Italeri Tornado GR.4 1:32 Scale

[harrygt40]

Hi has anybody bought this kit, if so what is it like and is it worth the price.

 

Cheers, Harry

[Duncan B]

Lots of people have bought them, so much so they are selling out fast everywhere. "Worth the price" is a very subjective term, one person will tell you it's a bargain while another will think it is a tremendous waste of money. What I will say is you get an awful lot of kit for that money and I doubt you will get a better Tornado in that scale anytime soon.

 

Duncan B

[Stephen]

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/87167-new-italeri-tornado-gr4-132nd-scale-first-impression-pics/

 

More information here.

[Fletch0311]

On 18/11/2020 at 11:58, harrygt40 said:

Hi has anybody bought this kit, if so what is it like and is it worth the price.

 

Cheers, Harry

Hi mate

 

Flory Models have recently posted an in-depth video review on YouTube. Worth a watch if you're still interested to see the kit before buying it.

 

 

[viper-30]

Picked one up for 100 including free post so happy chap 

[Pappy]

On 11/18/2020 at 10:58 PM, harrygt40 said:

Hi has anybody bought this kit, if so what is it like and is it worth the price.

 

Cheers, Harry

 How long is a piece of string?

 

You will need to make your own mind up about the relative worth, however as already suggested, have a look at the Flory Models review to see what the plastic looks like

You really have two choices in 1/32 for a GR.4, the Revell (GR.1 - the later release ) or the Italeri. When considering which to buy, these points may be of interest:

 

• The Italeri kit has some nice features including a reasonable PE fret  and all the usual 'positionable' features for wings, airbrakes and AAR probe (as does the Revell kit) however the Revell kit does not have separate flaps/slats so that is a point of difference between the kits. The separate Kreuger flaps are also de-activated on RAF tornados so glue these flush - unless you are planning some sort of maintenance scene. The full length intakes and complete engines will also be welcomed by some whilst others will simply see it as just more stuff that needs to be assembled to get to the painting stage. There is also the interesting choice to depict the auxiliary intake doors in the open position, my understanding is that this condition would only exist with operating engines so you would need at least one person in the cockpit? The additional of an access stand and an open avionics bay round out the additional features of the Italeri kit.
• One early criticism is the width and depth of the panel lines. These are a great deal more prominent than on the Revell kit, which are finer (in fact in some spots they actually disappear), and the depth will be a matter of personal preference. I don't believe that they are poorly executed, but they are more prominent and are at least more consistent than Revell's.
• The Italeri kit includes both the chin pods, a key external recognition feature for the GR.4  and something you would need to source to convert the Revell GR.1 to GR.4
• There are nice representations of the Sky Shadow and BOZ-107 pods in both kits. One of the most frustrating points (for me) about the Italeri release is that most of the stores are of the GR.1 era and do not include the later stores that were more typically employed by the GR.4 like the Brimstone missiles/canted launcher, ALARM missiles, AIM-120 ASRAAM/BOL LAU-38 launcher combination and TERMA CMDS pod - Italeri got lazy and just included GR.1 era stores
• One exception is that the Expanded Paveway IVs (laser guided bombs) are included by Italeri, but again these are half baked as although they include the distinctive 'saddleback', the CCGs lack their GPS antennas. It is a pretty simple fix to add the two antennas (upper and lower) and much easier than scratching the saddlebacks, but still there is lots of reference material available and the kit commands a premium price so they should have got this correct
• Neither kit gives the option to build the recce sub-variants i.e. GR.1a and GR.4a. - again, this is a relatively simple conversion to represent the external recognition features (cockpit variances are more subtle) and basically involves deleting the cannon ports and creating window ports in each side of the fuselage. It would have been nice if a 'flashed over' option was present (along with the windows on the clear sprue) that simply required the builder to open up the window  and pop the clear piece in

 

I won't be buying the Italeri kit as I already have the Revell kit and on balance, I prefer it. The price differential between the kits means that the delta can be spent to 'upgrade' the Revell kit or buy a conversion set to bring it up to GR.4 standards. If you are happy with the kit stores provided and are not put off by the panel lines which would no doubt become less prominent with the subsequent paint layers then the Italeri kit may be the better choice all things being equal. In addition the panel lines would also hold a wash very well and are less likely to disappear after filling and sanding. The 'stance' looks correct and is probably closer with the Italeri kit due to the shorter nosewheel leg oleo, the Revell kits sits a little nose high which is closer to a empty jet.

