Here is my build of Alfonso X. Moreno’s model of STS-1. Alfonso's model comes in 1/144th scale, but I resized it to 1/288th. (My display space area is limited....) Here are the details:
External Tank
The ET body was built stock, but I added plumbing, wiring, cable trays and scratchbuilt the Orbiter Attachment Fittings and other small details. I drybrushed the ET’s surface with white paint to replicate the rough and patchy look of white paint over the spray-on insulation.
Solid Rocket Boosters
The SRBs were built pretty much stock, except I added joint and stiffening ring detail from thin strips of white and black card. I scratchbuilt the cable tunnel down the sides, and I added detail to the lower skirts, including the structure for the booster hold-down posts, the thermal curtains and the separation motors.
Columbia
A goodly amount of scratchbuilding and deviation from Alfonso’s instructions went into building Columbia. I beefed up the payload bay box with strips of balsa to keep it straight and sturdy, and internal bulkheads were backed with cardboard. The nose involved a lot of shaping and test-fitting to get it to the proper shape. The rest was built pretty much stock; there is a lot of pre-shaping involved to get a good fit. I beefed up the OMS pods with internal bulkheads. The kit SSMEs were used stock, but I substituted Alfonso’s one-piece SSME bases for the more detailed (and complex) bases that come with the MARs Center Fortezza shuttle; it comes at 1/100th scale so the bases were shrunk to fit. These SSMEs actually gimbal.
External Tank
The ET body was built stock, but I added plumbing, wiring, cable trays and scratchbuilt the Orbiter Attachment Fittings and other small details. I drybrushed the ET’s surface with white paint to replicate the rough and patchy look of white paint over the spray-on insulation.
Solid Rocket Boosters
The SRBs were built pretty much stock, except I added joint and stiffening ring detail from thin strips of white and black card. I scratchbuilt the cable tunnel down the sides, and I added detail to the lower skirts, including the structure for the booster hold-down posts, the thermal curtains and the separation motors.
Columbia
A goodly amount of scratchbuilding and deviation from Alfonso’s instructions went into building Columbia. I beefed up the payload bay box with strips of balsa to keep it straight and sturdy, and internal bulkheads were backed with cardboard. The nose involved a lot of shaping and test-fitting to get it to the proper shape. The rest was built pretty much stock; there is a lot of pre-shaping involved to get a good fit. I beefed up the OMS pods with internal bulkheads. The kit SSMEs were used stock, but I substituted Alfonso’s one-piece SSME bases for the more detailed (and complex) bases that come with the MARs Center Fortezza shuttle; it comes at 1/100th scale so the bases were shrunk to fit. These SSMEs actually gimbal.
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