Space Shuttle Painting Templates?

DS Operative

I know there are several versions of painting templates for various Star Trek Federation ships with the Aztek paint schemes.

I've used Google to no avail, but wondered if there was anything available for any of the NASA Space Shuttles? I have the Revell full stack kit and would like to detail it as much as possible.

CessnaDriver

I know there were tile decals to cover the entire orbiter.
Not each tile, but large sheets to cover large areas.

I think you can still find them.

Gigatron

At one time, there was an aftermarket set of tile decals, for the Revell kit. But I believe it is long out of production, now. They're hard to come by and the people that have them, rarely let them go. I've checked all over FSM, ARC and LSP - and the guys that have unused sheets, really aren't big on the idea of selling them.



I would think, though, that if you create a group of tiles in photoshop, you could then create several copies of the group, rotating them in different orientations and then print them out on waterslide decal paper (for laserjet printers). Testors makes a DIY waterslide kit for $25 (give or take) that has everything you need.

But, if you're truly interested in detailing this kit as much as possible, visit this guy's website EDU-Craft Diversions - Hands On To History. I have one of his mobile launch platforms and the detail is crazy sick. I'm working up to building it. Even after model building for years, I still don't think I have the skills to do it. A guy on the FSM space forums, built the Saturn launch tower and it is just incredible.

-Fred

jockdeboer

Keith sells a set he created from the in orbit pics, they look real nice. I'll look for his info.

morrris99

Actually there is a set on eBay right now by a guy named Ed Bisconti. I haven't used them personally, but I think I've seen them on shuttle models and they look nice. If you just type in shuttle tile decals the auction will pop up. He also offers them in 1/144 and 1/288, or so it says in the auction.

DS Operative

Thanks for the tips guys, that certainly helps. Now that you've pointed them out, I recall seeing those decals a while back. They look difficult to use, but I think I'm going to try them.

Let me see if I understand how they work though-- do you paint the shuttle with the various shades of white, black, & gray where appropriate THEN put the decals on allowing the colors underneath to show through?

morrris99

I think if you paint the belly black, the decals will not show through since he doesn't print white. There are instructions included, and you might just ask him. Post pics when you get them, I love Space Shuttle builds!

jockdeboer

keithmcneill@blueyonder.co.uk

Contact Keith for some photo realistic belly decals

JMChladek

Two self adhesive vinyl mask sets were done for orbiters in 1/144 from New Ware (for the Revell kit) and Cutting Edge. I've used the CE set and it is okay, although with it being sized for the Minicraft orbiter, the nose masking had to be done with tape. I have the New Ware set and it seems to look good, although I haven't had a chance to try it out on a model. In 1/72, CE also did a set for the Revell orbiter and I had somewhat okay luck trying it out on the Monogram orbiter when I did a full stack model back in 2007. The biggest problem I had was with the adhesive wanting to come off of it on areas I painted with Tamiya lacquer sprays (which I then had to remove with Goo Gone and some Q-tips). I had a similar problem with frisket paper. Over enamel paint or acrylic, it wasn't a problem. Tamiya tape doesn't react with any paint, so it works fine with Tamiya sprays.

Personally though, with some decent images of the shuttle and some graphics software capable of rescaling, you can practically create almost any masking template you need these days without having to spend money on a pre-cut vinyl set. While the sets do work half decent as a time saver, I find that careful normal masking with a good quality tape (such as Tamiya brand tape) with or without some paper of frisket templates will achieve practically the same results. In the case of my 1/72 shuttle, I maybe only used about 50% of the pre-cut masks as there were a few areas on the Monogram orbiter that I had to alter or mask myself due to contour differences between it and the Revell kit. Plus, the 1/72 mask didn't have any wing panel masks anyway, just ones for the fuselage and tail. The 1/144 wing masks on the CE sheet came in very handy when I did a Columbia model back in 2003, but the 1/72 sheet had none and I was on my own anyway. Here is how mine turned out:

Shuttle STS-117 pictures by JMChladek - Photobucket

BTW, the Revell of Germany 1/144 shuttle stack and 1/72 shuttle Atlantis have some very good decal sheets that include a large portion of the black tiles topside and great masking instructions. At this point, we don't know what the Monogram full stack reissue will have for decals, but it might be possible to adapt some of the Revell decals to fit it if you can acquire a sheet (the instructions can be downloaded in PDF format off the Revell website). Realspace Models also has a great set of aftermarket shuttle decals in 1/144 and 1/72 that are also worth getting.

DS Operative

Thanks for the great info. I'm looking forward to getting started but I'm still in the preliminary and research phase. I'm going to do an homage to the ill-fated Challenger mission STS-51L. Surprisingly, I haven't been able to find very many images of Challenger so I can get the correct paint scheme for it.

JMChladek

Best reference for shuttle up through about 1992 (especially Challenger) is the Space In Miniature SIM book #3 edited my Mike Mackowski. You can order it here:

Space In Miniature - Reference Books for Space Model Builders

You can also find paint diagrams for all shuttle launches at AXM Paper Models as Alfonso has tracked down excellent references for all flights going back to STS-1 (even for some flights that have had very few photos published).

Welcome to AXM Paper Space Scale Models

Challenger had a basic color pattern similar to the later orbiters, such as Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. But, its TPS tile patterns were closer to Columbia as it made use of about the same number of tiles as Columbia while the later orbiters made higher use of AFRSI blankets in place of the white LRSI tiles in spots. As such, Challenger is mainly distinguished by a large "stair step" white tile pattern on the sides of the fuselage just under the payload bay doors (like Columbia prior to its 1988 refit). Like early Columbia, Challenger also had a jagged black tile pattern on the outboard wing elevons. The New Ware vinyl mask set represents this detail on its sheet.