OK, progress report on the Saturn Press Saturn.
I got sidetracked with some work stuff and some other minor diversions, so I had to take a few days off from the build. I did get back to it last night, and got some more work done.
I also got my Dr. Zooch Sat V and read the instructions to that one, to compare the two kits, and in the grand tradition of kitbashing, plan-bashing, idea-stealing and all that, I am proceeding with my build of the Saturn Press Sat V using a few modifications stolen from the Zooch kit to result, I hope, in a better-looking model in the end.
The "Zoochified Saturn Press Edition" if you will.
There are also a few things in the Zooch kit which could be improved upon /stolen from the Saturn Press kit, so the Zooch kit will be the "Saturn Press Style Zooch Edition." Fair enough, if i steal from one, I should steal from the other.
For the Saturn Press edition, these mods will include:
The use of cardstock wraps, properly scaled to size, to simulate the corrugated interstage sections. The "stock version" does not include those ... and it does look fine, but just seems to me to lack something without the corrugations.
I won't reveal where I got these patterns, to avoid an army of vengeful ant-warriors attacking my underground lair (
) but they are somewhat readily available. You just have to do some careful scaling calculations, and tweak it a percentage or two to get them to fit just right.
I considered trying to hand-paint or inscribe the corrugations, and quickly said 'forget it' -- my artistic talents aren't nearly of that caliber. I can only imagine what a mess I'd make of something like that. So if my Saturn V is going to have corrugations, it's going to have to be wraps of some sort.
Another "Zooch" feature I'm using is to use glued string wound arond the exterior of the F-1 engine bells, to simulate the coolant lines molded into the exterior shell of the engines. Instead of the "Funky Glue Putty" recommended by Zooch, I am using air-drying clay I got at the craft store to mold the heat-exchange tubes on the F-1 bells ... I'd describe the results as "fair" ... maybe. When done, i will coat the exterior of the bells with a thin coat of glue, then spray-paint silver.
I would definitely add at this point, if you intend to do any such detail work on the engine bells on this or any other Saturn vehicle, do it BEFORE you glue the bells into the engine mount. I didn't, and as a result it is gonna look a little clunky. It is very very tough to get things shaped just right when you're working in such tiny quarters. Ahh well, live and learn, that's what you get for thinking on the fly.
Now, I haven't started on the Zooch kit, but one thing I can see I will steal from the Saturn Press kit is the construction of the fin fairing units.
Zooch uses a technique where you glue the cardstock fin fairing shrouds to a BT-20 body tube, then cut the fairing units out of the tube, to give you a reinforced curved shape. You cut a slot out of the shroud to allow the fins to pass through. The problem comes with fin attachment - the fins are then glued directly to that about 1"-long triangular body tube cutout.
This IMO is going to result in a very fragile and easily breakable fin joint. The fin joint is going to have only one glue surface, to the cardboard fin fairing unit rather than the main tube - my guess is those fins, and probably the fairing unit itself, will snap off very easily.
My solution is going to be to cut the fins a little longer than the kit pattern - to make them with a fin tab about 1/4 inch long, to allow fin gluing to the body tube of the rocket itself. (I considered going whole hog and going for actual TTW fin construction, but decided that would be overkill. Enough is enough.
)
With the tabs, and the corresponding slot cut in the fairing, the fins will then pass through the fin fairing and have a double-sided glue joint at the pass-through point on the fairing.
This will reinforce both the fin itself, and the fairing as well.. both will be secured by two additional glue joints than the original plans. It should make the fin/fairing assembly much more resistant to snapping off on the slightest rough landing.
(It will probably also add maybe an ounce to the weight of the rocket, so I'll have to doublecheck the CG, but nothing a little nose weight won't fix.)
So anyway, that's where we stand now. Back to the grind... maybe I can get the Saturn Press model done in the next few days. We'll see...