ALTSU - MENDI, Remolcador a vapor

The tugboat Altsu-Mendi was built in Spain in 1913 and equipped with a 3-cylinder steam engine delivering 450 horsepower. At a speed of 9 knots, it consumed 9 tons of coal per day. Based in Bilbao, the 28.35-meter-long and 6.10-meter-wide tugboat was also used for rescue missions along various sections of the Cantabrian coast.

The Altsu-Mendi participated in the Battle of Cape Matxitxako during the Spanish Civil War. After the war, non-motorized barges loaded with iron ore from the mines along the Cantabrian coast were towed by tugboats to the steel mills in Barakaldo.

The tugboat saw no major modifications during its service and remained in the estuary of the Ría de Bilbao until it was decommissioned and scrapped in 1974, after more than 60 years of service.

Kit History:
Originally designed and announced in the early 1990s, the kit by Talhoer was never mass-produced. For unknown reasons, the project was abandoned until late 2014, when the Spanish company DISARMODEL, under new management, successfully launched the kit with all components and the original design.

Features of the Kit:
Traditional plank-on-frame construction
Pre-finished keel and frames, laser-cut superstructures
Fine cast metal accessories and resin pieces for bow/stern areas
Detailed, illustrated step-by-step instructions in booklet form with 98 color pages
Multilingual short text, parts list, and detailed diagrams on 19 pages + a set of sheets
2-sided construction plan in DIN A1 with all views

Scale: 1:50
Length: 650 mm
Width: 135 mm
Height: 330 mm

age recommendation: +14

WARNING! Not suitable for children under 36 months due to small pieces which may present a chocking hazard - DANGER OF SUFFOCATION !