Sirius Rocketry 1:64 Saturn V Build Thread

[SecondRow]

Next up, the 3.9” is marked off at 10.9” from the front end at 12” from the aft end. The chute shelf (from post 24 and 8 months ago) is inserted bulkhead first through the aft end so the rear of the coupler is at the 12” line.

The instructions say you can use a ruler to push the coupler in and also measure the distance from the end. i found it easier to use my hand to push the coupler in and not worry about the glue seizing. I used the ruler to mark 12” from my fingertip to my forearm and pushed the coupler all the way in until the mark on my arm reached the end of the tube. I don’t think this measurement needs to be exact, so long as the rear of the coupler is at least 12” in for CG purposes. I ended up pushing it in a little past 12”. Here’s the view of the shelf from both ends.

 

[SecondRow]

And here’s the 10.9” mark in the 3.9” tube that I forgot to include in the last post.

 

[SecondRow]

It’s time to glue the motor mount into the 3.9” tube. Lather up the rear of the 3.9” tube, make sure the metal cable passes through the chute shelf bulkhead hole, and line up the reference marks on the 3.9” tube and the large centering ring. Now I’m waiting for it to dry before I fillet the motor mount-tube joint

 

[SecondRow]

Fillet applied.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

That's a might impressive collection in the background. I'm looking forward to watching this come together. So what's the metal tube for, internal launch lug or...?

 

[SecondRow]

That's a might impressive collection in the background. I'm looking forward to watching this come together. So what's the metal tube for, internal launch lug or...?

Thanks. Unfortunately, the dog decided to go tiptoeing through the tulips one day and I haven’t gotten around to regluing the towers. See if you can figure out which tower goes with which rocket.


You are correct. The metal tube is an internal launch lug. However, I don‘t think I’m going to use it. It only allows for three feet of launch rod. I want to put rail buttons on to give the rocket more rail length. Where I’m going to put them and how they will interact with the wraps is the next thing I have to think about (and will probably cost me another couple months ).

 

[SecondRow]

The 3.9”-6” centering ring gets attached at the 10.9” mark made earlier on the 3.9” tube. As you might be able to see, the centering ring is pretty loose around the 3.9” tube. It won’t sit there by itself.

I’m going to shrink the inner diameter to get a better fit by building up the inner portion with some layers of wood glue.


Smoothed out.
I’ll build It up slowly throughout my work day until I get a good fit. If I go too far, I can always sand it down.

 

[SecondRow]

I got the fit tight enough to sit in position. Then, I set the ring on the 10.9” mark and glued it in place. This ring will sit flush with the end of the 6” tube. You can see the ring does not line up with that end when stood next to each other. That’s by design. The aft CR will be recessed about 5/16” from the rear of the 6” tube.

 

[SecondRow]

Before I insert the motor mount/3.9” tube assembly into the 6” tube, I need to figure out where I’m going to put the rail buttons. I don’t want the buttons interfering with the wraps, fairings or tunnels. So I need to map out where everything will go to figure out the best position for the buttons.

To do that, I’m going to skip ahead in the instructions a little bit: get the big tube marked for the wraps and fairings and see where the tunnels will go. Then, I can position the buttons into an open spot on the tube that will not be anywhere near a tunnel or the fairings.

Usually, I put one of my buttons at the rear of the rocket. That will not be possible here as that will mean drilling a hole in one of the rear wraps that go between the fairings, which I don’t want to do. So the lower button will have to go above those rear wraps, which are about 3.5” long. I’m not sure where the upper button will go just yet. According to the instructions, the rocket must be balanced at the top of the interstage wrap. So, I think the top button will go somewhere above that wrap, but I’m not sure how much higher.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

You are correct. The metal tube is an internal launch lug. However, I don‘t think I’m going to use it. It only allows for three feet of launch rod. I want to put rail buttons on to give the rocket more rail length. Where I’m going to put them and how they will interact with the wraps is the next thing I have to think about (and will probably cost me another couple months ).

