Global Scale Modeller

Do you remember where you where January 28, 1986????
I do....was sitting in a boring Calculus lecture at the University of British Columbia, when someone came into the room and said the Space Shuttle had exploded. Watched it over and over again with my floor mates at the dorm that afternoon with everyone in stunned silence.

On Challenger’s 10th mission into space, with the first civilian onboard for the teacher in space program and heavy media coverage, the right solid rocket booster o-ring failed and everything went to hell instantly
Do you remember the stunned silence after the explosion???? ....and the controllers words “obviously a major malfunction”



My plan is to build the Challenger beginning her launch at the moment of that puff of black smoke on the right booster....the beginning of the end

Challenger Disaster

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_S ... r_disaster

Some interesting stuff comes up when you research the event aftermath and findings.
If I may summarize some pertinent points:
*One of the Booster company’s engineers was freaking about freezing temperatures and wanted the mission aborted as he knew the o rings would fail and had been failing on previous missions...he got out voted and a go was given for launch
*Pressure from above made the launch go ahead despite cold conditions
*The o ring did fail on the launchpad, but aluminum particles in the fuel sealed the leak until they went to full engines which dislodged the aluminum and vented the leak out of the booster’s side and into the solid fuel tank
*A telltail black smoke puff area was observed in the slowmo films on the right booster at launch..then later seen again as a flame just before total explosion
*After the explosion, the crew quarters were still intact and members alive as they plummeted to the sea
*A number of crew had activated their oxygen systems so survived the explosion but likely died on impact with the water
*Six weeks later the crew quarters were retrieved from the Atlantic and the bodies were shuffled into plastic bags and garbage cans and moved to a secure location under the cover of darkness......no autopsy. no hero’s coffin just silence and asking for respect of privacy..for NASA
*NASA had not built any emergency rescue apparatus for an abort launch into the shuttles as they were so reliable. They described a clean explosion and everyone died instantly...not so

NASA closed ranks and did some coverup and the program was shut down for 3 years. No one involved in launch decisions were ever charged or punished, in fact they were promoted. They paid off the families of the deceased and revamped the boosters and made the shuttles safer...then muffed it again with Columbia and a piece of foam.

There are some great documentaries on the disasters and the shuttle program in general on YouTube
They were a well designed machine, just poorly and carelessly managed

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:49 pm Do you remeber where you where January 28, 1986????

Yep - was sitting on one of the staff buses waiting to come home from work at the Rutherford labs and clearly remember the stunned disbelief of everyone on board when someone got on and told us the shuttle had blown up.

Popcorn seems inappropriate somehow but I'll be watching to see how you bring together this tribute to a very poignant moment.

Tomcat64 wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:55 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2017 6:49 pm Do you remeber where you where January 28, 1986????

Yep - was sitting on one of the staff buses waiting to come home from work at the Rutherford labs and clearly remember the stunned disbelief of everyone on board when someone got on and told us the shuttle had blown up.

Popcorn seems inappropriate somehow but I'll be watching to see how you bring together this tribute to a very poignant moment.

Cool to hear what others were doing at this moment in history and how it affected you....like to hear more from others what they were doing

I am just getting myself organized on this thread
It is a B working on a jumpy iPad and I want to kill the freaking autocorrector

Here is the moment the o ring first had blow by and leaked

The whole thing would have exploded on the launchpad, except for the use of aluminum particles in the solid fuel that formed a molten slag when burnt. That sealed the leak, well at least for a minute or so until sheer forces of flight and putting engines back up to maximum dislodged the slag and let burn through happen.

Some beautiful images of shuttles on their launch pads

So here is my kit
Lindberg 1/200. Very shy on details so I might need to jazz it up with some smoke and lights
Parts are all shoved into one bag with no separation at all and this is probably the softest styrene I have worked on, so careful with sanders and files.
Decals don’t include the Challenger and look a little underwhelming, so I will have to make my own decals


Super simple instructions one page front and back side printing with no colour shots other than on the box
The kit is pretty basic and luckily I got it for anbot $12 CAD...don’t pay much more if you hunt it down




Some bridge girders will help to make the gantry and launch tower


If I can get even close to these, I will be a happy man

So I have forged on and messed with this today.
Cut off the boosters rockets from the solid fuel tank with a razor saw so I can paint and detail everything properly.
Dry fitted most of the Shuttle...payload doors will be a pain, details are a bit soft





Then looking at maybe a little LED pyrotechnics...I kept out the third bright white LED as I could not photograph with it on, but likely three LEDs...red white and orange.




