Soyuz 1/50 build

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So after a long break on this project (been focusing on a new 3D printer), things have started moving rely quick and i am now aiming for a launch in 2 weeks (16/17th sept), so lots of photos to follow.

Firstly, the four side boosters have now been assembled, the transitions glued in place and the card stock painted in CA as with the previous transitions, slots have been cut for the mounting hooks to the main booster and reinforced with more card stock. The boosters surface was then filled and sanded to smooth out all the seams and any other blemishes, the tiny fins have been added in balsa, and then they have all been primed, sanded and reprimed ready for the actual paint.

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Meanwhile i have started paining the nose cones

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A lot of detailing work on the main booster has been done as well as figuring out the hooks for the side booster. detailing wise, the grid fins have been glued on and all of the seams and other features sanded down, smoothed, and filled where necessary.

The hooks for the side boosters have been my main concern/ challenge for a while. Originally i was going to use hooks made from thin ply wood glued to the booster, these i realised very quickly were very weak and could be easily snapped of, exactly what i didn't want. the 2 options i came up with were to make the hooks from ply but cut slots in the body to mount them through wall to the motor tube, the second choice was 3D print new hooks. I went with the 3D printing route, as although it requires a bulkier design that does impact the look a little, the hooks are very strong, and they could be combined into a fin can and launch lug.

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So time for some paint and a few more details, i started from the top and worked down.

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at this point its getting rely exiting, a little colour rely transforms the rocket, its gonna look great i hope!

With the top of the main stage painted, i moved onto the retainers for the side booster nose cones, again 3D printed.

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So thats where we are at, the nose cone retainers are currently drying, so i will probably update again tomorrow with a little more paint and maybe all 4 side boosters mounted!
 
Do you have any interest in making the 3D models available? I'd love to have a go at something similar to this!

Yes, i plan to make every 3D model available on thingiverse as soon as i have finished the build, and finalised a couple of parts that i have yet to include.
 
So its been raining for most of the last week which has slowed things down a little, finally though i have had a chance to get some more painting done, and a few other bits and bobs.

The core stage has now been painted fully, ready for clear coat, along with the 4 boosters.

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After a chat with PieroAcme who built the soyuz in the video that inspired this build, i decided to increase the size of the tiny fins on the boosters to help a little with the cp and improve stability.

The next task has been making the locks that will hold the boosters in place during the first phase of the launch, again i went down the 3D printing route.

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So here she is, for the first time with all four boosters on
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Cant describe how exiting it is to see the rocket at this stage.

The remaining jobs for completion are, painting the central first stage, clear coating the boosters, decals (not looking forward to this bit), maybe making some mock nozzles, nose weight and recovery gear, and that will be it, with 7 days to go.
 
... maybe making some mock nozzles...

That would be really cool, on an already awesome looking rocket, kind of like the static display Saturn V nozzles. Could you 3D print them?

A good companion to this rocket for your next project: the Saturn 1B in the same scale. (you know, as a commemoration of ASTP)
 
Thanks for all the praise everyone

Fantastic work! I love the Russian design aesthetic and you're doing a really good job.

I am a massive SpaceX fan boy, however design wise the falcon 9 is rather plain, the Russian rockets in general have a design aesthetic i rely appreciate. Launch wise as well, when the Woyuz drops its side boosters it rely is spectacular. One of the big aims for this build was to achieve that staging, I will be happy if that works even if everything else goes wrong.
 
That would be really cool, on an already awesome looking rocket, kind of like the static display Saturn V nozzles. Could you 3D print them?

A good companion to this rocket for your next project: the Saturn 1B in the same scale. (you know, as a commemoration of ASTP)

I had a go at designing some nozzles to print, however getting the sizing and shape right was quite challenging, I didnt have the time to do a couple of iterations for this build so decided to go with cardstock mock nozzles. i would like to give printing some a go in the future as the card ones were rely fiddly. My only concern with 3D printed mock nozzles would be there proximity to the actual nozzle, they might get a bit melty.
 
So everything has been painted now and clear coated. Aluminium panel sections have been made using aluminium plumbers tape which looks great and is rely easy to apply.

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The next challenge was the mock nozzles, They were made from card stock, then soaked in ca glue once glued in place. Without any hesitation, these were the hardest, most fiddly and enraging part of the whole build to make, they are not perfectly symmetrical, however after hours of pain, they are as good as i could get them without going mad (in the future i will definitely be looking to find a better way to do this). Anyway they dont look to bad and I think they add to the build. i left the central motor without any as I was to frustrated to try and they wont be seen from the launch pad.

