1/144 RealSpace Chinese
CZ-2F Launch Vehicle
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Background
Yang Liwei
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The Chinese joined the Soviet Union/Russia and the United States as
a spacefaring nation on 15 October, 2003 with the launch of “taikonaut”
Yang Liwei on a one day earth orbital mission aboard Shenzhou 5. China’s
second manned space mission, Shenzhou 6, was a successful 5 day mission
launched on 12 October, 2005. This flight had a crew of two taikonauts,
Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng.
This spacecraft and its launch vehicle share many passing similarities
with the Russian Soyuz, but they are not related. The CZ-2F launch vehicle
is the latest, man-rated, version of the venerable Chang Zheng (Long March)
series of rockets. This vehicle is the basis for China’s ambitious
future plans for a long-term space station in low earth orbit, and a building
block for eventual moon missions.
My interest in human spaceflight goes back to early childhood. I’ve
previously built 1/144 models of every major type of manned
launch vehicle , but that collection has been incomplete since the
Shenzhou 5 mission. I set out to fill that hole with this model.
The Kit
Glenn Johnson’s RealSpace Models
line of kits is the gold standard of factual space modeling. His CZ-2F
kit is an all resin affair, consisting of approximately 28 parts. The
parts are generally well cast, with only a couple of small bubbles. There
are some small surface irregularities, particularly with the corrugated
sections, which are easily corrected with a bit of time, patience, and
riffler files. Some cleanup effort has to be devoted to the conical shroud
segment on top, due to the many blisters and bumps on the prototype. The
8 rocket nozzles also need some cleanup, and you need to fabricate 8 small
vernier or exhaust nozzles (not sure exactly what it is!) from tube styrene
for the 4 core engine installations and each of the 4 strap-on boosters.
None of this work is out of the ordinary for a limited run kit.
My only complaint about the engineering of the kit, and it is a minor
one, is that the 4 stabilizer flaps on the shroud section are cast in
resin. In my opinion, these flaps would be fine candidates for photo-etch
treatment, which would look better and not require tedious cleanup. (The
flaps serve the same purpose on the CZ-2F as the similar flaps do on the
Russian Soyuz vehicle; they deploy out and downward to stabilize the shroud
section (which contains the spacecraft and taikonauts) in a low altitude
escape-tower-propelled abort scenario.)
The Build
Other than basic parts cleanup, the key to this build is alignment.
The CZ-2F is a tall and skinny animal and you need to pay special attention
to avoid a catty-wompus result. The core of the vehicle consists of 3
cylindrical parts which need have their mating surfaces absolutely flat
and true. In addition, there are external wire tunnels which run most
of the length of the vehicle on 2 sides and must be aligned at the joints.
I had some trouble getting both sides simultaneously aligned, and chose
to use the better side for the front of the vehicle. After much dry fitting,
I joined the 3 core segments with 5 minute epoxy to allow sufficient working
time for best placement.
There are holes on the sides of core section and each of the strap-on
boosters to aid in placement. Small bits of wire are recommended for a
strong joint. In addition, there are wire straps near the top of each
strap-on booster which should be rendered with small diameter wire for
an accurate look.
The RealSpace decals are first rate and go on with no problems. They
work well with Microset and Microsol solutions. However, where you put
them is a bit confusing. References on the Chinese manned space program
in general, and the CZ-2F in particular, are sparse. CZ-2F photographs
are difficult to assimilate because of conflicting information. The vehicles
are basically white with blue trim, but individual mission markings vary.
A particular point of confusion is the markings which run the length of
the core section of the vehicle. Taking a top-down view, divide the vehicle
into eighths, with one set of lines bisecting the strap-on boosters and
another set of lines halfway in between. Some photos seem to show the
core markings not aligned with any of these axes due to the position of
the vertical wire tunnels. My decal placement was done in accordance with
these photos, most or all of which I now believe are of unmanned test
vehicles. However, the best photograph I have seen of the launch of Shenzhou
5 (which I unfortunately did not find until after I finished the model),
seems to show all markings aligned halfway between the strap-on boosters.
I will be redoing my decals accordingly in the future.
Conclusion
This kit is a fairly straightforward build if you have experience with
resin materials and are OK with fabricating a couple of fiddly bits. It
fills another well-appreciated niche in the realm of factual spaceflight
modeling, and keeps my manned launch vehicle collection complete. My kit
was purchased directly from RealSpace Models.
References
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