How do I fix the vacumn formed plastic that has cracked. I have the
Same Stuff Professional Plastic Welder but its not a gap filler. Just trying to fix without adding a bunch of weight etc.

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Build floor: Estes Pro Series Jayhawk, Estes LTV Scout

In paint:
Estes Interceptor II

Ready for 1st flight: Custom Rockets Bullet, Semroc/Centuri Renegade, Semroc Laser X, Estes Beta Launch Vehicle, MPC Flare Patriot, Estes Nimbus, Estes SR-71, Estes Nebulon Warrior, Semroc Ruskie, Estes Nike -X, Estes Mini-Shuttle Clone. Estes Renegade, Estes Big Red Max, Estes Phoenix, Fliskits Shadowlord, Custom Rockets SAM-X, thanks Texas Winds and rain.
Austin TX

You need to "back" the cracked pieces with some thin plastic strip material.
Butt-gluing WILL NOT WORK.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

What GH said.

Get the thinnest Evergreen or other sheet plastic you can find and use some not-very-"hot" Testors liquid cement to do the repair.

And you will have to rebalance the orbiter.

It'd be swell if you'd post pictures. This is a tough repair not many people would try.

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NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

So finally gettting back to this garage sale find. I have decided not to fly it with the shuttle as I am just asking for it to be destroyed. So attached some pics, looks like I need to get some thin evergreen and try to back the cracks etc. This will just be a nice looking display shuttle, but see no reason the SRB/Main fuel tank can?t fly. So any advice on best way to repair for just display is appreciated.

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
Build floor: Estes Pro Series Jayhawk, Estes LTV Scout

In paint:
Estes Interceptor II

Ready for 1st flight: Custom Rockets Bullet, Semroc/Centuri Renegade, Semroc Laser X, Estes Beta Launch Vehicle, MPC Flare Patriot, Estes Nimbus, Estes SR-71, Estes Nebulon Warrior, Semroc Ruskie, Estes Nike -X, Estes Mini-Shuttle Clone. Estes Renegade, Estes Big Red Max, Estes Phoenix, Fliskits Shadowlord, Custom Rockets SAM-X, thanks Texas Winds and rain.
Austin TX

Do NOT fly the 1284 Shuttle without the orbiter.
I tried that once and it destroyed it.
The offset motor required to fly with orbiter results In a "Loop-Smash" without the orbiter in flight position.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Well that is good to know. I would have assumed it would fly just fine. Turning rapidly into a display item.

__________________
Build floor: Estes Pro Series Jayhawk, Estes LTV Scout

In paint:
Estes Interceptor II

Ready for 1st flight: Custom Rockets Bullet, Semroc/Centuri Renegade, Semroc Laser X, Estes Beta Launch Vehicle, MPC Flare Patriot, Estes Nimbus, Estes SR-71, Estes Nebulon Warrior, Semroc Ruskie, Estes Nike -X, Estes Mini-Shuttle Clone. Estes Renegade, Estes Big Red Max, Estes Phoenix, Fliskits Shadowlord, Custom Rockets SAM-X, thanks Texas Winds and rain.
Austin TX

I would repair that shuttle for flight. There's hardly anything there to repair as the separate nose piece covers most of the cracks. As GH said you will need to use a bit of material on the back side as reinforcement. Be careful not to use too much glue as the plastic is thin and the solvent in the glue will distort the plastic if you heap it on. And it should fly just fine. Test glide it after your repairs..........it shouldn't need much balancing if you keep the additional plastic and glue to a minimum.

Repair it, then fly it once, then retire it. If you don't want to chance gliding, just glue the orbiter to the remainder of the shuttle stack.

The repair strategy, mentioned in previous replies, works well, even for much more damaged orbiters:
https://youtu.be/_VxqfGUjLzg?feature=shared&t=1119

Bob

This one is a great one to fly once repaired.
Do NOT fly it on a wimpy C6-3 which results in an "arcing" lousy flight.
A good MINIMUM is the Estes C5-3.
It flies much better on any Quest/Aerotech 18mm D engine... D10, D21, D24, just like the Mars Lander does.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Thank you that was very helpful to see how to go about it.

__________________
Build floor: Estes Pro Series Jayhawk, Estes LTV Scout

In paint:
Estes Interceptor II

Ready for 1st flight: Custom Rockets Bullet, Semroc/Centuri Renegade, Semroc Laser X, Estes Beta Launch Vehicle, MPC Flare Patriot, Estes Nimbus, Estes SR-71, Estes Nebulon Warrior, Semroc Ruskie, Estes Nike -X, Estes Mini-Shuttle Clone. Estes Renegade, Estes Big Red Max, Estes Phoenix, Fliskits Shadowlord, Custom Rockets SAM-X, thanks Texas Winds and rain.
Austin TX