meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Off to a good start!
**** DONE: 1/48 Tornado F3 - Home Country Modern Aircraft / Spitfire Mark GB
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Aaron Brooks Wolters
Brigadier General
Nice choice and excellent start sir.
- Thread starter
- #23
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much chaps.
After checking on what would be visible through the open canopy, I've decided to use some of the cockpit decals after all, although some '3D' detail has been added here and there, with more to follow.
The main scratch-built areas will be the left and central areas of the pilot's instrument panel, the navigator's upper MFD consoles, and the ejection seats, and some of this work has now been completed.
PIC 1. The main instrument panel, with decals added for the sub-panels, and switches and knobs added to the HUD and lower left panel. The scratch-built areas have been trimmed and tidied, painted, and the dials glazed. A little re-touching is needed on the decal areas.
PIC 2. The Navigator's lower instrument panel has been decalled, as this will look good enough under the slight overhang of the MFD consoles, when added. The small systems 'joy stick' has been trimmed down and re-shaped, as it was way over-size and 'chunky'.
PIC 3. The cockpit tub has been painted and decals added for the side consoles. Throttles and other levers have been added from scraps of PE, with PVA handles, and some of the printed 'switches' will have stretched sprue added to create more depth. Once in place in the fuselage, with the re-worked seats in place, this should look more than acceptable. I'm rather reticent about 'going to town' on the cockpit, as I know that there's going to be a lot of messing about when it comes to getting a good joint on the fuselage, an area that can still go t*ts up !
PIC 4. Some idea of what the cockpit will look like when done, with the front and rear panels just push-fitted for the photo. The rather basic and plain control column has also been carved and filed, to present a slightly more accurate shape, and reduce the size of the grip, and this will be fitted later.
Next step is the make the consoles and MFD screens for the rear cockpit, along with the mounting chassis, before fitting the small sub-panels around the front instrument coaming, and fitting the cockpit tub.
Thanks for your interest and comments to date, and I'll try to post more over the weekend.
After checking on what would be visible through the open canopy, I've decided to use some of the cockpit decals after all, although some '3D' detail has been added here and there, with more to follow.
The main scratch-built areas will be the left and central areas of the pilot's instrument panel, the navigator's upper MFD consoles, and the ejection seats, and some of this work has now been completed.
PIC 1. The main instrument panel, with decals added for the sub-panels, and switches and knobs added to the HUD and lower left panel. The scratch-built areas have been trimmed and tidied, painted, and the dials glazed. A little re-touching is needed on the decal areas.
PIC 2. The Navigator's lower instrument panel has been decalled, as this will look good enough under the slight overhang of the MFD consoles, when added. The small systems 'joy stick' has been trimmed down and re-shaped, as it was way over-size and 'chunky'.
PIC 3. The cockpit tub has been painted and decals added for the side consoles. Throttles and other levers have been added from scraps of PE, with PVA handles, and some of the printed 'switches' will have stretched sprue added to create more depth. Once in place in the fuselage, with the re-worked seats in place, this should look more than acceptable. I'm rather reticent about 'going to town' on the cockpit, as I know that there's going to be a lot of messing about when it comes to getting a good joint on the fuselage, an area that can still go t*ts up !
PIC 4. Some idea of what the cockpit will look like when done, with the front and rear panels just push-fitted for the photo. The rather basic and plain control column has also been carved and filed, to present a slightly more accurate shape, and reduce the size of the grip, and this will be fitted later.
Next step is the make the consoles and MFD screens for the rear cockpit, along with the mounting chassis, before fitting the small sub-panels around the front instrument coaming, and fitting the cockpit tub.
Thanks for your interest and comments to date, and I'll try to post more over the weekend.
Attachments
Nice work Terry, that looks pretty damn good!
- Thread starter
- #25
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks Wayne. Working on the Navigators MFD consoles at the moment - might have pics later.
Crimea_River
Marshal
Looks sharp Terry.
imalko
Chief Master Sergeant
Just catching up with new entries in this GB. Cool choice and excellent start Terry. Tornado is definately on my "to do" list sometime in the future. In 1/72nd scale of course. 
ccheese
Member In Perpetuity
I am greatly impressed with your talent as a model builder, Terry. You do good work...
Charles
Charles
Nice work so far Terry!
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Very crisp Terry.
- Thread starter
- #33
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much indeed for the kind words chaps!
