Joe Maguire
Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2018
- Messages
- 12
- Reaction score
- 9
I'm looking for suggestions on how I can make lemonade from a self-inflicted lemon, or more accurately, remake a Saturn V that became a highly-detailed lawn dart.
Since they say a rocket is not truly a rocket until you fly it, in mid-September I decided to launch my Estes #1969 Apollo Saturn V that I had built pre-COVID. Because I overbuilt the model to make it more sturdy and used some third-party parts to make it look more realistic, I decided to make its first flight on an Aerotech E20-4 rather than an Estes E15. I had briefly considered going straight to an F motor (one of the changes I made was using a 29 mm tube to accommodate larger engines), but I went with the E20. Bad mistake! As soon as it cleared the launch rod and started arcing over, I knew it was in trouble. The Saturn V as I built it was still too heavy even for the Aerotech motor. The delay was 4 seconds, and the ejection charge fired just before or as the Saturn V went nose-first into the ground. Fortunately, the lower part (S-I and S-II stages) survived intact thanks to the ejection charge firing in time to save that section, but now I face the challenge of rebuilding the upper section.
Although Sirius Rocketry is currently out of stock on the 1:100 LES/CM one-piece resin cast assembly, I found another one on Shapeways that is a bit more expensive but a good substitute. The same source also has a molded Block II Service Module that can replace the Estes plain SM tube (which is actually better than the SM wrap sticker I had used to mimic the silver/aluminum sections and white radiators).
I still have the patterns for the cardboard "base" for the transition between the S-II second stage and S-IV-B third stage that the plastic wrap would cover (the pattern in the Estes kit is a scooch too short/small, which is a known issue, but I found a pattern online that works thanks to Rocketry Forum, and I made a couple of copies just in case I had botched cutting it out the first time). I also can make the upper and lower centering rings for the coupler that attaches to the bottom of that transition that slides into the main body. I believe I can still get decals/stickers from Stickershock for that model (they actually were easier to apply than the Estes decals), so I'm in good shape there. Finally, Estes does sell a replacement LM shroud for the transition from the S-IV-B third stage to the CSM.
This is where my problems begin.
Online, Estes also sold the plastic wraps set for the #1969 kit. While they sell the body tube for the lower part (S-I and S-II stages), they did not offer the body tubes for the S-IV-B and Apollo SM. I sent them two E-mails a week apart inquiring about the availability of the tubes, and they still haven't replied to them. I held off ordering the LM shroud and plastic wraps so as to save postage should the tubes become available. Guess what? In the month that I have been waiting for a reply, that plastic wraps set is now sold out! I fear that since they are no longer selling the #1969 kit (they only have the Skylab Saturn V available now), those wraps are the last of the production run and won't be available again.
So, now I have to figure out how to rebuild or source:
I've looked online for that transition or even the S-IV-B as a 3-D printed part, but I've had no luck, at least in 1:100 scale.
I was thinking that it would be pretty easy for someone to reproduce that coupler via 3-D printing; it's just a straight forward tube, and I can get its inside/outside dimensions and length by measuring the surviving part (which appears to have been undamaged); it might also be possible to salvage the coupler if I cut it out carefully with a hobby knife or my Dremel tool. There might be hope for the S-IV-B tube, too; maybe I could get that "printed" by using the outside diameter of the LM shroud coupler to determine the inside diameter of the tube, and the lip where the LM coupler meets the tube as its outside diameter. I can get the length of the tube by measuring what was crushed and also relying on scale drawings and figuring the length at 1:100 scale (also allowing for the part of the tube that extends down into the coupler).
The tricky part is going to be the wraps. I don't want to just paint the patterns on bare paper or plastic; after all the trouble I went through to upgrade the model with better scale parts, I don't want to go low-tech. I could do it the hard-way and cut/apply stringers to simulate the ribbed metal represented by the wraps; yes, that's tedious, but I suppose I have all winter until my club starts flying again in April. ; ) Another thought I had was to trim salvageable parts of those wraps to be used as a pattern and get those "printed" in 1" or 2" length sections and piece multiple sections together, and then glue antennas, thrusters, etc. to those "wraps."
What other suggestions might you have for replacing or replicating those four items? (Believe me, once I rebuild it, I will weigh it and run a RockSim to estimate what motor I will need. Lesson learned.)
