Dave T Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 Friends, romans, countrymen.... please raid your stash of Tonka's (the model variety) and contribute. First up, the Monogram Tornado pre-Gulf War issue......... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Mullen Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 (edited) Revell Germany #04390 "Spirit of Boelcke" Edited December 24, 2007 by Andy Mullen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Man, I still get nightmares thinking about that old Monogram Tornado. Ill fitting gap farm that kit was and I think the radome was more than a bit out of scale as I recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Man, I still get nightmares thinking about that old Monogram Tornado. Ill fitting gap farm that kit was and I think the radome was more than a bit out of scale as I recall. Really ? Jonathan says the Monogram nose is the best in THIS THREAD, but i guess that's the whole idea of the "...whats in the box" type threads so you dont get stung. Cheers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Mullen Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 (edited) Airfix #04041 Tornado GR4/4A Old mould parts - lightly raised panel lines New mould parts Edited December 24, 2007 by Andy Mullen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upnorth Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 (edited) Really ?Jonathan says the Monogram nose is the best in THIS THREAD, but i guess that's the whole idea of the "...whats in the box" type threads so you dont get stung. Cheers.... Yeah, I recall that thread and I think the main point of it was more about the shape of the nose than anything. In the shape department, the Monogram nose might be alright, but in scale I think it has issues. To me, the Monogram Tornado always came out looking decidedly nose heavy compared to pictures of the real deal. So while the shape might be right, I don't think the size is. Additionally, Monogram actually reissued that kit in the "Aircraft of Desert Storm" series. It included some nastily thick and unusable decals, an IFR probe, LRMTS blister and a laser designator pod that looked like a cross between a Pave Spike and TIALD but not completely like either. Otherwise, the kit was unaltered from its initial release: big nose and prototype style load intact. I could say a lot about Monogram's "Aircraft of Desert Storm" series of kits, but the sad truth is it was a painfully obvious money grab on their part and a poor excuse for reissueing a group of their kits that really didn't cut it anymore; this Tornado and their 1/72 F-15E (representative of the prototype Mudhen only) particularly come to mind. Though I must say I was happy to see them bring their EF-111 Raven back for that series, that always was a decent kit and I've got good memories of it. But I digress...back to Tornados. I have heard that Esci's old 1/72 Tornado is a right stinker of a kit and best avoided, anyone able to expand on that or present box contents? Edited September 11, 2007 by upnorth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx6667 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Been a while since I saw a Monogram Tonka nose in three-dimensions, but I seem to recall thinking that they got the double curvature thing better than any other kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 I have heard that Esci's old 1/72 Tornado is a right stinker of a kit and best avoided, anyone able to expand on that or present box contents? Yes, classic example is that the wing root gloves are lower than the fuselage top, rather than slightly higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 When I returned to modelling around twelve years ago I collected the partwork magazine 'Take Off!', the first ten mags or so included Tonka parts but I'm unsure of the kit. I believe it may be the Italeri. Was ESCI the same kit? I know they have shared other molds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousA667 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 (edited) I have heard that Esci's old 1/72 Tornado is a right stinker of a kit and best avoided, anyone able to expand on that or present box contents? We had a Humbrol Tornado at the Squadron from when they were releasing kits under their own brand name. As they had other kits from the ESCI range on release I took this to be ESCI tooling. All that you can say is that the end result is Tornado shaped in a blobby, toylike fashion. When I returned to modelling around twelve years ago I collected the partwork magazine 'Take Off!', the first ten mags or so included Tonka parts but I'm unsure of the kit. I believe it may be the Italeri. Was ESCI the same kit? I know they have shared other molds. That was the Italeri tooling, the ESCI kit is different. peebeep Edited September 11, 2007 by peebeep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx6667 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 From memory I think the ESCI Tonka was quite highly thought of when it came out, especially in regard to airframe upgrades that the Italeri and Airfix kits had yet to introduce, but I also seem to remember the ESCI kit had a strange mix of engraved detail on the fuselage and raised on the wings (or something). Memory is playing marmalade these trousers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gengriz Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 From memory I think the ESCI Tonka was quite highly thought of when it came out, especially in regard to airframe upgrades that the Italeri and Airfix kits had yet to introduce, but I also seem to remember the ESCI kit had a strange mix of engraved detail on the fuselage and raised on the wings (or something).Memory is playing marmalade these trousers. The offending ESCI article. Engraved (deep) fuselage, raised wings, one squint intake and a decidedly wrong nose (looks to me like its upside down). The weapons fit on this build is not what comes in the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Revell Saudi IDS ex-Monogram mould with bombs deleted, new (green) sprue added plus new markings which are missing from my example......... . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Been a while since I saw a Monogram Tonka nose in three-dimensions, but I seem to recall thinking that they got the double curvature thing better than any other kit. What double curvature? I am convinced that the basic shape of the Tornado radome is a cone with a radius towards the bottom where it meets the fuselage. There is a fairing around the base of the pitot tube that creates the *illusion* of a couple curved revolution object. Jens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takamota Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Here's a few GR4 noses for you to peruse and decide upon shape Hope this helps Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cloggy Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 I don't have any 'Tonkas' but here is a rather nice 'blast from the past' Tornado kit... This is the second boxing of the kit - the previous one has box art of the red / white prototype. The kit has rather fine recessed detail and clear instructions. It was the later Italeri kit which was given away with Take-Off magazine but with RAF Gulf War decals. That had the re-designed tailerons with the kink-angle on the leading edge and the addition of refuelling probe and a more up-to-date weapons fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 The Italeri kit went through a number of iterations (at least 5 not counting the F3) each of which had different plastic in them. I've got a couple somewhere. The ESCI kit also appeared in a Revell box in the mid 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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