I've had a marathon session - one of those "Can't stop now, this bits nearly done - oh heck, is that the time!" moments. Got the navigator's MFD consoles made, painted and fitted, along with the cockpit tub, bulkheads, front cockpit coaming sub-panels, and some other small details.
PIC 1. The centre half bulkhead has been made and fitted, and some ribs added to the 'shelf' and rear bulkhead.
PIC 2. The sub-panels around the instrument shroud, made from plastic card, with some switches and an instrument pod added, using stretched sprue and scrap plastic. The other switches and warning lights were painted later.
PICS 3 and 4. The Navigator's Multi Function Display console and chassis under construction, again using plastic card and stretched sprue. It looks a little rough here, but once set, the edges were tidied and sanded. The holes are for the wiring harnesses, which will be fitted later.
PICS 5 and 6. The front cockpit, with everything fitted and painted, with the exception of the ejection seat and HUD optics.
PICS 7 and 8. The rear cockpit, with the MFD console painted and fitted. Again, the seat will be added later.
PIC 9. Wiring has yet to be added from the MFDs and the small instrument console above.
The ejection seats are going to be a fairly big job, as the kit parts are about as much use as t*ts on a fish, but these won't be tackled until much later, as I'm expecting a lot of sanding and corrections around the fuselage joint, which is the next job.
This I know is going to be a bit of a pig, as the variable sweep wings and the tailerons have to be fitted to the locating points inside the fuselage before joining the top and bottom halves - think I'll go to the pub instead !
Thanks again for the compliments and for your continued interest, and I'll post another update once I've wrestled with this bl**dy awful fuselage arrangement. (mutters under his breath as he remembers the same thing with the Buccaneer ....).
I've had a marathon session - one of those "Can't stop now, this bits nearly done - oh heck, is that the time!" moments. Got the navigator's MFD consoles made, painted and fitted, along with the cockpit tub, bulkheads, front cockpit coaming sub-panels, and some other small details.
PIC 1. The centre half bulkhead has been made and fitted, and some ribs added to the 'shelf' and rear bulkhead.
PIC 2. The sub-panels around the instrument shroud, made from plastic card, with some switches and an instrument pod added, using stretched sprue and scrap plastic. The other switches and warning lights were painted later.
PICS 3 and 4. The Navigator's Multi Function Display console and chassis under construction, again using plastic card and stretched sprue. It looks a little rough here, but once set, the edges were tidied and sanded. The holes are for the wiring harnesses, which will be fitted later.
PICS 5 and 6. The front cockpit, with everything fitted and painted, with the exception of the ejection seat and HUD optics.
PICS 7 and 8. The rear cockpit, with the MFD console painted and fitted. Again, the seat will be added later.
PIC 9. Wiring has yet to be added from the MFDs and the small instrument console above.
The ejection seats are going to be a fairly big job, as the kit parts are about as much use as t*ts on a fish, but these won't be tackled until much later, as I'm expecting a lot of sanding and corrections around the fuselage joint, which is the next job.
This I know is going to be a bit of a pig, as the variable sweep wings and the tailerons have to be fitted to the locating points inside the fuselage before joining the top and bottom halves - think I'll go to the pub instead !
Thanks again for the compliments and for your continued interest, and I'll post another update once I've wrestled with this bl**dy awful fuselage arrangement. (mutters under his breath as he remembers the same thing with the Buccaneer ....).
Attachments
Vic Balshaw
Major General
My oath Terry, that is some brilliant scratch building, looks a real treat. Are you an early riser or has it been a long night?
- Thread starter
- #35
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much Vic. It was a long night! Couldn't get comfortable, due to aches and pains, so said b*ll*cks to it, got up, and got on with the model!
T Bolt
Colonel
WOW!! 
That combination of your scratch building and the decals looks spectacular Terry!
That combination of your scratch building and the decals looks spectacular Terry!
ccheese
Member In Perpetuity
Looks really good..... No doubt about it...
Charles
Charles
cracking job Dogsbody
- Thread starter
- #39
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Thanks very much, Glenn and Charles, glad you like it.
Well, I've been pleasantly surprised! Having seen and heard so much about the awful fuselage joint on this kit, confirmed by Vic's experiences and by test-fitting the kit parts, and with the experience of the Buccaneer still fresh in my memory, I managed to complete this stage of the assembly with very little hassle, and the gaps and alignment are nowhere near as bad as I anticipated.
