1/72 Revell Marineflieger Tornado (Norm 87) - Finished

[Phantome]

Hello,

I started this build last week as a last minute entry, alas between busy at work and no internet at home (I've resorted to USB tethering which is painfully slow) I have not been able to post anything until today when my build is in its final stages. However, I have taken pics from the start. I will leave it to the GB Gods™ to decide whether this still within the rules and eligible for admission, if not, no biggie as I already have a MiG-29.

The kit

The 1/72 Revell kit of course, specifically the ECR version that has the correct Kormoran pylons (same as those used for HARMs). Had never built it despite having 5 in the stash. It looks great in the box with very fine panel lining and rivets but... (more on this later)

The plane

My first dilemma was whether to build a Lizard Scheme or Marineflieger plane. I sent some pics to the girlfriend to decide and she seemed to like the navy one. Who can blame her? The MFG birds had some of the most menacing camo schemes ever seen on a NATO plane. Now, I had a spare set of MFG decals from the Italeri "Strike Fighter" set but I suspected they would be problematic (I was to be proved right). However, the only other option was to use the Modeldecal set which has one from the older Norm 76 scheme. I was going to decide at the last minute but when I saw that someone else in this GB was building a Norm 76 plane I decided for Norm 87 so as to not repeat.

The build was started on Sunday and I decided from the start that this would be a "test build", to check out any potential pitfalls of the Revell kit, test the camo scheme and take a big risk with the decals. As such I deliberately cut a few corners for the sake of meeting the Aug. 14th deadline.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Phantome

[Phantome]

Last weekend:

Started on the cockpit only last Sunday. The cockpit is super detailed but a bit of a pain to paint in this scale because the buttons and levers are too small and bunched up. I gave it an oil wash instead. Paint was Gunze H317 for FS 36231 which seems a bit too dark vs the real thing.

Sub assemblies built. Fit is generally good although there are some issues with the front section. I was a bit disappointed at the surface detail in the lower front which is awful. The panel lines are barely perceptible and no rivet detail. The contrast with the beautiful rear section is noticeable but due to time issues I did not rescribe.

All joined together. The swivelling pylons are interesting although will make painting tricky. Same with the moving tailplanes. Why Revell makes you burn the plastic for this part is strange. I have painted the interior bits Gunze H332 (BS 627) but it was too dark for the Tornado light gray which looks practically white in pictures. Scale effect doesn't help either.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Phantome

[Phantome]

This weekend

Did most of the painting and decalling yesterday. But first some Tamiya primer and once dry, pre-shading. I'm a post-shader btw and usually give my models a triple tone coat (base color, lighter coat spread out randomly, darker coat along panels). No time for this now.

I was a bit concerned about using Revell Aqua colors as I had not had good experiences in the past but was willing to give them another chance. The basalt gray (RAL 7012) was Revell 77 and the green-gray (RAL 7009) was Revell 67. Lo and behold, they sprayed like a charm, although the 77 annihilated the pre-shade. Due to time I also sprayed freehand.

Trickiest bit was the gray-blue (RAL 5008) as it has no Revell equivalent (the Tornado SIG has Revell 351 but I did not find this anywhere). However, the color did not seem particularly difficult to mix and I bet on Tamiya XF-24 (Dark Grey) and XF-17 (Sea Blue) in a 50/50 ratio. It very much looks the part!

Edited August 14, 2016 by Phantome

[mirageiv]

Lovely work and super fast! Impressed with the short work you made this kit, also thanks for showing me the colours you used, it will come in great use. Previously I've dismissed using Revell 77 as RAL 7012 Basaltgrau as it was definitely the wrong shade, however that was using the enamel tin. Your Aqua version of the colour looks much closer to RAL 7012 than the enamel version so I'm defo going to get a few pots of that paint! Hope you finish it

David

[Col.]

Well I had a read through your thread then a read through the rules and am happy to see this one included.

[Phantome]

Last thing I did last night were the decals. They were TERRIBLE. Printed by Cartograph but definitely showing their age (the kit is from the mid 90s) they invariably silvered, didn't stick particularly well, and only partly susceptible to Micro Sol. Sadly, I know of no other decals for a Norm 87 plane except from HaHen which are ridiculously expensive. Here's hoping someone delivers in the next couple of years before I itch for another crack at this wonderful scheme.

Tempted to use some other more detailed Revel markings for the stencils I refrained since I insisted this was a "test build". As such, no "no step" stencils (which the kit does not provide in their correct form) and no walkways. I also think I made a mistake and put the 43+45 markings far too forward for Norm 87 (since I did not have the Italeri decals I based some of the decal placements on the Modeldecal Norm 76 scheme). Sue me

[Phantome]

Lovely work and super fast! Impressed with the short work you made this kit, also thanks for showing me the colours you used, it will come in great use. Previously I've dismissed using Revell 77 as RAL 7012 Basaltgrau as it was definitely the wrong shade, however that was using the enamel tin. Your Aqua version of the colour looks much closer to RAL 7012 than the enamel version so I'm defo going to get a few pots of that paint! Hope you finish it

David

Yes, both of the Revell colors I used looked the part. I am not particularly pedantic about modern Luftwaffe color accuracy but I was pleased both how they came out and how well they sprayed (very matte). My only complaint was that 77 came on quite heavy and obscured the pre-shading (67 did not) but I gave a post-shade treatment of extra-thinned Tamiya Smoke to give it some depth. FYI, Tamiya Smoke is EXCELLENT for post-shading and saves a lot of time for multi-color camo schemes, particularly darker ones.

