Dr. Quack

Following this thread with great interest - hugely informative and an excellent lesson in historical accuracy and detail. Quack the fascinated.

That makes perfect sense.....Thanks @ckw for your authoritative reply

And now for something completely different....off-topic (impossible in this thread?).....and mildly medical. What is a stethoscope? You know - those dangly things that people hang around their necks to accesorise their scrubs when playing Doctors And Nurses. The suffix "scope" suggests something that is looked through like a telescope or microscope. Surely we listen through the instrument and should therefore call it a "stethophone." Something that I've wondered about for some time. It`s it's` it`s` confusing. Quack Awaiting a hero in scrubs to elbow their way to the front shouting, "Let me through, I'm a linguist."

Thanks @stever219. I'm aware of the contour issue of the fin - I may be brave and tackle it or I may decide to honourably run away crying. Similarly, the unrealistic trenchy panel lines may get the vita brevis approach and be ignored despite looking `orrible. Life be short and my skills be limited so I'll probably decide which battles to fight as I go along. Not aware of the doubler plates. Thanks - I'll look them up. Grateful to have any tips or advice as we go. Greatly appreciated. Welcome aboard @Winded Penguin. Plenty room at the bar.

If you take all the blame and I take all the credit then we have a deal!! Thanks for joining up Chris. Is the Matchbox one 1/72?? Niall

Chapter 1 Blame Alistair (and maybe Colin..... but definitely Alistair) Well now, isn't this nice? A nice fresh blank page in a nice fresh topic, ready to build a nice fresh pristine kit. All nice and er........fresh. And new. And as yet unsullied, untouched by the incompetent hand of Quack. What could possibly go wrong? Even I don't know the answer to that - isn't it exciting?? Anyway, cock-ups there will be, cock-ups aplenty - and it'll all be the fault of @AliGauld. Mostly. Why? you ask. Well some of you good people were kind enough to have a look at my Revell 1/48 Tornado.............. ..........and will have noted Alistair's recommendation for building the Canberra PR.9 Well I had a fevered dream visit from Colin, not your one but this one sounded a lot like Andy Secombe. He thinks the Canberra would be a cracking choice. Of course in a purely selfish way I wouldn't be adverse to that one. Asking for a friend you understand. So be it. Canberra it is. And it'll all end in tears as usual just you wait and see, and it'll all be Alistair's fault. So there. Colin, the guardian of Quack Towers dungeon regions (and consequently also Guardian of The Stash), has been kind enough to provide me with the Airfix 1/48 Canberra PR.9 kit. Well, I say he provided me with the kit, but that's because he won't let me into my own dungeons these days. He's been a bit abrasive of late, and I only got the kit by throwing him the dungeon keys at which point he settled into the cellar and polished off my last few cases of the decent Chateau Margaux before dropping the kit into the moat. Hope the decals are ok...... So. Where do we start??? Well we begin with ............the kit I suppose. This one. With a CMK aftermarket cockpit set. 01 by Dr. Quack, on Flickr 03 by Dr. Quack, on Flickr And I'll be doing this one, which is from late in the PR.9's career. I like the scheme and I'll use the kit transfers. 02 by Dr. Quack, on Flickr There have been several astonishingly well researched and well executed PR.9's here on BM, and I've used some of them to glean information about how best to approach the build, and looked through a number of reference photos to try to gain a modicum of accuracy. Some builds are highly accomplished and involve significant surgery to the tailplane mounts - I'll be settling for fairly simple stuff with a view to finishing the build with all of my digits still attached. First list of observations is as follows. (Notes to Self) Fill the atrociously deep lines on the rudder. Fill the access door panel line on the LEFT side of the fwd fuselage, leaving the one on the right 'cos it's meant to be there. Fill the double Doppler (?) panel under the RIGHT wing, leaving intact the one under the left 'cos it's meant to be there too. Plug the antenna mounts on the tail as they are enormous and way too big for the parts to be fitted, then drill a nice new smaller hole. Plug the hole for mounting the ram air scoop low on the LEFT chin as it will need to be repositioned high up close to the cockpit sill. Leave the one on the right side as it seems correct. Fill the slot for the fuel dump vent on the right rear fuselage as it will need repositioned rearward, close to the tail bumper. Plug the holes for the wingtip tanks - not used as far as I can tell. 2 pitot units will need added on the Left fwd fuselage at the end of the build. Modify the openings on the upper surfaces of the forward portions of the engine nacelles. The LEFT side looks broadly correct but the RIGHT side should be identical in layout, not the mirror image moulded by Airfix. These vents (are the starter exhausts??) also need opened up with mesh detail in the bases, rather than the blind pits in the mouldings. May need to drill out circular camera windows on both sides of the nose, low down at the paint demarcation line - these are represented by black transfers by Airfix - not sure if I'll opt for drilling or not....... Open holes for the towel-rail antenna on the LEFT chin next to the nosewheel bay - Left only. There's still a lot of photo research to do to work out the antenna fit for this late-career PR.9. For one thing the large white box near the rear of the spine should be replaced with a small disc GPS antenna. More though needed but for now my brain hurts. Started marking out the bits needing plugged....yes that's what the arrows are for. At the same time, it's important to use the correct cockpit plug for this era of PR.9 which had the radio antenna sited well forward next to the canopy 04 by Dr. Quack, on Flickr Made a small start - plugs of stretched sprue glued in place to fill holes - these will be cut close to the model surface then sanded smooth. The rectangular fuel dump has been blanked at the rear with a view to filling it in layers. I'll probably finish with sprue goo then sand it down to the fuselage contour. 05 by Dr. Quack, on Flickr So - a start has actually been made - glue has been shed though no parts yet stuck together. My builds are usually slow, but I think this'll be a long one. See you at Christmas! Meantime... Keep Calm and Mangle Plastic. Q

