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I'm pretty sure (you wont like this, honest);) the Airfix nose is far closer to the correct profile

I remember when our club built our diorama base with three Tonkas aboard the Airfix one I built looked far more accurate, nosewise

I am not claiming that the rest of it is brilliant doc but it might be worth you looking inside the box on one of your rejects

Three of us each used a different kit

The Monogram one looked least right to me, dumpyer than a Tonka even :)

It looks to me as if yours does need to be stockier at mid section then the curve should flatten out to the fuselage front

Oh boy I wish I had me a nice little lathe

oh boy........

:(

b

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yes I see

mmm

I must have done even more to the Airfix Tonka than I remembered

No worries I 'll pop back in my box :thumbsup:

Your modded one is certainly very close, as you say, not worth further engineering with Milliput or filler

(NOW i'M IN MYBOX I'M GOING TO ENJOY THIS)

Edited by perdu
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You just know that this is going to be good - don't you......

(PS - not a question - a statement :))

(PPS - I'd love to have a lathe - takes me back to O level metalwork - but I just can't think of a non-modelling reason I need one :()

(PPPS - In the past I never had much of a soft spot for the Tornado - probably an irrational bias cos I spent my TWU at Chivenor trying to avoid being sent to fly it (or Phantoms or Buccanner - or for that matter anything with more than one seat) - but as I get older and the flying career recedes ever more into the dim and distant past I'm developing a sort of fondness for it.)

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I was in two minds whether to but this airfix. After looking at the photos I will be avoiding it! How do they get away with selling this junk?!

I'm looking forward to seeing your finished model though, sure to be a stunner. Good luck!

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You just know that this is going to be good - don't you......

(PS - not a question - a statement :))

(PPS - I'd love to have a lathe - takes me back to O level metalwork - but I just can't think of a non-modelling reason I need one :()

(PPPS - In the past I never had much of a soft spot for the Tornado - probably an irrational bias cos I spent my TWU at Chivenor trying to avoid being sent to fly it (or Phantoms or Buccanner - or for that matter anything with more than one seat) - but as I get older and the flying career recedes ever more into the dim and distant past I'm developing a sort of fondness for it.)

I'm not really that taken with the Tornado, but the flypast that day was great!

A lathe comes in very handy for a surprising number of plastic modelling tasks from turning metal bits for a 1:20 racing car engine, to spinning wheels/tyres/spinners/bombs up, to get perfectly concentric painted rings on them.

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Looking dr_gn so far doc

Detail being attended to, as per...

I would/might have attempted making a basic mould of the clear piece and pull moulding it but in hindsight that would maybe leave a slightly blunt edge at the front

That errant intake, might be worth getting as intimate as poss with your subject, maybe there is an intake position variation

These aircraft have all been through the 'update mill' haven't they

still with you

b

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Ta guys - there are loads of amazing Tornado models out there, and plently of experts on the type, so I doubt mine will match those. I'll be happy if it turns out 'looking' right.

I have noticed after studying my photos, that the stbd. inner pylon missile rail was missing from this aircraft on the flypast, but most models I've seen of it have both fitted (one even had missiles!). Strangely, the other aircraft had the port pylon missing. I've confirmed this with one of the contributors on the PH forum who is a navigator with the squadron, and who has provided much useful info such as that one of the anniversary aircraft was a 'strike' version (ZA492) with the standard rear cockpit, and the other (ZA412) was a trainer version with dual controls. As an aside, the Airfix GR.4 has a stick in the rear, and no navigation or weapons equipment (although the whole cockpit is pretty borderline tbh). So if you were being really kind you could say it was supposed to be a GR.4(T) version, but they've only included decals for the strike version. I doubt anyone building the Airfix kit would be bothered about that kind of detail though.

The stabilising tabs on the pylons also need removing, since apparently RAF Tornados don't have them. An easy fix for the sake of a bit of accuracy I guess.

Perdu - the issue with this pod is the fuselage radius (which shouldn't really be near the window, but is on the kit). It's impossible to get the correct geometry, becasue the window on the radiussed side will always look too far away from the lower fuselage surface becasue the radius is falling away from it. This then requires the tiny fillet, to fill in the radiussed side only and form a mounting face for the edge of the window. It's a bit of a nightmare. Hopefully this will be the worst part of the kit in terms of bodges required.

Cheers.

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Awesome work so far.

I've got around 8 or 9 of the Revell kits and have built 2 already, I've noticed that the later kits I've acquired have very poor clear parts including the main canopy. Short of replacing them with vac canopies or having a go at making my own (don't have time!) there isn't much that can be done with them as the flaws appear to be right through the plastic. A good polish and coat of Klear is a help but it wouldn't win you any awards. It's almost like Revell have thought "right, this kits getting on a bit, let's use the crap plastic we've got in the warehouse", a shame as the kit is still best in scale in my opinion.

