Puttering in the Study

Saturn V Mobile Launch Tower - swing arms

I got back to work on the LUT yesterday, intending to complete some piping, continue work on the launch pad support stands, and start figuring out how to model the swing arms.

The first two were straightforward, but the third involved what I enjoy the most about this project - researching the different components of the LUT and figuring out how to model them in sheet, strip & rod plastic.

The swing arms and their mounting system appear to have been designed by the engineers in Huntsville who were building the Saturn V.  So it appears that the launcher was built, then the massive bracket to which the swing arms were attached was attached (as well as the two vertical posts to the left, which I haven't found a term for yet, but they're part of the arm system) , and the swing arms were mounted to that.  This photo shows the bracket, and the photo to the right shows the as-yet unpainted bracket being test fitted to the model several months ago.

The arms themselves were like the rest of the LUT - there was a basic design which was duplicated for most of the arms, and the necessary piping and machinery was added to that basic structure.  But at its most basic, the support arms were made up of the bracket, hinge arms, and three elements. I was fortunate to find scale drawings of the various parts, so I could duplicate the construction, more or less.  (My support members are approximately three times the thickness of the real thing, but I need to keep the component parts a manageable size - any smaller and they're not only too small to work with, but they don't have sufficient structural strength).

As this drawing shows, the arm started with a mounting hinge, which has an upper and a lower portion.  I made eighteen of those yesterday, cutting them out of two pieces of sheet plastic and attaching a short pivot rod to each.  I attached the first seven bottom hinges to the tower, checking the fit against the Saturn V as I went.  I discovered several months ago that the tower elements are very slightly too tall. - approximately 1/64" per level.  Although the difference is miniscule on each level, it means that by the time we get to the swing arms for the upper levels, they have to be manually sited to make sure the arms match the rocket, despite where they're supposed to be on the tower.

Most of the arm is made up of the standard "first section", which is then bolted onto the "second element" which is a similarly standard ending section to which all the machinery and fittings unique to that specific arm were fitted.  Beginning with the sixth arm, the Saturn V was narrowing, so a custom "extension element" was inserted between the first and second elements.  

From a modeling perspective, what this meant was that there would be a doubling up of vertical elements, which was easy to do - I just cut an additional piece for each side.

I drew up the plans to scale and built a base, two side pieces, and the connecting rods for the top.

I then attached the whole thing and test-fitted it to the LUT.  Unfortunately, it didn't fit!  I discovered early in construction that my scaling for the base was slightly off, but what I didn't know till now was that it was enough to decrease the spacing of the rocket from the tower by perhaps 3/16".  So the arms will need to be correspondingly trimmed down.  

As the final photo shows, the first seven (of an eventual nine) bottom hinges are in place, and the first arm is test-fitted.  It'll have to be modified to get the distance to the rocket correct, and I'm still working on a hinge mechanism that will let me remove the arms.

Update: I diagnosed the size problem and discovered it's not a problem with the base scaling at all. I missed that the first swing arm is mounted slightly closer to the vehicle (13" closer) and I made the arm to the standard 420" length. If I move the arm to the next higher position it fits comfortably - meaning the base is accurate after all.

 

 

 

1/700 U.S.S. Fletcher (Matchbox) - weekend rebuild

I've had this old Matchbox 1/700 Fletcher destroyer model for at least 25 years.  I had built it partway down to the detail parts and left it, as shown in the picture to the right (no U.S. flag).  Last weekend I decided that I wanted to take on a small project, and rebuilding it with aftermarket parts and the correct camouflage colors seemed like a good idea.  It ended up taking three days, not the anticipated two, but I finished it this morning, as shown on the left (finished model has a US flag).

The inspiration for the rebuild was Eric Hammel's Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, which I finished over the weekend.  The Fletcher was the last ship in the line at the naval battle off Guadalcanal on the night of November 13, 1942, and the book really got me interested in the different fire control systems on the ship.  Unlike almost all the rest of the U.S. Navy ships that were there that night, Fletcher as a new ship (and first of her class) had a full suite of radars, including SC, the brand-new SG, and radar fire control.

First step was to take the ship apart as far as it would go, including discarding the kit turrets and torpedo mounts.  I then shot the whole model, including the Skywave USN equipment parts I knew I'd need, with Ocean Gray (5-O), which is the middle color in the Measure 12 Mod. camouflage scheme, then handpainted the Deck Blue color for the decks.

I reassembled the kit using new 5" .38 cal. Mk 30 gun houses with separate barrels with blast bags, as well as new rafts, lifeboats, searchlights, torpedo mounts and Mk 37 gun director from the Skywave parts kit.

