STS-1 in 1/288th scale

[dhanners]

Here is my build of Alfonso X. Moreno’s model of STS-1. As noted in the other thread, I resized Alfonso’s model from 1/144th to 1/288th; this is my fourth space model in that scale and it seems a good size for my limited amount of display space.

The External Tank was built stock, but I added plumbing and wiring and scratchbuilt the Orbiter Attachment Fittings and other small details. I drybrushed the ET’s surface with white paint to replicate the rough and patchy look of white paint over the spray-on insulation. (The ETs on the first two shuttle flights were painted white. By STS-3, the paint was deemed an unnecessary added weight, giving rise to the orange tanks we saw for the rest of the program.)

The Solid Rocket Boosters were built pretty much stock, except I added joint and stiffening ring detail from thin strips of white and black card. I scratchbuilt the cable tunnel down the sides, and I added detail to the lower skirts, including the structure for the booster hold-down posts, the thermal curtains and the separation motors.

A good amount of scratchbuilding and deviation from Alfonso’s instructions went into building Columbia. I beefed up the payload bay box with strips of balsa to keep it straight and study, and the internal bulkheads were backed with cardboard. The nose involved a lot of work to get it to shape. The rest was built pretty much stock; there is a lot of pre-shaping involved to get a good fit. I beefed up the OMS pods with internal formers, and I also extended the piece that makes up the front of the pod. The kit SSMEs were used stock, but I substituted Alfonso’s one-piece SSME bases for the more detailed (and complex) bases that come with the Fortezza shuttle; it comes at 1/100th scale so the bases were shrunk to fit. These SSMEs actually gimbal.

Alfonso has contributed a lot to our hobby, and it is always a pleasure to build one of his kits. He puts a lot of research into them, and even a Shuttle Freak like me learns a lot from his website.

[elliott]

I like it. Well done David!

[Texman]

Very nicely done. Congrats

[sreinmann]

Wow, that looks great. What an inspiration.

[Jan Kytop]

Great models!

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Looks great, David! Very nice indeed.

[Algebraist]

Great models and tremendous skill to produce them, congratulations David.

Any chance you could expand on your techniques on how you form the complex curved surfaces?

Regards

Kevin

[peter taft]

Originally Posted by Algebraist

Great models and tremendous skill to produce them, congratulations David.

Any chance you could expand on your techniques on how you form the complex curved surfaces?

Regards

Kevin

Ditto. Excellent build.

[beckychestney]

Beautiful execution! Well done!

[Madbrit]

The great thing about a build as excellent as this is that it inspires one to try just that bit harder on whatever one is building or contemplating building. Excellent work, David, congratulations.

Derek