Does anybody know of any Saturn 1B Models available? I’m putting the finishing touches on my 1/96 Saturn 5 and would like to find a Saturn 1B in the same scale. I have the men in space set but it is 1/200 scale and not not quite as detailed as the biggies!
Any help would be greatly appreciated![bow][bow][bow][bow][bow]
The only Saturn 1B’s available are in 1/144th scale. Airfix used to make an injection molded one, but it is now out of production. The only one currently made is a mixed media kit from Real-Space Models. You can view their products at: http://www.realspacemodels.com/. BUT I have to warn you - it’s not cheap.
Yeah, I saw that one on Real Space. That’s probably what I’ll have to do. One of the hobby shops here in town has an Estes flying Saturn 1B that he has had for years that looks like it is close to the same scale as the Saturn 5 but I haven’t been able to talk him out of it…yet.
Thanks for the feed back!
If you look hard, Estes model rockets had a Saturn 1B. But I am unsure of the scale. Had rather good detail in the capsule and tower. Just a thought.
The Estes Saturn 1B is 1/70 scale. I have one still in its box (and sorry, it’s not for sale; someday I’ll get around to building it!).
The kit has probably been out of production for 20+ years, so if you can get your hands on one, do it. Mine still has the price tag on it: $15.95! It makes me realize how old I really am[;)].
The Saturn 1B came out at a time when Estes made rockets that were fun and exciting to build, and took some patience and skill. Nowadays, it seems that one just needs to open the box and slap an engine in it, then it’s ready to fly[sigh]. In fairness to Estes, that’s probably what our impatient society wants now.
(By the way, does anyone have an old Estes Gemini Titan they want to part with[swg])
Mark
1/70 scale eh? Thanks for the info Mark! You just had to tease me by letting me know you have what I’m looking for. The 1/144 scale Saturn 1B at Real Space is gonna cost $100! Now I learn there is a Gemini Titan also…Your torturing me now[:(][:(][:(][:(][:(]
If you’re not averse to card, there’s a 1/96th Saturn 1B at
http://www76.pair.com/tjohnson/sat1bm.html. And if you are averse to card, you could always print out the patterns, transfer them to sheet styrene and or tubing, scratchbuild some details, use aftermarket bits and pieces for others (i.e., RealSpace Models excellent 1/96th-scale CSM) and at the end of the day, you’d have a unique model.
If you’re interested, I have a couple of photos of my build-up of the card SA-205, the launch vehicle for Apollo 7, posted in my album at http://www.cardmodels.net/phpbb2/album_personal.php?user_id=370. It should be noted that I modified and accurized the plans quite a bit for my build, and I added a lot of scratchbuilt detail. It’s all card, except for some aluminum foil I used to cover the first-stage rocket nozzles.
I also modified the plans and built SA-210, the Saturn 1B used to launch the American part of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, but I haven’t posted any photos of it yet.
Good luck.
David Hanners
Minneapolis
David,
Thanks for the links. Those are some impressive builds! Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem with card/paper. After all, the Estes kits, with the exception of the capsule and a few other parts, are basically paper products.
Mark
Thanks for the kind words, Mark. Yeah, I’ve gotten over my aversion to card in a big way, and in fact have kind of gotten into that medium, although I haven’t given up plastic. There are “kits” available in card that no plastic or resin manufacturer has touched, and vice versa.
Besides, most launch vehicles are little more than tubes and truncated cones stuck together in the right order. And there are some very dedicated and talented card model designers out there offering some great – and free – models. For example, if you’re wanting to build a decent contemporary Delta rocket and you don’t want to spend a lot of dough, you need to go here:
http://www.lansbergen.net/modelbouw.htm
(The guy has an English site, too…)
Thanks for the info David!!! I had no idea that paper models could have so much detail!
Looks like a challenge…I’m gonna have to give it a try!
If your quick there is one on ebay.co.uk - it was £15 when I looked tonight.
If anyone is looking for one, I have an Estes 1/70 scale Saturn 1B that I am getting ready to put on ebay.
Actually, in addition to the 1/70 scale 1B from estes, their later kit was 1/100, using the same capsule, tower assembly as the Saturn V. If you can find one, it is a very nice kit, with vacumformed stringers, and plastic fin shroud. It is broken down to make painting the complex patterns easier, than on the Saturn V kits. In my opinion, the nicest kit Estes ever produced. Now if they could just re-issue it.