Vintage Skylab build
 

Now that the weather is changing and I have less yard work to do, it's time to build a difficult one: the Centuri Skylab #KB-4.

The contents of the vintage kit are complete, but some of the compoments are in rough shape. The adhesive chrome solar panels are fused to their backing paper--I may have to separate them with heat and then apply with contact cement. We'll see. The decal sheet is the color of whizz. Gordie has them, fortunately.

The good news is that all of the BT's are round and all of the wraps and vacu-formed parts are undamaged. Also important, the nose cone is in perfect shape. I know that Semroc has the Skylab/Firecat cone in balsa, but the bands around the neck would have to be replicated.

Early steps: I've epoxied the front and rear bulkheads into the main BT and prepared the main faux nozzle parts for joining. TBC

Looking forward to seeing the fruits of your salvage job. :cool:

Ah, yes. The poetry of the 70's. :chuckle:

It's a good thing I tested Testors plastic model cement on the scraps from the vacu-formed pieces--because it turned it into goo.

To assemble the engine mount and faux nozzle assembly I used contact cement (a.k.a. Yellow Snot.) Despite my efforts to totally mess this up, it still went together almost acceptable. I'll correct it after the contact cement cures.

Note to self: no more starting vintage builds with irreplaceable parts after whacking down a sixer of Yuengling lager. TBC

p.s. "Cemento de Contacto". I can't say that without laughing. TBC

I would just picture frame the decals, hang it on a wall somewhere. No need for those!

I just might do that! TBC

Skylab is a monumental challenge if only for the condition of the original parts. I used Tenax in small applications for the vac parts; as for the chrome wrap I wiped the back surface with denatured alchohol to get the dried glue off the sheet. I had thought about replacing them completely but could not find a corrugated replacement in chrome. I also used 1/16th striping tape for the details under the paint. I think that Sirius has the NC molded, not sure of the stock level.

The end result is worth the effort, and I know that Jeff will provide an exceptional build. I cannot find any of my pictures in paint!

That's nice work, John! Thanks for the photo and the tips. Plus, it looks like you prudently replaced the fiber solar panels with basswood(?)

Indeed I did. I was pretty sure that the warps in the board would not stay out so I went with 1/16th basswood. I also hoped to prevent any delamination should the chrome decide to take a flatness holiday. The model really doesn't look complete without the engine bell installed, but that was built back in the days of "I'll never need to look at that again".

On the chrome - I did try to use 3M but it would not stay put more than a day or two. I think thin coats of snot will keep them down.