Some ideas for the smoke plume and tomorrow will go get some more bridge girders for the launch tower
Getting stoked on this build

Looking forward to watching you work your magic on this build mate

Not sure where i was when it all happened (doing the math.... i would have been in primary school... i was 9) but i do remember watching it on the news

Fridgy wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 3:03 am Looking forward to watching you work your magic on this build mate

Not sure where i was when it all happened (doing the math.... i would have been in primary school... i was 9) but i do remember watching it on the news

Ya, ya you youngen rub it in.
Why I was in first year uni before the snot stopped dripping from your runny grade school nose
Thanks for making me feel old, mate

Ya this should turn out pretty cool if I can swing it.
The photos I posted give a pretty good idea of the flavour I am after in the diorama
happy weekend

The Challenger disaster and waking up to the 9/11 attacks are permanently (well at least for now!) engraved in my mind, I can still picture it.

I was in High School, grade 13, back when such a thing existed. Walking past the school office when my friend Nasif came out and asked "Did you hear the shuttle exploded?" Thought he was joking, but stuck my head in the office and everybody was talking about it. Somebody must have had the radio on -- not much of a public Internet back then!

I am still coming to terms with that picture of the model with the exhaust plume...staggering...

Good luck on the build, the launch gantry seems pretty ambitious for the time remaining in the GB!

WallyInStittsville wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 5:30 am The Challenger disaster and waking up to the 9/11 attacks are permanently (well at least for now!) engraved in my mind, I can still picture it.

I was in High School, grade 13, back when such a thing existed. Walking past the school office when my friend Nasif came out and asked "Did you hear the shuttle exploded?" Thought he was joking, but stuck my head in the office and everybody was talking about it. Somebody must have had the radio on -- not much of a public Internet back then!

I am still coming to terms with that picture of the model with the exhaust plume...staggering...

Good luck on the build, the launch gantry seems pretty ambitious for the time remaining in the GB!

Thanks for the good tidings
The sig ends Dec 31st so should have the time to rattle this off
My son’s birth was projected Sept 11,2001...thank god he was two weeks late, though we almost lost him for being so late

I remember the Challenger disaster but I cant recall where I was. Probably at school, given the year. The images of the crowd were somehow just as devastating as the footage of the explosion.

I was at work in the city (London) when the twin towers were hit. We had a small TV in our foyer and the staff were huddled round it watching the reports come in. We all remember the video footage but the thing that stuck with me the most was a picture I saw in next day's paper.



I've always been sentimental and have a real thing about hero worship. This photo touched me powerfully, here was a guy, running TOWARDS the danger, there was something about his face, his goodness and determination. Its just a photo but that's what it did to me. I assumed he had been killed but later found out he had survived. 6 men from his firehouse died that day but he made it out. Mike Kehoe is his name.

I also remember the following day watching the recovery footage on TV. There was a shot of one of the bridges leading into Manhattan. The police and fire vehicles were heading across and there were people gathered on the pavement with a sign saying 'WE LOVE YOU NYPD / NYFD', I'm not an American but I tell you I cried and cheered at the same time. It still affects me now.

Maybe its because its November and poppy time - we should all remember and celebrate heroes, be they military, emergency services, astronauts, whoever sets us an example of how to behave in adversity.

Sorry to go off topic, I figured a little latitude was allowed here

I'd love to build a nice space shuttle - a memory of our (the US) last great effort into space. Now we just hitch rides with the Russians.

I was in the back room at work when one of the other employees came back and said the shuttle blew up. We had a TV on display for a raffle and she saw it live. The details that came out - much later - did not paint NASA in a very good light.

The late Richard Feynman (if you've never watched him talk about science you should!):

[youtube]raMmRKGkGD4[/youtube]

This project effects me deeply. A friend called me on a (wire connected to the wall) telephone to tell me about the shuttle disaster and I put it on the television. That display of rocket exhaust gas still creeps me out. I was into engineering at that time and knew (tho, not, that it was an 0ring issue back then) because no one knew at 1st and It was even a few days with many thinking it was a failure in the main fuel tank, but somehow, something got messed up with the srbs in my mind. Too too much power in those very big and very long tanks of solid rocket fuel. Over 3 million pounds of thrust (each) .. is quite alot of power. The fact that it was solid, always blew my mind as well.... No way to turn it off!

Very cool orange led thing going on there Scott. This is going to be a great respect for that rocket and its astronauts, even with out its name in that kit. Im sure you'll find one. Getting it in flight at the start is a very cool Idea.

