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I recently purchased a 1/144 scale Shuttle atop the SCA (747) model. I want to use the correct colors but am still uncertain. The 747 is mostly white but the bottom is either light grey or silver. From photos, I can't tell. Also, I always thought the bottom of the Shuttle was black but now after looking at photos, it appears the heat shield bottom is not black but is really grey. Any expert out there about such things?
There should be many painting guides out there, I found this using g*ogle: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...9131717AA8CI3n
Check out the links in the answer
For the space shuttle heat shield, it really depends on which shuttle you're building. They all vary in color from the wear of re-entry (or lack of it):
Enterprise (black or very dark gray):
Endeavour:
Discovery:
etc.
I painted a model shuttle over a year ago and the colors needed are white, black and a dark grey.
For effect, I had the idea of rubbing newspaper print heavily onto my finger, and then smearing that on areas of the shuttle that show the effects from atmospheric re-entry. I used a ton of photos from around the web to spot what areas got what. Even for basic colors...not easy.
Visit my friends at the Aircraft Resource Center, a hub for all things about scale model aircraft. Here's the link to the Space forum, where you will find any number of threads showing in-progress and completed Shuttle models.
http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/foru...?showforum=202
Here's a particularly good example I saw tonight - lots of detail, very well done, and now he's building the launch tower:
http://s362974870.onlinehome.us/foru...ic=219720&st=0
Thanks for the feedback. An article I found on Space.com shows that the heat shield tiles are dark grey but are painted black to retard the heat build-up. Upon re-entry, the black portion of the heat shield is burned-away, and leaves dark grey. Since I am building the Enterprise, which never flew in space, the underbelly seems to be black, which would be easier to paint. It's true that the Orbiters which flew into space seem to have a dark grey underbelly. Confusing? My Concorde models were a breeze, white top to bottom, except for the engine nacelles and tires. I dread making the Queen Mary 2, too many colors to paint.
At least you're not painting a model of Wunala DreamingQuote:
Originally Posted by Speedbird1
Wunala Dreaming would come with decals otherwise it would take a magician to paint. Since I only saw the protype Enterprise which has the black heat shield ( I'll go with that). Still confused if the SCA 747 should be painted silver metallic or light grey. I've been studying photos for days. If I get it wrong, a rep from NASA will visit me and smash my model! Ha ha!
I must say that I am so pleased that other members of NYC Aviation make models. Most enthusiasts merely purchase models already made ready to display. No confusing instructions, no painting ,gluing and decals sticking to your fingers, but nothing like making a model. It's time-consuming and often frustrating. Several kits I could not complete but the satisfaction and knowledge of the aircraft is unsurpassed. Several models which look appealing is a cut-away A380 1/144 from Revell and the model I am making the 1/144 Shuttle/ 747. Have fun if you dare. At least it keeps me out of trouble as how can you do a model on the Mounds?
If you're gonna model the Enterprise, it would probably be pretty cool to go with the original SCA/AA hybrid paint scheme, but if you've only got decals for the newer version you could model the "last flight" version too.
I've never purchased a completed model, always painting, sanding, filling, gluing, decaling, clearcoating, etc (not necessarily in that order), but living away from home for school has put that on hold for a few years, and I've got quite the backlog of kits waiting in the wings from a 172 desktop model to a 1/48th B-1B!
Still doing my Revell 1/144 scale SCA/747 kit. It is NOT the same kit from the 80's and 90's. The decal has the new NASA livery for the SCA and the blue pinstripe over the windows. 2 identical transfer sheets were provided; I wonder why? I haven't applied the transfers (decals) yet which is lots of fun especially when they curl up, tear, or stick to fingers before applying! I want to discuss the actual kit. It is great with over 200 pieces but each piece has lots of flash so be prepared to do lots of sanding and filing. The original Revell kit made in the USA had little flash. This process took several hours. All pieces fit perfectly but a new problem arose. Before spray-painting the 747, I always applied tape to cover the area not to be painted; it works about 90% of the time but often little areas still get painted. After drying, when the Tape gets removed, little adhesives remained which had to be rubbed-off manually with fingers. My fingers were bleeding and now are blistered. The instruction sheets are excellent; even giving a page updated with the SCA delivery of the Orbiters. The provided decals only have the Discovery livery. The big problem now, are the struts used to attach the Orbiter to the SCA. These pieces are easily broken and are weak; they should have been made of metal or something stronger. The Shuttle is not stable resting on these 3 struts and easily falls-off, so never move the completed model. When I made the original kit, I used the Orbiter and turned the SCA into an AAL 747 using decals I obtained elsewhere. The provided stand also is very weak and the completed assembly has difficulty staying-put. Finally, it was costly purchasing enamel sprays for white, black, silver, 2 shades of grey; each costing about $7. This model is easy to construct but frustrating as well. Thank goodness I never purchased the large-scale Queen Mary 2 model! I recommend this model with reservations. If you purchase, except to spend a week since parts painted must completely dry as I learned the hard way !
Absolutely correct, each Orbiters' underside heat shield is not identical. Since the Enterprise is the only Orbiter I've ever seen inflight, I decided to use this. The Intrepid director says their Enterprise is completely black although several photos seem to show some grey as well. I stuck with black. Since their exhibit is closed until early summer, I will go with black matte. As a bonus, he will give me a Shuttle tour when it re-opens au gratis so I will stop annoying him. He's busy trying to get the exhibit open ASAP as the Intrepid Museum is losing visitors as the Shuttle is now off-limits.
Finally completed the Revell 1/144 SCA/Shuttle kit. It took 2 weeks and lots of hard work. Well-worth the price of $50. The only problem is that the included plastic struts which attach the roof of the SCA to the base of the Orbiter, is not accurate. The included struts have just 2 prongs for support but the actual struts have 3 prongs. The parts keep breaking like a wishbone. I just joined the Aircraft Resource Center where folks share tips on model building; maybe they can help. Included are over 80 decals, many so tiny that you need a magnifying glass; imagine what fun these were to apply.
Well, sadly I can't attach the Shuttle atop the 747 SCA securely. I had this same problem back in 1984 and wound-up with a nice 747 and Shuttle. I've tried to attach, but the Shuttle keeps slipping-off. Very frustrating after all that work. Of course, I could place rubber bands around the model to keep the Shuttle in-place but how ugly does that look. I contacted ARC where maybe fellow modellers have an answer. The painting came out great and with other 80 decals, many tiny, it was quite a job.
The members of ARC are very knowledgeable about models and they have the same problem attaching the Shuttle securely to the 747 SCA. They are more resourceful than I and even cut his own thin metal rods to secure the Shuttle in place. I am not handy (need help changing a lightbulb) but they offered suggestions I might follow. One guy actually sells struts for this particular model for $12 plus shipping but I haven't gotten a response. It's great to know others take an interest. One guy is a perfectionist: he decided the 747 windows were incorrect so he placed filler inside each, sanded and re-painted then drilled his own windows on the fuselage. Amazing! I am really disappointed that the "experts" at Revell models never thought of revising a poorly-made strut to hold-up the Shuttle. Right now, I am using rubber bands! Ugh!