Following the part sequence, the next step was the upper unit, which consists of the deflector shield generator and the top section of the hyperdrive. This was a pure lamination process:
I also assembled the rear shield:
In addition, I decided to insert and secure the wings at this stage, rather than waiting until near the end as uhu02 suggests in the instructions. My concern was that once the delicate engines are assembled and mounted, maneuvering the wings into place would be much more difficult and carry a higher risk of breaking something. I double-checked to make sure I could still construct and mount the engines with the wings attached, and everything looks good to go.
Closing the fuselage unit around the wings was a bit tough, but I eventually got everything locked down tightly:
After attaching the rear bulkhead (part 188), I glued the remaining wing power cylinder (parts 243–246, on the left) into place:
When I tried opening the wings, there was significantly less clearance than before. However, uhu02 does note that once the wings are fully locked inside the fuselage, the opening movement is naturally restricted by about half. I don't have a workaround for this restriction just yet...
I also assembled the rear shield:
In addition, I decided to insert and secure the wings at this stage, rather than waiting until near the end as uhu02 suggests in the instructions. My concern was that once the delicate engines are assembled and mounted, maneuvering the wings into place would be much more difficult and carry a higher risk of breaking something. I double-checked to make sure I could still construct and mount the engines with the wings attached, and everything looks good to go.
Closing the fuselage unit around the wings was a bit tough, but I eventually got everything locked down tightly:
After attaching the rear bulkhead (part 188), I glued the remaining wing power cylinder (parts 243–246, on the left) into place:
When I tried opening the wings, there was significantly less clearance than before. However, uhu02 does note that once the wings are fully locked inside the fuselage, the opening movement is naturally restricted by about half. I don't have a workaround for this restriction just yet...
