Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope model reflects a major aerospace engineering marvel of the 1980s.  This was another challenging model due to the close alignment necessary for some of the parts and the long telescope tube.  This was constructed from a kit purchased from Space Craft International.

The solar arrays were relatively easy to build, but have noticeably sagged over time [over a year].  If I were to re-build this one, I would make some effort to further stiffen the sheets or somehow reinforce the ends to prevent sagging.  The two antennae also sags on their booms somewhat.  Multiple coats of lacquer on this model did not help enough.  There are also a number of rather small handles and supports which required patience and focus to hold them in place while the glue dried.

The long telescope tube was made by rolling the rectangular sheet into a cylinder and gluing the seam.  This was rather difficult, as the recommended glue stick did not hold well, and Elmer's glue would make noticeable warps along the seam.  My solution was to use a small amount of glue stick, and then use smooth needle-nose pliers to hold the seam together as it dried.  I did this in four sections.

This model took about 20 hours to construct.