 

The biggest disappointment is the choice of stores provided. I think that if you are going to build a GR.4/4a you want to have the stores that were associated with that variant and that differentiated it from the GR.1/1a. Anyone buying the Italeri kit will need to shell out more for aftermarket weapons if they want to depict their jet near the end of its career and this was a missed opportunity by Italeri. The kit already includes weapons that point to other variants such as AIM-9X and AGM-88s so I don't know why they didn't include later weapons. The Italeri kit includes two BOZ-107s, this was a valid configuration but I think that the space on the sprue would have been better served with one BOZ-107 and the inclusion of the TERMA pod instead. The kit certainly lends itself to backdating to GR.1, but in that case why pay the extra?

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Pappy

[spruecutter96]

To be frank, I feel that folks are making a lot more fuss about the depth of Italeri's panel lines than is justified. There is nothing about the lines that can't easily be fixed with a bit of filler and sanding. I'm sure that if you decided not to fill and simply painted the kit as normal, then the panel-lines would not be that noticeable.

 

What say ye, merry gentlefolk?

 

Chris.  

[Alan P]

2 minutes ago, spruecutter96 said:

To be frank, I feel that folks are making a lot more fuss about the depth of Italeri's panel lines than is justified. There is nothing about the lines that can't easily be fixed with a bit of filler and sanding. I'm sure that if you decided not to fill and simply painted the kit as normal, then the panel-lines would not be that noticeable.

 

What say ye, merry gentlefolk?

 

Chris.  

I don't get the whole panel line thing. Unless you're standing three feet from an aeroplane, you can hardly see them anyway. Fill them all in, what the hell 😂

 

Indentations and surface ripples caused by the aircraft structure are far more noticeable, yet these are very rarely moulded in plastic kits and no one says anything. Then there are the variations in panel colour, dirt patterns, hand and footprints, oil leaks, paint patching and varied reflectivity between colours, which again are far more noticeable, yet not many modellers reproduce these. 

 

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies when it comes to new kits. Myself, I think the kit is overpriced but what new 1/32 kit can you get for less than £100 these days? I'll stick with the Revells in my stash for now, in the hope that one day Revell will rebox the Italeri one for half the price with better decal choices one day 😂

[RichG]

2 hours ago, Pappy said:

all the usual 'positionable' features for wings, flaps, spoilers, airbrakes and AAR probe - as does the Revell kit 

 

Just a correction - the 1/32 Revell kit does not have positionable flaps and spoilers (their recent 1/48 Tornado does). The 1/32 Revell Tornado had "solid" wings and to have deployed flaps you needed to cut the wings and source the Paragon resin flaps set back in the day (now long out of production) or the more recent metal set from Flightpath. So this is one clear difference with the new kit - whether its an advantage or disadvantage depends of course. 

 

The new kit also has other unique features such as open blow-in doors on the intakes, deployable thrust reversers, full length intakes, open panel below RH intake, RAF style crew ladder, nicely detailed moulded cockpits and seats (stragely with no instruments or decals though), two detailed engines and PE details. So a far more detailed kit OOB but again how much these details add value depends on the modeller but they do go someway to defray the high cost. 

 

Not yet seen a built example, except in Italeri's own images, but in these it does look to have a better "sit" than the Revell version which always seemed to sit too "nose high". The common cry we usually hear with any Tornado kit is the nose shape is off, or the panel lines are wrong, or the tail of the aircraft is not right... really hope that the kit designers have noted others' errors and this kit is spot on with these (and everything else). I've not yet read any such critical comments to date and it certainly looks like a Tornado to me.

 

 

Again many will see the kit's "extras" as redundant and merely bumping up the price and better spent on more choice of stores or preferring a plain kit at an affordable price. There is no hiding the fact that at the full RRP it is a very expensive kit, it's readily available at less if you look but still a lot of cash. I really like the extra detail and it will save me shelling out on after-market enhancements. As to the stores, I'm not too bothered personally as I plan to backdate to a GR.1, and have amassed suitable stores over the years; I'm now considering doing mine as a GR.1B with a brace of Sea Eagles...🤔

 

Rich 

Edited November 25, 2020 by RichG

[spruecutter96]

If folks are prepared to wait, I'm pretty sure that the kit's price will fall significantly. I read that people have already bought it for £106.00, including UK delivery. Not too bad, on a kit with a list-price of around £140.00.

