Jay Chladek
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2019
- Messages
- 68
- Reaction score
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The Saturn 1B showed up today. Here is a brief in box review and initial thoughts:
1. The rocket out of the box represents Saturn 1B SA-206, which flew on mission Skylab 2 (Conrad, Kerwin, Weitz). The decal sheet though except for the 206 number can be used to build a booster with the black fuel tanks (such as Apollo 7) in a photo below, I show an image of the decal sheet (left) next a sheet from the 1994 issue (right). The fonts look a little different so I need to see which one is more accurate.
2. The blow molded SLA cone is back. BUT... the cone is not the same as the one in the Saturn V. Reason being is the diameter of the S-IVB tube is ever so slightly bigger than the Saturn V one. This goes back to the original Centuri issue of the kit. The new cone has more detailing on it which is accurate to the diagrams I have. Now if somebody sands down the coupler section of the SLA cone, I believe it can be used with a Saturn V. The outermost diameters of both cones look to be the same. Reason being is the Saturn Vs S-IVB tube on the #1969 kit has a full tube vaccuform wrap which gives it about the same diameter as the Saturn 1B tube.
3. The wraps are based on the old Centuri ones, but are all new. Detailing is better with ullage and separation motors, plus the APS fairings being accurate to the 1B references. I took a set of David Weeks Saturn 1B plans and my built Saturn V and compared them to the wraps in the kit. The Instrument Unit on this one doesn't have all the antenna detail the V has, partly because the S-IVB wrap just covers the raised ribbed areas and isn't also bulking out the rest of the surface of the S-IVB as the V wrap did. But, the antennas that are on the wrap look accurate and missing ones are easier to add than taking extraneous details off.
The tunnel rails, fins, detail pieces and H-1 display engines are injection molded and they all look beautiful! The separation motor fairings on the first stage look bigger than what they did on the earlier issues, but they also look accurate.
4. The transition ring that surrounds the Redstone tank bodies have alignment slots molded in and the fins have alignment tabs. The fins are one-piece and as before are about 30% over scale to give the rocket stability during flight. There is an alignment jig, but I can't tell if it put a slight angle into the fins to produce a spin like the previous 1/100 kits did.
5. The plastic capsule with LES is the same as the #1969 kit. Detail can be added to it as I did with mine on the Apollo Saturn V.
6. The once die cut parts are now laser cut and look about the same as before.
Conclusion: I really like what I see. The tweaks Estes did they did not have to do. But they are most welcome. This model also looks to be a lot easier to build and it can be built quickly. I hope to start building mine this weekend. Built out of the box this rocket can both look and fly great. But if time is taken to add a few tweaks here and there, then this model can be made into something extra special.
One recommendation I have, especially if you also plan to get the Skylab Saturn V is to head over to CultTVmanshop.com and order the 1/96 Apollo Saturn V decal set. The Saturn V specific markings can be used on the Skylab Saturn V and the separate Apollo CSM decal sheet can be used to detail up the CSM in the Saturn 1B. Plus there are some decals on the S-IVB that won't be used for the Skylab at all which can be used on this kit. Both of your rocket models will end up looking more accurate as a result.
https://www.culttvmanshop.com/Saturn-VApollo-196-scale-bundle_p_896.html
1. The rocket out of the box represents Saturn 1B SA-206, which flew on mission Skylab 2 (Conrad, Kerwin, Weitz). The decal sheet though except for the 206 number can be used to build a booster with the black fuel tanks (such as Apollo 7) in a photo below, I show an image of the decal sheet (left) next a sheet from the 1994 issue (right). The fonts look a little different so I need to see which one is more accurate.
2. The blow molded SLA cone is back. BUT... the cone is not the same as the one in the Saturn V. Reason being is the diameter of the S-IVB tube is ever so slightly bigger than the Saturn V one. This goes back to the original Centuri issue of the kit. The new cone has more detailing on it which is accurate to the diagrams I have. Now if somebody sands down the coupler section of the SLA cone, I believe it can be used with a Saturn V. The outermost diameters of both cones look to be the same. Reason being is the Saturn Vs S-IVB tube on the #1969 kit has a full tube vaccuform wrap which gives it about the same diameter as the Saturn 1B tube.
3. The wraps are based on the old Centuri ones, but are all new. Detailing is better with ullage and separation motors, plus the APS fairings being accurate to the 1B references. I took a set of David Weeks Saturn 1B plans and my built Saturn V and compared them to the wraps in the kit. The Instrument Unit on this one doesn't have all the antenna detail the V has, partly because the S-IVB wrap just covers the raised ribbed areas and isn't also bulking out the rest of the surface of the S-IVB as the V wrap did. But, the antennas that are on the wrap look accurate and missing ones are easier to add than taking extraneous details off.
The tunnel rails, fins, detail pieces and H-1 display engines are injection molded and they all look beautiful! The separation motor fairings on the first stage look bigger than what they did on the earlier issues, but they also look accurate.
4. The transition ring that surrounds the Redstone tank bodies have alignment slots molded in and the fins have alignment tabs. The fins are one-piece and as before are about 30% over scale to give the rocket stability during flight. There is an alignment jig, but I can't tell if it put a slight angle into the fins to produce a spin like the previous 1/100 kits did.
5. The plastic capsule with LES is the same as the #1969 kit. Detail can be added to it as I did with mine on the Apollo Saturn V.
6. The once die cut parts are now laser cut and look about the same as before.
Conclusion: I really like what I see. The tweaks Estes did they did not have to do. But they are most welcome. This model also looks to be a lot easier to build and it can be built quickly. I hope to start building mine this weekend. Built out of the box this rocket can both look and fly great. But if time is taken to add a few tweaks here and there, then this model can be made into something extra special.
One recommendation I have, especially if you also plan to get the Skylab Saturn V is to head over to CultTVmanshop.com and order the 1/96 Apollo Saturn V decal set. The Saturn V specific markings can be used on the Skylab Saturn V and the separate Apollo CSM decal sheet can be used to detail up the CSM in the Saturn 1B. Plus there are some decals on the S-IVB that won't be used for the Skylab at all which can be used on this kit. Both of your rocket models will end up looking more accurate as a result.
https://www.culttvmanshop.com/Saturn-VApollo-196-scale-bundle_p_896.html