Mine are pretty much OoB with aftermarket weapons and decals for RAF GR.4's.

Will be keeping an eye on this one she's going to be a beauty.

Rgds,

Eng

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Awesome work so far.

I've got around 8 or 9 of the Revell kits and have built 2 already, I've noticed that the later kits I've acquired have very poor clear parts including the main canopy. Short of replacing them with vac canopies or having a go at making my own (don't have time!) there isn't much that can be done with them as the flaws appear to be right through the plastic. A good polish and coat of Klear is a help but it wouldn't win you any awards. It's almost like Revell have thought "right, this kits getting on a bit, let's use the crap plastic we've got in the warehouse", a shame as the kit is still best in scale in my opinion.

Mine are pretty much OoB with aftermarket weapons and decals for RAF GR.4's.

Will be keeping an eye on this one she's going to be a beauty.

Rgds,

Eng

Ta. That's useful info, I'll check the canopy. Do you have links to your builds? I'm puzzling over how to make the wing seals at the moment. Thinking of filling the open wedges with Milliput and scribing the vertical lines through it.

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I don't have any in progress of my first build of the kit which to be honest is not my best effort at all but let me find the pitfalls of the kit.

Here's a poor photobucket pic, I think my original pics have dropped off of BM possibly when there's been a change of server -

DSCF4606-1.jpg

This one didn't have any of the canopy probs I mentioned above as it was probably relatively new when I built it.

My 2nd build is my wee treasure, a build I've not managed to better yet -

DSCF6567.jpg

DSCF6565.jpg

DSCF6558.jpg

The last pic should show the wing seals and your plan is exactly what I did, fixed the wings and masked the wing itself before filling the gap and re-scribing the filler. These look pretty scruffy in service and can be pretty much any shade of dirty grey. Again the canopy on this jet wasn't to bad in terms of clarity.

Sorry for hi-jacking your thread with pics. The only other thing to watch is the nose leg is too long, it looks like it's moulded in an inflight position with the shock extended, try cutting 1.5-2mm out of the ole. I separate the torque link at the apex and remove the lower part of the strut at the top of the oleo, trim the 1.5-2mm out and put it back together with a piece of wire for strength (drilled into each part of the leg), the torque links can be gently bent back to a position where they meet at the apex again. Job done.

Keep up the good work!

Rgds,

Eng

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Thanks Eng, awesome work there, I particularly like the second one. Could I ask if/what panel line wash you used, and what shade/make of grey paint it was? Looks spot on.

I did notice the nose leg was too long, I plan to remove it completely and drill out sockets in the leg for some aluminium rod.

Cheers.

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Hi, the panel wash was my first go with Phil Flory's ProModeller Dark dirt wash, a water based weathering wash which is so easy to use and gives a great finish. Some of the dirt streaks/leaks are powdered pastels applied with a very fine brush and streaked with a very lightly moistened tissue.

Paints were Xtracrylics Dark Camo grey for the lowers and Dark Sea Grey for the uppers, I cannot fault these colours at all they look spot on. I'm sure I added one or two drops of white just for scale effect. The detail painting and metallics are all Vallejo or Tamiya.

I have a third GR.4 at the decalling stage that I used Tamiya colours on as an experiment as these spray so much more easily than the Xtracrylics but I'm not quite so happy with the match for the Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces. I'll post more on this experimentation as I narrow down some better matches.

Hope this helps,

Loving your work so far, I'm trying to resist starting my new Revell 48th scale kit!!!!!

All the best,

Eng

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Thanks Eng, I assumed my aircraft would be the same colour grey upper and lower (apart form the various slight panel variations)?

I looked at my canopy and it is indeed a bit crap, with wierd oval protrusions at random along the lower edges. But wee weed-off about that TBH, but I have found a vacform canopy on EBay intended for the Italeri kit. I'm hoping this will look OK (it will be in the open position).

Windscreen in mine looks OK to me.

cheers!

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'Lo again,

I overlooked the fact your jet will be overall medium sea grey, I'd still recommend the Xtracrylix range. I haven't tried spraying the Humbrol acrylic range yet but they have the full range of RAF colours too.

As you quite rightly point out the windshield on my spruces didn't have any discrepancies either, some of the nav lights are unrecognisable due to their small size and the level of flash on these.

Rgds,

Eng

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Eng!

Love the 14 Sqn Tornado. Flew in the back of that airframe many times when it was a GR1 coded AX with IX( B ) at Bruggen in the 90s. Thanks for sharing that one with us - as said previously its a beauty!

dr_gn - great start on this. As a huge fan of the Tornado, who, like Steve (Fritag), spent the whole of TWU trying to avoid, but with much less success, I'm looking forward to seeing how yours turns out!

Regards

Tim

Edited by feifeitim
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