Bruce's Scale Modeling Domain: Part 1 - The 1/72 Scale Space Shuttle Kits and some References

I have been meaning to highlight the 1/72 scale Space Shuttle kits for a while now but this may spread out to a few so I can dedicate the after market parts appropriately. I have always been fascinated with the shuttle since the first shuttle launched into space. I literally collected as many clear pictures of the shuttle I could get, mostly from magazines, then trying to emulate what I saw with a Revell 1/144 kit. My skills then was absolutely in its novice stage and I had neither the knowledge or tools to work with then, so you can imagine how my kit turned up later.

I also remembered the day I got this two massive kits, the 1/72 Revell and Monogram Space Shuttle, and was baffled at how these were suppose to be in the same scale but both kits were so different. Besides the sheer size of their boxes, I was also particularly fascinated with the molded tile details on the Revell kit (found out much much later the tiles were too big and not accurate at all) and the combination of cargo satellites and pallets found on the Monogram kit. But building these were intimidating then as there were many hurdles with the kit, particularly the tiles. Hence they stayed mint in their box until this day.

Last year I procured the latest re-issue of Revell's 1/72 Shuttle kit because of her more detailed decals and "corrected" tile molds (still inaccurate as the tiles there are still too big). I was going to dedicate at least two of these builds to the Challenger and Columbia, the two shuttles lost in the line of duty, and I wanted them to be special, and accurate (as much as possible). I realized today the only way I can achieve this is with after market parts.

The Revell kit has been re-issued numerous times with different box art, but the parts remained virtually the same until the last re-issue where some re-tooling were done to her tile pattern on her lower hull. You can view her parts in detail and read a wonderful review of this kit over at Britmodeller.com but for this post, I am going to focus on how to get the Orbiter to look as close to the original as possible. In 1/72 scale, the size of the kit itself beckons for detailing.

But before you start any work on her, you will need to know what the Shuttle really looks like up close and personal, and understand why certain things are there. I will be dedicating a few blog post on how best you can detail sections of your space shuttle. But first, check out the surface of an actual Orbiter.

Space Shuttle Surface Details

In my earlier post on the 1/144 scale kits, I have highlighted a few things regarding the shuttle thermal protection systems - their ceramic tiles, totaling a staggering 24,300 on each Orbiter. Not all the tiles are the same as each one of them are designed to handle different variant of heat to provide the shuttle with effective and maximum shielding.

Besides tiles, the shuttle surface also comprise of "thermal blankets" to further enhance the shuttle's heat resistance during re-entry. Hence the shuttle's surface is very much like a shark's skin, they look smooth from far but they are rough upon closer inspection. There are also variants of white, off white, tan, sand colored tones allocated throughout the orbiter's surface, and these are definitely not easy to emulate by hand.