Having said that, this is certainly not one of Airfix's better offerings, being generally poor quality, bordering on crude in some areas, with most of the parts made from a low-quality plastic which even feels 'cheap', and reminds me of early Chinese, imported plastic toys from the 1950s.
This kit was first released in 2004, so not 'old' compared to some, and was priced at £25 ($40 US), which is 'Tamigawa' territory, but without the 'class'. From the box art down, the kit cries 'third world, unknown company', and is a prime example of how out-sourcing should not be done!
Fortunately, I obtained this example in a sale from a well-known outlet, at half price, which to be honest is about what it's worth and, at the time, the Italeri kit was out of production, and the Hobby Boss product had not even been announced.
To be fair though, I don't mind using a basic kit, if it can be made into a good model, and the price is not a rip off, and now that this is starting to take shape, I think it could turn out to be a very nice model, with a little extra work improving various areas.
Anyway, back to the build.
PIC 1. The gun port has been drilled out, and a length of hypodermic needle supeglued in place to represent the muzzle of the 27mm Mauser cannon.
PICS 2 and 3. The auxiliary vents on the underside have been drilled and reamed, and await cleaning in these shots. The moulded-in RHAG hook will be replaced with a scratch-built item later in the build.
PIC 4. The variable geometry wings, and the 'flying tail', have to be fitted onto the internal location points before joining the fuselage halves. Shown here is the very flimsy 'sweep' mechanism, which is very poorly produced. The kit provides small plastic 'washers' to lock the pivot arm to the wings, but these were not much use, and I used the old-fashioned method of flattening the joining pins with a heated knife blade. I wasn't at all interested in having operating wings, and nearly just glued them onto the swivel pins, but I knew that, when it came to sanding and plugging the fuselage joints, it would help if the wings coud be moved to allow access.
PIC 5. The utterly useless, and extremely weak method of mounting the tail planes. There are two 'stop pins' on the lower fuselage which prevent the 'planes from moving more than a millimetre or two, so it would have been much better to have a more substantial method of mounting these parts. I was going to use a length of brass tube, but I seem to have put it somewhere safe ...!
PIC 6. Having seen the problems Vic had, and after countless test-fitting sessions, it was very evident that there would be a large 'step' between the upper and lower fuselage halves once joined. The solution was to fit a 'spreader' - just a measured length of sprue - to push-out the thinner lower fuselage section, in order for it to at least partly match-up at the joint. This thin plastic is used for all the kit parts, with the exception of the upper fuselage half, which is thicker, much more rigid, and has recessed panel lines and detail. The rest of the kit has somewhat crude, and often ill-defined, raised detail.
PIC 7. The kit instructions call for 15 grammes of weight in the nose. So, using the formula normally employed for calculating explosive charges, with 'P' being the executive consideration, and where 'P' = 'Plenty', I bunged in around 40 grammes of roofing lead, held in place with 'Plasticine'. That nose ain't going anywhere apart from down !!
The black-painted area is intended to provide depth in front of the cockpit, so that the empty space is not seen beneath and in front of the instrument panel.
PIC 8. With the wings and tail planes sitting on their respective locating points, the upper fuselage half was carefully lowered into position, and glued in stages, starting from the nose. The joint was aligned as best as possible, with drops of 'superglue' also being used where needed, and the vulnerable areas tightly taped ( 'Bulldog' clips were also used initially, to 'pull down' those areas prone to parting under tension.).
PICS 9 to 12. Although some sanding, and a bit of filler, will still be required, the join is nowhere near as bad as I expected, and I think it should clean up nicely. It's certainly 200% better than the horror story seen on the Buccaneer, which some of you may remember, and any damage to the surface detail is rather irrelevant, as what little detail there is is mis-aligned and very feint anyway, and will need to be re-scribed.
So, with that major hurdle out of the way, I'm a somewhat happy bunny, and I can proceed with the joint correction once it has all fully set. Meanwhile, I have now identified which particular aircraft is going to be depicted, and have started planning the home made decals which, if all goes to plan, I should be able to print later this week.
Thanks yet again for your interest and kind comments, and I'll post another up-date soon.
