Sirius Rocketry 1:64 Saturn V Build Thread

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SecondRow

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Ok, background: This kit had been sitting in @jd2cylman's closet for about 20 years. I bought it from him a little under two years ago. Not having much experience in high power at the time, I put it at the bottom of the build pile. Since then, I've gained some more experience building high power rockets and worked on my modeling skills with some level 4 and 5-type low power kits. Now, this beast is getting a bump up to the top of the list.

The Sirius Saturn V has a 6" main tube, stands a little over 5.5' and the only recommended motor is an I-284. Here is everything that came in the box: 99A8243E-C3AF-4417-92DD-195D145678D4.jpeg

A couple things: First, the parts were in remarkably good shape for being in a closet for 20 years. There was only one small broken detail piece and the detail wraps have a twist to them from being curled up in the big tube all this time (you can see that in the picture). Second: holy moly, that's a lot of parts. You get your money's worth with this kit. 11 different rings, 5 different tubes. Almost all the detail parts are resin, including the wraps and S-II/S-IVB interstage shroud. There are fins for flight and more accurate ones for static display. I'll post some close up pictures of some of the parts in a later post. There is some really great detail in this kit.

I noticed on some other build threads that there have been some updates to the kit since it was made. In this kit, the styrene wrap for the LM shroud is blank, and you have to add the details to the sheet yourself. On the newer kits, the wrap has all the detail in place. The detail instruction sheet that indicates where to put each part is at the top left of the picture. I took a flyer and emailed David Miller of Sirius to see if he'd be willing to upgrade the parts in my kit. He was more than happy to help. He also pointed out that he had upgraded the F-1 engines since then, too and would send me the new engines along with updated instructions. I also found out the kit was probably one of the first 12 he ever produced. Really cool! He sent me the new LM shroud, F-1 engines and the detail piece that was broken. He also sent me the new version of the wraps which are now vacuform instead of resin. I think I'll stick with the resin wraps, but now I've got an extra set in case something goes horribly wrong.

Plans for the build and this thread: This will definitely be a slow process. I'm going to take my time with this build. Our club only has 1 or 2 high power launches a year and the next one is in a few weeks. The rocket won't be ready for that, so it won't fly until next year. There's really no deadline, and I'm not in a hurry. I'm going to mostly follow the instructions. I don't plan on making any upgrades. I'm sure the stability on this rocket is close to marginal as is. I still haven't finished my OR simulation and I want to finish it before construction begins. All the paper/wood joints are going to get wood glue. I don't really like working with epoxy for a couple different reasons, so I avoid it when I can. Any other joints will get epoxy, though.

I'll get some close ups of some of the parts in the next couple posts and try to get them up tonight after dinner.
 
Fin fairing, the two types of fins, and some of the different detail parts.
E484F45D-4646-4CFB-924C-0ABCEABC02A1.jpeg

And 20 year old decals, which look to be in pretty good shape. BF062F76-DAF6-48C7-90F0-F55F5113E578.jpeg
 
Looks like that should be fun build.

I have always wondered how the originals are made to create the molds for parts like that. They seem too precise to be hand-carved, but 3D printing didn't exist. How was it done?
 
Looks like that should be fun build.

I have always wondered how the originals are made to create the molds for parts like that. They seem too precise to be hand-carved, but 3D printing didn't exist. How was it done?
Most of the plugs I've seen are built up out of wood & styrene.
 
I built mine, it had the vacu-form wraps, I wound up cutting them too close- but I think it will look fine out on the high power pad. I still need to paint it. Looking forward to watching this build!
 
Hmmmmm, wonder if Santa thinks I’ve been a good enough boy this year............
 
Whatever you do, DON'T use the included elastic shock cord! I destroyed the upper half of my Sirius Saturn V the second time I launched it last summer at Argonia when the top separated after what appeared to be a pretty gentle deployment. I contacted Sirius about getting replacement parts and was encouraged initially, but nothing since then. I really don't think they are planning on selling any more of these going forward, so take good care of it!
 
