Ariane 5 1/96, pt. 19 - the EAPs [part 5]

There they are. Two identical booster rockets, ready to go. I still need to do the attachment system but I consider that a separate job, since it concerns both the boosters and the core stage. The second one was there within a day. It all was going very fast, having made these stove pipes four times now. I really am glad with how they came out.
Up next is the tedious work of the shroud or fairing that conceals the two satellites from view and protects them on their way up. It will be removable, and in two parts. So there will be more magnets involved, I presume.
More pictures of the EAPs after the jump.

There was a lot of scratch building and new parts involved in these two boosters. The inner parts of the skirt, for example. They were added to the original model. The insides of the main skirt also got a lining of aluminium paper. The small silvery blocks are the insulation around the thrust vectoring pistons that can swivel the engine bell. I made them by cutting pieces of beer mat and doubling them to the thickness of the gap between the inner skirt and the engine. Then I coated them with aluminium tape and glued them into place.

It was an absolute priority to make them both the same height and give them the same appearance.  So lots of eyeballing involved.

I noticed that the main engine bell on the core stage is a little bit too short. I might tackle that later on. But I also might not. We'll see.

Here is where I am now. A core stage, two boosters, a second stage and two payloads. Two tasks remain: the booster attachment system and the fairing. Both are labour intensive pieces of work. One for all the measuring and scratch building it needs, one for the repetitive work, cutting out all the sound suppressor parts. But that is what will be next. I will keep you posted on that.

 Thanks for stopping by and having a look.
--PK