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Italeri 1/48 Tornado GR4


Skii

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Well I guess its high time this old Chestnut re-appeared - this is my GR4 I built a couple of years ago, converted from the (very good) 1/48 Italeri IDS kit with all the beautiful resin goodies from Paragon (thanks Neil) and parts plundered from the Airfix GR4 boxing.

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cheers

John

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It certainly was a special build, RIP :weep:

Didn't you re-scribe it to deepen the panel lines? I remember you were one of the first people I bumped into when I asked a Tonka related question - I think you & Stephen sent me some left-over parts to help me convert my ECR (now up for grabs if anyone wants it) to a British mark... Now I've got the IDS boxing, which is why the ECR is up for sale.

Ah, the memories... back in the days when British subjects weren't lost in the clamour of US jets, spurious "What should X Company do next?" threads & general non-modelling related chatter.

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Nicely done there! Is that the one that 'crashed on landing?'

Might be Merv, In all honesty I'm not sure as I got the serial number wrong and managed to pick a GR1 that was never actually updated to GR4 spec :whistling:

It certainly was a special build, RIP :weep:

Didn't you re-scribe it to deepen the panel lines?

Yeah I did, I like to do this on my models as it gives me more control over how pronounced they are - well it seemed to work this time anyway :D

As a complete muppet when it comes to these modern things is it possible to build a Tornado, sorry an accurate Tornado straight from any boxing?

Pretty much, yes, the Italeri boxing will give you a pretty good representation out of the box, the ONLY fault with the kit is the forward base of the fin which is too narrow and slightly mishapen - I couln't honestly tell the difference from side-on, but a from a front view there is a difference. The Paragon fin correction part corrects this, and replaces the first inch or so of the tail fin. Other than that its resin for enhanced detail's sake, but there are wonderful examples of the Italeri Fin OOB floating around, plus its been recently re-released by Italeri, so its readily available again and damn cheap !

PS - watch the assembly around the air intakes/LERX. its fiddly....

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It'd be nice if we had some "build a Tonka" resources, wouldn't it? :hmmm: That sounds like a job for... SUPER Skiiiiii! ;)

:D

Yep - that'll go on the 'definate to-do' list Mike

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John,]

See the BOZ pod.Did you make the hole at the back circular as on the real thing the hole is cropped at the top so the flae cartridge goes in the right way.And the are 2 tubes that the flare cartridge slips over.

If you cropped it,let me know how you did it.

Merv

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Hi Merv

Yeah I hollowed out the rear and ran a couple of flare tubes made from the electrical wire insulation from a PC fan inside, reference material was pretty sketchy at the time but I'm hoping it was a fair approximation !

b0z.jpg

John

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Hi Merv

Yeah I hollowed out the rear and ran a couple of flare tubes made from the electrical wire insulation from a PC fan inside, reference material was pretty sketchy at the time but I'm hoping it was a fair approximation !

b0z.jpg

John

That's about right John but the thick area is flatter.

Check PM's

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Not dissing a superb build John, but when I look at the Italeri nose, it looks too big and doominating... Any thoughts? I've got the kit in the stash, and when I try to fit the radome to the fuselage, it is slightly larger all around. I'm beginning to wonder if it is also too long?

Jens

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Not dissing a superb build John, but when I look at the Italeri nose, it looks too big and doominating... Any thoughts? I've got the kit in the stash, and when I try to fit the radome to the fuselage, it is slightly larger all around. I'm beginning to wonder if it is also too long?

Jens

I worked on the Tornado for years.Looks ok to me!

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Not dissing a superb build John, but when I look at the Italeri nose, it looks too big and doominating... Any thoughts? I've got the kit in the stash, and when I try to fit the radome to the fuselage, it is slightly larger all around. I'm beginning to wonder if it is also too long?

Jens

Hi Jens, I must admit I haven't noticed it up till now, mind you I think the all-black radome does tend to enhance the size a little, and the photos increase the size of it with the perspective.

I always thought of the Tornado nose as tapering quite rapidly at the mid point to the pitot, It would be interesting to compare the kit profile with a photo or plan, as in some photos it does indeed seem quite bulbous!

John

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Hi Jens, I must admit I haven't noticed it up till now, mind you I think the all-black radome does tend to enhance the size a little, and the photos increase the size of it with the perspective.

I always thought of the Tornado nose as tapering quite rapidly at the mid point to the pitot, It would be interesting to compare the kit profile with a photo or plan, as in some photos it does indeed seem quite bulbous!

John

To me it always looked like it was sort of concaved (inwardly curved) but I think that was just a optical illusion.

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To me it always looked like it was sort of concaved (inwardly curved) but I think that was just a optical illusion.

Yes, if you look at the white line (I presume it's a conductor moulded in the radome?), then that is straight which indicates that the radome is a cone with a filleted bottom where it fairs into the fuselage. I think the tip may be slightly concave where it blends into the pitot tube that creates the illusion of a concave profile.

Jens

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Yes, if you look at the white line (I presume it's a conductor moulded in the radome?), then that is straight which indicates that the radome is a cone with a filleted bottom where it fairs into the fuselage. I think the tip may be slightly concave where it blends into the pitot tube that creates the illusion of a concave profile.

Jens

You presume right.It's a lightning conductor.

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  • 2 weeks later...

John,

Superb build, never tire of looking at that one, remember the build articles over on ARC.

Are the paragon sets still readily available? They all seem to be sold out on Hannants? Any other known sources?

Paragon Designs PAR48011 Wheels weighted (aircraft) Sold Out 1:48 Tornado bulged Wheels (designed to be us £3.30

Paragon Designs PAR48009 Seats (aircraft) Sold Out 1:48 2 x Tornado Martin Baker Mk.10 Seats (de £4.75

Paragon Designs PAR48020 Aircraft detailing sets (resin) Sold Out 1:48 Tornado Front Fin Correction (designed t £2.99

Paragon Designs PAR48007 Aircraft detailing sets (resin) Sold Out 1:48 Tornado Flaps & Slats (designed to be us £12.99

Was it these resin goodies you used?

Not to hijack the thread atall, but some might be interested in the original build topic over on arc :)

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....showtopic=66617

Matt

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