Since they say a rocket is not truly a rocket until you fly it, in mid-September I decided to launch my Estes #1969 Apollo Saturn V that I had built pre-COVID. Because I overbuilt the model to make it more sturdy and used some third-party parts to make it look more realistic, I decided to make its first flight on an Aerotech E20-4 rather than an Estes E15. I had briefly considered going straight to an F motor (one of the changes I made was using a 29 mm tube to accommodate larger engines), but I went with the E20. Bad mistake! As soon as it cleared the launch rod and started arcing over, I knew it was in trouble. The Saturn V as I built it was still too heavy even for the Aerotech motor. The delay was 4 seconds, and the ejection charge fired just before or as the Saturn V went nose-first into the ground. Fortunately, the lower part (S-I and S-II stages) survived intact thanks to the ejection charge firing in time to save that section, but now I face the challenge of rebuilding the upper section.
Although Sirius Rocketry is currently out of stock on the 1:100 LES/CM one-piece resin cast assembly, I found another one on Shapeways that is a bit more expensive but a good substitute. The same source also has a molded Block II Service Module that can replace the Estes plain SM tube (which is actually better than the SM wrap sticker I had used to mimic the silver/aluminum sections and white radiators).
I still have the patterns for the cardboard "base" for the transition between the S-II second stage and S-IV-B third stage that the plastic wrap would cover (the pattern in the Estes kit is a scooch too short/small, which is a known issue, but I found a pattern online that works thanks to Rocketry Forum, and I made a couple of copies just in case I had botched cutting it out the first time). I also can make the upper and lower centering rings for the coupler that attaches to the bottom of that transition that slides into the main body. I believe I can still get decals/stickers from Stickershock for that model (they actually were easier to apply than the Estes decals), so I'm in good shape there. Finally, Estes does sell a replacement LM shroud for the transition from the S-IV-B third stage to the CSM.
This is where my problems begin.
Online, Estes also sold the plastic wraps set for the #1969 kit. While they sell the body tube for the lower part (S-I and S-II stages), they did not offer the body tubes for the S-IV-B and Apollo SM. I sent them two E-mails a week apart inquiring about the availability of the tubes, and they still haven't replied to them. I held off ordering the LM shroud and plastic wraps so as to save postage should the tubes become available. Guess what? In the month that I have been waiting for a reply, that plastic wraps set is now sold out! I fear that since they are no longer selling the #1969 kit (they only have the Skylab Saturn V available now), those wraps are the last of the production run and won't be available again.
So, now I have to figure out how to rebuild or source:
- The body tube for the S-IV-B
- A coupler to fit in the main body
- The plastic wraps for the upper and lower part of the S-IV-B
- The plastic wrap for the S-II to S-IV-B transition
I've looked online for that transition or even the S-IV-B as a 3-D printed part, but I've had no luck, at least in 1:100 scale.
I was thinking that it would be pretty easy for someone to reproduce that coupler via 3-D printing; it's just a straight forward tube, and I can get its inside/outside dimensions and length by measuring the surviving part (which appears to have been undamaged); it might also be possible to salvage the coupler if I cut it out carefully with a hobby knife or my Dremel tool. There might be hope for the S-IV-B tube, too; maybe I could get that "printed" by using the outside diameter of the LM shroud coupler to determine the inside diameter of the tube, and the lip where the LM coupler meets the tube as its outside diameter. I can get the length of the tube by measuring what was crushed and also relying on scale drawings and figuring the length at 1:100 scale (also allowing for the part of the tube that extends down into the coupler).
The tricky part is going to be the wraps. I don't want to just paint the patterns on bare paper or plastic; after all the trouble I went through to upgrade the model with better scale parts, I don't want to go low-tech. I could do it the hard-way and cut/apply stringers to simulate the ribbed metal represented by the wraps; yes, that's tedious, but I suppose I have all winter until my club starts flying again in April. ; ) Another thought I had was to trim salvageable parts of those wraps to be used as a pattern and get those "printed" in 1" or 2" length sections and piece multiple sections together, and then glue antennas, thrusters, etc. to those "wraps."
What other suggestions might you have for replacing or replicating those four items? (Believe me, once I rebuild it, I will weigh it and run a RockSim to estimate what motor I will need. Lesson learned.)
