Lancia Armata Armored Launch #748

[KingDaddyo]

Well, time to test my shaky hands with another kit. I bought this kit in 2013!! Some of the rubber bands holding the wood strips together have dried out and fallen off!! Going to start with the unboxing. Yup, and that nose is one of my nosy schnauzers who always wan to interrupt my building time with belly rubs. Did I mention the prints are all in Italian? Thank goodness for Google Translate!!

 

[KingDaddyo]

Well, I'm off. The first thing that's fun is bouncing from instructions to prints and google translate on my phone. I have the bulkheads in place but strangely, they want you to wax the sides of bulkheads 2 thru 6 so the planking won't adhere to the bulkheads as they will be cut off at the line shown in the photos below after the planking is done. The photo of the print shows what it will look like after the bulkheads are partially cut out. they are just in place to guide planking while the assembly is ongoing. There will be three layers of planking when completed. I think I can handle the detail in this kit shaky hands or not. Already looking for my next build to move on to. Was going to go to the BB528 Smit Nederland as I really like the lines and power that kit displays. But the discussions on a plastic hull kind of put a damper on that. My second choice is going to be the Mantua Model 734 - MISSISSIPPI. I like the old riverboat rear paddle wheelers. I built a smaller version of this kit so I would have some familiarity with the work to build this one.

 

[Corporal Smith]

I studied the box art photograph for quite some time looking for the armour. Then I realised that they meant armed, not armoured. Silly me.

 

[KingDaddyo]

Yup, these "armored launches" were used as fast attack craft, they also preceded larger ships coming to shore to "soften up" the landing areas and they were used as fast night attack crafts. I think the heavy planking and multiple guns made them over armed and hardened to survive small arms fire closer to shore. The front gun was mounted on sliding rails for recoil purposes while the helmsman was responsible for left to right aiming as they approached targets.

 

[KingDaddyo]

As much as I think these Proxxon tools are over priced. This micro belt sander was worth every penny!! It makes profiling bulkheads and bow sections really easy!! If you are ever going to buy one of these, start with this one!! The belts are very easy to change and they seem to last a long time!! If you pay close attention to using a soft touch, it does a great job.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Make sure the bulkheads to be removed are scribed well at break point before you start planking. If not they will be hard to "snap" out when your done planking.

It is common to have bulkheads that come out after hull is shaped in many small boats or canoe's.

 

[KingDaddyo]

Make sure the bulkheads to be removed are scribed well at break point before you start planking. If not they will be hard to "snap" out when your done planking.

It is common to have bulkheads that come out after hull is shaped in many small boats or canoe's.

Thanks, ill work on improving the scoring a little more after i get the first five planks attached to each side . i was wondering if i should do that. appreciate the heads up .

 

[KingDaddyo]

And as a apology , my current build is called an "Armed Launch", not an armored launch. Sometimes my typing and my brain never quite connect .

 

[KingDaddyo]

Making progress on planking. When I bought these small screw in planking clamps I thought they were a little expensive for as small as they were. Now that I use em all the time I've bought about 20 more so I have plenty to plank on each side. I have some liquid handle stuff for coating or re-coating my tool handles. I dipped each of the knurled screws in the plastic coating about 3 times until I got a good covering on them. Makes it easier on the fingers when using them a lot. I also got these Ryobi metal cutting tools at a fair. Going to make it real easy to make sure the scoring on each bulkhead is cut thru enough to allow me to break them off cleanly when it's time for them to be removed. I have a question for anyone who can answer it. This boat requires three layers of planking. Do I wait until all three layers are done to remove the bulkheads or do they come out sooner?

 

[Kurt Konrath]

And as a apology , my current build is called an "Armed Launch", not an armored launch. Sometimes my typing and my brain never quite connect .

With me the errors seem to be due to one of two common reasons:
Dyslexia of the optical input units or intermittent spasms of the digital output devices.

 

[Kimosubby]

I completed this model earlier this year. I suppose I should post some images of it here on the site.
Your question re planking and removal of build frames.
Remove them when you have completed all threes layers as they give the hull strength during the build. I put sellotape down the frame edges so that the inner planks did not adhere to the frames. I also made sure that each frame was pre cut to assist removal later.
The hull is very strong once the last planking is on.
Kimmo

 

[maywiyj]

I was just about to type pretty much exactly what Kim did, so I second that advice. I am so jelly (young-person-speak for jealous). I have made two Armed Launches in my time and after about 60 models it was one of my favourite kits to build. The kit design and choice of woods looks very nice with minimal painting required. I liked working in the larger scale as well where the parts and details are so much larger and easier to see and work with. Enjoy the build!!

 

[KingDaddyo]

I completed this model earlier this year. I suppose I should post some images of it here on the site.
Your question re planking and removal of build frames.
Remove them when you have completed all threes layers as they give the hull strength during the build. I put sellotape down the frame edges so that the inner planks did not adhere to the frames. I also made sure that each frame was pre cut to assist removal later.
The hull is very strong once the last planking is on.
Kimmo

Thank you very much!! I hope this turns out well. It looks like a good kit. If you have any other suggestions please let me know. Did you post photos of your build?

 

[KingDaddyo]

Thank you very much!! I hope this turns out well. It looks like a good kit. If you have any other suggestions please let me know. Did you post photos of your build?

Silly me, there they are!! OK, I jealous, you did a great job!!! I'm wondering, did the flag come with the kit? Did you make your own hooks on the rigging?

 

[Dan A]

Thanks for posting the build log. Beautiful job. I also built this model, but left off the cloth flag as I could not get a realistic drape. How did you do it?