Apogee Components - Saturn V Kit

RocketReviews.com has collected the following information from various resources to assist those building the Apogee Saturn V kit.

FIRST: Check Apogee's Webpage for additional information (here are some direct links, but there may be more):

"Random Thoughts" Series by Terry "P'rfesser" McCreary from RMR:

More:

  • Wraps: If you've started, what kind of luck have you had gluing down the wraps? I've got some minor cracks; fortunately nothing is trashed, although I do have some repair work to do.
  • For those who haven't started, some things I've found...
    • Bob Smith makes a thin applicator tip for the CA bottle that does the same job as the teflon tube Tim shows in the instructions, but it just slips on, rather than having to be glued in place.
    • When possible, let gravity pull the glue out of the bottle. If you have to squeeze it, odds are you'll get too much and you'll crack something.
    • While gluing, if a little glob of dried glue starts to form on the tip, don't pick it off unless it's fully blocking the tube. That glob slows the flow of the glue, which is a GOOD thing.
    • Watch the thickness of the wraps; the thicker ones are easier to glue and less prone to cracking. Glue one of these first, to help get the hang of gluing. In my kit, the thrust structure wrap, which is the first one Tim has you glue, is one of the thinner ones. The wrap above it is thicker plastic and was easier to glue w/out damage. Hope that's useful information to someone.
    • Do steps 15 through 17 (building the removable nozzle assembly) prior to gluing on the wraps. Use the little CA applicator for sealing the edges of the cardboard (step 15) to help you get the hang of using the extension tip and controlling the amount of CA released through the tube. - K.T.

Painting: Ideas for painting the Apogee Saturn.

  • Having properly painted dozens of Saturn V's I generally used gloss white enamel and gloss black enamel (sometimes flat). I used regular masking tape for masking. I find most masking tape I see today is objectively dissimilar. I think older masking tape used virgin kraft instead of recycled. I think the glues are better today. If you are going to spray with an airbrush I would still use an enamel. - J.I.
  • I like the "Tamiya Color" spray can paints. They go on in a thin opaque layer and dry hard and fast. (The cans are rather high-pressured and require a little practice... it's easy to get a thick, bubbly, drippy coating if you haven't a light touch, but it's worth getting the hang of it IMHO.) - D.W.
  • I painted mine with the rattle cans even though I've got a couple of airbrushes. The key here IMHO is primer - I used the gray sandable stuff and then sanded most of it off like Tim says. I then used good quality masking tape (I used 1.5" 3M blue for the large areas and the thin plastic blue tape for some of the finer details). Masking took nearly 2 days (off and on). I used the Krylon gloss black and for the white opted for flat. While I like the white gloss, I never seem to end up with what I want. For some reason I don't have the same problem with the gloss black. Stay away from lacquer primer/paint; it will eat the wraps. For that matter, go easy on the clear overcoat since the Krylon I used would eat the decals on the corrugated wraps if I got just a bit too much on them. Go very easy and make several light coats when it comes to the clear. Otherwise, just spend a lot of time masking and masking and masking..... P.M. (See Pete's Letter to Tim in News Letter #77 (this is a PDF file ~ 400K)
CP Method: Rocksim/Rocksim
CP Position From Front: 40.89 inches
Designer: Mike Dorffler
Manufacturer: Apogee Components
Product Type: Kit
Scale: 1/70
Skill Level: 5
Status: In-Production
Style: Scale
Tags: Scale:Saturn:Saturn V
Reviews
  • Apogee Components Saturn V (1/70th) By Tim Doll

    The Apogee Saturn V is a 1/70th scale model of the magnificent NASA Saturn V moon rocket. A companion kit to the Apogee Saturn 1B, this is a large rocket standing over 62 inches tall and 5.6 inches in diameter. The large size and high level of detailing make this an impressive rocket. I've built two Apogee Saturn V’s - one a ‘flyer’, the other a display model which is ...

  • Apogee Components Saturn V (1/70th) By Vince Felix

    Components include: three (3) main body tubes, four (4) main fins, clay for nose weight, four (4) centering ring die cut sheets, two (2) shock cords made from Kevlar 100# & 300# (5 and 7 feet), and also two (2) Nylon parachutes 60" & 36 ". (Note: a full parts list is available from Apogee here in PDF .) The instructions for this Apogee 1/70 Saturn V kit are remarkable! Instead of your ...

Rocksim Design Files
Related Videos

Flights

comment Post a Comment