Carrera Revell Eurofighter Typhoon Bavarian Tiger 2021 (03818) 1:72

[Mike]

Eurofighter Typhoon Bavarian Tiger 2021 (03818)

1:72 Carrera Revell

 

 

The Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon started out as the EAP programme in the 1970s engineered entirely by BAe, who were later joined by a number of international partners due to a supposedly common requirement, with the constituent partners changing over time to finally solidify with Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy remaining, while France went their own way with the Aerodynamics data to create the Rafale, which coincidentally has a similar general arrangement.  Delays and cost overruns seem to be a frustratingly common factor in modern military procurement, and the Typhoon suffered many, resulting in the Germans taking delivery of the first airframe in 2003.  Airframes of all users have since taken part in many operations as their operators become more knowledgeable with the type’s capabilities and a greater range of weapons are certified and reach service.  The single-seater Eurofighter as it’s known in Germany is a great air show crowd pleaser due to its agility at all speeds, and the impressive tearing roar of its twin EF2000 jet engines that propel it forwards with an impressive 20,000lbft of power per engine with reheat engaged.

 

 

The Kit

This is a re-release of Revell’s 2016 tooling of the Eurofighter, with some handsome new decals from the Luftwaffe’s 2021 display aircraft that celebrates 60 Years of Jagdgeschwader 74.  Inside are four sprues in pale grey styrene, plus two small sprues of clear parts, the new decal sheet that is slipped inside the colour instruction booklet, with three pages of profiles on the rear pages.  Detail is good, and if you have seen their earlier kit of the same type in 1:48, they are put together in a very similar manner as you might expect, including a simplified take on the slightly tricky intakes on the larger kit that are renowned for being a wee bit too short.

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the Martin Baker ejection seat, which starts with the cushions that have belts moulded in, has the ejection pack and headbox fixed to the rear, and two L-shaped side panels added at the side before it is inserted into the cockpit tub and is joined by the clear instrument panel, which is moulded in clear for the sake of the rounded HUD screen at the top, while the rest is painted and has a decal for the MFDs, and two more for the side consoles.  A short control column is fixed into the centre of the panel, and the completed assembly is glued into the starboard fuselage half on a number of raised locating tabs.  After placing 20g of nose weight in front of the cockpit, the fuselage is closed up, although you could just as easily pop it in through the circular opening in the front of the fuselage, or even load up the radome with weight.  The lower wing is prepared by drilling eight holes from the inside, using the pre-thinned holes as a guide, and painting the inside of the moulded-in main gear bays, then adding the nose gear bay, which has the floor of the twin intake trunks moulded into it, and has the variable intake lips at the front, which have decals that are marked as number 90, but the decal sheet numbering stops at 75.  Before joining the wings and fuselage, the exhaust trunks are glued into the rear of the fuselage, painting the afterburners that are moulded into the back a suitable metallic shade.  At the front of the fuselage, the upper intake trunk and integral splitter plate are fitted between the sides under the nose, with a divider slotted in between them.  The lower wing is then mated with the fuselage, joining the two halves of the intake trunking, which may need some filling and repainting.  The nose cone and canards, along with the upper wings and the sizeable tail fin are next to be fixed to the airframe, making it look more like a Typhoon, with a choice of styles of exhaust petals, either opened or closed with a metallic shade mixed up from two Revell pots, or maybe use a suitable shade from another brand for simplicity’s sake.  The two wingtip sensor nacelles are made up from two halves each, and clip onto the tips using the usual slot and tab method, and the spine that allows Revell to offer a one or two-seater is inserted into the trough behind the cockpit, which also has the coaming installed in preparation for the canopy.

 

The main gear wheels are each in two halves with brake detail at the rear, and are attached to the gear legs, which have the retractor jacks added to the sides, with each one handed.  They fit into holes in the roof of the bays, and have doors glued to the inner and outer sides of the bays, the outer door having a link and landing light between them, while the inner door has a retraction jack of its own.  If you plan on posing your model wheels-up, the same doors are laid flat over the apertures after cutting off any hinges.  The same is true of the nose gear bay, although the wheel is a single part, and there is only one door that opens sideways, with a retraction jack moulded-in.  The rest of the airframe’s parts offer you a choice between having the nose-mounted refuelling probe in the open or closed position by using different parts.  The air-brake on the spine behind the cockpit can be posed open or closed, adding a retraction jack to hold it at the correct angle in the open position.  The canopy can also be posed open or closed, and is prepared by adding a palette to the rear of the part, closing over the rear area, so make sure you paint it first.  The windscreen is glued in place at the front of the cockpit over the coaming, then the canopy is mounted either in the closed position, or open by slotting the peg on the rear of the canopy into the slot in the sloped part of the deck behind the pilot.  Because of the ‘blown’ nature of modern fighter canopies that improves the situational awareness of the pilot, the canopy and windscreen parts have a fine seam down the centre on the outer surface because of the three-part mould, which you can either choose to live with, or sand down with progressively finer grades of sand paper and polish back to clarity.

 

The rest of the build revolves around the items carried under the wings, with a pair of large fuel tanks with separate aerodynamic fins and some bright decals for the wings, plus four AIM-120 AMRAAMs carried under the fuselage on semi-conformal stations, with alternative Meteors for those same positions.  Under the wings are a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders on pylons, again with alternative IRIS-Ts on the same pylons.  Another fuel tank is supplied for the centreline, and it too has some bright decals that are applied over a white paintjob.

 

 

Markings

The decal sheet for this special edition is as comprehensive as it is impressive, with large decals for the blue tiger striped upper surface that has a wavy demarcation near the leading edges of the wings, a feature that is carried over on the upper surfaces of the canards.  The tiger eyes near the rear of the wings are particularly well done, and there is a narrow clear section where the flying surfaces pivot, and the whole airframe is overlaid with stencils and the usual national markings worn by a standard Luftwaffe bird.  Underneath the aircraft is a large circular logo with ’60 years’ underneath.  Additional diagrams show the painting and decaling of the pylons and fuel tanks, as previously mentioned.  From the box you can build this handsome aircraft:

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  Do those eyes follow you round the model shop?

 

 

Conclusion

IMHO this is a gorgeous scheme that will appeal to a great many modellers, myself included, although 1:72 isn’t my preferred scale, so I’ll have to wait for another boxing of the 1:48 kit.  This one has plenty of detail, the decal sheet, and it takes up a lot less space in the cabinet than the bigger one too.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

  or

 

[Graham Boak]

Although the EAP was built by BAe, it was conceived as part of the multi-national study that eventually lead to the Eurofighter consortium.  It was intended as a joint British German demonstrator, but the Germans pulled out leading to the adoption of a production Tornado fin and the Warton team working flat out over the Xmas break.  Later, when the fin was commented on by a visiting Dassault delegation, the embarrassed (why?) senior management insisted on rounding the top of the fin to make it look different.

0