Alan P Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Hi again, Soon after the Harrier comes this project that's been sitting gathering dust in the loft for many years now: Looks pretty familiar, the old Revell GR.1 kit which has now been not so much surpassed as smashed into the Stone Age by the new Italeri masterpiece. This will be a conversion to the F3 using Heritage Aviation's resin conversion set as a basis. Thought I'd better get on and do it before Italeri release an F3! (I hope!!) The set includes a limited decals set with those all-important walkway decals! Also using the white elephant Avionix/BlackBox cockpit set for the non-existent 1/32 F3... Planning to display this in flight so pilots are necessary - two PJ Productions RAF aircrew ready to go! The BlackBox set includes these two beautifully produced MB.10A seats with some of the nicest moulded seatbelts I've ever seen. However... They do appear to be very underscale! Possibly a couple of 1/48 seats managed to sneak into the box? Guess I won't be using these, so will save for a future project. At least I don't have to chop off those lovely seatbelts! Also have these @djparkins Flightpath ALARMs from an earlier Tornado build - they'll need a bit of work as they've been rattling around in a spares box for about ten years. But that gives you a clue what the finished aircraft will be representing...! One of 11(F)'s finest hours - a SEAD EF3 armed with ALARMs and ASRAAMs. The tanks are the 1500L standard type (from the kit), a BOZ pod on the left wing (also from the kit) and a Phimat on the right (sourced from the Revell/Italeri Mirage IIIE). The ASRAAMs come from Eduard Brassin. The 11(F) decals are sourced from an Xtradecal GR.1/F3 sheet from years ago, but I'll have to make the serial number somehow, along with the stencils as the kit has no decals 😩 The aircraft is interesting, being the old two-tone Light Aircraft Grey/Camouflage Grey with one Dk Camo Grey tank and one still in grey/green. I intend to pose it inflight at a steep bank angle so it should be an interesting build! Cheers, Alan 19 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 This is as far as I've got, but I have a few days off work coming up - hoping to crack on with this and get it done within the next month. There's a lot of resin! You can see there's some good inclusions from the Heritage conversion set - BOL launchers are a must, they're probably the nicest castings in the set. There's also the aft rear chaff launchers as well as the fuselage plugs and wing glove extensions. The rear cockpit replacements are also included, but the BlackBox versions are much nicer. I'm guessing the Heritage set is based off Meindert's original conversion (well worth a read HERE) but I could be mistaken! Looking at the nose, I think this one is a better shape but will still need some additional work. The cut to replace the forward lower fuselage also looks a bit nerve wracking, so I'll need to take a deep breath for that one..! I didn't mention before, but my GR.1 kit was second hand and looks like it's been a drop tank donor already, as neither the 1500s nor the 2250s are in there - I might have to rob the Italeri 1500s or else check the loft again and see if I have some spare Revell Tornados buried up there! Also hoping I have some Tornado stencils hidden away somewhere because the kit has no decals either 😬 Pretty excited to start this project at last, hope I retain the willpower to actually finish it... 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 This looks a very interesting project. 🍿🍺 I'm stocked up and watching intently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buccymad Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 alan i have some 1500ltr tanks bagged up and ready for posting, How about we trade? your unused 111sqn decals for the tanks? 🤔 Good luck with this set , i bought what i thought was the heritage set from evilbay, turns out it was a copy (and not a very good one) so its sitting on the back shelf at the moment🤨 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 5 hours ago, buccymad said: alan i have some 1500ltr tanks bagged up and ready for posting, How about we trade? your unused 111sqn decals for the tanks? 🤔 Good luck with this set , i bought what i thought was the heritage set from evilbay, turns out it was a copy (and not a very good one) so its sitting on the back shelf at the moment🤨 Thanks very much! I've found some spare tanks already so you're good there, but you're welcome to the 111 decals. PM me 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Aer Lingus Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Nice interesting project look forward to you working your magic Alan Eamonn 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Oooooo this will be good Alan, looking forward to this. Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Me too. ( funny, I always seem to be one step behind Chris ). Is this going to be another silk purse from a sow’s ear we ask ourselves? Good Luck. John PS: Pity about the seats, they look splendid. You’ll just have to build one in 1/48 as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 great project, parts and 111 photo! please post lots of progress here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Ooooohhhhh. This'll be fun to watch! