How to Make a Vertical Stabilizer for a Model Space Shuttle Discovery

[dlgoff]

I hope it's appropriate to post a picture of a battery operated model of the Space Shuttle Discovery which flew in the 1960's ; lights and sounds.

I came across it at the antique mall. It's missing it's vertical stabilizer, but I can make that,

 

[hutchphd]

The shuttle Discovery first flew in 1983. Fun model!

 

[berkeman]

Do the Bay Doors open and the mechanical arm can come out?

 

[dlgoff]

Do the Bay Doors open and the mechanical arm can come out?

The doors do open but no movable arm. Then landing gears, wheels & nose, can be pulled down out of their compartments.

 

[berkeman]

The doors do open but no movable arm.

So I predict you will be building more than just the vertical stabilizer!

 

[dlgoff]

The shuttle Discovery first flew in 1983. Fun model!

I remember it well. What an accomplishment.

 

[dlgoff]

So I predict you will be building more than just the vertical stabilizer!

You know me too well.

 

[Klystron]

I hope it's appropriate to post a picture of a battery operated model of the Space Shuttle Discovery which flew in the 1960's ; lights and sounds.

I came across it at the antique mall. It's missing it's vertical stabilizer, but I can make that,

View attachment 273260

I see two elevons in the photo. Is the model damaged or built with reentry elevons?

The wing leading edge tiles in black are a nice touch.

[edit: I retract my question. Misunderstood OP. Thanks.]

 

[dlgoff]

I see two elevons in the photo. Is the model damaged or built with reentry elevons?

The wing leading edge tiles in black are a nice touch.

I don't know what you are seeing. There's no damage. Are you maybe seeing the slightly visible landing gears? As they are in the down and locked position.

 

[Tom.G]

There was one Canadian Arm, which was swapped around to all the Shuttles
...
Ah, here we go:
The Canadarm was signed over to NASA in February 1981, at Spar's Toronto plant, where it was built. After being carefully trucked to the Kennedy Space Center, it was integrated into the space shuttle Columbia in June.

The Canadarm’s first flight was with the space shuttle Columbia on 13 November 1981. Columbia was the second of NASA’s shuttle missions (also known as STS-2).

It performed well and exceeded all design goals. Between 1981 and its final flight in 2011, the Canadarm flew 90 times. In addition to Columbia, its flight history included missions with all of NASA’s other shuttles: Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.


(from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadarm)

Cheers,
Tom

 

[dlgoff]

It's missing it's vertical stabilizer, but I can make that,

Making the vertical stabilizer was harder than I thought. I had no idea what it even looked like, but after searching for drawings, etc, I used this drawing to capture the stabilizer:

I then rescaled it and printed it onto a sheet of decal paper. I put the decal on a plastic piece cut to the correct size. Then with a little paint: