Revell Space Shuttle Atlantis

I purchased this Revell 1:72 orbiter in 2012, after seeing Phil Smith's Discovery, covered in a skin of scribed styrene for tiles and medical tape to represent the thermal blanket texture. I thought it was an incredible job and wanted to emulate it as best I could with the little skill I had. With the amount of time it took to put the skin of tile on it, the process went in fits and starts.

In 2015 I moved, and the kit went into storage. A year later I pulled it and removed all of the progress made. The tape yellowed, and the tiles were uneven. I started again with a better idea of how to approach it. After getting burned out in early 2017, I stopped until about three months ago to power through. The body of the orbiter is 95% done. The payload bay is 80%, the payload bay doors are at 90%. I hope to have paint on it by February 2019.

This model will be depicted as OV-104 Atlantis. I had a lot of bad luck trying to catch a shuttle launch while I lived in Florida. Atlantis launched on a day with 30% change of 'go' for STS-135, and I was there to see it. Two or three years later, I was there at Kennedy Space Center for the opening day of the Atlantis exhibit. In my attempt to commemorate the orbiter that flew for me, who had become my favorite, this model will be displayed with payload bay doors open and wheels up, and angled at 43 degrees like she is at KSC.