1/400 Super Guppy unloading an SIVb

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Sorry folks, this project is going to go on hold for some time. I have tried 7 or 8 attempts to get the hull as tight and aligned as I wanted it to be but I am getting a little too frustrated at the moment. The fit is just not what I want. I still want to continue but I need to take a break from this thing...

[jimkrauzlis]

No need to apologize, PK, that happens from time to time, and pushing it under that situation gets quite frustrating, and this all stops being fun. We are quite happy you have been sharing your adventures with us, this one included, but we do want you to have as much fun as we are in watching your build.

Take a breather, and when you come back refreshed we will all be waiting to see the magic continue!

Cheers!
Jim

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Thanks for the encouragement, Jim. Sometimes it gets just too much, when you try to get something right and it just won't work with you. At one point I even started thinking I lost the skills. Silly me. The things you think when frustration takes over. /-:
At one point my desk looked like a scrapyard of dismantled Guppies (which gave me an idea for a good name for a band).
However, building models is not just a hobby, to me it is almost an addiction. So, after an afternoon with a grumpy face and an evening with a glass of wine and some good comedy at the BBC, I woke up as a different person this morning (heh heh) and I gave the bugger another try. And lo, it kind of worked. The alignment was better and I even got the front end together.
That's what a night of good sleep can do.
Even the sun is shining! Wahoo!

I still don't know, by the way, what the matter was with the bad fit. I tinkered a bit with the alignment of the red line in Photoshop and that worked a bit, but I also think the thick paper I use is part of the problem. We'll see what that does with the wings. Next up is the tail and stabilo's and then the wings. After that it will be SIVb time and a scratch CLV.

[merzo]

Hi Kosmonaut

Question why it is not trying to fit a strip of red paint repair. The text is in good repair strip discrepancy. Had a similar problem once repaired decorative self-adhesive foil. There is also thin.

Perhaps plastic model sticker? Guppi 1 / 400 is similar in size
1 / 72 of fighter?
Good plan the Diorama

You have a good work ..

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Hi Merzo, I also thought about that. It's the most obvious solution, indeed.
But in the scale I work every strip of paper added to the hull is about 10 cm thick, I think. So, a red band over the misaligned one on the hull itself would be too much. The seams between the different parts already are a bit too thick for my taste. If I would glue a strip over the hull it would accentuate the seams in the hull too much.
I decided to tinker with the hull sections just as long until they had the best fit.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Well, progress has been made. The initial holds with the hull resulted in an acceleration today.
The hinges were done out of cocktail sticks, which I sanded down a bit to flatten one side. The tail section was made by sticking some thicker card in between which was sanded down to almost nothing on the trailing edge. This way the stabilo and the tail still have some body. The nose section got its double chin piece (what is it for?) made of balsa wood and inside I built the entrance to the cabin. On pictures it seemed like a little "hut" inside the giant hull.
The wings were made hollow with the help of another cocktail stick.
And then I saw the tiny parts for the engines and since I already used wood I decided to spend a clothespin to shape the engines. I used my electric hand tool and sanded the shapes out of four little wedges.
Inside them I drilled small holes and inserted brass rods for the main gear.
The nose got its own little wheels.
Here I am now. And that's it for today.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

And oh, by the way, if anyone has more detailed pictures or drawings of this thing, the CLV, I would be very grateful...
(this is what I want my diorama to look like..)

[757rol]

Hi there

I read a lot at this link about the Guppies maybe this can help.

www.allaboutguppys.com

Happy Holidays

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Thanks. I found that site already, it indeed is a wealth of information. Pity the pictures are a bit small, though. There are a couple of good photos of the CLV, but almost all are made from the same angle. I was hoping for some more detailed pics from other angles. The top part for example. Does it have a framework like the levers that lift the top to Guppy-insertion level?
The CLV is still in use albeit not yellow but blue.

EDIT: the thing's called Cargo Lift Trailer, CLT.

[Daedalus]

Absolutely amazing!

I wish I could offer more than just a little encouragement and praise. I'll keep my eyes open though.

The best I could find is this one here:
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-3-4.html