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1/72 Hasegawa Tornado F.3 "Operation Telic"


Procopius

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I'll be starting this one presently. I have the Flightpath detail set, someone's spotting me a pair of Hasegawa Tomcat BOL rails, and I have some ASRAAMs from the old Airfix weapons set. I'm not terribly keen on assembling a billion fins for the Flightpath Skyflash, so I'll let that fall by the wayside. Unsure on a good source for Sky Shadow and the TRD.

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Good choice!

They didn't carry Skyshadow I think it was Phimat pod instead. For the TRD I made one from a boz pod with a bit of sprue in the back end, heat up the end and then flatten it out.

I found a pic to illustrate,

3B6C5B8C-A5C6-49AB-B8AB-05BCEA531BB8-940

Hope that helps

Phil

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It does help indeed, Phil! Thanks for the tip on the Phimat vice Skyshadow; I'm not up to speed on RAF ECM. The Tornado F.3 was my second favorite jet in the world (after the noble Phantom) when I was a small person (in first grade I penned a story about a Tornado dogfighting a Yak-28 over the Channel after getting ahold of a Bill Gunston book), but I know shamefully little about it.

So, for Telic, did they still carry Skyflash, or were they using AMRAAM?

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So what was the story with ZE758/YI "Tremble"/"Deere 27" during Telic? Apparently it was with DARA, but does that mean it was being used for spares, or did it serve with a squadron during Telic at all, and if so, which one?

Also, what is with the weird RAF penchant for characters from Beano? A few of the annuals made their way to me across the ocean when I was young, were they just immense over in the UK, or what?

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And we're off! I've assembled my stores: four ASRAAM from the old Airfix weapon set, a BOZ pod from a Revell GR1, a pewter Phimat from the Flightpath set, small drop tanks from both the Italeri F.3 and the Revell GR.1, kit Skyflah (in dire need of sanding), and hopefully BOL rails to arrive soon.

I've started work on the cockpit; as you can see, I painted it Maizuru Naval Arsenal Grey, which I am told is a good equivalent of Dark Admiralty Grey. I've cut out the incorrect console part for the rear seater, and folded the tiny etch auxiliary instrument panel for the backseat (not shown). I can't find (m)any good pictures of how it's supposed to look.

I'm concerned that the Flightpath seats are too small. Do they look right to everyone?

I wish Flightpath sold a "lite" version of their correction set, or that someone else (Freightdog?) made something in resin that was less elaborate. A lot of it seems superfluous, like etch to go over the kit's perfectly functional raised instrument panel/decal combination.

IMG_20130420_020308_zps1737cdfd.jpg

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A great start!

There are a few threads about the Flightpath seats and it would appear they are under scale, or at least look too small! Pavla do some nice cheap resin ones. Watch the BOZ pod, revell have moulded the back end the wrong way round so when carried it would tide the flares at the the jet!

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I'll likely just use the kit seats, they look pretty decent. Thanks for confirming the size issue. What do I need to do to fix the BOZ pod? This is turning into a lot of work!

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Well actually the F3 didn't carry a BOZ it was a TRD, I think I stuck a pic on above. To correct the BOZ, just cut off the rear part and turn it through 180deg. It's your model though so no ones going to judge if you don't do it. I'm just trying to tell you now while its easy to do!!

Edited by SaintsPhil
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Oh, I appreciate it! Once known, it can never be unseen! I'm assuming the Turd still needs flipping before I add the hind-end of the little decoy, right?

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Arrrrgh, I annihilated the fuselage thanks to putting in the intakes wrong and not noticing until I tried to close it up. I'll need to get a replacement kit and die a little inside.

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  • 1 month later...

Alright, I've started on a replacement kit for the one I trashed. Closed up the fuse and the nose tonight, and predictably, forgot to include the noseweight, because I've done nothing but screw up this build since day one. It's driving me nuts and I'm really frustrated. Hopefully some sinkers on the back of the nose assembly will be enough to keep it wheels down.

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Hey Proco

One idea you might consider is buying the smallest bb pellets you can find, then drilling a hole in underside of the nose and inserting it through there. then, find some sort of liquid glue (thin paper glue is probably the best) apply a good amount through the hole. Then cover with your favorite putty. It might still rattle a bit but they are probably not going anywhere and you've solved your weight problem.

Good luck!

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Thanks, Neu. If she doesn't sit, I'll do just that.

Okay, progress! Despite Hasegawa's reputation of "falling together", I've found their jets, when assembled by my faltering hands, generally require a bit of filler. There are a lot of gappy bits on this, mostly around the joins on the underbelly.

I had to replace the pitot tube with a bit of a pin after the original snapped off.

IMG_20130604_235529_zps6be0ae99.jpg

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Hey Proc, have you tested out how it sits at this point... like balancing it on the point where the main landing gear would sit? Even without ordnance it would give you a good sense whether the model will be a tail sitter.

Edited by -Neu-
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Neu -- I've been balancing it on a spray can at the point where the main gear will extend from the fuse. So far so good, but the Phimat is pewter and may throw things out of whack yet. We'll see.

As for my progress...

First off, modelling!

IMG_20130608_232223_zps5ac70e65.jpg

This incredibly crude BOL rail set-up would not have been possible without the kind help of Neu, who, from having seen photos of his work, would have indubitably done a better job of this than I. Gent that he is, he sent me a pair anyway.

IMG_20130608_232235_zps93907343.jpg

Nosecone painted and masked, rear engine area painted and masked, rest of the plane painted with Gunze Barely grey, which is apparently indistinguishable from Tamiya Extra Fine Primer. Next is masking off the underbelly to spray that horrible light aircraft grey shape. I'm waiting on this a little, as I've heard Gunze can sometimes crack if sprayed over an uncured prior layer of Gunze; this is my first time using the paint.

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Cue maniacal laughter.

IMG_20130609_173126_zpsd98cf7c7.jpg

Ha. Haha. Ha ha ha. Ha. Ah-hahahahahahahaHaHaHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA IT STANNNNNDS!

Underwing danglies in the process of assembly:

IMG_20130609_175937_zps9165fc4c.jpg

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Irritatingly, I masked the nosecone too soon, and the tape and the paint reacted with each other. I'm hoping a gloss coat and flory wash combo will sort that out down the road.

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Excuse the poor quality cell phone photos, but GOOD RIDDANCE! It's done, and immensely frustrating it was, too. Far from my best work.

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