The Space Shuttle is now complete and in full working order.
While I normally only paint the edges, I felt that to honour the Space Shuttle she needed to be in all her coloured glory. I loved the shuttle just as much as I love the Titanic. There has been no space vehicle as beautiful as that ungainly beast.
The external fuel tank looks great if I do say so myself. The solid rocket boosters was originally only the natural wood colour and there was engraving that I wanted to preserve. I tested my white alcohol marker on some scrap, but it turned out the same colour of the wood. I then went through all of my white acrylic paint pens and found one that when wiped over engraving lightly, it did not cover it up, so I was able to give the SRB’s their traditional white colour. I also coloured the writing on them in red (and everywhere else on the whole model).
The shuttle itself had printed white and black parts so for the most part it only needed edges to be painted, but occasionally there was the back of a part that was clearly visible when put in place, so I coloured those also to match.
I only had one breakage, and that was when mounting the shuttle onto the launch pad. I broke the wooden piece it hooks into. Saved by the gorilla glue however, so there was no stopping me from completing this today.
I am so happy with this build. Final pictures and a video of the motion are below, but first it’s time for a story.
Enjoy. I am having a small break from mechanicals so my next build will be Pirate Bay. After that, I will tackle the Walking Castle.
The Last Launch
The countdown clock glowed red through the small window beside my seat.
T-minus thirty seconds.
I tightened the straps across my chest and looked once more through the cockpit glass. Below us, the launch platform stretched away into the morning haze, its towers and gantries illuminated by pools of amber light. The shuttle stood upright against the sky, white and black against the enormous orange fuel tank, flanked by its solid rocket boosters.
She had never looked more beautiful.
“Flight, Commander. We are ready.”
The words came calmly over the headset, but my heart was pounding.
I had dreamed of this moment since I was a child. Every astronaut dreams of sitting here, of feeling the engines come alive beneath them, of leaving the Earth behind. But this launch was different.
This was the last one.
Not just the last launch for us. The last launch of the Space Shuttle ever.
Ten… nine… eight…
I glanced across at my crew. Four faces stared back at me, each wearing the same mixture of anticipation and disbelief. We had trained for months. We had rehearsed every procedure until we could perform them in our sleep.
Yet none of us had rehearsed this feeling.
Seven… six… five…
The engines ignited.
For one impossible instant, everything seemed to pause.
Then the world exploded into fire.
The shuttle shook violently as the engines roared, the sound rolling through the vehicle and into my bones. Bright orange light flooded the cockpit. The launch tower began to slide away as the enormous machine beneath us fought gravity.
Four… three… two… one…
“Liftoff.”
The words barely left my mouth before we were climbing.
The Earth began to fall away.
I watched the launch platform disappear beneath us, shrinking into the distance. The tower that had held us moments before now looked impossibly small.
For a few seconds, I allowed myself to simply enjoy it.
We were flying.
Human beings were still doing what we had always done—reaching for the stars.
Then I looked at the instrument panel and felt the sadness return.
I knew that when we landed, another shuttle would never leave this planet. No more countdowns. No more thunder rolling across the launch site. No more white wings rising against the morning sky.
The Shuttle had carried generations of dreams into space. It had built stations, launched satellites, repaired telescopes, and taught us that the impossible could become routine.
Now, finally, it was carrying one last dream.
I looked at my crew.
“Enjoy the view,” I said quietly.
Below us, Earth curved against the darkness.
And as the last shuttle climbed toward the heavens, I felt both the greatest excitement of my life—and the quiet ache of knowing I was watching the end of an era.
this is truly a wonderful build you’ve accomplished