Space Shuttles

[Mike1158]

I hope all goes well for you John, soon be building again.

[JohnM]

I did actually sit down and start snippin' with this one. At first cutting out wasn't too painful, but forming the nose completely defeated me I'm afraid. I have no sensation of touch in my finger tips and after just a few minutes wielding the embroidery scissors my whole hands exploded with violent pins & needles and I couldn't control the tweezers for assembly.

Perhaps I should start modelling again with something like Paper Juke's 2m Hulk. I might need to invest in some extra ink for that one though ... It's over 300 pages of A4. Hmmm? I wonder what that would be like if I 'print to fit' on A3? Just wondering like. On discussing it with my wife she vetoed having the 2m high Hulk in our conservatory, but suggested that a life-sized Jack Sparrow would be a better idea. Maybe Baby ... I'm quite a fan of Cap'n Jack myself, but not so sure I want a life-size Johnny Depp in the house.

[airdave]

I was hungry to work on a paper model today while watching the car race.
But I didn't want to start anything too complicated.
Since I have been threatening to build a Shuttle (Discovery) since seeing it at the Smithsonian,
I decided to build the AXM paper model Discovery.

But I am sorry to say, this model is not going together well.
I am finding the construction is not intuitive (is that the right word?).
Things are far from obvious.
So far from obvious.

There is a wonderful set of assembly photos (in place of actual Instruction Diagrams)
but they're not helping.
Either I don't understand the design method, or it just doesn't fit together properly.

For example: there are redundant double bulkheads inside the main body that aren't even the correct size and shape.
I am instructed to contort the body into the correct shape to fit over these bulkheads
...I did it, but not without bulges and gaps and misalignments.

And some areas are just oddly designed.
The nose and cockpit assembly, for example, is one piece, but cut into three mismatched sections, that wrap around and underneath.
One section is designed to not close...the parts don't even butt up to each other.
The next overlaps, and overlaps at an angle leaving a triangular gap.
And then the very front section is a complete ring with an overlapping glue tab.
All the underside connections are covered by the belly pan, but it still makes no sense to me.

And then the small nose cone... is just a bad fit.

I know the designer is well respected and I am really not trying to insult...
but maybe I just don't understand the unique design approach here?

Anyway, I am pushing through the pain for now.

[VinceM]

I highly recommend Alfonso's AXM models. I built a couple of his ships, also a complete launch stack for Challenger's last mission. If you want to explore Russia's shuttle program, I also highly recommend Leo Cherkashin's site:
Space flight paper modelling
I've built a couple of his ships as well, including shuttle Buran and it's Energia stack. I refigured the Buran, replacing the Soviet flag with a current Russian one as I want to one day build Alfonso's ISS model as a "fantasy" version with both a US shuttle and a Buran shuttle attached.

In my experiences, both Alfonso's and Leo's models fit together well, and rescaled well.

As far as Airdave's AXM problems, I don't know how to respond. I never built Discovery. I built Challenger, Pathfinder and Moonraker, and they all turned out great.

[VinceM]

P.S. John - I hear you with the hand pain. Between arthritis and diabetic neuropathy, there are days when i can barely hold a sheet of paper, let alone an x-acto knife. Best wishes with your treatment, and know you've got friends in here.

[airdave]

Well I have officially given up on this AXM Discovery model.

I got the awkward nose and cockpit finished as best as i could,
and I got the underside Wing/Belly in place...
all looked okay...

but the Wings are now my problem.
Not only do they not line up well top and bottom,
the rear of the top wing part is considerably narrower than the connecting bottom part.
It means there is no way to join them...the parts actually need resizing.
I tried to modify the inside flap (which stops me from sliding the wing outwards to align the outer edges),
but things just got worse.
I refolded it to give me a little more width at the elevators, but its a bit of a mess now.
I can't glue it properly now.



Then I noticed the forward edges don't line up well either,
and there is a long extended tab at the very front of the wing tops
that doesn't seem to go anywhere or connect to anything.
The supplied assembly photos don't show it clearly...it appears to twist and get glued to the front fuselage.
Why?



Anyway, the more I tried to connect things, the more I noticed the wings had a wild buckle and twist.
It was obvious, this was going nowhere good.
I tried adding a wing support to raise the twisted wing...that didn't work.

I'll keep fiddling with it...see if I can untwist the wings a bit.
I tried to remove them, but too much glue.
I may just toss it.

...
John,
I'd love to see that Polish magazine shuttle built.
I have that issue.
Its a simplified version, with a very squared off nose
... but still a nice looking model with the Boosters.

Sorry, to have hijacked your thread...
I was thinking this was an open topic "Space Shuttles" thread,
but now it seems like I have taken over. LOL

...
Can someone point me to another shuttle model to try?
Hopefully Discovery.
Something that wil actually go together and look proper?

[JohnM]

I'll see what others I can point you to Dave. I know I clicked on a few with thoughts of reducing them before deciding the simple ABC one would probably suit my needs best. Not attempted to re-start it yet though. Fingers are still very sore and I haven't finished your Bluebird yet.

Don't worry about hijacking any of my threads, mate. I'm always glad of the company to keep a thread going, and I dare say I've jumped in on many of yours.

[Vermin_King]

How difficult would it be to convert the Delta 7 Studios Columbia to a Discovery?
http://www.delta7studios.com/columbia.htm

[N96HBK]

Dave, did you try these before?
Home Page di MARS Center -= Microgravity Advanced Research and Support Center =-
It's beautifully detailed, very accurate and fits well. I think you'll like them. The page has downloads for Columbia, Discovery, Challenger, Endeavour and Atlantis.

[Deriachai]

Hey Dave,

I made the AXM shuttle quite awhile ago, but I would agree it was a bit weird at times. Most of the times parts don't seem to want to fit correctly, there is a bend, or multiple, that is still needed. I slowly figured it out, but will definitly agree it wasn't intuitive.

e.g. the top and bottom of your wings didn't align, since the bottom tray is supposed to be bent around the cargo area, and the bottom isn't actually flat but slightly rounded.