Leo's Saturn V

[Mechanic]

Originally Posted by ReynoldsSlumber

. . . the model would be no good if it buckled when it was picked up!

All the Saturns I have can be very delicate to handle! My latest build of the Alan Rose version is the most delicate, I built it solely by the instructions and parts provided in the booklet. My first Alan Rose, that I built over 30 years ago, seemed almost flimsy, so I added several corrugated cardboard formers. Makes for a lot more places you can comfortably grasp it. Greelt and companies' are mostly stout and easy to handle, but the 'stack' is just that; all the sections are just stacked one upon another. No pins, magnets, twist locks, or friction-fit. If it gets bumped, or is not disassembled carefully, it's coming down like a house of cards. Leo's Saturns are held together with magnets, but due to their sheer weight I wouldn't even attempt to move either of them in one piece. But I'm not so worried about them falling over. I do have to protect all of them from my dogs, though. We puppy-sat a husky once and he managed to knock over Greelt's rocket twice. But only minor damaged.

I accidentally bumped the cabinet that has my Saturn1B on it, hard enough to topple it over right onto the top of two airplanes I had just built. But the only significant damage that occured between the three models was to one of the ullage pods on the S-IV-B stage. It was crushed. But for the most part it was fixable.

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[Paper Kosmonaut]

Impressive model! But that is what I expect from a model designed by Leo Cherkashyn. The shapes are spot on and the details are plenty and well-designed. And the build looks good too.
Only slight disappointment I see is the use of 'just' an ordinary typeface for "USA" and "United States" instead of a font looking more or similar to the actual lettering. It is so iconic.

[dhanners]

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

Impressive model! But that is what I expect from a model designed by Leo Cherkashyn. The shapes are spot on and the details are plenty and well-designed. And the build looks good too.
Only slight disappointment I see is the use of 'just' an ordinary typeface for "USA" and "United States" instead of a font looking more or similar to the actual lettering. It is so iconic.

I would hope Leo had access to the proper fonts. But as Rick Sternbach once told me, one has to keep in mind the three Saturn V stages were built by different contractors who used different fonts and sourced different shades of the same colors for markings. On really good photos, you can see the red in the “USA” of the S-1C and “UNITED STATES” on the S-II are different. In fact, the white is even different.

Some insight: Saturn V Markings - John Duncan

[Mechanic]

Thank you PK. I agree that Leo's models are great, but like I said before, there's inconsistencies on the interior detail. I've never noticed the font being off. I guess they've been close enough for my eye. While I like to be as accurate as reasonable, I'm no rivet-counter. I've always been more concerned about the black and white patterns. I always seem to get some of that detail wrong. Case in point: on Greelts model, I managed to put the instrument section on upside down. Not noticing it until long past the point of being able to correct it.

@dhanners, thanks for the link. There are some really good shots in there, including some great shots of the third stage tank dome.

On with the third stage. The engine difference from the second stage is just a long central tube out the top. The thrust structure/tank bottom is pretty easy, except for placing the three formers. You have to kind of eyeball them into place. I did use a compass and made some light marks to help align them. The bottom former holds the top of the engine stalk in alignment, so some extra care there. I used my little bubble level and a six inch steel ruler to make sure the thrust structure was level before the glue started to set.

The tank dome is similarly easy as the thrust structure. I'm a little curious as to why he (or they?) decided to go with concentric rings for the dome instead of petals this time? I don't know what's up with the pattern on the dome, it doesn't really look right compared to pics online. The body/skin came out well with almost no noticeable ripples. Nice amount of surface details with blisters and fairings and the likes. The artwork on the top former is, I think, supposed to represent the cable tray around the instrument ring. Personally I would have liked some kind of rendition of the instrument ring interior itself and ignore the cable tray instead. I'm tempted to try and scratch one myself, but probably save that for my next build. I'll have to figure out how to place some magnets in order to interface with the payload section. Back to the thrust structure; I got my faux pearls and sanded them down and then hit them with a silver Sharpie. I think I have them in the appropriate diameter, but they won't fit in the location marks, so I moved them up a little higher. Last note, I think the thrust structure could have used a little more detail in the way of a few boxes.

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[adolfocaetnonetto]

Amazing!!! The detail level is extraordinary!

[Mechanic]

I didn't take a whole lot of pics of the payload section, but then there isn't a whole lot to it. The SLA and the CSM separate but the only real interior detail is the CSM bottom/engine bell, and it's pretty stylised. There are the same kind of 'floating' formers in the SLA and the CM as is in the third stage thrust structure that needs to be eye balled. The print detail on the SLA and SM are ok, as is the Boost Protective Cover, though I don't think the BPC is very accurate. It is a Block I article and it's hard to find any clear pictures of the intact cover. I'm pretty sure there was no window for the Lunar Module Pilot. The Launch Escape Tower is almost devoid of any printed details. I used some generic lollipop sticks from a local craft store for the lattice, unrolling them to the proper diameter. On the positive side, everything in this section has fitted very well.

Up to this point the rocket has been sitting on it's engines, but I feel it's already too much weight for the structure provided. So I built the stand (partially built here), taking the weight off the engines and transferring the weight from the skin of the rocket into the stand. I had the perfectly sized piece of 3/4' plywood to start it on.

This wraps up the build for Leo's Saturn V. But I wanted to take it a little bit further. I decided to redo the payload section with jslavicek's (mrm on our site) SLA/CSM, but adding also a LM from U-DON's, and the CM capsule from Surfduke.

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[ReynoldsSlumber]

Impeccable work, especially on the CSM and escape tower detail. Looks better than a plastic model! And that's a very Saturn-worthy display stand, neat I-beam construction.

[dhanners]

WOW! Excellent work.

The Saturn V was an impressive and awe-inspiring feat of engineering. You’ve done it proud.

[Mechanic]

Thanks guys. So even though I wanted to add some more detail, I felt a little compelled to first 'finish' it as designed.

I didn't get a lot of pics for the first added bits as I think this is about where I started having computer issues. As much as I like U-DON's LM I wish it had just a little bit more detail to put it on par with Leo's and mrm's work. Folding the legs under was actually a little more difficult than I anticipated. On the SM's bottom I still used Leo's parts as I didn't need to resize anything.

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[Mechanic]

I assembled the BPC so as to slip over a lip on the CM, no glue. I made the umbilical cover with a small magnet aligned to another magnet on the SM. Since there's not any place to mount a magnet on the BPC, the umbilical cover actually serves to hold the BPC in place.

I didn't get any shots of the SLA assembly. It's just two layers with the inner layer mirror printed to give the inside a little bit of detail. I glued the inner and outer skins and then placed that sandwiched between a couple of old unused SLAs to help keep their form until dry. Then I cut the SLA with a staggered cut so as to make a lip that the upper and lower pieces could slide together, similar to how the SM and BPC fit. I made a slight uboo here, I printed the inner skin of the SLA on a scrap sheet that already had some printing on the backside , and when you pull the upper SLA from the lower SLA it exposes the printing. Not a big deal but a little annoying.

I used a few paper dowels to set the LM into the SLA. The LM encroaches on the third stage, which was expected, but it seems to be a little too much. And on test fit the landing pads do touch the third stage tank dome. But I think this a problem resulting from the tank dome. The cutaway on the instruction sheet shows the tank poking above the interstage/instrument ring, where as I don't think it should to even reach the instrument ring, but I haven't found a drawing that clearly documents this. I don't know how to remedy this, except for the time being I just cut the top of the tank out of the way.

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