Ah well, after being shamed into showing at least some progress by Merv's post, here are some shots of the cockpit. The photography sucks (I need to work on the macro stuff), and my shaky hands are still remembering how to do this. But it's progress . Be gentle please.

It's not all glued yet, and yes, I have a lot of cleanup to do - I may re-do the photos later so you can actually see stuff. Seats are being done, and I have yet to install a couple of little bits:

nice start!!! have a nice Tornado!!
ciao
Ale

Nice start for an OOB pit John, one tip with the camera is to increase the F. stop to give a better depth of field (get more in focus), I would try F.8 or F.10 to start with, the only trouble is as you increase your F. stop you decrease shutter speeds so either up your iso speed or get plenty of light on the subject, failing that a tripod will help.



HTH!!,


JB.

Good start John

Looking very nice there fella

Thanks so much for the kind words folks

John: I'll give that a try today - I think I was silly relying on the close-up programme on the D40 . I'll do some more work today and see if I can get some better shots.

Good work so far John.
Merv

Thanks Merv!

Great cockpit !!!
I'll wait with great interest your build ........... revell tornado's are the best kits in 1/72 scale and i think it is scale down the 1/32 tornado ?? Maybe i do wrong but they are awesome !!!

That's a great amount of detail in a 1/72 pit. Puts a lot of expensive competitors efforts to shame.

Great start John,

Alan

That's a great looking 'pit John

Ian

Jim, Alan, Ian - thank you! I'm inspired to crack on now. Thanks for all you kind comments .

Nice start John

Thanks Sean!

A little more work done...

Oh, how I laughed when I discovered the instrument panel decals. Ah well...

I've decided to do the 17 Sqdn scheme. Wish me luck with the airbrush!

Anyway, got the rest of the bits done, tidied up some stuff, gave it a good seeing to with Phil Flory's Promodeller's Wash, then stuck it all together. Although it's still messy, it's getting there. A good clean- and touch-up and I'm ready to stick a fork in it and call it done. My photography will get better, I promise . At this rate, I may actually be able to beat the group build deadline.

Looking good John

I did the same thing with the IP decals Though I probably would have painnted the details on anyways, looks more real that way.

keep up the good work

Thanks Seamus .

Well, truth be told, if you hadn't painted your IPs so well, I probably would have looked at the instructions a little more closely . But I completely agree - it looks a lot more realistic.

You too mate! How many more are you going to do for the group build?

Well, the work week beckons - hopefully I can get some stuff done in the evenings, but we've got a rather large amount of the solid phase of that pesky dihydrogen oxide forecasted for this week, so I may be shovelling a lot. At least I'll get photos of that...

Nice detailing John

Thanks Mish!

Looking good John look forward to the rest.

Al

Thanks Al! Let's hope I can keep the momentum going .

Thats some NICE work right there. absolutely nothing to be ashamed of!


Keep going!

its looking mate!
keep the photos coming!

Pharty, Peri - thanks for the kind words!

LOokin good John.

Ta Merv!

John,
I have a sheet of GR1 decals from the Hasagawa kit (minus the 17Sqn ones) if you need.
Merv

Hi Merv,

Just out of interest (as I don't know the Hasegawa kit), are they better quality/better subject material than the Revell ones? If you feel they'd be a better choice, let me know how much you want for them...

Cheers!

John

They're very good for their age,must be nearly 10years old.
Anyway,the's 9/617/RSAF & the Sqn with 'The Saint' emblem,cant remember what it is...old age & all that.
It's nearly a full sheet minus the 17Sqn as I said,no yellowing either on them.They're all for the green/grey machines
Dont worry about the cost.PM me your address & I'll get them off to you tommorow as I've got some to send to our resident evil treadheed,Dazza.
Merv

16 sqdn were known as the "Saints" Merv.

Cheers Daz!
Like I said,old age.....
(sending your's off tommorow Daz)

Thanx Merv.

You're a star mate.

Cheers Daz

Well, it's now the 23rd of December (soon to be 24th), and although I haven't posted any progress pics, there is a good reason; work, snow, work, more snow, more work. Then, SWMBO-enforced work space cleanup!

Before anybody gets the wrong idea, this was a good thing. Take note of the following photo of new, improved, workspace:



Observe how there is room to work, paint, glue, sand, mask, swear, cut, swear more.

Got it? Good. Note Hobbico logo and masking tape (not the blue stuff at the top - just the beige tape) stuck to cutting mat. That, due to previous clutter, was approximately the work area I had before said cleanup. Really. Everything had been shoved onto the table in an effort to clean up the previous work area (dining room table) before the arrival of guests. I think that was in March.

Now I have a clear space to work, and everything within easy reach. New decals have arrived, with many thanks to Merv - top bloke! - and some small progress has been made. The cockpit has been fitted into the front fuselage, fin glued (hmm). There is some warping of the kit parts... not huge, but there. I had to glue and clamp the main gear bays in place to attempt to correct the lower main fuselage warp, and the fin has a definite twist to the right. I'll have to be careful how I photograph this one .

Now the Christmas hols are here, I intend to make use of the time and crack on with this. I should have some photos over the next few days.

Merry Christmas folks!

Hello John !

