**** DONE: 1/48 Tornado F3 - Home Country Modern Aircraft / Spitfire Mark GB

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Thanks very much guys.
Trying to decide in which order to do the last fiddly bits - not a major problem, just trying to make handling the model easier for me. Apart from a little refinement of the light weathering and some touch-up, all that remains is to make and fit the various nav lamps and beacons, fit the wheels to the gear legs, make, or detail the kit nose gear doors, fit the main doors and all the antennae, then fit the seats, detail the inside of the canopy, paint it and fit it.
I'm fairly sure that the nose probe pitot will break when removing it from the sprue, so I'll probably order a turned brass one when I eventually get to that stage.
Anyway, there's still six weeks left in this GB, so there's no rush - it'll be good to have a break from this t*** of a Tornado, and get on with the Halifax, but I'll try to get something to show over the weekend, however minor.
Thanks very much again for all the kind words and encouragement during the course of this build - I can tell you, all the encouragement was needed in order for me to retain my sanity. (OK, OK, I know ....).
 
Thanks very much indeed Vic - good to know I'm not going daft. (OK, going more daft than I am already!).
I've just moved the Buccaneer, and had a close look at it (must finish it some day). As you'll remember, I thought the Buc was a B****rd to build, but comparing it to the Tornado, kit for kit, it's 200% better, and all the problems with it seem minor compared to the Tornado.
Now, what profanity, starting with the letter 'T', can I award the Tornado I wonder ........
Try "tosser"; I'm given to understand it has something to do with a certain solitary practice...
(Now I'm teaching english to the English!, I will have to add that to my resume'...)
 
Thanks Paul. I had something a little stronger in mind, which I believe is connected with reference to a pregnant Goldfish !
I hope to have a little to show tomorrow. As there is plenty of time before the end of the GB, further work on the Tw ....er... Tornado, will be somewhat spasmodic, as my priority at the moment is the commission for the Halifax diorama; I want to get this finished to coincide with a visit to a particular air museum, when I hope to arrange to meet up with Mike to present the model of his Uncle's aircraft.
 
Think it might have been George Bernard Shaw, but I never can remember.
Thanks Cory. Should be able to get back and do a bit more on the Tornado soon. Just want to get all the bits of the Halifax assembled in to one or two bigger bits, then I'll have space to work again!
 
Now that the Halifax project is well advanced, I've been able to do a bit more on the Tornado, and it's now nearing completion.
The ejection seats have been finished and installed, the wheels and tyres painted and fitted, and the main gear doors fitted. I've yet to make new nose gear doors to replace the rather thick kit parts, but this should be done tomorrow, and I also hope to get some internal detail added to the canopy. That should just leave the various lamps and antenna, and the nose pitot, which will be replaced by a turned brass item.
Sorry, I can't post any pics at the moment,as I still have stuff in the camera I need to edit before deleting, but I hope to have some pics by tomorrow night.
 
Bit of a mini disaster happened - the starboard main gear wheel got damaged, as did the port gear door. I noticed the wheel was not sitting vertically, due to poor fit, and as I attempted to gently release it from the axle, the bl**dy axle snapped, causing me to catch the door on the opposite side!
For now, the wheel has been 'Superglued ' in place, although I'll probably drill the axle and insert a pin at a later date. The doors were a real pain, as, even with the addition of plastic card 'ledges', there was nowhere for them to locate to, so lord knows how they are supposed to be fitted 'out of the box'. The door has been reattached, but I noticed that it is still mis-aligned, so this will be removed and re-fitted later - a bl**dy fiddly job, as access is difficult, and it has to be held in place until set enough to leave!
Anyway, all this b*gg*ring about prevented me from progressing further, apart from starting the internal detail on the canopy, but once those doors and wheel are sorted, I hope to move forward to towards completion, and boy, will I be happy when this one is finished!
Pics show the work so far.
PICS 1 and 2. Seats completed and fitted.
PICS 3 and 4. The main gear wheels and doors sort of in place, and the nose wheels fitted. Again, fit of these was very sloppy, and they had to be held until starting to set. New doors are yet to be made and fitted.
PIC 5. The fresh air/demister pipes have been added to the inside lower canopy frame. Latches and rear view mirrors have yet to be made and fitted, and then the internal frames painted. The outside has been masked ready for painting. Just visible in the photo is the MDC, scratched into the outer surface of the top of the canopy.
Given that the next session goes OK, then all that's required is to make and fit some lamps, fit the various antennae and make new auxiliary pitots, then fit the turned brass nose pitot and Angle of Attack sensors. The latter are so tiny, I have no chance of handling them, so I'll do as originally planned, and fit fine stretched sprue, trimming this to size once set.
Thanks again for your continued interest, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the back of this one - it's worse than the Buccaneer !!
 

Attachments

  • Tornado GB 390.jpg
    Tornado GB 390.jpg
    55.6 KB · Views: 92
  • Tornado GB 393.jpg
    Tornado GB 393.jpg
    88.7 KB · Views: 103
  • Tornado GB 401.jpg
    Tornado GB 401.jpg
    50 KB · Views: 110
  • Tornado GB 400.jpg
    Tornado GB 400.jpg
    76 KB · Views: 97
  • Tornado GB 388.jpg
    Tornado GB 388.jpg
    73 KB · Views: 88

Users who are viewing this thread

Back