So I was working on SpaceX's Starship SN20 with eventually the plan to add its BN4 booster to create the whole giant stack. But recently, after watching some space news channel on YT, I heard both of the stages already are obsolete. And, well, of course. SpaceX is letting their their rockets evolve faster than I can build a model. Faster than they can actually build an launch them themselves.
And now the whole stack apparently is rendered obsolete. As someone on Reddit said: “The designs have iterated so far away from a flying corn silo to an actual spaceship that the only use in launching the old design would be to see something crash or blow up.” And although I find the technology of SN20 hardly compares to that of a corn silo, of course that isn’t enough to launch something. I only hope they still put those brilliant but also quickly ageing Raptor 1-engines to use.
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| Nice shiny metallic card and detailed heat shield tiles. |
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| Proof of concept. Just one ring and the tilework glued over the metallic stuff to create some relief. Edges coloured. It looks damn good. The relief is exactly how it should look. |
The latest version of Starship has different vents that simultaneously function as manoeuvring jets. The booster has them too and an entirely different layout of the COPV-tanks around the outside, They now apparently are placed in a long row and with an aerodynamic cover they act as chines to improve the flight characteristics of the rocket during the return. I like seeing those changes happening on the fly. It is a little reminiscent of how NASA in the sixties improved their designs on the go. It is exciting and mind-boggling how they solve problems, how quickly they do it and how they improve the design on the fly, while working towards a launch. But the SN20 / B04 stack now apparently is nothing but an addition to the growing unused rocket garden. I'd say, museum stuff.
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| I slightly cut the metallic card to create panel lines. I used AXM's model as a template, but I enlarged it 104% to get 1/96 scale to fit right in with the rest of my rockets. |
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| It looks neat from here. I know. It does. But the strips with the heat shield tiles (not seen here cause they're on the back) were quite messy. The seams were very visible and left some notable gaps. I couldn't camouflage it all with just coloured pencil. It wasn't wobbly but the amount of rings in this ogive shape I think, also played a role in the messy look. And also because I wasn't able to easily test fit the tile strips on to the metallic card, because I had to use CA glue to stick it to the smooth surface. Lesson for the next try. Test fit first. |
A long time ago, I decided I would only build stuff that actually has flown or at least flew once to keep the shelves free from clutter (i.e. unflown and untested spacecraft - apart from What-ifs of course.), I will wait for the final first flown prototype.
Luckily, I wasn't too far in with building the rocket, I only finished the nose cone. The result was not bad, but far from good. The seams were too visible and the whole matter was quite messy, at least to my eyes. It was a good lesson, and I still really want to build the giant stack. Bit now i'll wait until there has been one that actually flew.
So I am diverting again, making a little… Prudenziative evasion. This time it’s a Curtiss P40 to add to the collection. As usual, I take Zio's planes in a quite light manner. I don't go for detail, I don't go for perfection, I just go for the sheer joy of building a little paper plane that looks the part. For more, click on the "read the rest" thingy below the photo.
