Now that I finally found my camera again, I'll do another update <__<
I got a bit distracted doing yet more alternate payloads, but I finally got one of the payload bay doors mostly done (It just needs glued together, and I still need to figure out what to do about hinges) and also I finally convinced myself to lay out the wings, which I finished this morning. I decided for the wings, I'm going to start off by making the forward 1/3, gluing it to the forward fuselage, then attaching the assembly to the shuttle. After that, I'll slip the last 2/3 over that, along with the engine compartment (which is still missing SSME's). Along with the wings and SSME's, I'm just missing the other door, the vertical stabilizer, and 2 elevons so this project is getting pretty close to complete.
Anyways, the first alternate payload I made was an MPLM, LMC, ICC, and OBSS (That's a lot of acronyms). Basically I was originally aiming for the payload for Atlantis' final flight, although I decided to also throw in the ICC, which can either be used for a few other similar MPLM/LMC flights, or also a few Spacehab flights (STS-96, 101, 106, etc). Cutting out all the tiny holes for the LMC and especially the ICC was very, very tedious (I can't even imagine how long it would have taken if I did both sides of the ICC, considering I would have had to double-side each, meaning cut each hole out 4 times) but I'm very satisfied with the results. As you can see, I also got the Canadarm built. Like the real Canadarm, most of the joints are too weak to work under gravity. I tried strengthening them with friction, which worked decently well on the elbow joint, although all the others are still very, very weak. The arm can be articulated at all the same angles as the real one, although of course the real one can't bend backwards.
The 2nd alternate payload was the LDEF. It ended up being much easier to make than I had originally anticipated, although it also turned out much, much better than I hoped. Along with LDEF, I made the DFI from STS 1-5. I made a small slip-in end effector on the Canadarm that uses duct tape to allow it to somewhat stick to targets, although it's still very weak. I wonder if I can find a stronger non-destructive adhesive.
Here's some images of the door I have finished. As you can see, it still isn't glued together.
Also, another related side-project I started is the cockpit in 1:12 scale. I felt that the 1:24 cockpit really didn't do it justice, and want people to have a good look at the inside of the cockpit. It's still missing the HUD, and I also want to build Thorsten's astronaut figure in 1:12 to give a sense of scale. So far, this is the 3rd cockpit I've built, each one double the size of the last. I don't want to build another one unless it's 1:1 <_<
06-20-2011, 05:20 PM
Les (FAA & ex-NASA flack, and mediocre builder extraordinaire)
Linear Mode