 

Chris.  

[Pappy]

4 hours ago, RichG said:

 

Just a correction - the 1/32 Revell kit does not have positionable flaps and spoilers (their recent 1/48 Tornado does). The 1/32 Revell Tornado had "solid" wings and to have deployed flaps you needed to cut the wings and source the Paragon resin flaps set back in the day (now long out of production) or the more recent metal set from Flightpath. So this is one clear difference with the new kit - whether its an advantage or disadvantage depends of course. 

 

The new kit also has other unique features such as open blow-in doors on the intakes, deployable thrust reversers, full length intakes, open panel below RH intake, RAF style crew ladder, nicely detailed moulded cockpits and seats (stragely with no instruments or decals though), two detailed engines and PE details. So a far more detailed kit OOB but again how much these details add value depends on the modeller but they do go someway to defray the high cost. 

 

Not yet seen a built example, except in Italeri's own images, but in these it does look to have a better "sit" than the Revell version which always seemed to sit too "nose high". The common cry we usually hear with any Tornado kit is the nose shape is off, or the panel lines are wrong, or the tail of the aircraft is not right... really hope that the kit designers have noted others' errors and this kit is spot on with these (and everything else). I've not yet read any such critical comments to date and it certainly looks like a Tornado to me.

 

 

Again many will see the kit's "extras" as redundant and merely bumping up the price and better spent on more choice of stores or preferring a plain kit at an affordable price. There is no hiding the fact that at the full RRP it is a very expensive kit, it's readily available at less if you look but still a lot of cash. I really like the extra detail and it will save me shelling out on after-market enhancements. As to the stores, I'm not too bothered personally as I plan to backdate to a GR.1, and have amassed suitable stores over the years; I'm now considering doing mine as a GR.1B with a brace of Sea Eagles...🤔

 

Rich 

 

Cheers Rich, I have corrected my post, serves me right to operate from memory

 

Pappy 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Pappy

[RichG]

In respose to the original poster @harrygt40, here's an out of the box review for a further opinion on the features and quality of the kit with images of the parts, including some in close up. 

 

One of the choices I do want to make for this kit is to have an engine out and displayed on its own but I don't want a gaping hole left in the aircraft itself. I agree with the review:  "there you will not only improve, but will extend the kit appearance also". I was wondering how easily the engine could be substituted on the aircraft by aftermarket exhausts already available for the Revell kit? Unfortunately I don't have any to test fit / appearance and I'm reluctant to buy on the off chance. So I was intrigued to read in the review the hint that (substitute exhausts for this kit)  "which are on the way already". 

 

Review

 

Rich

Edited November 27, 2020 by RichG

[One 48]

Glad I found a topic for this kit here.

My ones on the way, £119 delivered to N Scotland, happy enough with that ... as my name suggests, prefer 1/48 as an Aircraft scale these days, but reserve the right to have the occasional 1/32 kit, Tamiya's masterpieces for example, but also for Aircraft I have a special soft spot for, like the Tonka GR4.

Owned the old Revell 1/32 ECR Tornado and read up a fair bit how it could be turned into an acceptable RAF GR4, as soon as I read this new Italeri kit went from rumoured to confirmed, dumped my old Revel ECR box and parts, kept back the canopy just in case though?

I'd also amassed a fair collection of Resin AM for that kit, some of it Paragon quite rare now maybe? The slats/flaps for sure, Italeri do that out of the box, other stuff ... not sure of though, apparently the new Italeri kits landing gear looks very good, definitely want to do an RAF Lossiemouth 617 Jet as I live right beside that base.

The Resin Hindenburg tanks, are they better than the stock ones, the seats too?

Heard there are some omissions weaponry wise, just wondering what I should keep and let go from my old stash for the Revell kit and I can use on this Italeri kit?

Read too that the rear seater panel is more suited to an ECR Tornado than an RAF GR4, is this true? If so, how could that be fixed? I'm no scratch builder I'm afraid.

