timorley
Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2009
- Messages
- 43
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I picked this up off eBay several years ago. It was in pieces in a box of vintage rockets in disrepair I bought.
This is the first version with balsa nose cones and paper cockpits. Anyone familiar with the later version with the plastic nose cones will notice the balsa nose of the orbiter is stubby in comparison, at 1.9 inches. It also had the original instructions in the box. Only things missing are the decals and the rear elevators for the shuttle, I saw them in another auction that had already ended, bummer. The paper elevators for the booster were present, but deteriorated beyond usability. Some other differences between this version and later versions is it doesn't have stabilizer ribs under the wings of the booster, some balsa parts are smaller, and not rounded.
The glue that was used by the original builder to assemble the shuttle had become very brittle with age, and the remaining parts that were still attached popped of the tubes with ease. Overall the parts are not in bad shape for being 47 years old.
This is the first version with balsa nose cones and paper cockpits. Anyone familiar with the later version with the plastic nose cones will notice the balsa nose of the orbiter is stubby in comparison, at 1.9 inches. It also had the original instructions in the box. Only things missing are the decals and the rear elevators for the shuttle, I saw them in another auction that had already ended, bummer. The paper elevators for the booster were present, but deteriorated beyond usability. Some other differences between this version and later versions is it doesn't have stabilizer ribs under the wings of the booster, some balsa parts are smaller, and not rounded.
The glue that was used by the original builder to assemble the shuttle had become very brittle with age, and the remaining parts that were still attached popped of the tubes with ease. Overall the parts are not in bad shape for being 47 years old.
