Pappy Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 (edited) G'day people, This now brings the number of GBs I am involved in now to three, I need my head examined! I have had this kit in the stash for a while so this seems like the best time to get serious about it I had previously made a start on this kit, the kit seats have been assembled but the rest of the cockpit and forward fuselage is unassembled and the majority of the larger parts have been removed from their sprues to check fit and experiment with the assembly sequence for the fuselage as there seem to be quite a few variations from the Revell instructions that I have seen in several on-line builds to achieve a better fit. Removing the parts from the sprues also means I can make room in the (crappy) box for some aftermarket goodies I think I am well under the 25% rule but will withdraw if the mods disagree, cheers, Pappy Edited September 5, 2020 by Pappy 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) G'day people, I spent today working on some of the more innocuous assemblies, getting the bits together to give the glue time to set before I could revisit to tidy up the seams There is a tiny little antenna on top of the fin (IFF?) I nearly sanded it off a number of times. it is in an annoying spot. Revell would have you trap the part with the fwd/aft RWRs inside the fin when assembling the parts but you can simply cut the part in two making the fin seam easier to deal with The RWRs also had deep sink marks on my example (and probably everyone else's!)so these needed to be dealt with The fit of the rear RWR antenna is quite sloppy and will likely need a shim to fit snugly When I first bought the kit I had begun assembling the BOZ-107 and Sky Shadow pods. When I started doing the research I discovered that there are some areas in need of attention. The underside of the Sky Shadow pod needs another air scoop and the BOZ-107 aft section needs to be rotated 'outwards' (to stb'd when installed on the right wing) rather than downwards as per the kit I decided to give myself a treat and started applying some PE to the undercarriage bays cheers, Pappy Edited September 6, 2020 by Pappy 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 A solid start and nice work with thatch in the U/C bays. I too have started with some of the parts that can be built up before attaching to the main frame whilst the cockpit paint is drying, although I made that fin as per the instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Yes great to see some progress. Maybe you could share a picture of the revised BOZ pod in the reference section as this kit is proving to be quite popular and other will have the same issue. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 On 9/7/2020 at 4:19 PM, Jabba said: A solid start and nice work with thatch in the U/C bays. I too have started with some of the parts that can be built up before attaching to the main frame whilst the cockpit paint is drying, although I made that fin as per the instructions. Cheers Jabba, You seem to be off to a flying start as well. Getting the fuselage together seems to be something to approach with care due to the multi-part arrangement, good luck with yours! 13 hours ago, Colin W said: Yes great to see some progress. Maybe you could share a picture of the revised BOZ pod in the reference section as this kit is proving to be quite popular and other will have the same issue. Colin Thanks Colin, I will post up some more pictures when it is finished 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 (edited) G'day people, Some more progress today. Revell does not see fit to supply any A/G ordnance, which is a pretty weak move for a jet that is basically optimised for that role. This means the builder will need to source their own weapons which is what I have been doing. The AIM-9s also look terrible as the forward fins lack the double canards of the -9L/M and the rear wings lack the prominent rollerons, so these are best consigned to the bin as rubbish. I found an AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod in my gash spares and even better - I had already painted it! Next up, I wanted to hang a couple of GBU-49s (Paveway IVs). I could have just bought these (and waited a while) but where is the fun in that. After a brief on-line search I had enough info to have a crack at modifying a pair of GBU-12s. My attempt Of course these will need a home so the under fuselage racks were drilled and pinned to accept the stores and dry fitted Finally, the BOZ-107s received their strakes Revell supply two of these and I have seen configurations with two carried (in lieu of the more typical Sky Shadow pod on STN 1) on the outboard wing stations, but in each case the back end should be pointing outboard and down instead of straight down as Revell have done. It is a pretty straightforward task to remove the aft section and re-attach at the correct angle. Revell also depict these pods as unloaded as the back end is completely hollow. I built one unloaded and the other in a loaded state but I have not decided on a final load configuration yet so I modified the end of one of the pods to keep my options open. thanks for looking Pappy Edited September 17, 2020 by Pappy 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted September 17, 2020 Share Posted September 17, 2020 Good to see some propper modelling on the GBUs rather then just buying more stuff. The lazer pod lookes excellent as well. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, Colin W said: Good to see some propper modelling on the GBUs rather then just buying more stuff. The lazer pod lookes excellent as well. Colin Thanks Colin, To be fair, the aftermarket resin Goobers available are stunning, but most of the fine details depicted on the hardback would be hidden when loaded onto the racks so I am happy enough with my simple efforts. G'day people, Starting to get some of the sub assemblies together now. I opted to use the kit undercarriage wells as the kit has a relatively complex fuselage assembly sequence with a huge potential for for fit issues and I didn't want to compound the issue by introducing additional fit problems associated with resin bays. The kit nose wheel bay roof is actually the underside of the cockpit tub to which a single piece part that incorporates the wheel a nose well sides is mated. The u/c PE set includes several PE avionics boxes were added after the well parts were painted I had an additional PE box for the roof of the NWW which could also be shown open but I thought it overkill and I doubt you could have both open at the same time. The moulded detail is very nice and just needed a light grime wash to pop out the details I also