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A few other things have been done now as well, streamers have been made for the 4 side boosters out of mylar, I have a terrible personal record with parachutes in narrow tubes so gonna give streamers a chance. I have also drilled out the main nose cone to allow for some lead to be dropped in as nose weight and to anchor a loop of shock cord.

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remaining jobs now are the main parachute and harness, decals, and spider launching system.

Currently i am attempting to print a spider ignition system designed on this system, https://meatballrocketry.com/pvc-spider/ and will updated once its printed and tested
 
I was thinking of removable nozzles that would slide into each engine mount for display only, but the way you did this looks way better and you can fly with them. Hopefully the engine will stick out just enough to hit the ground first. Good call on the Aluminum tape, the bottom base areas will collect heat with all those engines and not much air cooling.
 
That would be really cool, on an already awesome looking rocket, kind of like the static display Saturn V nozzles. Could you 3D print them?

A good companion to this rocket for your next project: the Saturn 1B in the same scale. (you know, as a commemoration of ASTP)

Especially cool since a 1/50 Saturn 1B is about 6ft tall & 6" in diameter...
 
Especially cool since a 1/50 Saturn 1B is about 6ft tall & 6" in diameter...

So, I didn't fully think that through, but that is near the size of the (5.6" dia) Apogee 1/70 scale Saturn V... so not totally out of the question, but a large undertaking nonetheless.
 
Don't think i am quite ready to do a 6ft build, although sticking with the Russian rocket theme, the N1 might be quite impressive. Although is it wise to build a rocket responsible for one of the largest non nuclear explosions and never making it to space? might be like calling your boat Titanic? I need to see the Soyuz fly successfully before committing to the next build!
 
Don't think i am quite ready to do a 6ft build, although sticking with the Russian rocket theme, the N1 might be quite impressive. Although is it wise to build a rocket responsible for one of the largest non nuclear explosions and never making it to space? might be like calling your boat Titanic? I need to see the Soyuz fly successfully before committing to the next build!
Ok, now I want to see a 1:50 N1...

Sent from my LGL44VL using Rocketry Forum mobile app
 
Don't think i am quite ready to do a 6ft build, although sticking with the Russian rocket theme, the N1 might be quite impressive. Although is it wise to build a rocket responsible for one of the largest non nuclear explosions and never making it to space? might be like calling your boat Titanic? I need to see the Soyuz fly successfully before committing to the next build!

A proton in the same scale as the Soyuz would be fun!
 
So today I made and added the decals for the Soyuz, I had been dreading this as I have very little experience using decals and have never made any. Turns out i was worried about nothing and the whole process was fairly easy. I used clear or white decal paper based on the background of the logos, their location and whether they contained any white. Once sized, i printed a test sheet on plane paper to check the sizing then printed the decals using the highest quality settings for photos and the settings for glossy photo paper. They came out great, so i then sealed them using 3 thin coats of clear coat. once dry they were cut out, soaked in hot water with a little white glue for about 10 seconds, then applied. any excess water was wiped of with a sponge and left to dry.

The end result is brilliant, they need a clear coat still, but I will leave them to dry out fully overnight first.

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The only major remaining part of this project is the ignitions system. With the weight of the rocket i rely cant afford a single failed motor ignition, so i would like to avoid wire clips and 5 ignitors if i can, especially estes ones. I have been designing a mostly 3D printed spider ignitor and tested version 1 yesterday.

The ignitor appears to have worked successfully, with a plume coming out of all 5 nozzles and successfully ignited a motor i put over the central nozzle. The ignition system took no damage in the test which is excellent, other than to some aluminium tape i lined and capped it with, with no melting or breakage.

All was not perfect however due to failings of my own design, the twist lock cap did not seal well with the main body resulting in a large pressure leak through the base of the igniter, wasting most of the charge, no damage was done however and i have redesigned the whole system and am reprinting it now, hopefully to stop this problem.

I would like to test the ignitor at night however to see the flames if possible to confirm all is working as intended, also I have no idea how much pyrodex is to much or to little for this task, what i used for the first test i think was probably a bit much.

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More will follow tomorrow when i have finished version 2.
 
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