QRA North. Update - Tornado finished 07/01.

[DaveJL]

Hello all,

 

Here is my entry for this GB. As per the title, I'll be replicating two aircraft that have had responsibility for the Northern QRA for the United Kingdom - the Tornado F.3 and Eurofighter Typhoon. Both these kits were initially part of my 'RAF QRA through the years' project but that was getting a bit long in the tooth and having recently visited Lossiemouth, playing about with my first proper DSLR camera and various lenses, I wanted to build these separately. So without much further ado;

 

Kits:

 

 

The Typhoon will be marked as ZK306 of 1(F) Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth in 2019.

 

Typhoon sprues and bits:

 

 

Aftermarket wise, I'll be using Eduard etch, Airwaves resin seat, Phase Hanger Resin FOD inserts, Eduard masks and various Xtradecal sheets to cobble together the markings for ZK306. Will be loaded with 4x AIM-132 ASRAAM (2 from the spares), 4x Meteor (although pictures of the recent QRA launches that I've seen, the jets appear only to be fitted with the 4 ASRAAM) and 2x gas bags.

 

The Tornado will be marked as ZE158 of 111(F) Squadron at RAF Leuchars in the mid 2000s.

 

Tornado sprues and bits:

 

 

For aftermarket, I'll be using Eduard etch, Pavla resin seats, Master pitot tube, Model Alliance decals, New Ware masks and resin BOL rails. I also have some HGW remove before flight tags if I decide to make FOD covers for this one. Will be fully loaded with 4x AIM-132 ASRAAM (donated by a kind member, forgive me, I forget who!), 4x AIM-120 AMRAAM and 2x gas bags.

 

Finally, I'm sure some of you know I like a good patch:

 

 

I know the centre patch is a bit off for 1 Squadron as it depicts 43 Squadron alongside 111 Squadron but I like it too much not to include it here

 

These kits have a bit of a reputation for not being the easiest to build (I can confirm as such for the Typhoon anyway) but I've been wanting to do them for a while so looking forward to getting started.

 

Dave

[Col.]

That's quite a brace of subjects you have there Dave and plenty aftermarket goodies to dress them up for battle  

When you visited Lossie did you see the Aggressor Typhoon that's been going about lately by any chance?

[DaveJL]

25 minutes ago, Col. said:

That's quite a brace of subjects you have there Dave and plenty aftermarket goodies to dress them up for battle  

When you visited Lossie did you see the Aggressor Typhoon that's been going about lately by any chance?

Thanks Col, hopefully they don't fight me too much!

 

Didn't see the Aggressor unfortunately, or any Squadron marked jets for that matter. Just a few anonymous jets and one with the Nato tail markings. The first picture below is the first I snapped with the camera (literally my first time using a proper DSLR!)

 

 

And a few others. Need to improve my lens for catching take offs!

 

 

Was good to see the three Poseidons lined up:

 

 

Dave

[Col.]

All good photos Dave but that first one is a cracker

[DaveJL]

4 minutes ago, Col. said:

All good photos Dave but that first one is a cracker

Beginners luck!

[Ale85]

Very interesting project! 

[DaveJL]

6 hours ago, Ale85 said:

Very interesting project! 

Thanks Ale!

[Latinbear]

Good photos there! How did you find the spotting opportunities? 

[TonyOD]

18 hours ago, DaveJL said:

(literally my first time using a proper DSLR!)

 

 

Well that's not bad first time out is it?!

[DaveJL]

2 hours ago, Latinbear said:

Good photos there! How did you find the spotting opportunities? 

Very good mate, easily accessible and not too busy. There appears to be an almost purpose made car park now at the golf course end. All takeoffs when I was there were from the 05 end.

 

1 hour ago, TonyOD said:

 

Well that's not bad first time out is it?!

 I was pleased with it

[coneheadff]

You're really a brave man Dave...these two kits are pigs to build.

Looking forward to see your next two gems

[Latinbear]

14 hours ago, DaveJL said:

Very good mate, easily accessible and not too busy. There appears to be an almost purpose made car park now at the golf course end. All takeoffs when I was there were from the 05 end.

 

 I was pleased with it

Excellent news! I'm glad the trip was worth it and particularly the early start!

[DaveJL]

On 11/5/2020 at 9:41 PM, coneheadff said:

You're really a brave man Dave...these two kits are pigs to build.