An excellent solution.

Great progress. The Tornado radome wasn't seriously glossy - more of a satin sheen. The exhaust soot staining on the rear looks good. Another way to do it is to use powered black artists pastels (just rub the stick on sandpaper and collect the dust). This can be smudged and blended over a matt or even a satin surface with a dry cotton bud, leaving a stain as big/small dense/subtle as you want. The good thing about this method is that you can go over decals and partially obscure them in a realistic manner. Just seal over the pastel weathering with whatever variety of varnish you want. It's actually very easy to do. Enjoying you build enormously. Q

Hi @fredwem. I can't find any photoetch for the Revell 1/32 Tornado, but Aires make resin GR.1 cockpits which are available through Hannants. I have no idea how accurate they are or how well they fit. https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=7896&code=&product_type_id=all_aircraft&scale_id=953&keyword_search=Tornado&exact=1&setPerPage=25&currency_id= Does that help at all? Q

Oh how I agree. Especially when they mention Five Gold Rings! The song originally referenced goldrings - a breed of Turkey. This of course causes great entertainment during Christmas quizzes (How many birds in total did my true love give to me?). Oh the joy of seeing the pub glasses fly during the season of good will. Q Who, having sown discord, panic and disorder, slips quietly out of the back door and returns to Quack Towers, whistling a poxy, pointless bloody song.

Looks superb - special congrats on the camouflage scheme. Q

I agree entirely with Steve regarding the fuel tanks. Looks like the instruction sheet is a bit ambiguous as to positioning of the electronics pods - to be clear, the BOZ 107 should go under the right wing, and the Skyshadow pod under the left. The pods should be painted desert sand like the airframe, and decals left off (judging by the photos I've seen). Keep up the good work on the build. Q

Great news about your son - wishing him a rapid return to full health. ....and magnificent work on the phantom. Q

Great work on the camouflage scheme - it looks beautifully even. Great build. Thanks. Q

`uddery `ell......it's nearly finished!!!!! You're a quicker builder than I was, when I was an impatient 8 year old. Q (the impatient 60 year old) Who is quietly impressed and more than a little jealous.

A beautiful aircraft in a beautiful scheme, beautifully rendered. Nice one! Q

Love a jag. Especially in desert pink. Can't wait! Q

A beauty. The finish is masterful. Q

Panel liners work best on top of a smooth shiny gloss surface - allows the liquid to flow. If the surface is matt then your wash / liner will "grab" onto the rougher matt surface and cause a smudge. Very useful for weathering effects though. Hope that helps. Q

Quite magnificent. A masterclass in weathering. Q

One of Bruce Derns best. Smashing model. A great film from my youth too. Thanks! Q

Ticks all the boxes..... great build with superb detailing, and a lovely paint job. Simply excellent. Q

Oooh....this'll be good.....and a really interesting scheme. A fine start. Watching with great interest. Q

Terrific! Those wing fold details are masterful.

I agree about the scale - very impressive in 1/72. Nice touch with the nose wheel steering, and also the intake angles. Was that an option on the kit or did you replicate this by other means? Thanks for letting us see your build. Q