decided to open the RH avionics bay and add a resin detail part. The instructions would have you add a resin support at the front, my references pics did not have this part present so I left it off This panel will need to be removed A few short minutes with a razor saw and the panel was gone I have also made a start on painting the tub The tub looks terrible when viewed in macro mode but the picture below is pretty close to the actual size I cannot compete with Pre-painted PE for precision, but I don't like the majority of these sets as I find the colours are usually incorrect or a poor match. I am happy enough with my efforts. The Tornado cockpit is not a colourful cockpit being mostly a uniform grey colour Thanks for looking, Pappy Edited September 18, 2020 by Pappy 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 Nice work in the cockpit. I too agree with what you have said about the colour etch (colour match), even though I have used it in my build. Also like the detail in the nose U/C bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlin Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 Great work on your home made GBU-49's Pappy And the cockpit looks wonderful. /Bosse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 Knew we'd be in for a treat upon seeing your name in the GB and sure enough there's lots of great modelling going on in here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 (edited) On 9/18/2020 at 5:23 PM, Marlin said: Great work on your home made GBU-49's Pappy And the cockpit looks wonderful. /Bosse Cheers Bosse 2 hours ago, Col. said: Knew we'd be in for a treat upon seeing your name in the GB and sure enough there's lots of great modelling going on in here Thanks Col, and there is plenty of great work going on elsewhere too in this GB G'day people, I was very impressed by the results that Bosse ("Marlin") attained using the kit decals so I decided to do the same. The decals for the front panel consist of four separate decals and are correctly numbered Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the remainder of the cockpit. The instructions would have you think that no decal is provided for the rear panel however, decal 40 was used albeit in modified form. The side consoles have decals provided for them but again the instructions are completely pants, referring to all four (different) decals as decal 30! I used decals 36 and 37 for the fwd left and right respectively and decals 42 and 43 for the aft left and right sides respectively. After a coat of gloss, I used three applications of setting solution 30mins apart then shot a coat of flat and I am super happy with the results I think the result is superior to the pre-painted PE in a number of areas. The colour matching is not an issue as the individual knobs, switches and dials etc. are coloured but the remainder of the panel area is clear, so it is whatever the underlying colour is. Being decals, they are very easy to position and do not require the removal of the raised details and the potential for damaging other details Once the decal has settled, you have a more realistic representation than the pre-painted etch which is flatter in profile. The decals are really crisp and reacted to the decal setting solution flawlessly, top marks to Revell there. The decals come in the kit so you don't have to shell out for the PE set, saving money that you can spend on weapons or other stuff. Next up, the intake engine inlet assembly has been completed I left the inner seam alone as it was a difficult job to get to and I am not sure that it will be that visible, you can barely see the compressor faces as it is. The join around the intake lips was also cleaned up The two piece inlets are one of the problematic fit areas associated with this kit. I have deviated from the kit assembly sequence here as I don't like their approach. I also noticed that when the fin was assembled the ram air intake was short shot, so I cut back the problem area and glued in a section of scrap resin. This seems to be a problem that is present on quite a few kits Finally, I got to work on some fun stuff and painted and decalled the goobers I don't think I will use the Sky Shadow pod but it is a good representation. I assembled the pod and if I ever build a GR.1 then it will be ready to go. The only issue I had with it is that it is missing a small rearwards facing exhaust. I finally found a use for the rubbish AIM-9s that Revell include. I sanded a flat section into the nose of one of the missiles and simply cut a small section from the tip. I hollowed out the rear slightly and this was then added to the Sky Shadow pod per references. Apart from including the missing exhaust the only advantage an aftermarket pod has is some thinner rear fins. I thinned these down and can live with the results Thanks for looking Pappy p.s. Can somebody with a Revell 1/48 Tornado kit please tell me where the cannon muzzles are? The kit instructions state that they are parts E29 but I am looking at Sprue E but don't see them and the parts diagram for Sprue E does not include an E29 cheers, Pappy Edited September 19, 2020 by Pappy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 it is E29... a very small rod....with a hint of muzzle brake... Great work by the way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 19, 2020 Author Share Posted September 19, 2020 Thanks very much, The part looks a lot better in the instructions! cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted September 19, 2020 Share Posted September 19, 2020 25 minutes ago, Pappy said: The part looks a lot better in the instructions! There is a quickboost replacement Will take a photo later.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 (edited) On 9/20/2020 at 12:21 AM, exdraken said: There is a quickboost replacement Will take a photo later.... Cheers ED, I just went with the kit item, mainly because being in Oz, if the LHS does not have the item in stock it will usually be a two week wait however, post COVID, the GB will likely be finished before the item arrives! I have just received some items from Europe that were ordered two months ago, so not keen to order from O/S unless absolutely necessary, cheer sand thanks again Pappy Edited September 3, 2022 by Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 20, 2020 Share Posted September 20, 2020 Nice work all around there. A quick one for you as it caught me out last night. The FLIR and the Laser ranger pods both have little spigots on then so that they can be located in the lower fuselage part. There are holes for them to be drilled out, but are not mentioned in the instructions when it tells you to drill out various holes in this part to begin with. I only