Now that everything else is complete, it’s time to tackle the shuttle. The diorama will represent STS-106. This was Col. Terry Wilcutt’s last mission to space. He is originally from Kentucky.
In an effort to simulate the heat shield tiles and thermal blankets, I am using athletic tape for the thermal blankets, and .005 styrene sheeting for the tiles. Once the sheeting is glued in place, I can easily scribe the tiles.
The athletic tape I’m using has almost no fuzz. Once the tape is in place, and the surrounding areas are masked off, I spray the area with rust oleum universal primer. Once the primer is dry, inner remaining fuzzies can be rubbed off easily with your finger.
Here’s what I have so far.
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That looks so realistic!
Rob
Iwata Padawan
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That is amazing detail you are putting into your shuttle, @Cbowling. What kit is it again?
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Inspiring work. I have the 1/100 Tamiya kit in the stash, so I’m watching this closely!
I’m working on one wing at a time. The hardest part of this process is the leading edge. Everything thing else is not so bad. Now that one edge is done, I can work on putting the thermal blankets on behind the carbon fiber, and cover the rest of the wing with large panels.
I started this project July of last year. I’ll hopefully be done with it before July gets here.
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I was able to make progress today, but not much. The leading edge is completely covered now. I wasn’t happy with the escape hatch. I puttied over it to try again tomorrow. The nose cone was covered with thin strips of polystyrene to make it solid. I puttied it, and will sand it smooth tomorrow
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The top of one wing has been completed. I’ve added detail to the side of the shuttle. (thermal blankets). I’ve got a couple more solid pieces to add to the side to complete it. I’ve also started adding window framing. Even though the windows will be covered, some of the black framing will be visible. I still got some fun tuning to do on the window frames. Once the sad and nose is complete, I’ll add detail to the cargo bay door and the bulges on the back that has reactive thrusters.
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Extremely impressive work !
Steve
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Almost done with this side. It’s taking a lot longer than I wanted. Things I have to do for this side to be completely finished.1. Scribe the tiles around the windows. 2. Make attachment points for the strong arms on the cargo bay doors. 3. Make the hinges for the cargo bay doors. 4. Cover the RCS module on the rear of the shuttle with tiles and thermal blankets. 5. Scribe panels on the side of the Shuttle. (Where there’s .005 sheeting). I’ll just repeat all of these steps on the other side. Once it’s finished, I’ll spray it with the universal primer to lock everything down. Once the primer is completely dry, if there are any fuzzies on the athletic tape, they can be rubbed off wearing a vinyl glove. Thanks for having a look.
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Had some time today to sit down and get some work done. The work that remains. 1. Put the mounts on the cargo bay doors for the strong arms. 2. Wrap the leading edge. 3. Finish the side, and wing. After all that’s done, I’ll spray the entire model with universal white primer, and start detail painting. I can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!
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I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve still got to dirty it up quite a bit. No need to place windows in the cockpit, as they will be covered with protective shields, traveling out to the launchpad. Any criticism or critiques are gladly welcomed.
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Looking great 
Like the color of the bottom tiles.
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The level of detail here is most inspirational! Fantastic work. Can’t wait for the completed dio!
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Wow! Love this, this looks awesome! Great job so far!!
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