(Why did I type 2023?)
It's a good representation of the Space Shuttle.
I was happy with the top wing gray wing masks.
The face card shows the gray as more of a blue-gray color. The mid-gray paint I picked matched the gray in the decals.
The OMS pods certainly look better than the Centuri "profile" fins did.
I know - the underside is just black!
The tiles on the bottom of the real Shuttle are a mottled gray.
To see the Centuri Shuttle instructions, go to the Meatball Rocketry website: CLICK HERE
Both versions had their high and low points.
I wish the back end had a removeable display nozzle plate like the Centuri kit. The Centuri Shuttle re-used the nozzles from their Quasar kit.
The Estes Kit used balsa for the wing and rudder. Centuri used thick die-cut cardstock and peel and stick decals.
Both versions used the triangular rudder cardstock piece.
I don't think this nose cone was used in any other Estes kit.
The canopy in the Estes version was molded in. The Centuri kit had a vacu-formed piece that was glued onto the molded nose cone.
Very nice result. I don't think I could have made it through all that masking without going crazy.
ReplyDeleteHi Neil,
DeleteYep, it was tough one. I'm happy enough the way it is.
Beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteOne useless bit of trivia: The shuttles' wing markings changed in later years and the US flag was moved. If you visit the Atlantis display at KSC, you can still just barely see the stars of the original flag on the left wing.
Imagine if a hard-core modeler built one of these and replicated the tile pattern and oxidation marks!
Hi Lonnie,
DeleteI thought there had been some changes to the markings. I went with the positions shown on the face card.
The Dr. Zooch Space Shuttle kit had a bottom of the wing cover that was printed to show tiles that had been through a few re-entrys. It added an interesting look to the finished model.
This looks really great, Chris. The Estes Space Shuttle Columbia has always been one of my favorites, not least because it's the oldest remaining rocket of my fleet (so old that it was built by my parents when I was about 5 or 6). See http://meatballrocketry.com/wp-content/gallery/sport_models/misc/estes_columbia_current.jpg
ReplyDelete