I hadn't planned on scratchbuilding the foremast, but as the kit part was the wrong height and I needed to add photoetch radars I went ahead and scratchbuilt it, complete with SC and SG radars in the correct positions.  The Skywave Mk. 37 director got a photoetched fire control radar as well. I added a gaff for the national ensign on the aft stack, and pole masts at the bow and stern.  As the ship is modeled underway, the U.S. flag is on the stack gaff, and nothing is flying at the bow or stern.

Keeping in mind that this is a poor quality 1978 Matchbox kit, I used 20mm mounts from the Hasegawa Essex kit with strip plastic shields, and scratchbuilt K-gun depth charge projectors, three to a side on the main deck aft of midships.  They're not particularly accurate, but I make exceptions for things that are smaller than an eighth of an inch.  The only photoetch rail is on top of the superstructure, where I thought it added a nice detail.

The camouflage pattern uses Navy Blue (5-N) for the lower hull color.  It might have been Sea Blue (5-S) but the Fletcher commissioned right around the time that color was replaced with Navy Blue, and in any event I tried Sea Blue and it was way lighter than almost any of the many photos of destroyers in late 1942, so I darkened it to Navy Blue - which is still markedly lighter and bluer than the color I had been using at the time, as shown in the "before" photo above.  The lighter color used in the superstructure is Haze Gray (5-H).  I added some weathering and chipping at the waterline based on a mid-1942 color photo of the similarly camouflaged destroyer Buchanan.

I have had a state of the art kit of the Monssen - the prewar destroyer that was next in line ahead of the Fletcher on the night of November 13, for a couple of years now, and now that I know more about that ship's history it might be the next build. 

In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown - Nathaniel Philbrick

I listened to this on audio during recent car trips and generally enjoyed it.  It emphasized just how dicey a thing the victory at Yorktown was since Washington had too coordinate getting the French fleet to the same place as the American and French armies, while at the same time having the major British army trapped between the two.

The part I'd never heard of before concerned the one individual that made it all possible, repeatedly ensuring that de Grasse's fleet - all of it - made it to the Chesapeake with all the necessary gold to pay Washington's army just enough to keep them in line through the siege.   King Carlos III sent Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, a soldier originally trained as a doctor, to assist in prosecuting Spain's interests against Britain in the West Indies.  Saavedra assisted General Matías Gálvez in organizing his army for his campaign in Florida, including the Siege of Pensacola. 

He then met with French Admiral de Grasse in St Domingue, and together they put together a three-part plan that is known as the de Grasse/Saavedra Accord. (After ratification in Paris and Madrid it was referred to as the Grasse/Saavedra Convention.) The goals of the Accord were "to aid the Anglo- Americans powerfully, in such a way that the English cabinet would, in the end, lose the hope of subduing them; to take possession of various points in the Windward Islands, where the English fleets lying in protected forts were threatening French and Spanish possessions; and to conquer Jamaica, the center of the wealth and power of Great Britain in that part of the world."

He made sure de Grasse actually sailed for American, that he didn't weaken his fleet by leaving ships behind to escort merchant ships, and that he had the money to operate effectively in America when he got there - including the gold to allow Washington to provide some payments to his troops.  He couldn't get this from French planters in Cap Francais as he'd planned, but he told de Grasse to sail anyway and he'd get the money somehow.  Which he did, as a loan from the private citizens of Havana.

It was a great story, and one I had never heard before.  But beyond question, we owe our independence to this doctor turned diplomat who wouldn't take no for an answer.

In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown - Nathaniel Philbrick

I listened to this on audio during recent car trips and generally enjoyed it.  It emphasized just how dicey a thing the victory at Yorktown was since Washington had too coordinate getting the French fleet to the same place as the American and French armies, while at the same time having the major British army trapped between the two.

The part I'd never heard of before concerned the one individual that made it all possible, repeatedly ensuring that de Grasse's fleet - all of it - made it to the Chesapeake with all the necessary gold to pay Washington's army just enough to keep them in line through the siege.   King Carlos III sent Don Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis, a soldier originally trained as a doctor, to assist in prosecuting Spain's interests against Britain in the West Indies.  Saavedra assisted General Matías Gálvez in organizing his army for his campaign in Florida, including the Siege of Pensacola. 

He then met with French Admiral de Grasse in St Domingue, and together they put together a three-part plan that is known as the de Grasse/Saavedra Accord. (After ratification in Paris and Madrid it was referred to as the Grasse/Saavedra Convention.) The goals of the Accord were "to aid the Anglo- Americans powerfully, in such a way that the English cabinet would, in the end, lose the hope of subduing them; to take possession of various points in the Windward Islands, where the English fleets lying in protected forts were threatening French and Spanish possessions; and to conquer Jamaica, the center of the wealth and power of Great Britain in that part of the world."