[Phantome]

So, I finished

The last steps included a quick enamel wash to highlight panel lines and then, the Kormoran missiles which I sourced from an Italeri US/NATO weapons set. Eduard does a lovely Kormoran (Brassin range) since I decided this was not going to be my definitive Marineflieger kit, I would take the cheaper route (plus I had no guarantees it would arrive by this weekend).

And here it is in near-final form, just pending a matte coat

Edited August 14, 2016 by Phantome

[mirageiv]

Lovely result and the colours look great, awesome! I agree that camo is one of the best, in fact I love all the proper 80's Cold war German schemes, they just look 'meaner' than the RAF or Italian schemes imho.

What did you thin the Revell paint with? Think its about time I tried some of the aqua range.

Also on the decals, as you say the Hahen decals are pretty darn expensive but are pretty good. Even better, but hard to find, are the decals in the Hasegawa 1/72 Tornado Marineflieger edition. They are more comprehensive and have better colours, however you get a pretty crap model in the box with them compared to the Revell kit, plus the price I've ever seen them for sale are more than the Hahen decals anyways, worth keeping an eye out for them though if you can get a bargain! The Hasegawa kit has decals for Norm 76 and 87 (MFG1 & MFG2), with some ok Kormorans and launchers. The Eduard ones are still the best bet for 1/72 if doing your definitive version, plus the ECR HARM launcher pylons from the Revell kit are a good representation of the Kormoran launchers, I think they are actually the same thing nearly with slightly different launch rails. Just my on it all after looking through similar 1/72 Marineflieger Tornado options.

Cracking Tornado, especially built in that kinda time!

Edited August 14, 2016 by mirageiv

[Phantome]

Lovely result and the colours look great, awesome! I agree that camo is one of the best, in fact I love all the proper 80's Cold war German schemes, they just look 'meaner' than the RAF or Italian schemes imho.

What did you thin the Revell paint with? Think its about time I tried some of the aqua range.

Also on the decals, as you say the Hahen decals are pretty darn expensive but are pretty good. Even better, but hard to find, are the decals in the Hasegawa 1/72 Tornado Marineflieger edition. They are more comprehensive and have better colours, however you get a pretty crap model in the box with them compared to the Revell kit, plus the price I've ever seen them for sale are more than the Hahen decals anyways, worth keeping an eye out for them though if you can get a bargain! The Hasegawa kit has decals for Norm 76 and 87 (MFG1 & MFG2), with some ok Kormorans and launchers. The Eduard ones are still the best bet for 1/72 if doing your definitive version, plus the ECR HARM launcher pylons from the Revell kit are a good representation of the Kormoran launchers, I think they are actually the same thing nearly with slightly different launch rails. Just my on it all after looking through similar 1/72 Marineflieger Tornado options.

Cracking Tornado, especially built in that kinda time!

I thinned the Revell paints with Xtracyrlix thinner. Vallejo thinner should also be equally good since they are practically the same thing. Now that I remember, I had thinned them with water the last time and perhaps that's why it didn't spray as well.

I will definitely use HaHen next time despite the price. I am not a fan of Hasegawa decals, and especially on such an old kit will probably be not in the best shape by now. It's really a shame Revell doesn't come out with a Marineflieger IDS kit. I mean enough with all the silly Tigermeet editions already!

[Phantome]

Finished version (as posted in Gallery thread)

Edited August 14, 2016 by Phantome

[Phantome]

Some other comments about this kit which I had been meaning to build for a long time but never got around to.

Pros:

- Has amazing detail with lots of fine panel lines and rivets on most parts of the plane (see cons)

- Although the IDS version is a bit sparse with extras, the RAF and ECR kits cool weapons (especially the RAF kit)

- Decal sheets are excellent at least in the RAF and older IDS/ECR boxings which have non-Tigermeet units.

- Cockpit detail is superb and IMHO does not need aftermarket

- Wheels wells very detailed as well, as is the landing gear

- Fit is mostly good. Not Tamigawa but needs very little filler and no big gaps in the main fuselage sections

- Looks the part when built

Cons

- Nose shape is slightly off but not nearly as bad as some people claim. Can be fixed with sanding

- The movable tailplanes are rather flimsy, as are the movable pylons which I was terrified of breaking

- No weapons on the IDS version for some odd reason (lots of recce sensors)

- Wobbly and ill-fitting landing gear

- Awful canopy. Not sure if I got a bad one but all the clear parts were terribly molded. A consistent Revell problem

- Certain parts of the fuselage have really terrible surface detail, notably the lower front. Needs rescribing as the panel lines are not deep enough for a wash, and no rivets either.

- Small bits (pitots) are quite thick and toy-like

- Big sinkmarks on the airbrakes

- Intakes are a bit fiddly to build too

I have to say none of these cons are THAT bad. For £10, this is an awesome kit and probably among the best value-for-money in 1/72 scale you'll ever get.

[mirageiv]

Its this Hasegawa kit: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/103816-hasegawa-00775-tornado-ids, not too old compared to earlier 90's releases and has a new sheet printed for the release. I've used the decals from it before and whilst thicker than Hahen they are more comprehensive and more opaque with better colours of various stencils. Modeldecal also do the earlier MFG1 scheme, but Ive found they are variable quality but very accurate (also great for early Air Force Tornados)

[PaulR]

Great model - just the job for this GB! Well done for getting it in on time!

Paul

[Dermo245]

Lovely job on that Tornado and agree - it's great value for money!

Dermot