My Favorite Build (so far)

[SecondRow]

I’ve been building rockets for a little over 2 years now and in that time my favorite build has been the OOP 1/100 Estes Saturn IB.

I bought it off a fellow club member. The whole kit fit together perfectly. It was complicated but not difficult. The detailed instructions were easy to understand. Even though the kit was 20+ years old, everything was in great shape including the decals. I kept the mistakes to a minimum, and I think it came out great. It was a very rewarding build.

The rocket is built in five sections. The fin assembly, the first stage fuel tubes, the S-IVB stage, the command module and spacecraft, and the Launch escape tower. These sections are painted first, then put together.



Probably the hardest part of the build, the 8 fins are vacuform like the old version of the 2157 Saturn V. You glue 16 halves together with some styrene strips in between to hold them together. They’re then glued onto the aft body assembly slightly canted. The rocket needs to spin for stability. The eight fuel tubes are painted separately, then glued to a central larger tube which is hidden from view. You then drop the fin assembly onto the tubes. It’s a little nerve wracking getting the painted tubes through the scalloped edges, but they fit just fine.



All the wraps fit great and the second stage is good masking practice for the Saturn V.

The transition and above is exactly like the 1/100 Saturn V. For the command module, I took the pattern available from Chris Michielssen’s blog and cut it from trim monokote. Chris’s pattern was for the Saturn V. The IB was slightly different (according to ROTW), so I made a minor adjustment.

There are display nozzles that fit into the aft end.

It flies on 24mm. I’ve launched it once on a D12-3 to about 400 ft. It flew nice and straight with the spin from the canted fins. No damage upon landing.

And it makes a great matching set with the 1/100 Saturn V!

And that is my favorite build - so far. Feel free to post your favorites here.

 

[Scotty Dog]

Very nice looking rockets.

 

[hcmbanjo]

I'm glad the Command Module pattern worked for you!
Great job on the build.
The 1/100 scale version is actually the old Centuri kit. https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/73cen040.html

When i took the tour with the NARAM group last August we noticed this Saturn 1B on display.
I asked Ellis Langford if Estes was going to re-release it. He said yes but implied "eventually".

 

[SecondRow]

They should, sooner than later. It’s such a great build and flier. I can see why they’d be hesitant, though. There are a couple of specialized parts, such as the second stage wrap and the scalloped fin tube assembly. And I believe some of the body tubes (the second stage maybe) are not standard.

“Very complete step-by-step construction and painting instructions.” No kidding.

Looks like it used to be built with dual 18mm. I wonder if I can get away with a C11-3.

 

[kuririn]

As I understand it, this is a much sought after kit. I saw one on eBay a few weeks ago, it wound up selling in the neighborhood of $200, IIRC.

It is also difficult to clone, since ALL the tubes are specialty sizes: BT-82,58,54,83,67, and 18. And a JT-82 tube coupler. Not to mention the plastic parts.

Consider yourself fortunate to have found a club member willing to sell you his. Score!
(BTW after all that hard work, I would not risk it on a C11 motor. Recommended motor is a D12-5). Cheers.

 

[Glasspack]

I think mine would have to be my original Estes Shadow model...….. I built it in the mid 90's,I know it is a simple kit, but I just love it and always have !
One of its first flights saw the plastic Estes parachute succumb to the ejection gasses from a lack of enough recovery wadding. The impact was hard to watch for me
After the rebuild, the model was slightly longer due to the replacement of a section of the crushed upper airframe. It has flown several times and even has a plastic paint can lid
for a nozzle on the aft end. I will always love the Estes Shadow ……….




Few years ago, after rebuild but before final paint

Current Model
​

 

[Bat-mite]

Great work, SecondRow.

 

[SecondRow]

As I understand it, this is a much sought after kit. I saw one on eBay a few weeks ago, it wound up selling in the neighborhood of $200, IIRC.

It is also difficult to clone, since ALL the tubes are specialty sizes: BT-82,58,54,83,67, and 18. And a JT-82 tube coupler. Not to mention the plastic parts.

Consider yourself fortunate to have found a club member willing to sell you his. Score!
(BTW after all that hard work, I would not risk it on a C11 motor. Recommended motor is a D12-5). Cheers.

Oh, I know I’m lucky. He also sold me a Mercury Atlas. Even though the kits were opened, I had to promise I was going to build them. Which is I want to do anyway. I have no interest in collecting. If I see an interesting kit (or any real space model kit), I want to build and fly it, regardless of collector value.

I was only being half serious about the C11. I just thought if 2 C6’s worked in the Centuri kit, a C11 might in this one. I doubt I’ll ever try it. While the kit recommends a D12-5, the 5 second delay scares me a bit. I flew it on a D12-3 with no problems, and that might be the only motor I’ll use for it in the future.

 

[SecondRow]

I think mine would have to be my original Estes Shadow model...….. I built it in the mid 90's,I know it is a simple kit, but I just love it and always have !
One of its first flights saw the plastic Estes parachute succumb to the ejection gasses from a lack of enough recovery wadding. The impact was hard to watch for me
After the rebuild, the model was slightly longer due to the replacement of a section of the crushed upper airframe. It has flown several times and even has a plastic paint can lid
for a nozzle on the aft end. I will always love the Estes Shadow ……….




Few years ago, after rebuild but before final paint
View attachment 377280

Current Model
View attachment 377281 ​

That’s great. Thanks. At this point, I can’t even imagine being able to keep a rocket for 20+ years.

 

[Alan15578]

I’ve been building rockets for a little over 2 years now and in that time my favorite build has been the OOP 1/100 Estes Saturn IB. View attachment 377080


And that is my favorite build - so far. Feel free to post your favorites here.

Very nice build. I see some gaps in the wraps, some masking lines could have been better, and aft end of the fins could have used a bit more attention. It does not need the fins canted nor roll for stability, but that will not hurt anything.

My Centuri Saturn 1B is one of my favorites. I find the Saturn V too big for ease of transport. I displayed it at the NIRCON Saturn table, and I did not realize how much it had yellowed, until placed side by side with other models. Mine has flown on D12s, a C5-3, and an E20 in Space Systems with a payload.

Alan

 

[SecondRow]

Very nice build. I see some gaps in the wraps, some masking lines could have been better, and aft end of the fins could have used a bit more attention. It does not need the fins canted nor roll for stability, but that will not hurt anything.

Yes, the fins were the most troublesome for me. I could not get a clean mask at the small edges. And they were too small for my fat fingers to lay down a straight line. I still enjoyed the build very much and got a lot of experience which I’ve put to use in later builds. As for the canted fins, I went by the instructions.