Estes Space Shuttle Columbia Build
 

Well, we are in for some wet weather, so I figured it was time to start on another rocket. I just finished watching a documentary on the shuttle so I pulled this kit out to build. I have already built the Mini Shuttle and booster rocket with shuttle. This should be a fun build, and hope to start painting again after X-Mas.

Weather? I thought you lived around San Diego....24/7/365 fun and sun. :p

Looking forward to seeing the build. How many kits are left in your quest to fill the 1979 catalog?

I have one of those, partly built, but missing the nosecone..

don;t suppose anyone has a spare ? lol

~ AL

We are having a wet winter, go figure. I have to paint in the garage, so the temp and humidity has to be just right. Also I have purchased all the rockets from the 1979 catalog that I wand to build. I think there are only 3 or 4 I ended up not buying just because I new I would never build them. I just did an inventory of all my Estes rockets and I am close to 300 vintage and some new kits. My plan is to build everyone before I die, so I hope I live awhile. In the near future I will take some pictures of my collection and post them.

Sorry I don't have a spare shuttle nose. I have one more kit but it is sealed in a package. I will keep my open on Ebay and the thrift stores.

The Space Shuttle is always a great kit,it's iconic. I bought a starter set this summer that's all foam with a booster tube. So I'm at my parent's place in the sticks and the booster got caught in a tree...couldn't shoot it down with a .22 so we cut down a 40-foot birch to get it,undamaged! (use lots of clay in that one). I'm tackling a Master's Series Space Shuttle soon,hope I don't screw it up! That one is probably a Shelf Queen only. Good luck on the build.

That master shuttle kit is a lot of fun. I built it some time back and it was a challenge. The hardest part was the shuttle. Mine came with damaged plastic so I had to use a lot of Testors putty to fix the nose. I did fly it and it flew real nice. The shuttle comes down a little fast, but other than that it is a nice flyer. Here is a link to that build. Hope it helps.
http://forums.rocketshoppe.com/show...t=space+shuttle

I have the balsa all sanded and glued together. This is an older kit so I had some slight depressions and damage to the balsa. I used some thinned Micro-Fill to repair the balsa. The parts fit nice and tight and so far an easy build. I will take a picture in the next few days before I prime the bird. I am going to try to keep the weight down by applying 3 coats of balsa sealer, one coat of grey primer. I will sand the grey down on top where the white goes and sand the grey smooth on the bottom where the black goes. I will then shoot a coat of flat white on the top only , followed by a coat of gloss white. The bottom and trim will be black.

I have the shuttle all built and ready for a coat of grey primer. I sealed all the balsa with 3 coats of Aerogloss balsa sealer and the balsa is grain free. The kit wood is light, almost like contest balsa for model airplanes. I am guessing this was hand picked by Estes at the time to keep the rocket light. I used regular Elmer's white glue for everything except the plastic pods. On those I used tube cement. The paper piece that is inserted in the rudder is not glued in yet. I will glue that in tonight. The weather has put a damper on my painting, as you can tell I still have the Apogee in the background waiting for black fins. This is another fun build from the old Estes, kind of hard to clone because of the nose.

The shuttle is great! I've always wanted to build this. I have the masters shuttle and should build it. Too bad no one has molded an aftermarket nose cone.

Love the Christmas village.

Mark

I am going to the families house for the holidays, so I will be gone until the New Year. Looks like my rockets will have to sit on the shelf until I get back to paint.