A prayer should go out as well to these 7 people and their families. They loved space flight like we all do!
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagega ... _2437.html

DrSprue wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2017 2:54 pm This project effects me deeply. A friend called me on a (wire connected to the wall) telephone to tell me about the shuttle disaster and I put it on the television. That display of rocket exhaust gas still creeps me out. I was into engineering at that time and knew (tho, not, that it was an 0ring issue back then) because no one knew at 1st and It was even a few days with many thinking it was a failure in the main fuel tank, but somehow, something got messed up with the srbs in my mind. Too too much power in those very big and very long tanks of solid rocket fuel. Over 3 million pounds of thrust (each) .. is quite alot of power. The fact that it was solid, always blew my mind as well.... No way to turn it off!

Very cool orange led thing going on there Scott. This is going to be a great respect for that rocket and its astronauts, even with out its name in that kit. Im sure you'll find one. Getting it in flight at the start is a very cool Idea.

A prayer should go out as well to these 7 people and their families. They loved space flight like we all do!
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagega ... _2437.html

Ya well put bud, it is absolute senseless loss, tragic indeed
It is odd that the o rings were not engineered with double or triple safety protocols. They had been retrieving the solid boosters from the ocean after launches and could see the failing of the rings...a previous launch was millimeters from burning through.
How do you not look at that and say, oh shite, we gotta fix that!!!??? Cripes the same for the ceramic tiles...one missing tile in the wrong spot and boom game over.
It was like they they never felt continuing improvement was necessary

Went to LHS this morning and picked up some supplies for the pad and gantry
I have used the bridge girders before and the ladders will come in handy, so those were easy buy.
The little bag of odds and ends are an intriguing surprise as there are a number of shapes in there I want, but don’t have to buy an entire pack of them...it also fires up the imagination trying to use stuff you might not otherwise have.



Closer look inside the odds and ends bag


Now have to figure how much detail to try and do and design

Oh so cool Scott. Your gonna scratch build the tower!!! Just freakin awesome. BTW: If you need any help with any odd parts (If I can help you) I have the Revell 1986 Launch Tower & Space Shuttle & Booster Rockets I bought from my LHS guy back in the 90's.
Its the Revell no 4911 - 1:144th version so just a small bit larger. This one.



If you need any measurements of any parts or structures in this kit, just ask!

Here is the instructions too.
https://www.scalemates.com/products/img ... ctions.pdf

Please dont be affraid to ask, it has many parts for the Tower as well. I can scan in any sprues from it as well. Its the wrong scale but it may help somehow. The bags are open but non of it has been made.

(Really bud, you guys have helped me quite a bit here, its the least I can do!)

Yea, back in the 90's I considered my self "the rocket man" I have quite a few flying ones and many static models.

DrSprue wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:03 am Oh so cool Scott. Your gonna scratch build the tower!!! Just freakin awesome. BTW: If you need any help with any odd parts (If I can help you) I have the Revell 1986 Launch Tower & Space Shuttle & Booster Rockets I bought from my LHS guy back in the 90's.
Its the Revell no 4911 - 1:144th version so just a small bit larger. This one.



If you need any measurements of any parts or structures in this kit, just ask!

Here is the instructions too.
https://www.scalemates.com/products/img ... ctions.pdf

Please dont be affraid to ask, it has many parts for the Tower as well. I can scan in any sprues from it as well. Its the wrong scale but it may help somehow. The bags are open but non of it has been made.

(Really bud, you guys have helped me quite a bit here, its the least I can do!)

Yea, back in the 90's I considered my self "the rocket man" I have quite a few flying ones and many static models.

Hey thanks for that.
I made a PDF of the instructions to give me some more information on the tower shape

We are on the same wavelength again with this build ...been researching the tower and launch base on the web.
I found some photos of that kit, some great real pics and then an absolutely mammoth build of the launch site. The European guy, I believe he is German, is scratch building the launch pad 39A...down to the last Nut and bolt it would seem.
He has been at it the for a couple years and the details are mind boggling. I do not want to build anything that dramatically insanely accurate, wow. So will sit and plan out a simpler version somewhere between the Revell and this Guy’s scratch

Takes some wind out of your sails when you see someone building your project to a much higher level

Your scanned scaffolding plan for the tower...this is the second build in a row where you save me with your scanned instructions



My rough outs with a styrofoam block for the tower, the bridge girders and the model to get some scale dimension comparisons





I think I am in the ballpark with the dimensions for things

Great subject Scott. I’ll be watching with great interest.