just saw them last night when I was trimming flash plastic off the Fwd Fuselage halve to get them to fit better when I wondered how the Laser ranger fitted and had a closer look. I was able to drill out these holes, but more by luck in the first place not really knowing that they were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 (edited) On 9/21/2020 at 1:01 AM, Jabba said: Nice work all around there. A quick one for you as it caught me out last night. The FLIR and the Laser ranger pods both have little spigots on then so that they can be located in the lower fuselage part. There are holes for them to be drilled out, but are not mentioned in the instructions when it tells you to drill out various holes in this part to begin with. I only just saw them last night when I was trimming flash plastic off the Fwd Fuselage halve to get them to fit better when I wondered how the Laser ranger fitted and had a closer look. I was able to drill out these holes, but more by luck in the first place not really knowing that they were there. G'day Jabba, I had already caught that one as when I was examining the lower fuselage part I just assumed that the flashed over holes were for the chin pods. One thing I did find however was that the loaction of the forward locating pin is right in the join which is a pain. The rear locating holes are good. The locating hole for the under-fuselage racks is incorrectly depicted in the instruction sheet as it is too short. I used a set of verniers to get the spacing off the rack and transfer the location to the kit, cheers, Pappy Edited September 3, 2022 by Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) G'day people, Well another sub assembly completed. I will have my wings positioned fully forward so that I can show off the lovely extended flap detail. This is not without its issues (I know shocking!) and care needs to be taken to avoid problems, and unfortunately the Revell instructions don't really help matters. I began by assembling the flaps units themselves. These are a multipart affair which allows the builder to depict them in the fully extended or retracted position. These are quite delicate assemblies and great care needs to be exercised during clean up. The extended portion is made up of two sections. I have seen some builds on-line in which the builder has intentionally opened up a gap between these two sections which I believe is incorrect. The Tornado has double slotted Fowler type flaps and as such there should only be two gaps, one above and one below the flap vanes that extend with the main flap section. This means that the two sections of the lower part have a seam that needs to be eliminated. I found that I got a better fit by sanding away the small locating pins and just eye-balling the parts The wing cores went together without any fuss, I even managed to install the pylon swing mechanism without any trouble. The biggest issue I had was determining where the three flap extension guides ended and the sprue started as these guides also act as the sprue attachment points and the molding is very untidy. I can understand why many modellers have managed to accidentally remove these but I managed to get them cleaned up okay Finally I did a bit of work to busy up the main gear bays. They are not anywhere nearly as nice as the resin items but then again these will fit without any additional work and I think that after some painting and weathering they will suffice cheers, Pappy Edited September 22, 2020 by Pappy 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Nice work with the wings and flaps. I know what you mean about the flaps being delicate, as I have some damage to mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Those wheel bays look like they should turn out bloody brilliant. I might actually have to consider a PE set or 2..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 1 hour ago, helios16v said: Those wheel bays look like they should turn out bloody brilliant. I might actually have to consider a PE set or 2..... G'day Chris, My 2c worth You will not find a bigger PE and resin fanboy than me. However I am not a fan of the pre-painted PE for reasons already outlined previously in this thread. I am VERY impressed with the results of applying the kit decals over the raised kit cockpit details so I would suggest that on balance, save your $$ and don't buy the cockpit PE set. In years past this would have included the seat belts but now this is a separate set. Unless you plan to install aircrew, the kit seats are best replaced with resin items, so spend the money here instead. As for the U/C bays, as I said, I cannot match their detail but for what will be seen, the PE details and a little additional elbow grease will yield good results, but the real bonus is that the u/c bays will fit without any additional work. The las two resin u/c sets I bought (BAC Lightning and a McDD Demon) were crap as they were undersized for the opening they were intended to represent. That is poor quality control and a waste of my money and time. The PE u/c sets dress up the landing gear and bays nicely and are about the same cost so it basically comes down to a decision between cool details but some work to make them fit (resin) or less work but a good fit with no extra adjustment (PE) cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 Questions for the tornado 'experten', 1. What were the RAF (BSC) wraparound scheme colours? I think that is was basically RAF dark green and dark sea grey but beyond that would not have a clue wrt the BSC381c no's 2. In the Walkaround section, in the walkaround for the GR.4 ZD843, Operational, Kandehar, Afghanistan I can see what looks like two joystics, one on each side of the inner canopy frame for the rear cockpit occupant which I have not seen before, what is the purpose of these and was this a standard fit to GR.4s later on in their service life? 3. Same walkaround, inside the forward canopy section just above the air con ducting there is an inverted 'V' shape with what looks like some form of sensor attached, again what is this and was this standard? cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Q2. These I think were for flare firing and started to be fitted towards the start of Op Telic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 3 minutes ago, Jabba said: Q2. These I think were for flare firing and started to be fitted towards the start of Op Telic. G'day Jabba, Thanks for the speedy reply. Were these flare firing handles associated with the introduction of the TERMA pod or did they dispense from any flare dispenser e.g BOZ-107 etc ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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