1/72 Tornado F3 - first Britmodeller submission

[PaulR]

Hi all,

Have been visiting Britmodeller for a few months now and thought it hightime I put up one of my efforts! I recently finished this Hasegawa F3. I have, since the age of 12 and the first F2 prototypes, always liked the ADV Tornado. I am not at all disappointed to see it in service for another 5 years, it just means I''ll just have to wait a little longer for the inevitable Warpaint monograph on it!

As far as the kit is concerned, I added the Airwaves wings with dropped slats/flaps, Aeroclub whitemetal E/J seats, scratch-built under fuselage flare dispensers, BOL rails adapted from the Hasegawa weapons set, ASRAAMS and AMRAAMS from the Revell Typhoon, Hindenburger tanks from the Revell GR1 Tornado, and the 111 sqn decals from Xtradecal. I was drawn to this scheme because of the new Medium Sea Grey paint job and hi-vis roundels, and not least because the single overall colour made painting a damn sight easier! Incidentally, I used the Tamiya rattlecan for this, and finished off the whole lot with an airbrushed application of Humbrol mattcote.

By the by, does anybody know why the Tamiya spraycans have been withdrawn, and when they will be available again?

I found the kit itself an easy build, with just a smear of filler where the front fuselage joins the rear. The top of the fin needs a few swipes with a sanding block to give the front edge its characteristic curved profile, but aside from that it practically built itself. The drop in Airwaves wings gives the whole thing a suitably busy look. There seems to be some debate as to how good the Hasegawa kit is, but I'm never quite sure if people are referring to the fit of the kit or the actual accuracy/final shape; but in either instance, it seems fine to me. I'm sure I'll be corrected, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy it!

Paul

[hatchet]

Looking good Paul

[Howard of Effingham]

works well for me.

i built this kit last year and well it looks like a F3 to me.

[GrahamEM]

Nice job Paul, the Tamiya spray cans won't be available until 2009 according to a few suppliers, i waited for AS-11 since last year and gave up - using Xtracrylics.

Good scheme there, one of the best 111

[Angels49]

I love that dirty [FIN].. , good work keep'em coming.

[Andy Mullen]

Good looking build there Paul

I believe the Tamiya Spray cans [and other types of their paints] were removed from the shelves last year due to insufficent safety warnings on the labelling.

[Craig S]

Looks very nice indeed, as you say the new hi-vis markings do look the part! One small detail that would improve it is the addition of the "no step" markings on the wing topsides though, breaks the finish up a bit, RAF jets do look very "grey"! A lovely first entry though!

Edited April 1, 2008 by Craig S

[Modelling Mushi]

Nice one Paul, looking forward to seeing more pix from you