He made sure de Grasse actually sailed for American, that he didn't weaken his fleet by leaving ships behind to escort merchant ships, and that he had the money to operate effectively in America when he got there - including the gold to allow Washington to provide some payments to his troops.  He couldn't get this from French planters in Cap Francais as he'd planned, but he told de Grasse to sail anyway and he'd get the money somehow.  Which he did, as a loan from the private citizens of Havana.

It was a great story, and one I had never heard before.  But beyond question, we owe our independence to this doctor turned diplomat who wouldn't take no for an answer.

Saturn V Mobile Launcher - hard stand support pedestals

Most Saturn V mobile launcher/LUT models use the LUT to show off the crawler/transporter that transported the complete stack from the VAB to Pad 39, as shown at right. As handsome as this, I decided to show my LUT on the pad instead for two reasons. 

First, I wanted to show the stack "launch-ready" and while being carried out to the pad the CSM of the Saturn V is wrapped in white plastic to protect it from the elements, and the launcher deck is covered with equipment that will be removed before launch.  I've always assumed the big white box near the rocket is a generator for the launcher's electrical systems while it is travelling, but the point is that it's messy and not flight ready.  It's like modeling a B-17 on the back of a flat bed truck being transported to an airfield. It isn't until shortly before launch that the spacecraft is unwrapped and the extra equipment removed, and that's the time period I wanted to show.

Second, the crawler itself is an entire additional model to design and build, and the LUT, with it's detailed piping and swing arms is project enough,  So I decided to show the LUT on the pad itself.  I may build the crawler later, but for now, the pad is the base I wanted to use.  I can add the pad interfaces if I feel like it, or leave just the support pedestals.

Hard Stands

The launch pads at Pad 39 A and B were "hard stands", meaning that they didn't contain towers for connecting to the rocket.  The crawler brought the stack on the mobile launcher (as shown left for Skylab 2), and lowered the launcher onto six support stands, which contained either one or two support legs.  The rocket was then plugged into the pad "interfaces" which are short metal structures containing various piping and cabling, as well as (at far left) the slide to the "rubber room" within the pad that was an emergency shelter in case of catastrophic failure. 

If you count ten pedestals, you have sharp eyes - the mobile launcher used six, and the Mobile Service Structure (MSS ) used the other four. The rocket was then launched, and the photo at right shows the three pedestals on the south side with the first MSS pedestal directly in front of it.

This picture from the shuttle era shows two of the same three pedestals (helpfully numbered).  The back two still have their side braces in place.  They're actually hard to see due to all the background clutter. That's because during the shuttle era  the pads had large built in support structures added which eliminated the need for an umbilical structure on the launcher.  The structures at the pads were built by the simple expedient of cutting the towers off the Apollo-era launchers and attaching the upper portions to the pads - then attaching the various new structures needed by the shuttles to the old towers.

Construction of the Base

I built the base representing the top of the hard stand out of poplar
and primed and painted it before adding crawler track marks.  The paint scheme for the concrete pad is a work in progress, as the pad changed appearance as it aged, and I haven't decided whether to leave the flame trench in the middle plain black, or make it simply a darker gray.

It then took some additional research to figure out where precisely to place the six pedestals, since I decided late in the process to move them forward to allow room for the emergency slide which extended out the back of the LUT into the pad to allow access to the rubber room and blast room.  (That's why the track marks have been partially overpainted).  The base was intended to be just large enough to include all the pad interfaces if I decide to build them - fortunately I made it large enough to accommodate the slide.

If I ever get really ambitious and build the MSS, the very large gray structure shown at right which enclosed the CSM and upper third stage to allow additional access  at the pad, its four pedestals will fit on a separate base that would match up with the mobile launcher model's base.  But I'd likely model it as shown here - at the foot of the pad still atop the crawler.  If anyone's ever modeled the MSS it's a safe bet they didn't show it on the crawler.

I drilled out holes for the 1/16" plastic rods which serve as anchors for the pedestals, then cut three different diameters of plastic tube to make the basic shape, shown at right.The  drawing shows the dimensions of the pedestals, with the dimensions of the component parts.

Once the pedestals were in place, and still somewhat flexible on their thin rod bases, I lowered the LUT onto them, where 1/16" plastic studs on the base fit into the pedestals' top pieces. Once the launcher was in place I added small triangular bracing to firm the structure up, as shown below.

