Space Shuttle Launch Pad 39A with Challenger STS-6 (1:144)

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

after the more or less successful test airbrushing of the IT Dummy I have now removed an old burden. And that was the broken tip of the LO2 Tank that fell off the table a long time ago, that's the Lightning rod at the top of the Nose cone cap.



The tip on the Revell-ET of my friend Thomas Emberger, who died in 2017, is approx. 3,5 mm long. But since I remembered a drawing from the George Gassaway collection, I was able to get the exact dimensions from it.


Source: georgesrockets.com (George Gassaway)

Thereafter the Length is 14,01'', i.e. 2,5 mm (1:144), and the Diameter is 6,89'', and accordingly Ø 1,2 mm (1:144).

As one can see, this tip has a cone at the front, whose dimensions L=0, 4 mm, Ø 0,5 mm can be forgotten for a total length of 2,5 mm because it should very hard to get it done.

First I've removed the stub on the cap and gradually drilled it out to Ø 1,2 mm.



And coincidentally there is a round rod from Evergreen with exactly this diameter that I used.



Then I've sanded off a 2,5 mm long tip at a slightly longer piece,



and glued it into the cap.



And this is what the tentatively attached cap with tip looks like on the LO2 Tank, which is now complete again.



But I can't glue the tip in yet because I still need the opening for the priming and painting of the tank, for which it is impaled again on the bamboo stick.

[whulsey]

As always your attention to detail just causes my jaw to drop. Carry on!

[spacerunner]

Thanks whulsey,
I try to give my best.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

and with that I am back again to the paintwork, which seems to be a tricky chapter, which is why I have to deal a bit closer once again with the Spray(un)ability of my Vallejo paints.
That's why I've turned back one year in my construction report once again, s. Reply #1926, what I should have done better immediately, especially since I had experimented that time already with the thinning of the colors by adding Vallejo Thinner (71.061).
Already that time I had noticed that the Vallejo Model Air paints were not sprayable, contrary to the opinion of my Airbrush Guru Heinz Wagner, what I had tested with his Drop method. According to this, a paint should be sprayable if the diameter of the color point of a drop from a drop height of 30 cm is between 11 mm and 14 mm, but what throughout was not the case.

However, due to considerable health problems, he did not respond to my request that time, which is why I had left out the paint job at first.

In the meantime I have studied a few articles and videos and come to the conclusion that the opinions regarding the sprayability are multifaceted, sometimes contradicting and quite confusing.

In the process I have found among other things also this already mentioned video Thinning and spraying Vallejo Model Color and Model Air, from which I had hoped for some clarification regarding the theme Airbrush from Vallejo Model Air & Model Color.

Therein one is also of the opinion that no dilution would be required for Model Air, at best 1-2 drops per cup. In contrast, for the generally thicker Model Color a dilution (1:1) with Vallejo Thinner is recommended, i.e. 10 drops Thinner to 10 drops of paint, which can be mixed inside the cup.

In addition, one should occasionally clean the nozzle cap during the airbrush painting with a Q-Tip with Vallejo Cleaner to prevent clogging.
In order to reduce the risk of clogging during longer airbrushing, one could also add a drop of Vallejo Drying Retarder, which will delay the drying of the paint a little. For this reason, Retarder is more likely to be used for wet-on-wet techniques with Vallejo Model Color with a normal brush on the pallet, which should also reduce the skin formation on the pallet.

Then Vallejo also still offers the medium Flow Improver, by which the flow properties of their paints Model Air and Game Air is improved with just a few drops. This medium also ensures that the paint adheres less to the needle when spraying or that the drying of the paint on the needle is delayed, which is particularly recommended for airbrush guns with a nozzle size < 0,3 mm.

So far so good. In order to find out why the Vallejo paints in my test airbrushing of the IT-dummy led to the gun being clogged, it was necessary to test the sprayability of the paints again with the Drop method.

And as one can easily see in the following image, the diameter of the color dots were both in the used Model Air (71.077), on the right in the picture, and especially in the Model Color (70.981), on the left in the pic, below the minimum diameter of 11 mm required for sprayability, which is why I need not be surprised about the clogging of the gun.



Then I also tested my other Vallejo paints, which has led to similar negative results.



Therefore I have to dilute my colors before the next airbrush by adding Vallejo Thinner and a few drops Flow Improver so that the diameter of the color dots is in the range of 11 - 14 mm, which hopefully will make them better sprayable than before.

[Saturn V]

@spacerunner please read my pm. Thanks

[spacerunner]

Look at my answer.

[Saturn V]

Thanks look my answer again!!

[spacerunner]

Let's continue this discussion via PM, there you will find my answer.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

Shit happens!

Unfortunately at the beginning of the week I had a stupid accident in our garden, from which I still have to recover ...

At our house, in front of a window in a basement room, there is an approx. 1,5 m deep circular light shaft with boulders lying on top of each other, in which I was fumbling about the roses there.

When climbing out, I had apparently not got enough swing with my left leg at the last step from the narrow rock edge upwards and therefore did not get past my body's center of gravity, but fell backwards into the shaft, especially since I could not hold on nowhere ...



At that moment only a flash of thought shot through my head ... Now it's going downwards ... Holy shit!!!
Doing so I must have somehow fallen onto the left upper arm/chest/wrist, but luckily I did not ram my head against something ...

After I had arduously bobbed myself up, I felt pain on my wrist, which was rather scratched by the steel bracelet of the watch, and in the upper left chest area, as I had got to know it painfully years ago when I had a bruised rib ...

After recovering from the first horrors, I've got more momentum on the second try and was happy when I was atop again. Only then I've noticed that I had lost my glasses when falling, but luckily they were lying on the floor undamaged (red circle), thank goodness!

This will be a lesson to me, because next time I'm going to put a ladder.

The bad thing about a bruised rib is just that there is nothing one can do about it other than to be careful and preferably not cough, sneeze or laugh out loud ...

But the pain during deep breathing, bending down and lifting, and especially when sleeping, is very uncomfortable because one can hardly turn, which is why I had lost interest in building for now ...
So please be patient, I will get back as soon as possible and then it will continue.

[beckychestney]

OW! Get well soon Manfred!