I built a 6" Skylab Saturn V a few years ago, and recently got the urge to try the Gemini Titan build. But first, I wanted to see if I could make a reasonable (IMHO) copy of the Gemini spacecraft. With some extra Blue Tube pieces I had, plus a couple of unused 6" centering rings (and a piece of 1.5" I.D. pvc pipe) I made a frame for the spacecraft. The bottom 6" dia. Blue Tube will be the top 5" of the Titan rocket. 6" Blue Tube to 98mm B.T. to 1.9" O.D. pvc to 38mm B.T.
I used an online shroud calculator for the dimensions, and a pivoting yardstick to create the three shrouds from white artboard. I also epoxied one layer of fiberglass cloth and placed it on a mylar sheet to cure. I flipped it over and used the three white shroud templates to cut out corresponding fiberglass pieces which are glass-smooth.
I attached the two larger white artboard shrouds together and reinforced inside with some Blue Tube thin concentric rings, and some hobby wood. I epoxied the white shrouds onto the frame, and then epoxied the fiberglass skins onto the two lower shrouds. The top small shroud was simply the fiberglass shroud with some ever-increasing body tube pieces inside for support. All joints were epoxied together.
Winter has come to Ohio, so I may not be able to spray paint it until spring. Found a 1:24 Gemini decal sheet which will help to add some detail. This nosecone, even without the 6" coupler and bulkhead/eye bolt weighs 2 pounds, and the aft end of the pvc pipe could accept ballast/ epoxy if necessary. The proportions of the spacecraft are really close to the real thing, and the piece is rock-solid.
Building the rocket will happen SLOWLY over the next year, if I can be patient enough. Already have a 6" camouflage-painted V2 ready for a spring launch at Midwest Blast 4 at Three Oaks, MI, so I need to slow down a little- one K or L motor launch a year (so says the checkbook).
Mike Momenee
TRA #12430 L3
I used an online shroud calculator for the dimensions, and a pivoting yardstick to create the three shrouds from white artboard. I also epoxied one layer of fiberglass cloth and placed it on a mylar sheet to cure. I flipped it over and used the three white shroud templates to cut out corresponding fiberglass pieces which are glass-smooth.
I attached the two larger white artboard shrouds together and reinforced inside with some Blue Tube thin concentric rings, and some hobby wood. I epoxied the white shrouds onto the frame, and then epoxied the fiberglass skins onto the two lower shrouds. The top small shroud was simply the fiberglass shroud with some ever-increasing body tube pieces inside for support. All joints were epoxied together.
Winter has come to Ohio, so I may not be able to spray paint it until spring. Found a 1:24 Gemini decal sheet which will help to add some detail. This nosecone, even without the 6" coupler and bulkhead/eye bolt weighs 2 pounds, and the aft end of the pvc pipe could accept ballast/ epoxy if necessary. The proportions of the spacecraft are really close to the real thing, and the piece is rock-solid.
Building the rocket will happen SLOWLY over the next year, if I can be patient enough. Already have a 6" camouflage-painted V2 ready for a spring launch at Midwest Blast 4 at Three Oaks, MI, so I need to slow down a little- one K or L motor launch a year (so says the checkbook).
Mike Momenee
TRA #12430 L3