Looking forward to see your next two gems

I'm expecting a bit of a fight from the Tornado. I've built the Typhoon before so (sort of) know what to expect

On 11/6/2020 at 8:36 AM, Latinbear said:

Excellent news! I'm glad the trip was worth it and particularly the early start!

Thanks mate! Was well worth it, will be back as soon as I'm able to! Might have to ask Santa for a sharper lens!

[DaveJL]

Made a start on these two today, namely the ordnance and other related things. I butchered together a couple of extra pylons for the additional pair of ASRAAM for the Typhoon. Fuel tanks were also made up:

 

 

Meteors were built and cleaned up next. The ASRAAMs also needed some clean up as there was quite a thick seam line running down them.

 

 

I moved onto the bits and bobs for the Tornado. As this will be a mid 2000s jet, I needed a set of AIM-120B AMRAAM for it. Meng came up with the goods:

 

 

They were quickly assembled along with the gas bags and cleaned up ASRAAM:

 

 

AMRAAM v Meteor:

 

 

Next, I added the resin BOL rails from @Shaun to the wing pylons. The F.3 only had these fitted to the inner part of the pylon. Some minor surgery needed:

 

 

Finally, the resin ejection seats were cleaned up:

 

 

The Airwaves MK.16 for the Typhoon is wonderful. Shame Airwaves no long cast these. 

 

I'm hoping to get the cockpits started later in the week.

 

Take care

 

Dave

[Col.]

Nice start Dave  

[DaveJL]

Cheers Col!

[DaveJL]

A bit more done. Cockpits were painted and given a light wash in the footwells. As usual, the Eduard etch was hard to match up with the colour of the paint but once the seats etc are fitted it won't be overly noticeable.

 

 

I then built up the forward intake and main landing gear well for the Typhoon as well as adding the same parts to the F.3:

 

 

I've read a lot about Revell's Tornado kits and taking the advice off many on this site, I'll be building it out of sequence to the instructions. Firstly, the front landing gear bay was added to the base of the cockpit and this ensemble was fitted to the front fuselage halves. The Typhoon was simple enough!

 

 

I had to add a couple of pieces of scrap etch to the mid point of the F.3s cockpit as the fit was poor. So far nearly every piece of the Tornado has had flash on it. Seems a bit off for a kit only moulded a few years ago. Anyway, I digress. Back to the build sequence and from what I can decipher, I'll build the rear part up, including the intakes  and then fit that assembly to the forward fuselage seen above.

 

I'm also tempted to enter this:

 

 

43 Squadron in Grey/Green camouflage....would go nicely with that QRA patch I have, sheer coincidence of course! 😄 

 

Hoping to get some work done on the fuselage of both kits tomorrow.

 

Dave

[Col.]

Nice work in the cockpits of these two Dave. If you want to add the Phantom into the mix I'm sure you'll find no complaints from the gang here  

[Valkyrie]

Will like to watch this project Dave.

Treated to a lone Typhoon over our patrol area yesterday when finishing up, really light grey, great noise made me think about digging one out to start, I’ll just follow this 

Enjoy 

[Hewy]

Great dave! I'm looking forward to these , I wouldnt mind a 48th typhoon for the stash myself

[Tim Moff]

On 11/19/2020 at 6:16 PM, DaveJL said:

A bit more done. Cockpits were painted and given a light wash in the footwells. As usual, the Eduard etch was hard to match up with the colour of the paint but once the seats etc are fitted it won't be overly noticeable.

 

 

I then built up the forward intake and main landing gear well for the Typhoon as well as adding the same parts to the F.3:

 

 

I've read a lot about Revell's Tornado kits and taking the advice off many on this site, I'll be building it out of sequence to the instructions. Firstly, the front landing gear bay was added to the base of the cockpit and this ensemble was fitted to the front fuselage halves. The Typhoon was simple enough!

 

 

I had to add a couple of pieces of scrap etch to the mid point of the F.3s cockpit as the fit was poor. So far nearly every piece of the Tornado has had flash on it. Seems a bit off for a kit only moulded a few years ago. Anyway, I digress. Back to the build sequence and from what I can decipher, I'll build the rear part up, including the intakes  and then fit that assembly to the forward fuselage seen above.

