DONE @ p.3 +++ 1:72 Panavia Tornado F.6 of RAF 5 Squadron, 2018

[Dizzyfugu]

PSR...PSR...PSR... The air intakes are a complex affair, but progress is good. The front end of the landing gear wells had to be blanked off with the new intake arrangement, and the landing gear covers have to be modifed accordingly to the new fuselage shape, too. Since I use a donor windshield from an IDS Tornado, the whole canopy is 2mm too short, so I have to fill a respective gap. One challenge leads to the next one. 

But the new intakes do not look bad at all!


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Besides prolonged body work, the underwing pylons came off, too.  Well, I use it as an opportunity because it will make painting easier (the upper camouflage will be painted around the leading edge). However, I might get them back in a flexible fashion with the help of rubber glue (for photographs, used in "hardware albums" eons ago). I already cleaned the holes in the wings and replaced the original swivelling pins, the overall "damage" is manageable.

[PR19_Kit]

Besides prolonged body work, the underwing pylons came off, too. 

Looks like an inherent fault in the design, the pins are just too weak.

[Dizzyfugu]

Hmm, I actually like the mechanism for the swivelling pylons, and the stunt actually works. But the whole arrangement is not suitable for modelers who use putty to hide the underwing seams/trenches/canyons between the wing parts - and the fact that you have to add the pylons before you complete the wings, and these have to be put into the fuselage with their swivelling mechanism, is not builder-friendly. It works, but there could have been a more clever solution.

Besides, the Tonka with its modified air intakes has a funny look to it. It looks to me like a Romanian copy of the Tornado, in an attempt to create a Su-24 "at home". It looks good, but strange!

One of the final challenges concerns the clear parts. As mentioned very early, the kit needed replacement parts. The cleaning of the canopy went well, but I just had a windscreen from a Tornado IDS at hand - and it is too short. A 2mm gap had to be filled, and the OOB HUD turned out to be quite massive, so that the windscreen's fit was/is less than optimal.


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Another conversion step concerned the main landing gear covers - the original parts' shape would not match the new fuselage lines anymore. Instead of scratching something I used the OOB parts, cut out a wedge, bent the side wall and inserted the wedge again. glueing it into place. With some putty, the modified parts look quite good.


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

An final detail is an IRST in front of the windscreen, similar to the Typhoon's arrangement. The IRST in front of the windscreen is a piece of clear styrene sprue (instead of an opaque piece, painted glossy black), placed on a black background. The depth effect is very good!


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Painting started, and the Tonka looks even more like a Su-24 now!


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[jalles]

Awww...come on man! I keep waiting for pictures. I'm dying to see how this one turns out.

[Dizzyfugu]

Patience, pls. There's still another non-GB build that's waiting for pics. Just imagine a grey Tonka with side intakes...

[Dizzyfugu]

Disaster struck, twice. One issue is that one of the stabilizers broke off - I have the feeling that the plastic of this 2nd hand kit was/is somewhat brittle, since the wing pylon crash was also rather dubious and unexpected. And the paint job went sour - I used Tamiya acrylics (applied with a brush), but somehow the stuff created a very open surface once dry, almost like a short pelt, which is totally sensitive to touch. I guess that the paint was simply too old. Now I have a rather spotty upper side, and have to try to make the best from this mess.  My Tonka will probably look much more worn than originally planned.


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Gondor]

That could save on the weathering maybe 

Gondor

[Dizzyfugu]

It looks crappy right now, not weathered...  I hope I can save the model through post-shading.

[PR19_Kit]

Disaster struck, twice. One issue is that one of the stabilizers broke off - I have the feeling that the plastic of this 2nd hand kit was/is somewhat brittle, since the wing pylon crash was also rather dubious and unexpected.

Exactly what happened with my F5 too, looks to be an endemic design fault to me, the pivoting bits just aren't strong enough.

[Dizzyfugu]

Spent last eveneing with rescue measures, and I am not convinced yet. From above, the Tonka looks like a low-viz Tiger Meet participant right now... 


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Quite good news: in a courageous attempt to save the situation I applied a water-thinned coat of the Tamiya paint over the post-shaded surface. Even though the result is a little cloudy, the tiger stripes disappeared and the whole affair looks more uniform. Not perfect, but better than anything before. Phew...


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Dizzyfugu]

Even better news - thanks to a zillion of decals and stencils, more and more of the paint problems disappear. If you do not look too closely, the thing even looks good! 

Pics soon to come/follow, since I was able to finish the photo series of the former build outside of the GB. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Latest update with live pics!  Not fully Fifty Shades Of Grey, but certainly a dozen grey tones involved!


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Panavia "Tornado F.6"; aircraft "ZF205/CG" of the Royal Air Force 5 Squadron; RAF Cranwell, 2018 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[zenrat]

Look at that, he left it parked and someone came along and pinched the wheels...