I'm no expert on Tornado's, just love the Aircraft and genuine seeking good advice here.

TIA.

 

 

[One 48]

And mine arrived just now, my Xmas Pressie to myself

Swore I'd never do big 1/32 again, but the Tornado I am a big fan of, exceptions can be made, looks a superb kit to me, but as in above post, lots of stuff salvaged from old Revell project, she will be an RAF Lossiemouth 617 sqn Jet for sure, stock kit has decals for that, but have a good Xtradecal sheet for this scheme too.

Live beside RAF Lossie, miss the Tornado's.

Going to enjoy this kit for sure.

https://imgur.com/K6EiHAy

Edited December 11, 2020 by One 48

[One 48]

Another question, for the more skilled air brushers out there ... the whole Thrust Reverser smokey stain on the tail fin and rear fuselage of a typical Tornado in day to day use is quite noticeable, but perhaps hard to achieve.

Any tips on how to do this right?

[Julien]

On 24/11/2020 at 23:06, Alan P said:

I don't get the whole panel line thing. Unless you're standing three feet from an aeroplane, you can hardly see them anyway. Fill them all in, what the hell 😂

 

A lot depends on the airframe you will be modelling. Have a look here and you can see a lot of the panels, even more so the ones which open. 

 

 

[Julien]

1 hour ago, One 48 said:

Another question, for the more skilled air brushers out there ... the whole Thrust Reverser smokey stain on the tail fin and rear fuselage of a typical Tornado in day to day use is quite noticeable, but perhaps hard to achieve.

Any tips on how to do this right?

Maybe use some weathering power rater than paint?

[Billy54]

On 11/18/2020 at 8:49 AM, Stephen said:

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/87167-new-italeri-tornado-gr4-132nd-scale-first-impression-pics/

 

More information here.

 

Thanks for those links. I'm a 1/72 scale guy but I have to admit, I am tempted. 

[bobsyouruncle]

Was very pleased to receive one of these yesterday and on first glances think it it looks like the 'dogs proverbials'.

 

One little thing I noticed was that Italeri appear to have changed a part as compared to their preview sprue shots back in October in the rumourmonger section.

Back then, they had the spine part A20 with the 'circular disc' type UHF antenna of the European IDS/ECR version, but in the kit, I've found this has altered to the

rectangular panel of the GR4 UHF antennas, so that was a nice bonus for me.

Not spotted any other little changes yet. Looking forward to getting to grips with it.

[bobsyouruncle]

Just noticed another small thing which I've not heard mentioned before, regarding the reverse thrust buckets, but I think it will only apply if anyone's intending modelling them in the deployed position.

 

Going back to the rumourmonger thread on the kit on page 5, there were some shots of a pre-release build.

I noticed in these (and in the shots on the side of the kit box), that they look to have attached some of the photo-etched parts (11, 12, 13, 14) to the thrust reverse buckets themselves?

However, in the kit instructions themselves, the diagram shows to fix these to the engine instead (stage 24).

Looking in the Fox 2 'Panavia Tornado' book by Klein & Gerard, it would seem to agree with the instructions rather than the test build photos?

 

I've managed to collect some Tornado pieces to keep them safe and for nostalgia and references and I've got a Left hand upper reverse thrust bucket so I'll include some photos here in case anyone finds them

useful at all (I know they changed engines - but don't know how often they changed the reverse thrust buckets on the engines, however some evidence is starting to make me think this one might have

possibly been on ZA461 - the XV Red tail special - when she either had the anniversary tail painted, or perhaps a touch-up, - investigations ongoing and any input greatly received).

I think I'd go with the instructions and just fit the PE parts 33, 34, 29, 30, 31 and 32?

Hope the photos help someone.

 

Top view (note recessed rivets apart from both ends)

 

Sooty underside.  Note 'locking'(?) piece which extends out on the front pointing side, on the left.

 

Front facing edge (would be top edge if deployed)

 

 

Rear facing edge

 

Outer (port) side

 

Inner (fin-side) face. Note damaged missing area of lower part of rubber seal.

 

Cheers Bob.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tweeky]

buckets got removed during engines changes, mainly because the engines never arrived dressed (buckets and nibs fitted) or handed. buckets got inspected on  a servicing if cracked they got took off and sent for welding you might get the same one back if you was lucky.