 

I'm also tempted to enter this:

 

 

43(F) Squadron in Grey/Green camouflage....would go nicely with that QRA patch I have, sheer coincidence of course! 😄 

 

Hoping to get some work done on the fuselage of both kits tomorrow.

 

Dave

Seems we think alike - I’ve one sat in my stash ... been too long since I built a Toom .... well a couple of months like 🤣

[DaveJL]

Thanks chaps.

 

A few more hours today. Firstly, I added the spine and airbrake to the Typhoon. The fit of the latter is awful. I sanded down some of the inside to get a slightly better fit but still ended up with this:

 

 

The horrible soft Revell plastic doesn't really add to it either. Anyway, I slapped on some filler and left it aside to do a bit more on the Tornado. I sprayed the intakes MRP Light grey:

 

 

Added the turbine blades and gave the openings a bit of light weathering to simulate grime etc.

 

 

Surprisingly, these closed up pretty well. I was expecting a bit of a faff like the rest of the kit so far. It wasn't, so, I'm happy (that ended quickly - read on). While the intakes were setting, I returned to the Typhoon and gave it a good seeing to with the sander. Actually came out pretty well:

 

 

Back to the Tornado. I thought adding the side panels of the rear fuselage would be simple, not so. Dodgy fit and some gaps that will need addressed:

 

 

Forward fuselage getting there. Nose cone is a poor fit however:

 

 

Finally, the fin. This comprises 8 pieces and I can't help but feeling, like with other areas of the kit, that it is somewhat over engineered and unnecessarily so. But then again, I don't produce kits, just try to build them so what do I know!😝

 

 

More soon.

 

Dave

[Col.]

Nice progress on both regardless of their fit issues Dave.

So, when are you starting the Phantom?

[DaveJL]

11 minutes ago, Col. said:

Nice progress on both regardless of their fit issues Dave.

So, when are you starting the Phantom?

Thanks Col. As for the Phantom....

 

....Perhaps in a week or two

[DaveJL]

Oh Revell, how you've ruined my happiness this Saturday.  I thought I'd do an easy job and build up the wings after returning from a pleasant morning walk with the dog. From pictures I've seen of the Tornado in the 'Q SHED,' they all have the flaps and slats tucked in:

 

Seen here

here

And here

 

So, off I went with the kit parts, imagining a 10 minute job, while the coffee machine was brewing away in the kitchen, the lovely aromas of a strong Columbian roast wafting up to the workbench. Very soon I'd be having a lovely mug of warm coffee while enjoying a quick browse of the news. Revell thought this was just not on and decided to treat me to what has been the most annoying wing set up I've ever come across. Literally, and I mean this, nothing fit the way one would assume. In fact, it seems that part of the mould on the wing just isn't there.

 

 

The flaps are an awful fit, leaving me with a step of some description on the upper side. Is this normal?

 

 

The spoilers were a terrible fit too. I haven't heard many people mentioning the fit of the wings so perhaps I have a lemon, or maybe I was just looking forward to that coffee too much. You'll be glad to hear that the coffee machine has a hot plate so my delight wasn't spoiled too much, though after that wing debacle, I was debating a tot of whisky in it but decided that would be a poor show at 1030 in the morning. 

 

Having regained my composure, I returned and, thinking I'd be clever, I sprayed the inner parts of the intakes in black (not sure what these are but most pictures I've seen show black edging around the opening of the intakes). Once dry, I masked up and sprayed the rest of the parts light grey. Then I set about fitting them to the upper fuselage. I must have been daft, thinking I was crafty and spraying those parts to save hassle. The fit was a four letter word and that word isn't good. Filler around each join (a mixture of Mr Surfacer and my trusty Squadron Green):

 

 

Two sub assemblies built up and, drum roll please, no fit issues, though the stabilisers are a horrible grainy plastic.

 

 

Added some more details to the cockpit along with the HUD. All the black areas given a light dry brushing of grey to simulate wear and tear.

 

 

Onto the Typhoon and compared to the Tornado this has been a doddle, which is saying a lot as it's not the easiest to build either! Nose cleaned up, PIRATE sensor added along with the HUD and etch supporting arms. Again a light dry brushing of grey on the coaming was added. I know the HUD isn't green in real life but wanted to show the tint so often seen in pictures.

 

 

Will get both windscreens on and masked off tomorrow. I'll also make my coffee first before tackling those hideous Tornado wings.

 

Take care

 

Dave