Finally, I found the one! The Roden box that made me throw the plane up in the air. It did not break!!! It broke a million times before that while trying to connect the wings, the struts and the landing gear but not when I threw it. Therefore, I finished it. My God, the patience you will need to complete it. If it was a test, I failed miserably. It was finished first because it did not break when I threw it and secondly because my wife pointed out something I had not seen. Things to look out for while attempting to complete the plane. 1. The back of the box has the colors in alphabetical order. After the letter “I” it says “F” instead of “J” and after “U” it says “L” instead of “V”. Use the last page of the instructions. Instructions correctly use J and V. 2. NO RIGGING INSTRUCTIONS. You will have to consult the internet. First two points are nothing in front of the rest. 3. THE WINGS: The lower wings are two separate pieces. What a fantastic idea!!! How are you supposed to get the angle correct? One might say by the way you glue them to the fuselage, alas they don’t sit well!!!! If you do not know the angle exactly then how will the inner struts fit in place since the upper wing will be lower or higher than where it is supposed to be in relation to the fuselage? First failure then. I glued them on the fuselage to avoid using putty so the upper wing sat lower and the inner struts had to be glued further out. If you look at the pictures in which I am holding the plane, you will see that the lower wings look down and clearly see where the inner struts were supposed to go. Made the same mistake twice. 4. Take a look at the picture I am holding the plane. What do you see apart from the fact that I placed the wings wrong? Look at the back of the plane. Compare it to the wings. While the wings are horizontal the tail of the plane looks downward right!!!! When I first tried to connect the tail wing, I had problems placing it properly. Then I added the fin and both looked crooked. I went on and looked at the whole plane from the back and I thought I glued the wings wrongly. Therefore, I removed everything making a mess. Glued them back on; again everything looked out of place. This was the moment then!!! I threw it. So look at the picture again. The plastic mold is warped!!! The end of the fuselage is warped. The two halves were glued correctly but they are warped. The horizontal end of the plane looks down and right. This brings us to the next point. 5. When you will glue on the tail wings, the vertical fin/rudder, and the elevator make sure you glue them straight by aligning them with the horizon in front of you and not by gluing them on the fuselage since they will look tilting to the right. Know then that the tail wings will not align with the horizontal tail of the plane. 6. Good luck to you. Has this stopped me though from purchasing two more Roden? No! In fact, one of them is a Gotha. Feel sorry for anyone in close proximity to me while doing it. I think I will take a small break from Roden for now though!
Very nice. Just bought this kit
Thanks. Good luck and i hope things go smoothly. I am interested to find out if the back tail is like mine. Tilting to the right.
Finally, I found the one! The Roden box that made me throw the plane up in the air. It did not break!!! It broke a million times before that while trying to connect the wings, the struts and the landing gear but not when I threw it. Therefore, I finished it. My God, the patience you will need to complete it. If it was a test, I failed miserably. It was finished first because it did not break when I threw it and secondly because my wife pointed out something I had not seen.
Things to look out for while attempting to complete the plane.
1. The back of the box has the colors in alphabetical order. After the letter “I” it says “F” instead of “J” and after “U” it says “L” instead of “V”. Use the last page of the instructions. Instructions correctly use J and V.
2. NO RIGGING INSTRUCTIONS. You will have to consult the internet.
First two points are nothing in front of the rest.
3. THE WINGS: The lower wings are two separate pieces. What a fantastic idea!!! How are you supposed to get the angle correct? One might say by the way you glue them to the fuselage, alas they don’t sit well!!!! If you do not know the angle exactly then how will the inner struts fit in place since the upper wing will be lower or higher than where it is supposed to be in relation to the fuselage? First failure then. I glued them on the fuselage to avoid using putty so the upper wing sat lower and the inner struts had to be glued further out. If you look at the pictures in which I am holding the plane, you will see that the lower wings look down and clearly see where the inner struts were supposed to go. Made the same mistake twice.
4. Take a look at the picture I am holding the plane. What do you see apart from the fact that I placed the wings wrong? Look at the back of the plane. Compare it to the wings. While the wings are horizontal the tail of the plane looks downward right!!!! When I first tried to connect the tail wing, I had problems placing it properly. Then I added the fin and both looked crooked. I went on and looked at the whole plane from the back and I thought I glued the wings wrongly. Therefore, I removed everything making a mess. Glued them back on; again everything looked out of place. This was the moment then!!! I threw it. So look at the picture again. The plastic mold is warped!!! The end of the fuselage is warped. The two halves were glued correctly but they are warped. The horizontal end of the plane looks down and right. This brings us to the next point.
5. When you will glue on the tail wings, the vertical fin/rudder, and the elevator make sure you glue them straight by aligning them with the horizon in front of you and not by gluing them on the fuselage since they will look tilting to the right. Know then that the tail wings will not align with the horizontal tail of the plane.
6. Good luck to you. Has this stopped me though from purchasing two more Roden? No! In fact, one of them is a Gotha. Feel sorry for anyone in close proximity to me while doing it. I think I will take a small break from Roden for now though!