XV Sqn Farewell- Tornado GR4

[cathasatail]

Morning all!

 

The Tornado Gr.1 kit that Revell offers in 1:72 is probably the go-to kit when it comes to modelling IDS variants in that scale. However, despite producing a fabulous 1:48 Tornado GR4 and a 1:48 F.3 ADV kit in recent years, the GR4 in 1:72 scale remains an illusive subject for Revell- having only been covered by Airfix's "attempt" (which I'll be quite honest, I forgot existed until I googled it) and the Hasegawa kit (which is around 2-4 times as expensive as the Revell kit).

 

I've built 2 Tornado GR1's before, both of them Revell:

 

 

 

With the impending retirement of the Tornado GR4 from RAF service next year, I thought it would appropriate to have a crack at a 1:72 Tornado GR4.

 

Kit:

I bought this particular kit from the Newark Air Museum (I highly recommend a visit there, it's by far one of the better aviation museums that I've had the pleasure of visiting) and used decals from the Xtradecal "RAF and RN Update 2014-15 Pt.1".

 

Detailing:

Although I don't strive for 100% accuracy with my builds, the key differences between a GR1 and GR4 are the presence of FLIR pod, the removal of a cannon and the introduction of more digital displays in the cockpit. Instead of going for aftermarket sets (which I hear are rather good, and I'll look at using one for my next build) I shaped and scribed a piece of scrap sprue to match the rough dimensions of the FLIR pod. The cannon was "removed" by a splash of filler and a bout of sanding, and finally the instrument panels were slightly modified to look more like those of a GR4 (although in this scale you can't see much anyway!).

The weaponry of Storm Shadows and ASRAAMs were taken from a Revell Eurofighter kit.

 

Paints:

Vallejo Model Air paints were used throughout, alongside a Dark Dirt wash from UMP and landing gear weathering was aided by the application of an AK Interactive landing gear Dust wash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

So, that's it for this build. As I've found with my previous attempts, the Revell Tornado kit is one of those kits that is "fun" to build and comes with some incredible detail (just look at those rivets!) straight out of the box. I did make a mess with one of the decals from the Xtradecal set (the "...ary" in 100th anniversary were destroyed during decal placement on the left hand side of the aircraft) and although the repair looks acceptable from a distance, close-up it's quite obvious. I believe it to be entirely my fault and I still regard Xtradecal sets as some of the finest aftermarket decals that I've used.

 

Thanks for having a look!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

[Alpha Delta 210]

Great result and a fitting tribute to this fine aircraft.

[Hockeyboy76]

Great build. 

[gazza l]

Very nice collection of Tornado's... like them all.

 

gazza l

[MikeR]

Very nice indeed!

 

Mike.

[dashellis]

Big fan of Tonkas, they are all very nice indeed

[stevej60]

What a stunner Sam,quality finish all round.

[RMCS]

Superb work

[Lord Riot]

Very well made. Although I like the grey/green wrap round colour for Tornados not grey, your work and skill on this kit is superb.

[cathasatail]

9 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

Very well made. Although I like the grey/green wrap round colour for Tornados not grey, your work and skill on this kit is superb.

Thanks

Funny you should mentioned the grey/green camo colour- I was very nearly going to do this Tornado in that colour scheme until I remembered about the aftermarket decals. Next time I'll definitely be doing a camo GR1!

 

Best wishes,

Sam

Edited October 1, 2018 by cathasatail

[F-32]

That's a cracking piece of work, very tidy indeed

[ColinChipmunkfan]

Great model Sam, a good tribute to 15 squadron.  Like you I think the Revel Tornado is both really accurate and the best value for money.

[cathasatail]

2 hours ago, ColinChipmunkfan said:

Great model Sam, a good tribute to 15 squadron.  Like you I think the Revel Tornado is both really accurate and the best value for money.

Thank you

I think the point you raise about cost is a good one! It didn't dawn on me until recently what an expensive hobby it is; but as you say the Revell Tornado can be snapped up for a bargain. I'm sure I bought one at Telford a year or two ago for around £5-6, and I've noticed the 1:48 ADV kit for around £15-16 on the internet (which is a steal considering the quality of the tooling!)

 

Best wishes,

Sam