I distinctly remember where I was; in my car driving to work. As I mentioned in the intro to my Voyager build thread my now wife, then fiancé, were working at NASA/JPL at the time. We were driving into work listening to the “World Famous KROQ”; they were playing David Bowie’s “Space Odyssey”, aka “Major Tom” after which they announced the explosion. We rushed in to work where we we able to watch the direct NASA feeds. We were part of the Image Processing Lab and had all sorts of equipment for analyzing photos and video. When we got there they were already analyzing video frame by frame; we were among the first to see the failures. A heart-breaking time. Mind you, our lab had nothing to do with the shuttle program; we were only asked to help analyze the video that was available.

Good luck on the build Scott; I always admire your work.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:10 am
We are on the same wavelength again with this build ...been researching the tower and launch base on the web.
I found some photos of that kit, some great real pics and then an absolutely mammoth build of the launch site. The European guy, I believe he is German, is scratch building the launch pad 39A...down to the last Nut and bolt it would seem.
He has been at it the for a couple years and the details are mind boggling. I do not want to build anything that dramatically insanely accurate, wow. So will sit and plan out a simpler version somewhere between the Revell and this Guy’s scratch

Takes some wind out of your sails when you see someone building your project to a much higher level

So true Scott with that other fellow making the 39A. I think this is a place where FUN and WORK is a major issue. I could look at his and go wow, but I would rather watch you make one and we both (and other peeps on ISM) would say hey... thats really cool and it looks like it was so much fun! I am not a rivet counter at all either. Besides, I barely have enuff wind in my sales now!!

(if you need dimensions on ANY of it or scans of any sprues, just PM me bud!)
That goes to anyone else as well. My Sprues are yours!

DrSprue wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:56 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:10 am
We are on the same wavelength again with this build ...been researching the tower and launch base on the web.
I found some photos of that kit, some great real pics and then an absolutely mammoth build of the launch site. The European guy, I believe he is German, is scratch building the launch pad 39A...down to the last Nut and bolt it would seem.
He has been at it the for a couple years and the details are mind boggling. I do not want to build anything that dramatically insanely accurate, wow. So will sit and plan out a simpler version somewhere between the Revell and this Guy’s scratch

Takes some wind out of your sails when you see someone building your project to a much higher level

So true Scott with that other fellow making the 39A. I think this is a place where FUN and WORK is a major issue. I could look at his and go wow, but I would rather watch you make one and we both (and other peeps on ISM) would say hey... thats really cool and it looks like it was so much fun! I am not a rivet counter at all either. Besides, I barely have enuff wind in my sales now!!


(if you need dimensions on ANY of it or scans of any sprues, just PM me bud!)
That goes to anyone else as well. My Sprues are yours!

I really do appreciate the help and support...you are a great motivator!!
This is a two month project, not a lifetimes’ so I don’t have a problem dumbing it down a lot.
The references are awesome though so I will do some more detail than a round support that came with the kit

Dimensions wise, my tower specs out to a 6cmx4cm rectangle rather than a 6x6 square. What do you think about that shape?? I cannot tell if the tower was a square or rectangle
The entire base is in the 21x21 cm area at the moment. Total height is about 30cm

I am going to work up the sizes a bit more as I cannot start the tower yet since my styrene vertical supports are just a bit large for scale and I don’t have the proper styrene strip supports...will be off to the hobby shop next weekend after better prep and planning
Cheers Doc, thanks again

BobM wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:26 pm Great subject Scott. I’ll be watching with great interest.

I distinctly remember where I was; in my car driving to work. As I mentioned in the intro to my Voyager build thread my now wife, then fiancé, were working at NASA/JPL at the time. We were driving into work listening to the “World Famous KROQ”; they were playing David Bowie’s “Space Odyssey”, aka “Major Tom” after which they announced the explosion. We rushed in to work where we we able to watch the direct NASA feeds. We were part of the Image Processing Lab and had all sorts of equipment for analyzing photos and video. When we got there they were already analyzing video frame by frame; we were among the first to see the failures. A heart-breaking time. Mind you, our lab had nothing to do with the shuttle program; we were only asked to help analyze the video that was available.

Good luck on the build Scott; I always admire your work.