As a quite inexperienced BAR, I was tickled to find out about buttons as well, though I have yet to employ or convert anything to them. If I'd know about them I would have converted the pad and gone that way from the start.
But why would the internal lug limit you to only 3 ft of launch rod? I built a V2 for my brother-in-law that needed a 3/16" rod which I readily found in 4' lengths - is the internal lug guide terminated at the skirt between the second an third stages? Just curious. One day I hope to build some version of the mighty Saturn V.

 

[SecondRow]

is the internal lug guide terminated at the skirt between the second an third stages?

Just about. The rod will be stopped by the CR I installed in post 38. The third stage transition will sit on top of that CR. It‘s 37 inches from that CR to the rear of the rocket.

 

[SecondRow]

I labeled the outer tube with the wraps and position markings. After studying the decal and wrap guide, I decided that Position IIII will be the best choice for the buttons. There aren’t any major wrap details that the rail will contact. The bottom button will be above the “IIII” decal that will go on the same line, about two inches above the rear wrap, and the top button will be just below the interstage wrap. This will give me 4.5 ft on the rail before the top button clears it.

 

[SecondRow]

Weld nuts for the buttons are installed, and the motor mount/3.9” tube assembly is glued into the 6” tube. I used 30 minute epoxy because the outer tube is phenolic.

Most of the guts of the rocket are done. Now it’s time to start making it look like a Saturn. The next steps are for the lower spacecraft assembly: the service module and LM shroud.

 

[SecondRow]

First, the service module is epoxied to an 8.6” 54mm tube. This tube will serve as the base for the shroud and also for the coupler that will fit into the lower rocket assembly. The tube will also ultimately hold the clay nose weight for the rocket.

 

[SecondRow]

Two blind nuts are epoxied into a 54mm-3.9” ring that will be one end of the coupler, while the other 54mm-3.9” CR gets glued into the coupler. When the epoxy for the nuts cures, I’ll glue that ring into the coupler. The shroud will have to wait for another day.

 

[SecondRow]

The instructions tell me that now is a good point in the assembly to paint the service module in its silver and white scheme. So, now is a good point to start worrying. It’s about to get difficult. the good thing is that the piece is marked to help you know where the mask lines go. It’s still going to be hard for me.

 

[jd2cylman]

Looks like the right person is building this kit. I have no patience for paint anymore. And am too old to learn Monocoat…

 

[SecondRow]

Thanks, man! I really appreciate the compliment. My job affords me the luxury of being able to build rockets during the work day. So I can take it slow. And if I screw something up, I can take a breather knowing I’ll have time to fix it the next day. That helps. Having two kids also helps. I never knew what true patience was before I had them.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Thanks, man! I really appreciate the compliment. My job affords me the luxury of being able to build rockets during the work day. So I can take it slow. And if I screw something up, I can take a breather knowing I’ll have time to fix it the next day. That helps. Having two kids also helps. I never knew what true patience was before I had them.

Try 5...

But yeah, you're doing great. Now's the time to exercise that patience!

 

[dpower]

Nice to see progress on the build, looking good! This is a kit worth spending time on. One sold this spring at auction for $1,130!

FWIW, I put one rail button at the rear CR, on the wrap, and one 14" higher. Flown on I284 through J420 motors, with J350 probably my favorite. An option for the SM is Bare-Metal foil, it lays down nicely over all the rivets and panel lines.

 

[AfterBurners]

Not quite a year, but significantly more than a week. I really hate sanding.

Anyway, the CWF filled in the deep grooves nicely. Now I can move on a little bit before the next step that slows me down. View attachment 472616View attachment 472618

Take your time. You are doing a nice job on this build. It's really looking good so far! Stay with it and don't rush it.

 

[SecondRow]

FWIW, I put one rail button at the rear CR, on the wrap, and one 14" higher.