I am building right now the same airplane . I am done with the entire fuselage, cockpit tub and added some weight to the nose in order to avoid a "tail sitter" . Some photo-etched parts from Eduard have been used here and there . I plan on doing the two tone gray aircraft (No 17 sqn, Bruggen, Germany, 1998) . I anyway have noticed something : Revell's plastic quality is completely different than in the IDS (Lufwaffe) boxing ! It has a tendency to melt, it is very soft compared to the hard dark green plastic i found in the previous IDS . Do you agree ?
I really like the way you sarted on your model . The cockpit bathtub looks very realistic . I am also very ispired by the cleanliness of your workbench, mine looks more like a happy anarchist post big bang thing !

I wish you a Happy new year

Hello John !

I am building right now the same airplane . I am done with the entire fuselage, cockpit tub and added some weight to the nose in order to avoid a "tail sitter" . Some photo-etched parts from Eduard have been used here and there . I plan on doing the two tone gray aircraft (No 17 sqn, Bruggen, Germany, 1998) . I anyway have noticed something : Revell's plastic quality is completely different than in the IDS (Lufwaffe) boxing ! It has a tendency to melt, it is very soft compared to the hard dark green plastic i found in the previous IDS . Do you agree ?
I really like the way you sarted on your model . The cockpit bathtub looks very realistic . I am also very ispired by the cleanliness of your workbench, mine looks more like a happy anarchist post big bang thing !

I wish you a Happy new year

Hi Coronado!

Looks like you've overtaken me with this model .

I would agree about the plastic - it is soft, which is fine for cutting, not so good for sanding.

Thanks for your kind comments . The workbench clear-up was done with the help of my wife, bless her. It's helped me hugely .

Happy New Year!

Cheers John,
Glad you liked the card.....made me chuckle seeing it in the photo.
(Wonder if Daz got his decals yet?.....)
Merv

Hi, it's me again !

I did not know you were living in Wisconsin . I used to live in Florida, in the Orlando area, ten years ago . It was great ! I was a reset specialist working for RED BARON and TONY'S PIZZA at the time (wholesale division) .
I sometimes had the opportunity to work down south, in the Miami area . There was then a huge store for modellers called PANAM on 36th street , the first time i went in it, i almost had a heart attack because of the tremendous choice of brands, unknown models in opaque plastic bags, you name it ! I brought back some interesting items, many many times, such as HELLER "export" kits, strange stuff from USSR .
Since your last message, i've worked on the Tornado : i tested the assemly wings/fuselage (i cut the cranked parts of the wings because i want to paint them separately) and had the surprise to find a gap (1 millimeter almost) under the fuselage part, where the wing rotates . Also, the air intakes do not fit very well to the fuselage and their leading edges lacked of plastic ; i will cover them up .
The refuelling system is ackward to put together and again, the poor plastic quality .
An interesting website for a nice finished Tornado is Hyperscale . Go and see Piero De Santis' 1/48 Tornado GR 4, it's breathtaking !

Dinner time ! i have to go !

Goodbye !

Hi, it's me again !

I did not know you were living in Wisconsin . I used to live in Florida, in the Orlando area, ten years ago . It was great ! I was a reset specialist working for RED BARON and TONY'S PIZZA at the time (wholesale division) .
I sometimes had the opportunity to work down south, in the Miami area . There was then a huge store for modellers called PANAM on 36th street , the first time i went in it, i almost had a heart attack because of the tremendous choice of brands, unknown models in opaque plastic bags, you name it ! I brought back some interesting items, many many times, such as HELLER "export" kits, strange stuff from USSR .
Since your last message, i've worked on the Tornado : i tested the assembly wings/fuselage (i cut the cranked parts of the wings because i want to paint them separately) and had the surprise to find a gap (1 millimeter almost) under the fuselage part, where the wing rotates . Also, the air intakes do not fit very well to the fuselage and their leading edges lacked of plastic ; i will cover them up .
The refuelling system is ackward to put together and again, the poor plastic quality .
A website for a nice finished Tornado is Hyperscale . Go and see Piero De Santis' 1/48 Tornado GR 4, it's breathtaking !

Dinner time ! i have to go !

Goodbye !

Hi Merv.

I got the decals mate thanx today thanx mate.

You're a star.

Hope you're feeling better.

Cheers Daz

OK, so, after an enforced gap (long story), I finally get back to building. Maybe it's coming back with fresh eyes, but it seems that every part of the kit is warped slightly. This has increased the frustration level I've felt in trying to get this kit built, plus trying to break through the "actually finish a build barrier" I've been hitting for the last few months.

Everything, and I mean everything after the cockpit has been a trial, and my confidence has plummeted.

So I still have a way to go, and I can see this being a dog when it's done . The worst part? It's all down to me. Grr.

Sorry folks - I needed to rant a bit. When I finish it, I'll post photos, but they'll be from a great distance through a soft-focus filter .

Know what you mean about enforce Hiatus's (or is it Hiati? ) anyway, returning with fresh eyes always IMHO makes a difference. Keep it up.

I thought that was where zombies came from .

Anyway, cheers mate, I will .

Keep up the good work John.
Merv

Cheers Merv

Argh! I'm in severe danger of completing this thing

I warned you:



There's a lot still to do, but at least it's looking like an aircraft now. Lots and lots of cleanup, fettle fettle fettle, swear, walk away, walk back. SOP for me .

Anyway, there's a chance I'll make the deadline...

You and everyone else John!

Looks like you will finish in time - looking nice this far!

Heh heh

Thanks Al! Fingers crossed I will... it'll be the first completed in a long time, and the first group build, so I really hope to .

Nice work bud!

Cheers mate!