Okay boys and girls (not many girls here, I think, but here we go), I am restoring two Centuri Space Shuttles. One, I built long ago and the other is from a Centuri collection I got a few years ago. I have disassembled the orbiter which was pretty poorly built—as you can see from the photos, the balsa ST-13 cone from the original kit (that’s an assumption but I seriously doubt the person who built this substituted another one) is very different than the repro nose Semroc is using in their kit and also very different than the plastic version that Centuri later included in the kit.

I believe the yellow one (original) is a BNC-130 and not a BNC-132 (which is what Semroc includes in their kit—with a shorter base—BC-1327S). The picture of the cones shows the size difference between an original Centuri PNC-132 on the left, a Semroc BC-1327S, the yellow nose from the model and the cone section, without the base, of a Centuri PNC-132.

So this another one of those questions about an older Centuri kit. Was this the original one included or was this one of those part substitutions that we see in Centuri kits from time to time?

I fully expect that Earl will know the answer to this.

Attached Thumbnails

   

Just happened to be on posting about Thelma Lou and saw your post....

Attached photo shows an original balsa cone from an early Centuri Space Shuttle kit, before the balsa cones were replaced with the plastic cones. The Centuri plastic cone that took its place is shown on the left. As can be seen there is a fair amount of difference in size.

The overall shape of the balsa cone in the attached photo is a bit different than the profile of your yellow one, but it is hard to know how much sanding and such may have been done on the yellow cone during sealing, painting, etc. May have been enough to change the overall profile somewhat.

Earl

Attached Thumbnails

 

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Earl,

Thanks. This confirms what I thought.

Now I can move forward with the resto. The one I built had plastic cones so I will put it back to its original self. I lost the orbiter for that one long ago.

On the other (the one in the picture) I wanted to save the original tube and reuse it. I try to use all of the original components in restorations to keep them authentic. Unfortunately, the cone was glued in crooked and the slot in the tube was poorly cut so I’ll have to replace it.

BTW, it’s funny that you think the original builder of this kit sanded at all or used sanding sealer. It appears it had one hastily brushed on coat of yellow acrylic paint. Look a bit closer at the first picture. The vert stabilizer on the orbiter was “built” with scotch tape and then painted over.

It was flown though. It has powder burns from at least two or three flights.

Romie

I could tell the model was built fairly roughly, but did not look real close at the details. Looking more closely I'd have to agree that it appears minimal sanding and finishing work was done with this kit. I did not pick up on the tape on the vertical stabilizer. I am surprised they got more than one flight out of this bird!

It would seem then that there were profile differences in the BC-130 cones used in this kit. But, there was a history of cone profile variations in other Centuri kits, so this is not the first case of that happening. The Egg Crate had at least two different profiles for the BC-200 cone used in THAT kit.

This was one of my favorite Centuri kits. A challenging build back in the day. I too lost my shuttle glider after about the third flight. Nosed down in some tall weeds during a summertime flight. Found it after the spring plow the next year. All I was able to salvage was the plastic cone and a shred or two of what was left of the silver painted body tube.

Good luck with the resto job!

Earl

P.S. -- If you need scans of the original printed wing/fin sheets for this version of the kit let me know and I'll post them. Or the original instructions, paper canopies, decals, etc.

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Did the fin/wing patterns change? I wouldn’t be surprised since they changed on so many others. If they did, please post them. I have everything else, I think.

No, I don’t think they changed...but for that first iteration of the kit with balsa cones they were ‘printed’ balsa sheets compared to the later die-cut sheets. So, I was not sure if you even had scans of either, or whether or not you might want the specific scans for the printed sheets to go along with version of kit you were restoring.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Yes, please post them. I will compare them to the Semroc versions and the pieces I cut off of the one I have. Thanks!

Here are the main craft printed sheet and the shuttle craft printed sheet. Also, an image of the entire kit contents just for info.

Earl

Attached Thumbnails

     

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

You guys that resurrect poorly built "rockets" have wayyyy more time/patience than I do.

__________________
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, and HAVOC !

I see your point but the idea for me is that I can build a fleet of actual Centuri models for a fraction of the cost of buying kits. Also, I don’t destroy any collectible kits in the process nor do I have to agonize over the expense. The fact that they are poorly built is a coincidence. Some of the ones I have just need sanding and repainting. That doesn’t really take any longer than building from scratch. For me, who started with Centuri kits in 1971, it allows me to build things I missed or just messed up as a kid. To each his own.