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Revell 1/144 Launch Tower and Shuttle (04911); Long term review....it IS big !
Topic Started: Apr 29 2014, 06:42 PM (5,325 Views)
Olde Farte
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
A few years ago I read an article about a chap who uses the tiny magnets on his warplanes to enable loadout swaps, worked very well.
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DH764
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Totally Tonkas Bonkas !!
Another update ......

Forgot to mention about the fit of parts ....the boosters and the main tank went together with no filler required...just sanded the seam lines on one side of the boosters ....the other join is cleverly hidden by raised detail.
Same goes for the launch pad ...just a sand down of the join areas.....a little bit of putty was needed in one corner though.
Now speaking of the launch pad ......
Remember I said about the "supports" that where not the real item ??
Sprue Number 17 , no mention anywhere on the instruction diagrams....honestly sometimes Revell instructions cause more confusion than construction !

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Those are the real items that are on the launch pad ....mentioned in the original releases instructions but not this issue :shrug:

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Dont know the reason why these parts have been replaced in this latest release.
Another difference in the box contents between this and the original is that the launch pad now has caterpillar tracks where the original just sat on four legs which are the other parts on sprue 17.

The tracks have an unsightly seam line running through them but this is easily cleaned up using a scalpel blade.

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Ive now started the Shuttle. Ive recently built this as part of the 747 SCA kit so I knew what to expect....quick build but lots of filler and sanding :yes:
I think the main problem is that this is better designed to be shown with the cargo bay doors open .....a dry fit shows what is needed if you want them in the closed position .....filler....lots of filler !

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The fuselage halves are a fairly decent fit , remember to paint the cockpit area black before adding the front bulkhead (and the cockpit transparency !).
I placed some very thin plastic card along all the seams to stop them popping apart ( a lesson learned from the 747 SCA build ).

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I also found that by adding a plastic card spacer between the cargo bay sides and the side of the fuselage walls made for a more flush fitting of the closed cargo bay doors.

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Adding some thin plastic card along one of the cargo bay door edges is a must do job .....this will give more support to the join when cemented together.

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The filling begins .....

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The wings , which went together with no real problems , where also added along with the rear booster bulges....again a bit of filler was needed here and there..... :grins:

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I know I cant resist can I .....I was pleasantly surprised at the very positive fit of the Shuttle to the support arms on the tank......I used the Astronaut figure to give a sense of scale .

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A bit more sanding than normal is needed for this kit but it is actually a good representation of the Shuttle orbiter .....im quite curious how it compares to Airfixs offering ??

More soon .

Andy
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
Ive got a built airfix in the loft, tbh the airfix shuttle looks and builds better i didnt use any filler
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smeds
Airbrush master
Great build mate.

I have the Monogram 1/72 full stack shuttle. just waiting to find an aerosol orange that I like for the external tank.
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DH764
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Totally Tonkas Bonkas !!
Thanks for the info Mark :cool

Andy.....It must be a BIG kit in 72nd scale.....ask Revell if they will do a 1/72 Launch to go with it :grin:

Ive started to paint the boosters...Vallejo White ....photos soon.

I then started the main course ....stage 1 of the Launch Tower build
And once more a bit of confusion regards the instructions :angry:
The 4 Tower sides are all labelled as part number 1 on the sprue diagram but one is marked as part No2 in stage one of the instructions....I only noticed this AFTER gluing a pair of part number 1 together....thankfully just a mis-print but how many times are we seeing silly mistakes like this in Revell instruction sheets .....a word in the ear of Quality Control is required as its one of those seemingly little gripes that damages a company's reputation. Sorry if I sound very negative but I think Revells instruction sheets need a serious overhaul as they can be confusing , very cramped and quite unclear in cases .....take a look to the Red Box brigade and their sheets for an idea of what they should look like.
OK ...rant over and back to modelling.

The Tower builds up very quickly with surprising ease . I just applied glue along the edges of parts 1 and "2" (sic) and then pressed together.....once again the grid on my cutting mat was used to keep things at 90 degrees. Next thing added were the platform levels , eleven in all.
I found it useful to mark off the number of the part on the instruction sheet I had glued to avoid any mix up of the very similar looking parts (13 to 18).
NOTE .....make sure all the platforms are added to the Tower in the way shown ...ie the opening to the front .
When all the platforms are added the third side of the Tower is added and again the fit was very good . ( I did a dry fit of the fourth side just for curiosity and it literally click fitted into place :clap: )
Heres what I had after around 45 minutes work.

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Thats a 6 inch ruler alongside for scale.
More soon. :grin:

Andy
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
your right it seems more and more often that Revell instructions arnt that clear, ive has similar issues with the b-17, also i think its about time they looked at the boxing of some of these kits aswell

going back to your build, how are you going to paint that tower?
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Olde Farte
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
Where in hell are you going to put this thing, it's ginormouse. Very nice work so far and I love it.
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DevilFish
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LCDR Paul "Voodoo" Carter
Looking good.

I think the weak link in the kit is the Shuttle itself. It seems to be the same kit I built back in the late 70's marketed as the Enterprise and fitted with an ESA laboratory. I always thought the nose looked too long on the Revel l kit. At least it looked wrong to me compared to the Airfix one (I did the Moonraker waaaay back when!)
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DH764
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Totally Tonkas Bonkas !!
Mark .....Ill spray primer then Ill spray it as much as I can then end up hand brushing....its all greys so not too difficult.

Delboy...... I havent a bloody clue at the mo !! Wait till the Misses sees it ! :rolf

Devil Fish... Agree with you about the shuttle being the most work due to the age of it....having the cargo bays closed makeas for a lot of filler and sanding.
Ive not compared it to the Airfix kit but I will have a look at the nose shape when I do :cool:

Andy


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hillstar
Brush Painter
That is so awsome... Can't wait to see more progress on that. Bought that one too, but same thing here; I do not have a clue where I should put it when it will be finished. But I have similar issues with the Airbus A-400M and the B-36 Peacemaker. :rolf So who cares about another space-issue? :whistle
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smeds
Airbrush master
Here's a pic of my full stack shuttle wip. 12" ruler in pic !!

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DevilFish
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LCDR Paul "Voodoo" Carter
At least with this the space it takes up (no pun intended) is vertical, rather than horizontal.....
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Olde Farte
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Lt. Derek 'Smurfy' Reeve
I can just hear my ladies comments if I was to build this, I'd have to put it in the garden and grow things around it. After I've removed it from any of my orifices.
Edited by Olde Farte, May 14 2014, 12:47 PM.
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Mark M
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Hawk T1
i wish they would re-release the ISS
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DH764
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Totally Tonkas Bonkas !!
Wow ....the 1/72 kit is a big beast ....whats the build like Andy ?

Andy
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