The Voskhod build that I started back in January is finally finished. I got the main engine bells painted. Then I drilled small holes at the base of the core and boosters to accept the tab that is on the engine bells. They were then glued into place with thick CA. The vernier motors were painted and installed on the core and boosters. For the core, the full length of the Airfix vernier motors fit within the cavities that were on the sides of the core body. For the boosters, I had to trim all the part away except for the nozzles. These then fit into the small recesses at the edge of each booster. They were also glued on with thick CA.
Then I carefully glued the boosters to the core stage. I again used thick CA. I added a small drop at four points for each booster. One at the tip where the top of the booster is attached to the core body and then at two points for the braces. I also added a drop of CA at the middle of the crossbar where there is a pin that goes into a hole that had been drilled in each booster body. The Apex kit did not have that pin on the crossbar that came in the kit. The actual vehicle did not have that attach point either. The Airfix part that I was using instead did. I like that idea as it helps hold the boosters on a bit more securely, and at this scale you cannot see where they meet so it does not distract from model.
Next came a fiddly part of the build where I had to attach the second stage to the truss work on the core stage. Here I put a small amount of JB Weld epoxy at each pin that I had previously added to the second stage. I then carefully placed the second stage on the truss. It took a bit of wiggling here and adjusting there to get it into the proper position. Each of the four pins had to be behind the top of the inverted ‘V’ on the truss so that the JB Weld could have something else to grab onto. After letting it cure for 24 hours, it is securely attached. But I still want to be careful in handling, since the pins holding it together are tiny.
It now sits on its base. The steel rod fits nicely into the tube that I built into the core stage. It is very stable on its base. It now takes its place in my 1/144 scale rocket garden of manned launch vehicles. I now only need two more to finish the garden, a Russian Soyuz and a Chinese CZ-2F. That is until Spacex and Boeing start flying crews to the ISS.
Thanks for reading.
Luhman-ations 