Phantome Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) Hello! Been a while since I participated in a group build so here goes. I was born in 1979 which unfortunately was a rather uneventful year for military aviation. Fortunately it just so happens that one of my favorite planes of all time, the Tornado, entered service for the first time with the Luftwaffe. Match made in heaven! I am a huge fan of the Luftwaffe's "Lizard Scheme" (ok ok, Norm 83) and this is my first time building it. I am less of a fan of Revell's Tornado kit. Yes, it's the best in 1/72 scale by far. But it is incredibly fiddly and molding quality is terrible. Thankfully I will be using the 2002 "Black Thunder" kit so hopefully the plastic will not have been so deteriorated as in newer kits. It was my first Revell Tornado kit so I am eager to finally get around to build it. Unlike their latest kits, Revell back then typically included combat markings aside from the special markings and this kit includes decals for a Holloman AFB aircraft. The decals are moldy but appear usable. Edited August 31, 2019 by Phantome 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 My first concern was the black plastic but I sprayed the cockpit with Vallejo FS 36231 and coverage was excellent which was a relief. The other interior parts were painted Gunze FS 36495 as an equivalent of the light gray (which I read somewhere did not correspond to any RAL or BS number). The fuselage can be built on its own as it is separate from the nose and it is relatively quick to do so. But man, the engineering on this kit is somewhat questionable. The vertical stabilizers are very fiddly, for the only purpose that you can move them (pointless in a static model IMHO). The wings are movable which is a plus in theory, but requires the pylons to swivel, which also results in a very delicate placement. Worse still is that if either the pylons or stabilizers break off, you are screwed. Still, we march ahead! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 (edited) The cockpit is amazingly detailed, one of the best I've seen in 1/72 scale. In fact, surface quality of the model is fabulous, though in some parts (lower nose, fuselage sides) it is very crude due to lack of slide molding. Looking at this kit one realizes just how Revell's quality has really gone downhill in recent years. When's the last time they made a kit this detailed in this scale? To be continued later this weekend... Edited August 31, 2019 by Phantome 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Great choice Phantome and welcome along to this GB. I’ve never had this kit, however have always wanted one so it’s great seeing this build on here. Looks the goods so far so I wish you all the best bringing this all together. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Disaster has struck When attempting to attach the nose to the fuselage, my hand slipped and I broke the vertical stabilizer. Note to self: connect the nose and fuselage while the fuselage cement has not fully cured. Fear not. The cockpit has been salvaged which will shave some time off. I have a couple of IDS Tigermeet kits in the stash for this to continue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 That’s a shame, but seems to be recoverable, especially with a stash full of the same kit. It’s all about recovery so don’t despair, you’ll win this one! Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 (edited) Ok, have had time to start with the old Tigermeet IDS kit. Fuselage has been rebuilt and I recycled the cockpit parts from the old build to save some time. Annoyingly, I found that one of the intakes had the edge chipped off. So I used plasticard by placing a layer underneath and then a smaller triangular piece to even it out. I also put a piece of plasticard on the other one so they could be the same width. The fuselage was rebuilt relatively quickly. On Revell's Tornados I tend to fix the wheel wells with plastic cards as well as I dread the possibility of them detaching them after it's built, which would be difficult if not impossible to fix. On that note, I'm amazed at just how crisp the molding of this kit is. The Tigermeet IDS kit was the first released back in 1998. Hardly any flash even in pieces that are notorious for it. Really wish Revell took better care of its prize kits. Edited September 14, 2019 by Phantome 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Looking good and as you say, it’s always nice to work with crisp parts. That’s part of the reason why I like working on old Matchbox kits as the plastic is really nice to work with. Cheers and good progress.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted September 18, 2019 Author Share Posted September 18, 2019 (edited) THE FUSELAGE FELL TO THE FLOOR AND THE STABILIZER BROKE!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤬🤬😭 My god, why did Revell make this kit so delicate??? In any other kit a broken stabilizer would be fixable! Not here... why??? Just because they wanted to make it moveable. WHYYYY??!?!?!?!?! Two of the swiveling pylons also snapped off. Another part of the kit that is impossible to correct if broken (unlike all other pylons). I think the Tornado is a kit that should be designed with either the wings swept back or not but not movable. Kind of like the Hasegawa F-14. Would have avoided all of this. £25 worth of kits have now gone... I have one more IDS kit in the stash. This will continue. I will not be defeated. Edited September 18, 2019 by Phantome 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 18, 2019 Share Posted September 18, 2019 That’s a shame, however you may just have to settle to fixing these parts into position. Sounds a bit gimmicky but I suppose some modellers like this feature. You’ll win this little battle. Keep at it! Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 I was ill last week and swamped with work but managed to advance on the 3rd attempt... nothing broken so far! Paints were Gunze H405 Olive Green for RAL 6003, H309 Forest Green for FS 34079, and H401 Dark Gray for RAL 7021, the three main colors of the beautiful Norm 83 scheme. I found H405 and H309 to be a bit too close to each other and as I understand it, RAL 6003 has changed post-war (H405 is a WW2 color). Still, the results were good enough 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 Decals nearly done... had another mild catastrophe: lazy me decided to use the gray decals for the swing area of the wings. And when the wings were eventually swung back (accidentally), the decals tore completely and it was a P.I.T.A. to remove. Thankfully, it was ultimately sorted, not without 1-2 hours lost correcting the error. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 14, 2019 Share Posted October 14, 2019 That's looking beautiful Phantome and recovering from minor slips is all part of the hobby. Those that don't have a wee moment of errors in their builds are obviously doing something wrong! Cracking Tonka (or German translation there of) taking shape here. Cheers.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted October 15, 2019 Author Share Posted October 15, 2019 C'est fini! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted October 15, 2019 Share Posted October 15, 2019 That’s a cracking Tonka, loving the paint work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Well done Phantome, that's turned out beautifully and you should be very proud of your latest modelling efforts. The Tornado was such a huge success over this later 20th century period so it's always great to see another one built. Cheers and thanks for taking part.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantome Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 Thanks to everyone who has commented or liked the Tonka As further proof that this particular model is cursed, I accidentally dropped a pair of boxer shorts on it, snapping off one of the landing gear and engine exhausts. Fortunately they were clean breaks, and were easily re-attached. Still. I think I will need to encase it in a titanium box stuffed with cotton balls so that it survives more than a month or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Phantome said: I accidentally dropped a pair of boxer shorts on it, snapping off one of the landing gear and engine exhausts. ?? Makes one think, what material boxer shorts do you wear!! Actually on second thoughts, I’d rather not know! Cheers and I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this GB.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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