GAF
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PFJN> That would be an interesting variation of the Shuttle. It's quite acceptable in this GB, as I allow things that would have been on the drawing boards as concept vehicles (variations on a known design). ![Smile]()
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Hi,
Since I couldn't find my putty last nite to work on my X-24 build I decided to look into maybe also doing this mini shuttle conversion for this group build as well.
I checked my math and was able to confirm that the dimensions appear to suggest that if I use my 1/200 scale Lindberg kit as a starting point my mini shuttle model will come out almost exactly 1/60 scale (based on the limited info that I have). So I started making plans on what I would likely need to change, as shown in the image below.
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Based on the info above I went ahead and started cutting up the model, as shown below.
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The bottom picture above shows the kit prior to making the last "zig-zag" cut to the fuselage (shown by the dark green line in the image right above it). The reason for doing that "zig-zag" cut is that the mini shuttle appears to be based ona slightly earlier baseline of the shuttle than what was actually built, where the trailing edges of the wings were straight instead of tapered.
I discovered if I cut off the control surface part of the kits wings they were a very close match for the sketches that I have for the mini shuttle. Unfortunately, I would then either need to move the wings aft a little, or cut off the back end of the kit and lengthen it abit in front of the wings.
Because of the way the Lindberg kit is laid out, it looked to me that cutting off the back end of the model would work best, and it would help make it easier to make the back end more vertical, as shown on the mini shuttle, as opposed to the slight slant/rake shown on the full scale shuttle.
However since the Lindberg kit models the very forward part of the wings as part of the fuselage (which you may just be able to make out in the image above) I initially cut the fuselage just forward of the forward most wing extent, as shown in the picture of my cut up kit.
After doing this though I realized that the top half of the model had already started to taper in at this point, which would make trying to add an extension here difficult. As such I later went back and recut the kit with this "zig-zag" so that I can put the extension for the upper part of the model further aft where the top of the shuttle has a "continous" shape, and put the extension for the bottom half of the fuselage just forward of the wing joint, where the bottom of the fuselage is still fairly "continuous" in shape (but where the top has already beun tapering.
Fortunately this also made cutting out the existing "cockpit" easier as well.
Right now the kit parts are only held together with tape, so that I could see how the pieces looked together. Hopefully tonight or tommorrow I will start gluing the parts together, adding re-inforcements where necessary, and try and clean up the cut edges, so that I can start looking into scratchbuiling up the "extension" parts as well as new thruster pods, the new cockpit and other similar pieces.
One additional thing that i am working on is how to model the trailing edge of the wings. Since I cut the kit parts off right at the break point between the wing and control surfaces, the current parts have no control surfaces shown, and a very blunt trailing edge, as shown below.
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One thought that I have, as shown by the black lines that I added to the image above, would be to cut out part of the material in the trailing edge, and then "score" the upper and lower wing surfaces on a line where the new control surfaces would extend to, so that I could make the aft part of the wing taper to a relatively thin shape. I would then need to probably "scribe" in some new lines on the upper and lower wing surface to depict the control surfaces.
I was thinking of another option too, though. Since the parts of the wings that I already cut away (shown in dark blue in the 2nd image above) are already "thin" at their back end, and are already "scribed" as control surfaces, I may be able to cut back my wings a little further and then take those "control surfaces" that I previous cut away, "twist and trim" and modify them a little so that they match the straight trailing edge of the mini shuttles wings, and then glue them in place. I may have to give both these options a little more thought, before proceeding 
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PF