Geeze Bob, I cannot even imagine how emotional NASA workers must have been that day. Must have been a hard time.
They are such great engineers,I just cannot understand why this critical area would be such an oversite
Why fly on a morning 10 degrees lower than ever before??? Jesus, lives at stake
It was either money, time pressure or a weird work culture...or probably a combination of all the above

Cheers, hope I can pull this off, ditto on admiring your work pal

Sent you a PM about the Tower bud!

DrSprue wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:56 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:10 am
We are on the same wavelength again with this build ...been researching the tower and launch base on the web.
I found some photos of that kit, some great real pics and then an absolutely mammoth build of the launch site. The European guy, I believe he is German, is scratch building the launch pad 39A...down to the last Nut and bolt it would seem.
He has been at it the for a couple years and the details are mind boggling. I do not want to build anything that dramatically insanely accurate, wow. So will sit and plan out a simpler version somewhere between the Revell and this Guy’s scratch

Takes some wind out of your sails when you see someone building your project to a much higher level

So true Scott with that other fellow making the 39A. I think this is a place where FUN and WORK is a major issue. I could look at his and go wow, but I would rather watch you make one and we both (and other peeps on ISM) would say hey... thats really cool and it looks like it was so much fun! I am not a rivet counter at all either. Besides, I barely have enuff wind in my sales now!!

(if you need dimensions on ANY of it or scans of any sprues, just PM me bud!)
That goes to anyone else as well. My Sprues are yours!

If it aint accurate, what's the point of building it? And don't diss rivet counters please.

I took me years of dedication and hard work to get elected President of ITAC - that's the Ignorant Tight Ass Club - our motto is 'Who needs talent when an opinion will do'.

I boggle at the stuff Scott builds, I couldn't do it and its not my thing, its still awesome though

Stokesy44 wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:29 pm

DrSprue wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:56 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:10 am
We are on the same wavelength again with this build ...been researching the tower and launch base on the web.
I found some photos of that kit, some great real pics and then an absolutely mammoth build of the launch site. The European guy, I believe he is German, is scratch building the launch pad 39A...down to the last Nut and bolt it would seem.
He has been at it the for a couple years and the details are mind boggling. I do not want to build anything that dramatically insanely accurate, wow. So will sit and plan out a simpler version somewhere between the Revell and this Guy’s scratch

Takes some wind out of your sails when you see someone building your project to a much higher level

So true Scott with that other fellow making the 39A. I think this is a place where FUN and WORK is a major issue. I could look at his and go wow, but I would rather watch you make one and we both (and other peeps on ISM) would say hey... thats really cool and it looks like it was so much fun! I am not a rivet counter at all either. Besides, I barely have enuff wind in my sales now!!

(if you need dimensions on ANY of it or scans of any sprues, just PM me bud!)
That goes to anyone else as well. My Sprues are yours!

If it aint accurate, what's the point of building it? And don't diss rivet counters please.

I took me years of dedication and hard work to get elected President of ITAC - that's the Ignorant Tight Ass Club - our motto is 'Who needs talent when an opinion will do'.

I boggle at the stuff Scott builds, I couldn't do it and its not my thing, its still awesome though

This tangle of girders and pipes looks like Medusa's head!!

I have to simplify it or it would take years to make
Will try to give the flavour of the real article with out going into an all crazy full on copy

That launch tower is crazy complex - I'm really looking forward to seeing how you pull this together

I've been lucky enough to visit Kennedy twice, the first time Discovery was on the pad back in '93 and I was able to watch the launch a few days later which was just awe inspiring even from a few miles away. I've probably got some hazy shots tucked away in a box some where which won't help much with the details on the launch tower though.

I can offer a close up of a shuttle from our trip last year though

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:15 pm That launch tower is crazy complex - I'm really looking forward to seeing how you pull this together

I've been lucky enough to visit Kennedy twice, the first time Discovery was on the pad back in '93 and I was able to watch the launch a few days later which was just awe inspiring even from a few miles away. I've probably got some hazy shots tucked away in a box some where which won't help much with the details on the launch tower though.

I can offer a close up of a shuttle from our trip last year though

OHHH Thats COOL!!

Cool stuff Neil, very jealous of your escapades at Kennedy
I see a doinky little Canada arm there in the back of that space sled

Ya I kinda stepped off into the deep end on this tower thingy....my own worst enemy

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:30 pm Cool stuff Neil, very jealous of your escapades at Kennedy
I see a doinky little Canada arm there in the back of that space sled

It's definitely worth a visit down there, we could have easily spent two days at the centre rather than just the one we had.

