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(Updated 7.4.20) Ripple Tornado 1:32 -ZA326


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Good evening everyone,

 

I thought it might be worth shifting my attempt at the RAF Centenary Groupbuild to the WIP area, seeing as I never had chance of meeting the deadline! :D(The build can be found by clicking here)

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So,

To bring everyone up to speed:

-I plan to build a representation of the Panavia Tornado ZA326 in its iconic raspberry ripple colours. I'll be using the 1:32 Tornado GR1 kit from Revell and an abundance of plasticard, to model her with a plethora of panels open (nose, side electronics bays, ground equipment connection points, the spine, and maybe even an open engine bay!)

 

Here are a few select images which visually describe the process so far:

 

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(Note that the paintwork on bits and bobs has been tidied up since these images were taken)

 

What's the plan of action going forward, then?

-Nose electronics bay

-Nose hinge and detailing

-Cockpit wiring

-Fuselage panels and internal gubbins

-Fuselage rescribing (+rivets, should they be required)

-Engine bay (there might be a bit of a surprise in that regard, stay tuned!)

-Wings

-Other (landing gear, etc)

 

 

It will be a slow (I've got a summer placement in a research lab at my university) but hopefully steady project.

 

 

As for references that I'll be using:

The good General's own Tornado build

The Tornado SIG

The ZA326 group's Flickr

 

Stay tuned for more! :)

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited by cathasatail
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Sam,

WOW I got a front row seat. I have a very early Tornado plus some Flight Path update sets. So I'll watch with interest and a member of The Tornado SIG. I've collected a bunch of information and hope to get started in the near future.

 

Ron VanDerwarker

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These seats are taking rather a long time to complete! (I'd estimate that they're about 60-70% complete)

 

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-Comparing the original and the 60-70% completed seat

 

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Best wishes,

Sam

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Seats are looking great as with the beginning. Like the electronics bay scratchbuild. I have 2 Revell kits and plan...... to open as many panels as possible. Looking forward to this build.

Thanks

Ron VanDerwarker

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  • 1 month later...

Hi everyone,

 

It's been a shockingly long time since I last updated. Fear not- progress is gradually being resumed after completing an essay (I can't foresee any other major commitments for a few weeks now)!

I've been scratchbuilding some of the side bays underneath the cockpit:

 

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(The internals are at a slight angle as they're not pushed in fully- it's quite a tight fit, so I won't close it up until it's fully detailed and painted)

 

Best wishes,

Sam

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  • 1 year later...

Crikey, it's been just over a year since I last visited this build. Time for a resurrection?

 

A lot has changed over the past year; I've taken my first flight (and conquered my fear of both flying and heights- slightly ironic for someone who loves aviation so much, perhaps?) :) 

 

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(Thanks BA :) )

 

But you didn't come here to hear me rabbit on, you came here for the Tornado! (It's sobering to think that since my last update, the grand old Tornado has since been retired by the RAF...)

 

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A closeup of some of the detailing that's gone into the bay referenced in the previous update

 

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A very rough-and-ready mock-up of the bay that will hold the wing sweep actuators and electronics

 

That's it for now, but rest assured that the project has been revived!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

 

Edited by cathasatail
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  • 6 months later...

My, my, my...

It would appear that continuity isn't one of the strong points of this build!

 

What a momentous few months it's been. Firstly, as I'm sure you can understand, uni work has taken priority and thus cut down on the free time I've been able to devote to anything non-academic related (let alone modelling!). I completed my dissertation a few weeks ago; roughly 28,000 words in the making! Since then I've managed to stay at home and embrace social distancing. University work still takes priority and any modelling that I can get done will be in the evenings after I've done my work/revision for the day.

On the subject of university, I had an interview before Christmas and I've been fortunate enough to receive an offer to study medicine in September after the conclusion of my current BSc. (You can understand, therefore, that academic work must take priority!)

 

But that hasn't stopped me from plodding on with bits and pieces of this build.

So, first up are the spine panels.

 

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This section of the build has been a right pain! And while there's plenty more wiring/detailing to do in just this one small part, I think it's coming along nicely.

 

Then there's the engine (and bay):

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(Note: I'm not entirely happy with those "dots", so those will likely get a fresh lick of paint or some weathering applied to make them less pronounced)

 

I've borrowed some engine parts from a 1:32 Typhoon kit, and the aim is to scratchbuild both the engine bay and the RB199 itself. I've taken a saw to a Vallejo paint bottle and created a cylinder to serve as the main body of the engine. The part that you can see to the left of the cylinder is taken from the Typhoon kit and will be truncated before being attached to the cylinder itself.

 

Besides these areas, there are many more small sub-assemblies which need building and bringing together; the wing-sweep actuator "box", a few more avionics bays, the nose avionics, elevon actuators, various fin-related recesses, etc.

Although I should be able to devote some time in the evenings to this project, I can't promise rapid progress, but progress there will be!

 

All the best,

Sam

Edited by cathasatail
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  • 2 years later...
2 hours ago, Warwolf said:

Waa this ever completed? If so, what did you do for the ZA326 decals in 32nd as I'm not aware of any currently and would like to build it myself in 32nd one day!

Hi,

 

Alas, I'm afraid in the (nearly) 3 years since my last update, minimal progress has been made.

Now living away from home and on placement/studying every day, the amount of free time that I have is effectively nought. (This is combined with my modelling materials being at home as well).

 

When it comes to the decals, the plan had been to use printable decal paper for the main decals- masking and spraying a white base under each decal to ensure the ink on the decal paper shows through. I think you're right that there aren't any commercially available decal sets (Euro Decals do some stencils, etc, which might be of interest?).

 

All the best,

Sam

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