Saturn V dust off

[X Sonic]

So back in 2008 I started building the thrust structure, motors, and first stage of Greelt's Saturn V, obtained at the LHVCC way back when. My dream was to build the full rocket and display all the stages horizontally, like at the museums, with each stage seperate. Ah, what a dream.

I had an auspicious beginning, but I when I had built up half of the first stage I realized that there was no way I would have the room to display it in my house. I was going to need a bigger house! Or maybe wait until all of my kids were grown up and moved out, and then I could take over one of the bedrooms as a display room.

But lately things changed, an opportunity presented itself, and a local activity was interested in displaying it, if I could finish it. So I pulled out the existing build-up and dusted it off, and got back to work. I only have to complete the first 2 stages, because 2 years ago I built up a Japanese stage Apollo 8 third stage at 1/48 scale, so that is ready to go on the top. Unfortunately that third stage doesn't perfectly match the adapter on the 2nd stage, and I'm going to have to adjust that to fit.

I have some picture of work in progress, I'll try to upload and see what happens...

 

[zathros]

That is a fantastic start! You will be, and rightly so, extremely proud of yourself, and feel a sense of closure. Build it, and they will cheer!

 

[X Sonic]

I am cheating alot on this so far. Since I am displaying the full stack, I haven't built any of the motors for the 2nd stage, so that sure saves alot of time! I have the F1 motors half built from 2008, but I might not have time to finish them before the deadline. If not, I will use some puffs of poly fill around the base to make it look like smoke or vapor that (un)fortunately obscures sight of the motors....

 

[Revell-Fan]

WOOOW! This is gonna be HUGE!

 

[X Sonic]

So I'm back after a weekend spent mostly of building the umbilical pipes for stage 1, that sure took longer than I thought! But I was also building a way of attaching stage 1, interstage, and stage 2 using dowels so that they would hold together with some degree of stability to withstand a possible bump or touch. It's more sturdy now, but the roll patterns don't line up precisely the way I'd like...

I'm going to post some pictures soon, but first I have to confess to my deceit and sham. The Saturn V that I'm building is lacking so much of the detail that others here are working so hard and expertly on. You'll see soon that there are no internal details such as the tanks and instrumentations. I didn't build any motors for stage 2, and probably won't have time to finish the motors for the first stage.

But the reason for this sham is that I'm contributing this to an exhibit at a school, so it isn't a model contest. My goal here is not to win a prize, but rather to build something that will look impressive to a student. I have built the Dragon 1/72 Saturn V (styrene model kit) but that just isn't BIG enough to deliver the effect that I need for this exhibit.

My goal is for at first sight that the students feel a sense of something huge towering over them and even towering over their parents. And next that their imaginations would work to think about how impressive and intimidating a Saturn V might be in real life. Then, pride at the achievement of America's lunar exploration, that wasn't simply to put a flag on the moon, but to begin exploration and human expansion to the moon. And then from there move on to regret and even embarassment that now, 50 years later, the United States can't even put a single man in orbit. As the student leaves the exhibit area, I want their final thoughts to be, "I want mankind to go back to the moon and continue what we started in the 1960's. Is there a place for me in that endeavor? How can I become part of that?" So I apologize in advance for my lack of workmanship, and I hope that you'll keep in mind my true goal on this project and overlook the shortcomings...

 

[zathros]

I would build this the exactly. Excellent reasoning. It will stimulate and cause awe!

 

[X Sonic]

OK, now I have some pictures. Here is a view down the first stage, through the interstage, that shows my supportive dowels as well as all the cardboard circles inside. At some point in the future I could seperate them and build the upper tank and other interior details, but I would have to make an all new interstage to replace this heavily over-strengthened one