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| The Saturn IB was an uprated version of the Saturn I, which featured a much more powerful second stage, the S-IVB. Unlike the earlier Saturn I, the IB had enough throw weight to launch the Apollo Command/Service Module or Lunar Module into Earth orbit, which made it invaluable for testing the Apollo spacecraft while the larger Saturn V needed to send them to the moon was still being developed. |  | | | Kit details... | | Manufacturer: | Apogee Components | | Scale: | 1/70 | | Parts: | 56 | | Built: | October 2009 - present | | Aftermarket kits: | None | | Add-ons: | This kit is highly detailed so there is absolutely no need for add-ons. | | | | | Building the base stand... | | | | Building the kit... | | I have already finished glueing the vacuformed wraps to the main stage of the rocket. The experience I had when building the Saturn 5 came in handy! |  | | posted: 29-10-2009 | modified: 16-12-2009 | | | | Later that day, I also primer painted the eight main body tubes. I had a slight setback because I ran out of primer. Now, only 6 out of 8 tubes have received their second layer of primer. |  | | posted: 29-10-2009 | | | | I also finished the upper stage of the rocket. |  | | posted: 29-10-2009 | | | | And while I was on a roll I thought why not build the Apollo capsule as well... The construction was identical to the one used on the Saturn 5. |  | | posted: 29-10-2009 | | | Today I finished working on the lower part of the rocket. I completed the assembly of the fin base.
All the fins are resin pieces so I was on the lookout for bubbles and holes. I must admit that the quality of the pieces is very high! Just two out of a total of eight pieces had two minor bubbles in them. | |   | | posted: 29-10-2009 | | | | I have come quite a long way. All the main body parts are primer painted and sanded and thus ready for their first paint job.
All except the eight fuel tubes...
I have painted four of them black and they are waiting for the paint to dry as we speak. |  | | posted: 16-11-2009 | | | Momentarily, the four lower stage body tubes have been painted white and are drying. Once they are white enough to my liking I will post a picture of the eight body tubes (four black and four white).
Progress is very slow since I had to wait for my ordered spray cans to arrive... | | posted: 25-11-2009 | | | I have finally finished the lower body part tubes.
It took me some time of trial and error to get them glued to the inner lower engine tube, but I am pleased with the results!
Later this weekend, I managed to spray paint the black areas onto the fin unit as well. | |   | | posted: 29-11-2009 | | | | | I have found some time to work on the model and have succesfully completed the first and second stages. That is, the stages are both painted with their final layer. | |   | | posted: 16-12-2009 | | | | Both stages have also been glued together. It already starts to make a massive impression!
Though a lot smaller in size compared to its big brother, the Saturn 5, this one is just as thrilling to build! |  | | posted: 16-12-2009 | | |
| | Painting the model... | I bought spray cans for this model. As with the Saturn 5, only three colours were needed: black, white and silver.
Since airbrushing would take quite an amount of time, using these spray cans just might be the better way to go.
In total, I have used the following spray cans:
Tamiya Surface Primer (Gray) (4 bottles)
Tamiya TS-26 Pure White (22 bottles)
Tamiya TS-14 Black (6 bottles)
Tamiya TS-17 Aluminium (4 bottles) | | | Overall experience... | As of yet, the parts seem to fit perfectly. Building this kit goed smoothly. The only real annoying bit is having to sand off the primer time and again to fill all the seams on the eight body tubes of the lower half of the rocket.
Spray-painting the eight lower body part tubes takes up quite some time. The tubes are sprayed with a thin layer of paint, left to dry, sprayed again, left to dry again, and so on and so forth. | | | More photos... |
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