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Greetings! There is a Italeri 1:48 scale GR1 Tornado in my stash which I would like to build. This time, the main trouble for me is what loadout to choose. I have all available loadouts as aftermarket (eduard big sin, and Hindenburg tanks). Decalwise I have a good variety to choose as well. I am torn apart between an early days JP233 with regular tanks (if my information is correct the regular tanks were used with JP233 due to TOM) and Paveways with Hindenburg bags. I am slightly inclinded to do the JP233, as this is the only opportunity to display those weapons in my shelf. A Paveway option together with a Buccaneer would be lovely too. Then again, I really like Alarm Belle (don’t ask me why). I am going to start construction and then we shall see. No @Enzo the Magnificent, I do not have the capacity to build them all 😛

I started my 1/72 Revell kit and saw that only 4x 1000# unguided bombs were included. That made me thinking that a GR-1 with 8 of those would look the part. I seem to remember that this config was flown during the initial low level strikes during OP Granby. However, not a single picture showed up during my research. On another note. When U.S. supplied CBU-87 were loaded. Did the jets fly with them combat missions? Thanks Michael

Tornado GR.1s at Red Flag 93-1, Nellis AFB, November 1992. ZA457, 17 Squadron ZA461, 31 Squadron ZA471, 15 Squadron ZD845, 9 Squadron ZD847, 17 Squadron Thanks for looking, Sven Old Viper Tester

Hello Britmodeller world! have just managed to obtain the Eduard 1/72 scale Desert Babes Tornado GR1 which we all know contains the Revell plastic from 2000. Be warned there is a fair bit of flash on some of the Gulf specific weapon parts and the laser fairing glass is gonna need some attention with a decent blade to sort it out! There is also a spurious clear spruce which appears to have a spare fairing glass on it which is no better than the one on the main clear sprue! On the plus side the resin seats and wheels are lovely! Can’t grumble I suppose for £22!

OK with time running short on the GB and lots of other kits in various states of destruction what better to do than to start another (actually I'm tempted to build a F117 for the GB too). So I'd been planning to do this in the Tornado GB last year but didn't get around to starting it... I seem to be continuing in my recent theme of yellow/brown or black vehicles! It's a pretty basic kit, so hopefully not going to take a massive amount of time, I'm just planning on doing it straight OOB, there doesn't seem a whole heap of bits in the box, in fact Scalemates suggests it may have it's roots back in the 70s. Instructions seem basic but adequate and decals look good, only possible issue is there are areas with what look like the body paint colour on them which might be a problem matching. I'm planning to model it in-flight, as I kind of hate doing landing gear and balancing tail sitters on the flimsy legs (the instructions show adding 4g in one step and another 20g in the nose in another???) Often trying to close up the undercarriage doors can prove a nightmare, unless the kit is designed to be friendly in that way, so the first thing I tackled was checking the fit, since it looked easier to get to the front doors from both sides before I've closed up the fuselage. The rear doors fitted quite nicely (as seen above), they were just a touch proud from flush when first tested, so I simply needed to persuade them with some sandpaper on the upper side. The 3 front doors looked like they might be a bit more of an issue - one nice thing on the kit is there are small attachment pins for them (I hate trying to superglue doors on post painting - but that's not of any help here. Since the underside is pretty flat I attached the 2 forward doors by aligning them on a piece of paper then just running a little extra thin glue down the join. Whilst that was setting I checked the parts on the interior, normally I'd stick a bit of plasticard or similar at the back of the doors so I cut out the wheel well to check - then I wasn't sure if the cockpit sits directly on that, so I cut out the floor and 2 end cheeks. They're quite nicely designed in that they both fit into small slots to keep the floor in the correct spot, I managed to dry fit them then run some glue in the seams (so the 3 bits are connected in the correct orientation) without hitting the slots so I can remove the cockpit again for now. I was scratching my head for a while as to which way to orientate the front part (since the horizontal opening isn't central) until I noticed a small arrow on it (handy), also appears to be there in the instructions (though not immediately obvious). I managed to nicely get the front doors in - just a bit of sanding down needed, one tip for sanding flat edges : place the sandpaper on a flat surface and rub the piece on the paper rather than the other way round (probably obvious to most people but it took me ages to work that one out!) Managed to get a gluey fingerprint in as the thin solvent ran through from the other side but there's some holes etc. that will need filling and sanding back, hopefully it should cleanup nicely. Once set I took a scrap piece of sprue and flattened a side down by sanding before gluing it on the inside of the doors to add some strength and added the internal wheel well too. So that's it so far.

After a bit of a break I've finally finished the Italeri Tornado! Some of the parts were a pig to fit but I'm fairly ok with the final result considering how the build went. I made it oob and only added the wing sweep covers cut from masking tape as otherwise you could see straight through. The markings were from the Airfix Tornado, though I cut the code letters up to make it into FL instead of FV. I used Flory dirt wash to dull it doen a bit and dirty the jetpipes and tail area. All criticism welcomed so I can improve! Comparison with the Airfix Tornado (ZA407, TWCU):

Afternoon folks - been on something of a Tonka project this year and this one is a Saudi Air Force version built straight out of the box from Italeri in 1:48. I think I have the measure of this kit now and enjoyed the build with no real issues. The main bit to watch out for is swing wings and the front section where the fit is a bit off. I used Tamiya and Mr Color paints with some Alclad. The Tonka looks great in that desert wrap around camo I reckon and it goes with a similar scheme I did for a Lightning a couple of years ago.

Happy new year everyone! Sadly, 2019 will see the withdrawal of yet another still capable and very popular jet from RAF service, the Tornado (how did about ten squadrons of these disappear so fast?). To honour the service these have given, and to celebrate the memory of seeing so many screaming low over East Anglia in the 80s and 90s (who wishes now they hadn't taken the Tonka for granted!?), my first build this year will be the Airfix 1/48 Tornado GR1. My first impression was there were lots of parts, but two of the sprues were stores, which I won't need. Does anybody want these 1/48 Tornado stores/weapons? Free to a good home: The kit also included two cockpit tubs and two different tailfins (one without the ECM bar). One of the cockpits looks more detailed with raised instruments, but that's not the one the plans say to use. I might try both and see which looks best ... Huge decal sheet, as big as the box! But I won't be using the kit markings as I have these! Not sure yet whether to do 27 sqn or TWCU. Either way I'll need some decals for the serials under the tailplanes.

Im in with this for the tribute build. I have built a few of these before, but this will be my first Gulf War Tonka. On with the required box pic.

Fellow modelers, may I present my tribute build to Merv. (This is also on display in the Tornado GB) Tornado GR1 ZA465 FK (Foxy Killer) 16 Sqn RAF Tabuk Detachment 1991. It is the 1/144 Revell kit with JP 233s & Gulf war decals. All brush painted using Humbrol enamels & weathered with Flory wash & Mig pigments. Comments welcomed please.

What would an appropriate combat loadout for a c.1983-1984 Tornado GR1 be?