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobinsonh Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Hi Alan, I am looking forward to seeing this. Whilst I do not have the facts regarding the nose length in the Heritage conversion I do have some observations that may be useful, or not 🙂. I have the Revell F2 nose cone a small run nose from a F3 conversion that I acquired from someone in Europe 15 odd years ago https://designer.home.xs4all.nl/models/tornado-resin/tor-resin-2.htm and a set of drawings that someone kindly sent to me. I also own the Heritage conversion. The Revell F2 nose, the drawings and the F3 conversion nose from the linked set are all the same length - however the Heritage nose is several mm longer. As I said at the start I do not have the real length of the F3 nose to make a 100% correct decision regarding who got this right. Best, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 On 2/27/2021 at 11:10 PM, crobinsonh said: I have the Revell F2 nose cone a small run nose from a F3 conversion that I acquired from someone in Europe 15 odd years ago https://designer.home.xs4all.nl/models/tornado-resin/tor-resin-2.htm and a set of drawings that someone kindly sent to me. I also own the Heritage conversion. The Revell F2 nose, the drawings and the F3 conversion nose from the linked set are all the same length - however the Heritage nose is several mm longer. As I said at the start I do not have the real length of the F3 nose to make a 100% correct decision regarding who got this right. Thanks, that's good info. The set you linked to is the Meindert one I referred to in post #2, and sounds like Heritage went a bit further so hopefully it's closer to reality! Right now I've got aching arms and fingers from sawing off casting blocks 🤕 Thought I'd do it all in one go while I'm still enthused about the build! I wonder why those who cast this stuff assume we've all got our own industrial bandsaws at home for removing these huge blocks of resin 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 So, I found this up in the loft (there were three Revell Tornado boxes from previous builds!) And inside was like a boneyard... Plenty of spares in case I mess up the cuts. Enough to make even me brave! Also found these... Remnants from a couple of Flightpath etch sets and a set of ECR instructions, because guess what, my kit doesn't have instructions either! So that was cool! On with the resin dust inhalation sesh... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 I sliced a lemon earlier and found out exactly how many times I'd cut my fingers while sawing through all those resin blocks and kit parts! (answer: lots!) The news is good - had to de-warp a few parts (missile rails and BOL launchers were a bit bendy, as was the fwd lower fuselage plate. The cuts went well and this fits quite nicely. Obviously will need some filler but it's about as snug as you could get. First big scare out of the way! The fuselage plug also fit pretty well, but I ended up dunking it in some boiling hot water and reshaping it a little to fit both the nose and mid sections better. Meanwhile, up front... All the cockpit parts are now freed from resin bondage and sanded to their fit shape. The instrument panel was the GR.1 version (tut tut, Avionix! Bit lazy) so I added the pilot's radar screen and controls from plastic card. Also, the sharp eyed will notice I also broke off both right and left lower side panels from the main instrument panel. Luckily they were clean breaks and should seamlessly marry back up with a dab of CA. Anyway - so far so good, I can see a good way forward for this build. One thing I'm bothered about - how to do the bendy acrylic rod thing for mounting an inflight build? It looks really cool, but how do you go about bending the acrylic rod without melting it? Alan 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 The nose looks promising. I’ve used SWMBO’s ‘turbo’ hairdryer set on max heat to bend plastic, so it might be worth trying on acrylic rod. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Alan P said: One thing I'm bothered about - how to do the bendy acrylic rod thing for mounting an inflight build? It looks really cool, but how do you go about bending the acrylic rod without melting it? Last time I did it the gas hob provided the heat - turning all the time, applying heat very, very gently, otherwise it will bubble. I bent it over a jam jar, which worked ok even though it didn't give me the curve I was looking for. Lovely project by the way, now following along... 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 2 hours ago, Biggles87 said: The nose looks promising. I’ve used SWMBO’s ‘turbo’ hairdryer set on max heat to bend plastic, so it might be worth trying on acrylic rod. John 2 hours ago, Jinxman said: Last time I did it the gas hob provided the heat - turning all the time, applying heat very, very gently, otherwise it will bubble. I bent it over a jam jar, which worked ok even though it didn't give me the curve I was looking for. Lovely project by the way, now following along... 👍 Top tips lads! Don't have a gas hob or blowtorch, not even a heat gun 😕 so hairdryer and jam jar it will be 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulaero Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Looks like a great start, defiantly more resin than plastic........ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 6, 2021 Author Share Posted March 6, 2021 On 3/3/2021 at 1:55 PM, Paulaero said: more resin than plastic.... Certainly feels like it! I've got the scars to prove it but the hard work paid off: Got the cockpit to fit nicely now. Very happy with the levels of detail in there, it'll look very nice when painted. Now, let's talk about this nose...Every one of these I've seen built, well let's just say the nose looks 'off'... Let me make it clear, these are excellent models built by very capable modellers and this is by no means a criticism of their skills or abilities but to highlight what I believe to be a weakness of the existing conversion sets: This one looks much better, I suspect it's not the same conversion though The conversion set demonstrated here 👇 is superior but not available to buy as far as I know: 😭 So - looking at the nose part there's a little arrow moulded on what I think is the top: So I fitted it accordingly: Yikes! So I flipped it the other way round: Double yikes! This is clearly not made to drop fit the kit nose. Anyway a bunch of twisting and test fitting later I think I might have got it: It's pretty close... That's going to need a bit of work though! Anyway, that's as far as I got today, had to wash all the dust off the resin again so while I'm waiting I've started a consolation build of the Revell (Italeri) Mirage IIIE with the cool EC3/3 Ardennes 50th anniversary silver paint job. But that's just for me 😉 All the best, Alan 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 Crikey Alan that's some work involved, great job so far those cockpit inserts look fantastic , good luck getting the nose right too. What a cracking find in the loft too, wow. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 That's a severe bit of detective work, working out the correct orientation of the nose. I wonder if you need to cut back on the kit plastic to get the nose plug to fit flush, as in the photo's it appears to have a difference in diameter. There always is a great discussion on which panel line is the actual radome hinge point. The cockpit looks great, it should look stunning when painted. Rob. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 On 3/6/2021 at 7:26 PM, bigbadbadge said: Crikey Alan that's some work involved, great job so far those cockpit inserts look fantastic , good luck getting the nose right too. What a cracking find in the loft too, wow. Chris Thanks Chris, yeah, there's a treasure trove up there. I've probably got two of a lot of stuff I've forgotten I've already got On 3/6/2021 at 7:59 PM, Phone Phixer said: That's a severe bit of detective work, working out the correct orientation of the nose. I wonder if you need to cut back on the kit plastic to get the nose plug to fit flush, as in the photo's it appears to have a difference in diameter. There always is a great discussion on which panel line is the actual radome hinge point. The cockpit looks great, it should look stunning when painted. Rob. Cheers Rob, I'll need to make a few more measurements for the nose - might need a combination of Milliput and chopping back the plastic. Initial surgery has been carried out on our aircrew: The pilot's right leg needs some more work! The seats are the kit seats with Flightpath white metal and photoetch applied: The kit seat pan and back have been scooped out by dremel to accommodate our navigator - it must be comfortable enough so he can have a snooze, as is their usual practice. The pilot's cockpit is ready for painting - rudder pedals have been fitted to conform to the pilot figure. Wing sweep lever is set to 45deg, throttles set to max dry and flaps will be selected up once I've made the lever! I've adapted the control column to the later (post-Granby) configuration by combining the BlackBox footing with the Flightpath grip assembly (no pic yet, sorry) and angled it for about 45deg of right bank with about 15 degrees of pitch. I've got a quick question as I can't remember - do Tornado spoilers operate when the wings are swept to aid banking, or do they only extend when the wings are at full forward (25deg) sweep? Cheers, Alan 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Looking great Alan the seat looks great with the extra details and PE. 10 minutes ago, Alan P said: I've probably got two of a lot of stuff I've forgotten I've already got Wow, it must be like Christmas visiting the Attic !!! Great job Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amos brierley Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 Hi-yer, I’m really looking forward to seeing your build, it’s a subject I’ve fancied for some years ( 1/48 ), one recently found piece of information to me was that all F3 A/C came plumbed as per the GR1 . 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WV908 Posted March 9, 2021 Share Posted March 9, 2021 The radome in the heritage conversion really is a dog - I've put literally hours of sanding in to get it to fit and get it circular too. You can guarantee that by the time I've made all the conversion pieces fit that Italeri will announce an F3... The rear fuselage plug is really badly undersized, so with this and the above I think I'll build mine as an F2. I'll be watching your build with great interest! Cheers, WV908 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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