Dan Vadas

The inside of the rocket launcher needed to be painted, one of the very few bits of this kit that could have been designed better :

 
The launchers fitted to the wings :

 
The two bombs were an enjoyable step :

 
Again, there is a mistake in the kit. The outer side of the rings should have had a coloured piece fitted. I used some left-over card from the two bombs that I wasn't going to fit to fix the problem :


 
The nose cones came out the best of any rounded pieces I've done so far :


 
The bombs fitted :

 
The four missiles use a mounting bracket. These are a rather involved unit, as there are 28 pieces of wire holding the inner part to the other which needed 56 0.5mm holes drilled right on the edge of the parts. This step took me 3 hours :

 
More pieces of the brackets :

 
I made a jig to assemble the rails :


 
Danny

The inside of the rocket launcher needed to be painted, one of the very few bits of this kit that could have been designed better :

 
The launchers fitted to the wings :

 
The two bombs were an enjoyable step :

 
Again, there is a mistake in the kit. The outer side of the rings should have had a coloured piece fitted. I used some left-over card from the two bombs that I wasn't going to fit to fix the problem :


 
The nose cones came out the best of any rounded pieces I've done so far :


 
The bombs fitted :

 
The four missiles use a mounting bracket. These are a rather involved unit, as there are 28 pieces of wire holding the inner part to the other which needed 56 0.5mm holes drilled right on the edge of the parts. This step took me 3 hours :

 
More pieces of the brackets :

 
I made a jig to assemble the rails :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The inside of the rocket launcher needed to be painted, one of the very few bits of this kit that could have been designed better :

 
The launchers fitted to the wings :

 
The two bombs were an enjoyable step :

 
Again, there is a mistake in the kit. The outer side of the rings should have had a coloured piece fitted. I used some left-over card from the two bombs that I wasn't going to fit to fix the problem :


 
The nose cones came out the best of any rounded pieces I've done so far :


 
The bombs fitted :

 
The four missiles use a mounting bracket. These are a rather involved unit, as there are 28 pieces of wire holding the inner part to the other which needed 56 0.5mm holes drilled right on the edge of the parts. This step took me 3 hours :

 
More pieces of the brackets :

 
I made a jig to assemble the rails :


 
Danny

Here's a tip J - use a narrow chisel blade Xacto (you will have to grind one to width if you can) and CHOP the INSIDE of the frame out first. Then cut the outside using a steel rule for the straight edges. SHARP blades are vital, a Scalpel works far better than #11 Xacto blades. Use some scrap card for the new frames and paint them.
 
You can buy a Swann-Morton scalpel and blades on Ebay.
 
  Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

Thank you Grant and Scott.
 
Continuing on with the Gangways, I've sanded and shaped them. The undersides have a taper forward and aft, the tops are flat :
 

 
There was no specific instruction on how to attach the inboard ends, so I came up with this idea. It allows the gangways to be both raised and swiveled :
 

 
The gangways fully rigged :
 

 

 

 
  Danny

The model is now finished . My original estimate of 3 weeks to complete the model has blown out to 2 months, but I had a few distractions along the way (like building a new workshop) and my OCD dictated that I HAD to go a bit beyond the Call of Duty . Here are a few pics :
 

 

 

 
Some observations about this kit.
 
I made the same(?) Artesania Latina kit about 30 years ago, I remember it as being challenging for a virtual beginner as it was my 2nd wooden kit, but it turned out quite well and I still have it.
 
This particular kit was released some time after mine, and in my opinion is verging on a piece of JUNK. The instructions were about the same - barely adequate for a beginner - and the plans don't match in measurements from the plan, elevation and fore and aft views .
 
My main beef is with the materials supplied. My older version had very good timber - accurately dimensioned, more than enough material supplied to allow for mistakes, good quality castings, timber railngs and reasonable rigging thread. This kit contained NONE of the above .
 
The timber was of very poor quality, there wasn't even enough to do the job ONCE in most cases and the dimensioning was a joke. The castings crumbled as soon as I touched them - I had to scratchbuild replacements for virtually ALL of them. The railings were diecut brass instead of timber. The rigging thread was garbage and I replaced it with aftermarket thread.
 
Although this kit was also Made in Spain (not Asia) it must have been released after AL went on their big cost-cutting exercise - it was almost as bad as their more recent offerings  .
 
However, it didn't turn out too bad and I'm sure the owner will be happy with it.
 
NOW - back to "Vulture" .
 
  Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

Amazng work  - truly  amazing.
 
OC.

Halinski -- not for the faint of heart.

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny

The "winglets", or Weapons System Platforms if you like, were a relatively easy step to construct. I had to glue the trailing edge of the wings in-situ after making up the frames this time, as the vertical pieces of the wings didn't allow me to fit the wings the "usual" way :


 
The left wing has a pod attached :

 
I made the rocket launcher/bomb pods as a demonstration of Card Model Building at the Port Macquarie Model show over the weekend, although I seemed to be spending most of the time explaining the construction of card models to interested spectators :


 
Danny

The two rocket launchers took me three days to make. The kit gives you the option of using 4 launchers, 4 bombs or a combination of the two. I've opted to do two of each. Hopefully the pics are fairly self-explanatory about the construction :








 
There were a total of 58 1.0mm diameter angled tubes to make which fit inside the oval holes in the nose cones :



 
I glued a toothpick to each cone for ease of handling :

 
Aligning each internal tube was accomplished with the aid if a piece of 1mm wire :

 
The tubes were not a perfect fit, but quite easy to trim down after the glue dried :

 
A bit of touch-up acrylic paint was needed after the trimming :

 
Finally, 5 more tubes were fitted to the end of each cone :

 
Danny