First up is putting the motor mount together. Here are the parts:
D48723D9-FAC7-442C-91C3-CE07E45830AC.jpeg
That’s a 38mm tube, a 1/2” internal launch lug, two 38mm-6” centering rings, two 38mm-3.9” centering rings, a cable shock cord mount and two blind nuts for motor retention. The nuts have already been epoxied into the rear centering ring. Also pictured and handy is a 1/100” metal ruler. A lot of the dimensions in the instructions are to the hundredth of an inch.

I marked the areas in the tube for the rings. 2F040D3A-BAA8-4252-AA21-F129F926EA13.jpeg

And I glued the rear centering on the tube. 1 fillet so far. I’ll add another one when this one dries.B5D8847D-9FE4-4C93-BE39-7E1EB14EBDC6.jpeg8A7D9E89-E742-4E5C-BC52-6348706E21E9.jpeg

Internal launch lug and forward centering ring will go on next.
 
The metal cable shock cord mount is threaded through the off center holes of the 38mm-3.9” centering rings and then goes around the motor tube. The centering rings are then glued to the tube. image.jpgimage.jpg
 
Here’s the completed motor mount. I need to add some more fillets. C9941102-D77E-4862-A8BD-94EAFF62865E.jpeg
 
Subscribed! Interesting that early wraps were resin, mine had the vacuform wraps. What are the tunnels made from? Oh, and if you make no other mods, I’d recommend adding small wood blocks to the CRs for rail button screws. I’ve not had the courage to fly off a 1/2” rod.
 
Subscribed! Interesting that early wraps were resin, mine had the vacuform wraps. What are the tunnels made from? Oh, and if you make no other mods, I’d recommend adding small wood blocks to the CRs for rail button screws. I’ve not had the courage to fly off a 1/2” rod.
I think you’re right. I don’t really want to fly it off the rod, either. You only get 3’ of rod length and that makes me nervous. David included some buttons in the extra package he sent me. Weld nuts, instead of wood blocks, are my preferred method to hold the button screws.

The tunnels are resin.
DE9FAF2B-F4C1-438C-830E-E96E09118682.jpeg
 
Next up is assembly of the chute shelf. A 2” length is cut off the 3.9” coupler and the parachute bulkhead is attached to it. The shelf will be inserted 12” from the aft end of the 3.9” tube to keep the chute from shifting the CG too far back during flight. The other 4” of the coupler are set aside for later.
E626C9EF-6493-49A6-9586-22A38D796CB5.jpeg9C60F5B9-865B-4BF5-BFCF-08BC4176D400.jpegB3E65952-AA3D-4B29-9F83-56F1A868F8DA.jpeg
 
Spiral filling is next. The 6” tube needs the entire tube to be filled, but the 3.9” tube only needs about 10” or so. The big tube has some deep spirals. Usually I run my finger through the CWF, smear the paste in the grooves and rub it in. It works pretty well on small tubes, but leaves my finger with the dried paste on it. Trying that technique on the big tube and the 3.9” tube would take too long. So I mixed the filler with water and poured the mixture into an Elmer's glue all bottle, the one with the small orange tip. I got a nice bead in the spirals. Now, for my favorite bit —sanding :rolleyes:. This will probably take me a week. 7ECCF9F9-CE80-49BA-AA77-414A84DC37E9.jpeg
 
Sorry - they have been out of stock for quite a while.........

I emailed Dave a few months ago about getting one of these kits. He said he only builds them in batches based on demand. So, if we want him to put together a batch, email him to let him know you are interested so he knows there is enough demand to warrant it. I told him I would take two kits off his hands if he sells more - I would build one stock and another as a cluster. Just got my LOC Saturn V kit in the mail, going to build that with a 5 x 54mm cluster.
 
Now, for my favorite bit —sanding :rolleyes:. This will probably take me a week.
This is the point where I put my builds on the shelf for, oh, a year. Or two.
Not quite a year, but significantly more than a week. :facepalm: 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. 😂 CE7FD0B3-F55D-4CB4-84D0-DE982BDEE484.jpegimage.jpg
 
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