wanted this area weathered and a bit used looking a small this pad has sent up rockets since Apollo, so had really been used and abused. Not sure how much smoke I will do, so painted and weathered enough in case area s are more visible than expected.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Flickr not working well at the mo

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok still plugging along. Stayed up late and got three big components for the tower made...it has been kicking my butt

Testing out the smoke and fire of a SRB
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Hate to post and run, but am busy, busy, busy

[Stokesy44]

OMFG that looks so amazingly cool.

If I had a hat I’d take it off to you Sir but since I don’t I’ll just say bravo, huzzah, gad zukes and any other ridiculous superlatives that spring to mind

[Twokidsnosleep]

OMFG that looks so amazingly cool.

If I had a hat I’d take it off to you Sir but since I don’t I’ll just say bravo, huzzah, gad zukes and any other ridiculous superlatives that spring to mind

If I can pull this together, it is gonna be cool

[Twokidsnosleep]

Heh heh, rocket fire like the furnace of hell





I got her done
Have a busy travelling day tomorrow, but have taken a ton of photos of building process so will continue this thread and make a reveal when we get settled at the ski hill.
I thank all of you who have put up with this enormous beast of a build thread

[DrSprue]

Wow Scott, all of that is just really amazing!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Finishing off the build thread...working on the components of the tower, the “GOX arm”....white thing on top of the main tank


I saved two circular sprues from my Airfix Helicopter Build...perfect for the gaseous oxygen cover
Adding thin sprue ‘struts’ as supports




Rounds sliced off sprue like salami pieces added to the circle


So I learned to add the glue from the front, finished side as where I added from the back I got cracking

[Twokidsnosleep]

Next was the Hammer Head Crane with the Lightning Rod and the White Room that accordions over to the shuttle cabin access door. Look at the complexity of the pipes, tubes, dishes, wires, lighting etc etc on the tower...it just gets mind boggling trying to duplicate it and knowing what to keep in and what to leave out.




Using modified train scaffolding for the structures, the counterweight is a plastic food container cut and then filled with Milliput putty for some strength. Brass hook for the crane runs on a rod and the crane actually pivots 360*


The structures for the crane, White room and GOX arm...it was 3AM in the morning, I thought I took more photos



Oh and the puff of black smoke made it in there as well..painted with Tamiya smoke and some flat black chunks added in. The material for the smoke is from an IKEA pillow


The three amigos of tower structures painted and ready to install


Test fit of tower top, crane and lightning rod

[Twokidsnosleep]

Getting the wiring organized.


I decided to run the wires through to the smoke, into the flame trench and then out the side of the lower styrofoam base to the power supply.
I love drilling styrofoam...lots of white chunks coming off and onto your tools
May not use styrofoam again



I had to run two separate lines for the LEDs.... one for the main engine light set and the one for the booster rockets light sets
I did them all together and NOTHING would work, even with approprate power.
This happened to me on the Sea King Helicopter as well and I had to run separate lines to the power source for some reason thought the circuit made sense. At least I knew how to solve it and didn’t have to freak out....just more soldering. Does not make logical sense to me as the circuit was correctly made and power was adequate

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok the home stretch
I took some measurements as someone asked how big this sucker is
47cm (19” ) from counter to tippy top of the lightning rod


Long side is 27.5cm (10”) and it’s width is 23 cm (9”)




Put it all together and this is the BEAST!!!
Overture, cue the lights, this is it the night of nights.........




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Reveal thread: viewtopic.php?f=638&t=23882&p=297809#p297809

Thank you all for following along on this hugely long build thread.
I welcome any comments or questions
to all for a safe and Happy New Year

[Stokesy44]

Yeah, I’ve got a question. Are you bonkers?

Been a great thread now put your skis on and do something normal for a few days!!!!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Yeah, I’ve got a question. Are you bonkers?

Been a great thread now put your skis on and do something normal for a few days!!!!!

Yes, yes I am bonkers...and I could have done so much more detailing but it just had to stop
We chose to delay our trip by a day as a storm blew in overnight and roads were bad.
Not sure if it will be much better today but at least we are all packed up, rested and ready to go.
Thanks to you David for following along on this, you have been a huge help

[Tomcat64]

Absolutely amazing work from start to finish mate - I just saw that you put up some more photos in the reveal so thought I'd take a mosey in here too and glad I did.

I think you out Mad-Max'd the Mad-Max build with this one - phenomenal achievement

[Twokidsnosleep]

Absolutely amazing work from start to finish mate - I just saw that you put up some more photos in the reveal so thought I'd take a mosey in here too and glad I did.

I think you out Mad-Max'd the Mad-Max build with this one - phenomenal achievement

Thanks Neil
Ya, this one lies between the Mad Max and the Dagobah which is still my favourite diorama...and was my first!!!
I may revisit and add some more little details to the tower and the launch pad....maybe but unlikely