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

[palindrome]

Wouldn't it be easier to just redesign the whole thing and build it yourself?

[spacerunner]

Thanks palindrome for your interest.

This question was asked me already oftener. But as I have said already, for a very simple reason. I have the Revell Launch Tower kit and all five LC39-Detail kits by LVM Studios with lots of nice PE parts, which also will finally produce an impressive Launch pad, even if not everything is to scale.

BTW, scratch building the complete Launch pad is another story and a very tricky matter. Some guys have already tried, also with the support of powerful CAD programs, but to my knowledge, most of them have thrown the towel at some point ...

But that's not my intention.

BTW, the PCR I will completely re-build, because there are too many errors.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

but that is still not enough, during intense viewing of RSS images around the elevator shaft I noticed that Revell has also strongly simplified the shaft.

Best to see is it in this picture of the STS-6. The side wall of the elevator shaft is only at the top of the engine room throughout planar.


Source: NASA

Further down this wall runs from the middle sloopingly forward to the PCR, which can be seen clearly by the changing light/shadow. Maybe it's also angled shortly in front of the wall.

Accordingly, the Revell lift shaft is constructed incorrectly. Therefore, the lower doors sit in the shaft unlike the upper door in the front wall of the machine room probably in these sloping floor walls in front of the local staircase, as I have marked blue in this STS-1 photo.


Source: NASA
This wrong construction of the elevator shaft LVM Studios have taken over in Detail Kit No. 5 and adapted to their stairwell made of PE parts, as can be seen here in the LVM building instructions.



And thus to another Revell error.

In the lower part of the elevator shaft can be seen six inclined floors doors, and even a 7th door at the top in the machine room.


Source: NASA

The Revell lift shaft has there only five floors with associated doors, what LVM has taken over as one can see here in the RSS shell of a friend from the Raumcon Forum by the PE doors and therefore missing apparently a complete floor.


Source: raumfahrer.net (golgi863)
But that's still not the end of the chain of errors, what I'm going to show soon.

[paperengineer]

This Revell kit seems to be more trouble to your accuracy than it's worth. Knowing you, I'm sure you can just build a paper model of the whole thing, although all of those tubes will drain anyone's patience!

[spacerunner]

Thanks PE for your thoughts,
but I want remain faithful to my previous line and will follow my way, even if it is stony.

Maybe that's not been clear enough with the inclined extension of the front wall below the upper cut-out for the angled strut of the support structure.

Therefore, I show here again a picture of the dismantling of the Pad 39B, where you can better see what I mean, because not so much parts are surrounding.


Source: flickr.com (Andrew Scheer)

In my opinion, one can recognize the difference between the position of the upper fully opened and the bottom slightly opened doors in the inclined elevator shaft wall clearly.

And with the help of this photo I have tried to draw in the lift shaft into the RSS shell as it should look like, which then gives a more realistic picture. The doors I've omitted for simplicity.



Now I hope that possible lacks of clarity and doubts could become eliminated, if not, then let me know please.

[spacerunner]

Hi everybody,

with respect to the wrong profiles on the PCR walls it looks a bit more difficult, as one can see from this comparison of Revell's profiles with the reality.

Left the real dimensions and downscaled values (1:168), and right the crazy Revell dimensions.



That's why I have probably to scratch build the complete PCR.

[spacerunner]

Hello everybody,

as if I had known it, it becomes more trickier, now I was almost falling for an error of LVM Studios, because this RSS image of a friend has confused me.



And in this regard I have to correct my post (09/23/15) specifically to the stairwell in front of the elevator shaft, with regard to the number of floors in the Revell kit or LVM Kit, which is why I want to clarify again.

Fact is namely that in the Revell kit no floor is missing, but there is one too much. This was shown by a friend in our German Raumcon forum some time ago (2011) with this photomontage.


Source: raumfahrer.net (Halbtoter)

As one can see, in the lower part the stairwell above the RSS Main Floor there are four floors and in the upper part three, a total of seven floors. Revell (left) has in both parts four floors, a total of eight, and thus one floor too much.

As you can also see, all the Revell floors have the same height, while in reality the upper three floors are each slightly higher than the bottom four.

And now to this stairwell in the LVM Detail Kit No. 5, and a surprising finding. After I had looked at the corresponding PE-parts, I thought so at first still that I had miscounted me, but it was not like that.



To my amazement the stairwell of LVM has only six uniformly high levels above the RSS Main Floor, but that is now clearly one floor too little! Why LVM has solved it in this way and not correctly is not comprehensible as the fact that there are only five doors in the elevator shaft.


Source: LVM Studios

As you can see it, unfortunately, not only Revell had problems with his kit. Now the only question is, whether one is content with this fact and build the LVM kit OOB, or how to deal with it. The Launch Pad no longer becomes true to original.

But since I will rebuild the elevator shaft anyway, maybe I think about a cleverer solution of the stairwell, especially since I already have to adapt the LVM tier floors to the inclined wall.

Time will tell ...

[sreinmann]

I suspect that, as these two manufacturers accepted, it's either all-or-nothing / accurate-or-easy to reengineer and manufacture at a price point the majority of people will pay. I suspect that your best solution will be to scratch build. Based on the road you've taken so far.

I must speak aloud my thoughts thus far "You are a better man than I am Gunga Din!" I have no idea how you will convey to a judge or casual observer just how complex this research has been, prior to ever touching knife to paper.

[spacerunner]

Yep, maybe you're right.
These are a series of issues and problems and I have to think about what I therefrom how can solve, certainly not all, but some definitely.
Unfortunately, most of us don't know this previously, therefore I show all problems and errors so unsparingly, so that everyone knows what awaits him.
Then everyone can decide for themselves what is the best, all or nothing, or something ...

[spacerunner]

Sorry guys,

here at least is the missed last picture.



The other posts with missing pics unfortunately I cannot edit, in order to update the pics, or I had to ask the admins.