Next step will be the addition of the large side braces (with foundations) and the square railed platforms to the pedestals, and then it's back to figuring out the right color for the concrete hard stand, circa mid-1969.  

 

 

Study Ceiling - Pop Demmer

Finished the east wall today by adding Pop Demmer over the family scrapbooks, which begin with Mom & Pop Demmer in 1918 (separately, oddly enough).

There was no contrast in the portrait photo I used, which meant that the face was too white, but as the second color is the wall color, I can't easily slide into that.  But after a few minutes looking away from it, it didn't seem the glare nearly as much, so I'll try leaving it alone a bit.

"Barbara III" - George Bush's last TBF Avenger; LUT update

Added another model to the cabinet today - finally finished the 1/72 Academy/Minicraft TBF (not a good kit) with decals for George Bush's last TBF - the "Barbara III" which he flew after returning to the San Jacinto after being shot down over Chichi Jima.  It still needs the final flat coat and some detail touching up, but I wanted to go ahead and get it posted.

Also spent some time today bringing the LUT along.  Since last week I've almost finished adding the detail to side 2 of the base, including the LUT's #1 markings and almost all the pipe detail, as well as adding joint connection detail for the side 2 tower piping, and five more of the lattice screens (I still have no idea what these are).

Today I added all eight tower camera arms - and have now decided they're all wrong and need to be redone.  I also laid out on the graph paper below the LUT the plan for the launch pad base it will rest on, and installed the stubs for the support posts so the LUT is no longer sitting flat on its base. 

Most people would put the LUT on its crawler/transporter, but that would take forever to build, so I'm opting for putting it on its six support posts at the launch pad.  If I have time I'll build the short support structures, but if not, that's okay too.  I just need something for it to sit on.  Besides, during the day it takes to transport the stack to the pad the CMS is wrapped in plastic and the LUT is crowded with miscellaneous equipment.  I'd rather show it in its ready to launch configuration, even if I have to build a few support structures.

Saturn V Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) fueling piping

The various pipes needed to fuel the Saturn V ran up Side 2 of the LUT, attached to a frame, as shown in the photo at right of LUT #1 during construction (the foreground is LUT #2).

I started working on adding this frame last week (closeup and full view shown), then finished this afternoon. I didn't intend to install all the Side 2 piping today, but once you start adding it, it goes pretty quick.  There's more detail painting, of course, but the initial installation went very well.

Pacific Thunder: The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944 - Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

This book focuses on the U.S. Navy's Central Pacific drive from August 1943 to October 1944.  It really begins ten months earlier with the last of the 1942 carrier battles, Santa Cruz, which left the U.S. with only one damaged carrier, Enterprise, in the South Pacific to face the entire Japanese navy.  It contrasts that with the picture only 24 months later, when after the Battle of Leyte Gulf the U.S. had nine light and nine heavy CVs, with another three working up and twelve more in the pipeline, and the Japanese navy was virtually destroyed as a fighting unit.

Unfortunately, my practice of reading every book on this subject that I can on the Kindle and several at the same time means I don't recall much about each particular book.  So while I don't have anything negative to say about the book, it just didn't make much of an impression.  

Models Update: Arizona, Hood, and a lot on the LUT

After several weeks off I finally got a day in the model workshop yesterday, which extended late into the night and several more hours this afternoon.

While I made some progress on the Hood (I count progress in number of parts added in this 432-part model - in this case 22 parts) I made more progress on the Arizona, where I cleaned up the deck tan paint from my mid-build color change, and added a few more pieces of photoetch.

But the giant leap, to borrow a phrase, was on the Saturn V LUT (launch umbilical tower) where I got several things done:

• finished the exterior pipe framework
• finished the internal ladders (well, 4 1/2 out of 5) 
• designed, built, painted & installed the bracket for the service arms.
• added detail and detail painted the crane (including the "Colby Crane logo)

One of the things that really helped was using Super Glue for the parts like ladders instead of normal plastic cement.  I could assemble, paint and install multiple sections without waiting to dry.

Service arm bracket

I was particularly pleased with the service arm bracket.  That's the girder attached to the front of the LUT that in turn has all the service arms attached to it.  It consists of two parts, which gave me a chance to try out the design on a smaller piece before tackling the 14" long version. 

I sized the parts from photos and pieced it together from angle, rod and strip plastic, then test-fitted the bracket after assembly but before all the detail pieces were added, and it was painted.

 

The LUT looks terrific in the display case now, and with the
annoying things like structure and ladders out of the way, and the service arm bracket in place, I can move to the final two parts of the tower - the massive external piping, and the service arms.