Popular Post Alan P Posted May 30, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 30, 2021 Hi all, Hope you're enjoying the bank holiday and incongruous good weather! Thanks to the days off and good conditions I was able to finish this beast of a conversion which had been sitting almost finished for about a month. This is the Revell 1/32 GR.1 kit (well, a mix of two or three Revell IDS/GR.1/ECR kits all donating various parts!) The F3 conversion was done using the Heritage conversion set plus a lot of scratchbuilding, extra details and plenty of filler and swearing! The build thread is here: The subject is ZE763/DG, one of two 11 Sqn F3s converted to EF3 status and capable of carrying ALARM anti-radiation missiles with chaff and decoy dispensers on the outer pylons. The fit was trialled for possible use as a SEAD platform for Op Telic, but although the aircraft was well-suited for the mission the mud-moving community threw a fit and the concept was shelved. The biggest headache with the build was finding decals - none of my kits had any, the Heritage set decals were good quality but limited, while the available aftermarket Tornado stencil decals didn't have the required pink stencils carried by the aircraft at the time. Basically everything but the white stencils came from donor kits and spares, with Xtradecal lettering and numbers from various sets. The Phimat pod was from the Revell/Italeri Mirage, the drop tanks and BOZ decoy launcher were modified from the Revell kit, the ALARMs were from Flightpath and the ASRAAMs were the excellent new releases by Eduard Brassin. The BOL rails were included in the Heritage set and looked very nice. The pilot figures were by PJ Productions, although they needed modifying to give them a bit of individual character! I intended to mount this in a dynamic pose and the job was made much easier by using a 5mm carbon fibre rod rather than the equivalent 14mm acrylic the weight of the kit would have needed. I would thoroughly recommend the carbon fibre mount, being stronger than plastic but easier to work than metal. Anyway - see the build thread for top tips on building an F3 conversion from the Heritage, or any similar set. It's not a straightforward cut'n'shut but a very satisfying result. Very difficult to photograph due to the size and the pose, but here's one in natural light. I reckon with a photoshopped background this would look pretty cool! Couple of extra shots from earlier in the build: How the conversion set was put together: An attempt at photoshop background, woeful effort but I'm no expert! I've built a lot of 1/32 jets in the 15 years since I took up modelling again, and I'm really proud of this one, It's the pinnacle of what I can produce at the moment and came out exactly as I'd hoped. All the best, Alan 102 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder1 Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Outstanding work! I think you are right Alan about the natural light photo, you would struggle to tell it from the real thing if the model had a 'sky' background. Congratulations on a superb build. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 I wasn't aware there was such a thing as the EF3 Tornado so not only did I get to see a fabulously built model, but I got some education too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedy Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Hi mate what a stunner and real quality modelling. Very niche subject and memorable for being different👋. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolkerR. Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Outstanding! You can be proud of your effort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 7 hours ago, sidewinder1 said: Outstanding work! I think you are right Alan about the natural light photo, you would struggle to tell it from the real thing if the model had a 'sky' background. Congratulations on a superb build. Well done! Thanks very much, must try out my editing skills and see what it looks like! 6 hours ago, SAT69 said: I wasn't aware there was such a thing as the EF3 Tornado so not only did I get to see a fabulously built model, but I got some education too! Thanks again SAT. I'd heard of them, and there were a few photos around but the research for the build was very interesting. There's not much information out there though! 27 minutes ago, speedy said: Hi mate what a stunner and real quality modelling. Very niche subject and memorable for being different👋. Thanks very much Steve, niche is a great word for it, and the dynamic pose is right out of your playbook as well! 15 minutes ago, VolkerR. said: Outstanding! You can be proud of your effort. Thank you Volker, very nice comment and much appreciated 👍 Thanks again, hope to put some other photos of it up soon. Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Amazing work, your hard work has produced a stunning Tornado. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