Mine are about 14” apart, too, just shifted up a little bit. It’s good to know you haven’t had any issues.

An option for the SM is Bare-Metal foil, it lays down nicely over all the rivets and panel lines.

I thought about metal foil, but I’ve never used it before. I wasn’t sure if it would lay well over some of those raised portions.

 

[SecondRow]

Someone mentioned that they hate when a build thread starts but then never gets finished. Don’t subscribe to this thread if that’s you!

Let’s see….eight months since the last time I worked on this build. That’s the same length as my last pause. At least I’m consistent. It’s been about a year and a half since I started this beast. It’ll get done (I look at it every day in my office), but my kids might be in college by then.

Back to it, then. I decided on paint for the SM, no foil. Just white paint, mask, then silver. Here’s the white:


I spent most of the day carefully masking and cutting the lines with my hobby knife. The piece has lines that make it easier to see where to make the cuts. That and Tamiya tape has me feeling confident I’ll get clean lines (plus a shot of white before the silver to lock the tape in).

The pics do not do my tape job justice. I swear they’re cleaner in real life!

So how did it turn out? We’ll have to find out tomorrow. I spent half the day getting the mask right (the other half working), now it’s dark and rainy here. I’ll hit it with the silver as soon as it stops raining tomorrow and post the results. Then, I hope to get the next couple steps done a little more quickly.

 

[SecondRow]

It’s going to need some touch ups with a paint pen, but I’m pleased with it so far. No bleed through, but some of the silver paint got picked up when I lifted the tape. And that silver section that’s supposed to be between radiator panels 2 and 3 (from the top) didn’t turn out so great. A paint pen with a very fine tip should be able to take care of that.

But that’s all minor stuff. It looks pretty good even from about 2-3 feet away.

 

[SecondRow]

The Lunar Module shroud is next. I cut it from the styrene sheet and glued it to a cardstock backing. It was only after I started curling it that I remembered to take a picture. That’s why my hand is holding it down:

I taped it to the table, lined it up and glued a backing tab of cardstock to attach it together.

And here it is glued in place beer the SM. The coupler from post #45 is glued in underneath to hold everything together. This will be the separation point of the rocket. The 54mm tube that runs through the structure will hold the nose weight. Next up is the instrument unit wrap.

 

[SecondRow]

The instrument unit serves as the shoulder of the nose cone. So it needs to bonded well to the coupler. It goes immediately underneath the LM shroud. I had to hold it down for the picture. 20 years of being curled up in a tube did a number on it.

Such great detail on it. I haven’t yet figured out the masking pattern for it. On smaller models (the Estes version), this panel is usually painted all black. But with the greater detail, there are a number of white spots.

 

[jd2cylman]

The instrument unit serves as the shoulder of the nose cone. So it needs to bonded well to the coupler. It goes immediately underneath the LM shroud. I had to hold it down for the picture. 20 years of being curled up in a tube did a number on it.
View attachment 509907View attachment 509908
Such great detail on it. I haven’t yet figured out the masking pattern for it. On smaller models (the Estes version), this panel is usually painted all black. But with the greater detail, there are a number of white spots.

I wonder why it spent 20 years rolled up...
Sorry.

 

[SecondRow]

I wonder why it spent 20 years rolled up...
Sorry.

No worries. I think I can make do. I think I said this before, but the kit was in remarkably excellent shape.

Like it had never been touched.

 

[mikec]

Looks great. This kit is an interesting contrast to the Apogee 1/70th Saturn V, which has a lot more vacuform, maybe too much. The Sirius resin fin fairings look a lot more robust, for example.

 

[SecondRow]

Looks great. This kit is an interesting contrast to the Apogee 1/70th Saturn V, which has a lot more vacuform, maybe too much. The Sirius resin fin fairings look a lot more robust, for example.

The current version of the Sirius kit has more vacuform that mine does. He switched to vacuform wraps sometime after my kit was produced. Although, I’m pretty sure the fairings are still resin