I started on the Service Module (SM) main structure by cutting a hole for the PE flyaway umbilical panel from the New-Ware detail set.
I tried to reduce the thickness of the plastic in that area as well. Hopefully without weakening it too much. I next needed to drill a hole for the model mount to go. Dragon has put a depression on the inside of one of the parts for this. I won’t be using their display stand but the hole is perfect for my mount as well. After drilling out the hole I put a short section of brass tube through the hole.
After drilling the hole and placing the brass tube I glued the forward bulkhead ring to one of the panels and then glued the other SM side panels in place except for the two long bay covers. That gave me access to the inside so I could use JB Weld on the brass tube. Here is a pic.
Note that I broke one side panel where I had made the flyaway umbilical cutout. It was a clean break so I should be able to repair it without a lot of trouble. You can also see where I labeled the Y and Z axis orientation and the Side 1 through 4 panels. That should help me keep things aligned as the SM construction continues.
At first it seems like a strange way to divide up the parts of the SM sides, but they divided the parts along panel lines. We’ll see how that affects the looks when primer and paint go on. Here is a side where two of the sections meet.
This is the side with the SIM bay panel. The panel is on the far left. This bay was not used on Apollo 11. You can also see I have repaired the break with the flyaway panel.
Here is the long panel that covers the fuel cell bay.
Most of the molded panel details will be replaced with PE parts from the New-Ware update set. That should be in the next update.
Thanks for looking.
Luhman-ations 