At Sea Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Looks amazing. Inspirational build! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 An absolute beauty and a pleasure to follow your in progress thread too - inspirational stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Alan you have built a phenomenal F3 and what a lot of work you put into this gorgeous model. The sleeker lines captured very well with your conversion work. It has been an enjoyable WIP and a pleasure to watch . The dynamic pose of the model is wonderful and as Sidewinder1 said if you had a sky backround you would be very hard pushed to tell if real or model. Fantastic work fella. Looking forward to the Beaufighter. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 That is just fantastic, it looks very animated in that climbing pose, with the crew on board. We don't see enough 'in flight' models, and certainly not in 1/32. Brilliant job! Cheers john 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano353 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Been looking forward to seeing this finished. Outstanding result and a rare model indeed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 “Hello,Alan” - What can you say about such a stunning build? It’s a magnificent result and a true testament to your skills.1/32 scale kits have a real ‘presence’ and this superb tribute to the Tornado and 11 Squadron has that in abundance. Wonderful to see and hoping all’s well with and for you.👏😎👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Thanks very much @Deano353@gazza l @At Sea for the very welcome comments 🍻 4 hours ago, tomprobert said: An absolute beauty and a pleasure to follow your in progress thread too - inspirational stuff. Many thanks Tom, inspiration repaid in your case! Thanks for your supportive comments during the build. 3 hours ago, bigbadbadge said: Alan you have built a phenomenal F3 and what a lot of work you put into this gorgeous model. The sleeker lines captured very well with your conversion work. It has been an enjoyable WIP and a pleasure to watch . The dynamic pose of the model is wonderful and as Sidewinder1 said if you had a sky backround you would be very hard pushed to tell if real or model. Fantastic work fella. Looking forward to the Beaufighter. Chris What can I say Chris but thanks yet again for cheering the build along when I was flagging 👍 3 hours ago, Viking said: That is just fantastic, it looks very animated in that climbing pose, with the crew on board. We don't see enough 'in flight' models, and certainly not in 1/32. Brilliant job! Cheers john Thanks John, I agree and will try to improve the ratio whenever I can! 45 minutes ago, mcdonnell said: “Hello,Alan” - What can you say about such a stunning build? It’s a magnificent result and a true testament to your skills.1/32 scale kits have a real ‘presence’ and this superb tribute to the Tornado and 11 Squadron has that in abundance. Wonderful to see and hoping all’s well with and for you.👏😎👍 Thanks very much indeed, really appreciate your kind comments, like Tom you're one of my modelling heroes 😁 All is well here for now and enjoying the beautiful weather at last! All the very best and take care of yourselves, Alan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Brilliant, absolutely amazing! It’s so realistic, I’d love to see that with a diorama or sky background, it would look just like the real thing. What a shame the RAF didn’t pursue the idea and have two or three squadrons of these in a wild weasel role. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Great build and result! Probably a missed chance... but training fighter guys as Alarm shooters.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Man, that's staggeringly good. I'm awed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougC Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Alan, after all the hard work you've put in that's an absolute cracker! As others have said, it's a real shame the real thing never went any further than a proof of concept. That said, I'm not sure I'd have fancied the job.....😳 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back in the Saddle Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Exquisite work Alan👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lefthands Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 love the in flight pose! beautiful bird! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent K Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Spectacular! Amazing build of a favourite aircraft and squadron of mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eng Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Absolutely outstanding Al. Thats a spectacular conversion, requiring a heck of a lot of extra work and you've certainly pulled this one out of the bag. The finish is superb and as someone mentioned earlier with a sky background and editing out the support, this would indeed pass for the real deal. A build to be proud of indeed. Nice one! Rgds, Eng 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Thank you again, really appreciate the comments @Back in the Saddle @exdraken @jackroadkill @2lefthands 2 hours ago, Lord Riot said: Brilliant, absolutely amazing! It’s so realistic, I’d love to see that with a diorama or sky background, it would look just like the real thing. What a shame the RAF didn’t pursue the idea and have two or three squadrons of these in a wild weasel role. Thanks very much LR, coming from you that's high praise indeed I had a go at a background but it needs work 1 hour ago, DougC said: Alan, after all the hard work you've put in that's an absolute cracker! As others have said, it's a real shame the real thing never went any further than a proof of concept. That said, I'm not sure I'd have fancied the job.....😳 Thanks very much Doug! Yes, would much prefer to be loitering well clear of all that ground clutter All the best and thanks very much again, Alan 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 31 minutes ago, Agent K said: Spectacular! Amazing build of a favourite aircraft and squadron of mine. Thanks, and me too! 3 minutes ago, eng said: Absolutely outstanding Al. Thats a spectacular conversion, requiring a heck of a lot of extra work and you've certainly pulled this one out of the bag. The finish is superb and as someone mentioned earlier with a sky background and editing out the support, this would indeed pass for the real deal. A build to be proud of indeed. Nice one! Very kind of you Grae, thanks very much 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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