THis is intended NOT to be a build thread. Many of us have ordered and are now receiving our Saturn V's for the 7/20 launch. Some of us have started, including me. Why don't we share experiences and ideas so that we can make our builds go smoother and avoid potential disasters.
Here are some of the things I have noticed so far.
The main airframe is THIN... Real thin and before you start marking the tube or filling the spirals I strongly suggest building your motor tube first. Once it is done, install it and make sure all the glue is dry. That way the airframe is supported and is less likely to be damaged.
The motor clip tube fits very snugly onto the clip. I used yellow glue and it grabbed its position before I could slide it down all the way. I suggest using 2-part 5-minute epoxy instead because for the first couple minutes before it starts to set, you can move the tube fairly easily. Instead of having 3-4 seconds, you have about 90.
The instructions do not call for gluing in the forward CR. Poppycock!. It needs to be glued but you have to do it after the motor tube assembly is installed. See next paragraph.
The CR's fit loosely. I used 5-minute epoxy after the issue I had with the motor clip retainer. After the glue sets when you glue the assembly in place, you should go around the CRs with 5-min. epoxy where they meet the airframe both on the forward CR and the aft CR.
Once the motor assembly is in place and additional glue has been added to the CR's, it is a lot easier to mark the airframe.
Finally, I used masking tape to hold the area around the tab that glues the ends of the 3rd stage cone together. I flattened out the connection so the tab got a firm flat position. Here's a photo. Once the glue dries, I should have a pretty good bond.
View attachment 374109
Looking forward to reading other experiences.
