Duel 1/48 Airfix (Sows Ear) F.3 Tornado

[lesofprimus]

Lookin great Vic....

 

[Lucky13]

I say, jolly good show old boy, carry on!

 

[dirkpitt289]

Some really great work going on here Vic. You got your hands full with these two.

 

[dirkpitt289]

Pic 1: This is the tail fin provided for the ADV/F.3 Tornado and if you look closely, it has a distinctive twist working it's way up to the fin tip. At first I thought it was me and that I had glued the two halves together badly. So I checked the second kits fin and found the same problem. Luckily the kit also comes with the tail fin for the F.2 version of the Tornado which I believe was never produced by Airfix and with a little modification (cutting, grinding and filing) these were made to fit.

Reminds me of an Orca fin... [Ref the movie Free Willie]

 

[Airframes]

Great job Vic, and more info for my build too!

 

[109ROAMING]

Looking good Vic!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Quick update before nipping away for a while. Had a devils own job of trying to hide the join between the upper an lower halves. Problem is with it being a revamped and modified kit from Airfix, the materials of upper and lower halves are not the same and the moulding match is shitty. Anyway after much scraping, filling, filing for ever and ever. In the end I felt enough was enough and have decided to accept the bad bits and get on with the build.

So up to this point, all I've done is a bunch of spraying. The spine and tail of the foreground Tornado has been intentionally left with the undercoat, this will end up signal red.

That's it for now, tomorrow my partner and I are off on our wanders, were going to look for Mummies, Byzantines and Romans for just over a month. Will be back in time for Easter.

 

[Wayne Little]

Looks ok so far Vic....

Enjoy your trip mate!!

 

[ian lanc]

The Tornado is still an awesome looking fighter and in my mind it shouldn't have been replaced by the EuroFighter

Keep up the good work Vic.

ian

 

[Airframes]

Great work Vic, you've really turned those around mate!
I agree about the Tornado being a good 'un Ian, but it had been in service (ADV) for over 20 years mate! Nearly as long as the Phantoms it replaced, and as long as it took to sort out the EFA into the Typhoon II.
BTW Vic, didn't know the Romans had reached Oz!!!

 

[Lucky13]

I say! Looking rather spiffy old boy what!

 

[Tony Hill]

Great looking models Vic, can't wait to see more.

Terry,

Small elements of "Ceasar's Own Deserters" reached just south of Darwin by 46AD. They were finanlly rounded up and wiped out by a party of New Zealanders who had learned how to swim and therefore escaped their native home. Alas little of this is taught in schools!!

D

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Time for an update on the Tornadoes. After a long break and much gardening following the return from holiday, pulling out the kits and deciding what was next, I decided to improve on the varying lights that had been made previously. I was not happy with what I'd made and I also needed to rig up some landing lights, one on each main undercarriage door and one for the nose undercarriage leg, so I decided to start from scratch.

Pic 1. Shows the port and starboard air intake lights, the yellow tail fin lights, the red spine light and the three landing lights for each aircraft. I have also tried out a new method of masking the canopy having read recently of using scraps of Bare-Metal Foil as the masking between the canopy framework. I think the results speak for themselves.

Pic 2 3. This is just an update of painting progress, both having the swing wing markings painted and both masked for a spot of matt black paintwork. On pic 3 the red tail fin and spine has also been added.

 

[Lucky13]

Bl**dy marvelous old boy, top notch and all that rot, carry on!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Cheer Jan, now get the on holiday old spud………………

 

[Airframes]

Beaut work Vic, they're starting to look really nice mate.

 

[Crimea_River]

Loooking fantastic Vic. How did you hold onto those little lights to shape them?

 

[Airframes]

I was wondering about that! Must have a gravitational force field, suspending them rigidly in space!

 

[Tony Hill]

Very nice work!

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Thanks guys.................... .

How to shape them, well not as glam as a gravitational force field suspension, but a force field non the less. A spot of superglue on a flat piece of Evergreen, a couple of scrap of plastic from old Tic Tacs containers, two slivers glued together and set into the Evergreen rod. Take a jewellers file and start shaping and once you have the shape, polish off with the wife's 4 grade nail polisher, job done. Advise though, remove gently from the Evergreen, preferably in safe area away from the carpet gremlin and where the tiny lamp can be found if it flicks.