Well, I've been pleasantly surprised! Having seen and heard so much about the awful fuselage joint on this kit, confirmed by Vic's experiences and by test-fitting the kit parts, and with the experience of the Buccaneer still fresh in my memory, I managed to complete this stage of the assembly with very little hassle, and the gaps and alignment are nowhere near as bad as I anticipated.
Having said that, this is certainly not one of Airfix's better offerings, being generally poor quality, bordering on crude in some areas, with most of the parts made from a low-quality plastic which even feels 'cheap', and reminds me of early Chinese, imported plastic toys from the 1950s.
This kit was first released in 2004, so not 'old' compared to some, and was priced at £25 ($40 US), which is 'Tamigawa' territory, but without the 'class'. From the box art down, the kit cries 'third world, unknown company', and is a prime example of how out-sourcing should not be done!
Fortunately, I obtained this example in a sale from a well-known outlet, at half price, which to be honest is about what it's worth and, at the time, the Italeri kit was out of production, and the Hobby Boss product had not even been announced.
To be fair though, I don't mind using a basic kit, if it can be made into a good model, and the price is not a rip off, and now that this is starting to take shape, I think it could turn out to be a very nice model, with a little extra work improving various areas.
Anyway, back to the build.
PIC 1. The gun port has been drilled out, and a length of hypodermic needle supeglued in place to represent the muzzle of the 27mm Mauser cannon.
PICS 2 and 3. The auxiliary vents on the underside have been drilled and reamed, and await cleaning in these shots. The moulded-in RHAG hook will be replaced with a scratch-built item later in the build.
PIC 4. The variable geometry wings, and the 'flying tail', have to be fitted onto the internal location points before joining the fuselage halves. Shown here is the very flimsy 'sweep' mechanism, which is very poorly produced. The kit provides small plastic 'washers' to lock the pivot arm to the wings, but these were not much use, and I used the old-fashioned method of flattening the joining pins with a heated knife blade. I wasn't at all interested in having operating wings, and nearly just glued them onto the swivel pins, but I knew that, when it came to sanding and plugging the fuselage joints, it would help if the wings coud be moved to allow access.
PIC 5. The utterly useless, and extremely weak method of mounting the tail planes. There are two 'stop pins' on the lower fuselage which prevent the 'planes from moving more than a millimetre or two, so it would have been much better to have a more substantial method of mounting these parts. I was going to use a length of brass tube, but I seem to have put it somewhere safe ...!
PIC 6. Having seen the problems Vic had, and after countless test-fitting sessions, it was very evident that there would be a large 'step' between the upper and lower fuselage halves once joined. The solution was to fit a 'spreader' - just a measured length of sprue - to push-out the thinner lower fuselage section, in order for it to at least partly match-up at the joint. This thin plastic is used for all the kit parts, with the exception of the upper fuselage half, which is thicker, much more rigid, and has recessed panel lines and detail. The rest of the kit has somewhat crude, and often ill-defined, raised detail.
PIC 7. The kit instructions call for 15 grammes of weight in the nose. So, using the formula normally employed for calculating explosive charges, with 'P' being the executive consideration, and where 'P' = 'Plenty', I bunged in around 40 grammes of roofing lead, held in place with 'Plasticine'. That nose ain't going anywhere apart from down !!
The black-painted area is intended to provide depth in front of the cockpit, so that the empty space is not seen beneath and in front of the instrument panel.
PIC 8. With the wings and tail planes sitting on their respective locating points, the upper fuselage half was carefully lowered into position, and glued in stages, starting from the nose. The joint was aligned as best as possible, with drops of 'superglue' also being used where needed, and the vulnerable areas tightly taped ( 'Bulldog' clips were also used initially, to 'pull down' those areas prone to parting under tension.).
PICS 9 to 12. Although some sanding, and a bit of filler, will still be required, the join is nowhere near as bad as I expected, and I think it should clean up nicely. It's certainly 200% better than the horror story seen on the Buccaneer, which some of you may remember, and any damage to the surface detail is rather irrelevant, as what little detail there is is mis-aligned and very feint anyway, and will need to be re-scribed.
So, with that major hurdle out of the way, I'm a somewhat happy bunny, and I can proceed with the joint correction once it has all fully set. Meanwhile, I have now identified which particular aircraft is going to be depicted, and have started planning the home made decals which, if all goes to plan, I should be able to print later this week.
Thanks yet again for your interest and kind comments, and I'll post another up-date soon.
Attachments
can't belive the difference in upper and lower halves !!!!
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