Sheri's Saturn V.

neil_w said:

This seems halfway to being a scratchbuild.

Should be impressive when finished either way.

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Exactly my thoughts. It's going precisely that way.

I just received the capsule and tower from Shapeways and am impressed. The capsule on the left is Shapeways, the one on the right is from Sheri's kit.

Shapeways on the left, Sheri's on the right. It's hollow as you can tell so a lot of wight will be added to the inside of this. I might epoxy a tube coupler on the inside so it can slide on and off the SM tube for weight adjustments.

Three piece tower even includes the central support ring molded in it along with the four thruster nozzles. Nice detail again here.

Total package.

What material is that? Are you going to try to smooth it out?

neil_w said:

What material is that? Are you going to try to smooth it out?

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It seems like resin and yes, there is a grainy appearance which will need to be sanded down and primered until smooth.

The RCS nozzles in 1/48th scale.

Steven said:

View attachment 296368 View attachment 296369 The RCS nozzles in 1/48th scale.

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I Tried those they are SUPER flimsy. After I removed them from the tree and went to use them they just snapped of neck of nozzle with very little pressure.

jazzviper1 said:

I Tried those they are SUPER flimsy. After I removed them from the tree and went to use them they just snapped of neck of nozzle with very little pressure.

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They aren't any less flimsy than any styrene pieces I've used. I also use a pair of cutters designed specifically for cutting sprue.

You might contact the manufacturer of the shapeways parts. They may be able to be smoothed with acetone vapor.

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Steven said:

They aren't any less flimsy than any styrene pieces I've used. I also use a pair of cutters designed specifically for cutting sprue.

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Mine broke after being cut and glued into the housing.
In order to finish my rocket I had buy. 1 48 scale command and service module from Dragon just for the rcs system

jazzviper1 said:

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Mine broke after being cut and glued into the housing.
In order to finish my rocket I had buy. 1 48 scale command and service module from Dragon just for the rcs system

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I understand. I've had the RCS nozzles break off of my Apogee and Estes Saturns after installation. These are by nature small, delicate pieces, they break just like the towers.

Rear CR is now epoxied in place.

The CM with a tube coupler epoxied in place. Slides in and out of the SM tube.

After giving this much thought I had decided to glass the tower and capsule assembly. So far, so good. I've used Z-Poxy thinned with denatured alcohol in a 1 + 1 + 1 ratio. I've used this stuff on my 1/9th scale B-17G with excellent results. Here is the upper tower needing some sanding after application of the cloth and resin:

I use this mixed with denatured alcohol and and apply it on 3/4 oz. fiberglass cloth.

Just mix it up. Has the consistency of water.

Here I'm glassing the upper skirt. Now it needs sanding and then primer to see where things stand. Either automotive filler and/or another coat of resin. This sands quite easily, just make sure you wear a mask when doing so!

Before... and after resin application only (no cloth). Next will be sanding and then primer etc.

Steven said:

View attachment 297739 Before...View attachment 297740 and after resin application only (no cloth). Next will be sanding and then primer etc.

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Very nice work!!:clap:!

I just got Z-poxy last time I was ordering epoxies, and have yet to try it, but you have given me the inspiration I needed.
Now I need to get some denatured alcohol.
I've never thinned epoxy before, but I'll try a test of your 1:1:1 mix on something. I need to do the lightest of glassing on a few things, and this way sounds like just the ticket!

TopRamen said:

Very nice work!!:clap:!

I just got Z-poxy last time I was ordering epoxies, and have yet to try it, but you have given me the inspiration I needed.
Now I need to get some denatured alcohol.
I've never thinned epoxy before, but I'll try a test of your 1:1:1 mix on something. I need to do the lightest of glassing on a few things, and this way sounds like just the ticket!

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Z-Poxy is NOT a structural epoxy as I call it but a laminating epoxy. I wouldn't use it in place of regular epoxy. It's the only time I ever thin epoxy is for using this product for glassing. Is weight critical on your project? If it is, after you apply the first coat use a plastic scraper or old credit card to "squeegee" the excess off. If it's on a difficult surface, (something that a card or similar might be awkward in using) just use paper towels to blot up the excess. And yes use rubber gloves as this process can get messy pretty quick.

Steven said:

Z-Poxy is NOT a structural epoxy as I call it but a laminating epoxy. I wouldn't use it in place of regular epoxy. It's the only time I ever thin epoxy is for using this product for glassing. Is weight critical on your project? If it is, after you apply the first coat use a plastic scraper or old credit card to "squeegee" the excess off. If it's on a difficult surface, (something that a card or similar might be awkward in using) just use paper towels to blot up the excess. And yes use rubber gloves as this process can get messy pretty quick.

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Sorry for the misunderstanding.
Weight is sort of critical on the particular rocket I was thinking of, as it is made primarily of glassed foam components.
I glass things regularly, so I'm familiar with the standard practices of using it as a structural component, but I assumed that you were using it to enhance strength of your components. I like .75oz and 1.25 oz. stuff normally, as I do low and mid-power stuff only.
I'm definitely not a weight nazi, as I only care that it flies safely, and prefer low and slow since there are no really big fields around to fly in. I don't really even care much for flying, but more so the building.
Anyhow, If it is no good for strength when used like that, then I won't bother trying it thinned.
I would never use anything other than Nitrile Gloves when handling things like Epoxy myself, but if you feel that rubber is up to the task, then that's up to you to figure out.

Thinning it out does not reduce the strength it simply increases the flow. The capsule received only resin while the tower has the cloth and resin. In any case the resin was thinned for flow ability. It has given my B-17G a rock hard surface that sheeted balsa alone would have been an open door towards hanger rash.

A progression of the untouched capsule, then with resin only on it, then after first coat of primer and sanding with 220 grit dry. From here I will probably do just a bit more sanding before using spot putty on the low (darker) areas.

This is the stuff I use for spot filling. What I like most about it is it's ability to sand easily. Always a key factor. I used this on my B-17G and two Kavan Jet Ranger fuselages with excellent results.

This is pretty much the only area that needed filling. It drys very quickly and ready to sand in fifteen to twenty minutes. This DOES have a very short working time so take note. About four minutes and it already dried to the touch though with some tackiness (not much). I could mash my thumb into the puddle and not leave a print. You know how these things go, it always looks like a mess when going through the process of sanding and filling till you reach the end result, a beautiful paint job!

Getting there.

After second coat of primer but yet to sand. Sanding will now be done with 400 grit wet from this point on.

Third stage tube and base ring.