I've got shots of the noisy end as well if they're any use to you - just let me know.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:30 pm Ya I kinda stepped off into the deep end on this tower thingy....my own worst enemy

It's too late to back out now - expectations have been set! If it's not 100% accurate complete with working gas vents we're all going to be very disappointed!

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:17 am
It's too late to back out now - expectations have been set! If it's not 100% accurate complete with working gas vents we're all going to be very disappointed!

He's got this. I'm expecting the modelling equivalent of the Sistine Chapel here

Stokesy44 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:47 am He's got this. I'm expecting the modelling equivalent of the Sistine Chapel here

I didn't know they had a launch facility in the Sistine Chapel - they kept that quiet! You'd have thought people would have noticed!

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 10:58 am

Stokesy44 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:47 am He's got this. I'm expecting the modelling equivalent of the Sistine Chapel here

I didn't know they had a launch facility in the Sistine Chapel - they kept that quiet! You'd have thought people would have noticed!

Tomcat64 wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:17 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:30 pm Cool stuff Neil, very jealous of your escapades at Kennedy
I see a doinky little Canada arm there in the back of that space sled

It's definitely worth a visit down there, we could have easily spent two days at the centre rather than just the one we had.

I've got shots of the noisy end as well if they're any use to you - just let me know.

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:30 pm Ya I kinda stepped off into the deep end on this tower thingy....my own worst enemy

It's too late to back out now - expectations have been set! If it's not 100% accurate complete with working gas vents we're all going to be very disappointed!

Love to see a shot of the noisy end
Working gas vents??!! I got a working gas vent for ya

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:09 pm Love to see a shot of the noisy end

Here you go




And just to make sure I properly hijacked your thread here's a dodgy scan of a blurry photo from 1993! I was trying to take a picture of the boat but then something bright and noisy in the background distracted me...

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Tue Nov 07, 2017 4:09 pm Working gas vents??!! I got a working gas vent for ya

You load 'em I'll fire 'em!

Good stuff Neil, gave me a chuckle too
Looks like they painted those shuttle engines Ultimate black
Appreciate the detailed photo

Neil as far as those pics of the Atlantis space shuttle, all I can say is....
Hail Atlantis!!

Scaling up this diagram from Doc Sprue of his Revell kit to fit into my 1/200 scale
I am building the elevator shaft in the middle of the tower


Working on the top and bottom elevator rooms with their corrugated sides






I made round windows in the doors...’ cause who the heck doesn’t like porthole windows

Whomever said my elevator does not go all the way to the top is patently incorrect

Just ran out of .02”Evergreen Styrene so I could only make two sides of the elevator tower
I really am going to make this f’ing beast of a thing

Oh thats looking freaking COOL!!

Was watching videos on the last Shuttle launch for 39A pad and its modifications for the future.
Needless to say my porthole doors are completely wrong so I tore them off and patched the holes

Here is a pic from the video of the actual elevator...I will modify my doors to reflect these


After the destruction and plastering, I cut out the windows of the Orbiter so I can modify them with my acetate trick like the last build.


Off to hobby store for some more scratch supplies

I guess there are worse ear-worms to have...




Nice progress mate

Gonna have that song in my head for the day, thanks mate
Actually am an Aerosmith fan, so it works out

Wow, funny how this fits with what you doing Scott!



Sometimes you can just google stuff and the weirdest things pop up!

Been working on the tower sides
I threw together a wooden jig to align the verticals and cross bars so they stay lined up and stabilized as well as repeatable
Made things work out so that everything aligned with the measures on my desk cutting mat as well



Not perfect, but should come out ok. I will be slightly pissed if it doesn’t work out, lot of effort into this today
Heat bent the rod to fit into the cross spaces and Ca glued things in place





And yes, I listened to Aerosmith all the while
Currently forcing myself to not F with it and just let the cements dry
NO TOUCHY!!!!!!

Hmm lost a post there anyways

I touchy’d ...wife always said I have roaming hands


Some bowing and warpage, but pretty good
Have to do some thinking on how to link two sides like this together and all the twelve floors inserted....easy when separated, but hard to access to put all the cross beams in and the elevator shaft down the middle.
Hmmmmm this is a head scratcher

Looks superb

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:08 am Looks superb

mate
I got every rivet in place so far

Oh Wow. that is looking amazing. I was just getting prepared for a foam block with some effect paints on it! Hmmm keep this up and Lindberg may give you call!

DrSprue wrote: Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:11 am Oh Wow. that is looking amazing. I was just getting prepared for a foam block with some effect paints on it!

Nah, when this guy goes, he goes big!

Looking good buddy