Hello there. Here is my rendition of Alan's BM-13 Katyusha built out of the box. This model was fortunate enough to have brought home an award from our local competition.

As I don't do much Soviet armor, comments and suggestions would be most appreciated.

well executed.. congrats..

I have that kit in the stash, although I haven't gotten around to starting it yet, I've always liked the look of it.
You did a really nice job on it.
It is also one you don't see finished up too often.

How was the build, fit etc?
Hopefully you'll enter it in the DMOM contest.

Thanks for the comments.

My comments on the kit (Please be reminded that I am not yet an expert so I may not make the best possible comments. heh heh)

1. Poor instructions
2. The wheels have large seam lines. I think it would be best to put the wheels in a freezer then sand the seams off.
3. Most of the rockets don't align well. (Now I know how a/c modellers feel. ) I suggest removing the locator pins.
4. The cranks for raising the launcher are poorly made. Several adjustments need to be made.
5. There are two options for the roof and the rear cab wall. Refer to your references on this one.
6. The launcher is moveable which make transport of the model easier.
7. Underchassis fit is not that good but it's considerably well-detailed.
8. No fit problems on the cab, windows and launcher structure.

Overall, it's not the easiest kit to build, as expected (which probably explains why you don't see a lot of these ) But with a little elbow grease, you can have a nice looking model on your shelf.