Revell 1:144 Tornado ECR (04048)

[PhildaFish]

to my entry into the Cold War Era Group Build 1947-1991.

Now, as you will see later, this is not a normal build so I'm not even sure if it qualifies for entry into this GB, but here it is anyway. This is only my second GB and as with my other entry (see here) this is an experiment in pushing my models into new territory - "What territory?" I hear you ask, well that would spoil the surprise now wouldn't it?

First off, a little history:

The Panavia Tornado is a twin-engine, variable-sweep wing combat aircraft, developed and manufactured by British Aircraft Corporation (later British Aerospace) in the United Kingdom, MBB (later EADS) in West Germany and Aeritalia (later Alenia Aeronautica) in Italy. There are three main Tornado variants - the IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter-bomber, the ADV (air defence variant) interceptor aircraft and the ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) which is the variant I'll be making. It first flew on 14 August 1974 and was introduced into service in 1979–1980.

During the 1960s the United Kingdom and France had begun to work on a variable geometry project but France withdrew in in 1967. The UK continued work on it and looked for new partners to help in it's creation. Around the same time Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands and West Germany had started work on a single Multi Role Aircraft (MRA but later called MRCA, the C standing for Combat) to fulfil the differing requirements of each nation and able to perform a variety of missions that were previously undertaken by a fleet of different aircraft. The UK joined the group in 1968 and an agreement was drawn up between the UK, West Germany and Italy in 1969. Canada left the group for political reasons and Belgium left in favour of the French Dassault Mirage S. On the 26th of March, 1969, the four remaining nations formed the company Panavia Aircraft GmbH, to develop and manufacture the MRCA. The Netherlands left the project in 1970, saying that the aircraft was too complicated and technical for the RNLAF which wanted a simpler aircraft with outstanding manoeuvrability.

The final split was the United Kingdom and West Germany each had a 42.5% stake of the workload with the remaining 15% going to Italy. The front fuselage and tail assembly was assigned to BAC (now BAE Systems) in the United Kingdom; the centre fuselage to MBB (now EADS) in West Germany; and the wings to Aeritalia (now Alenia Aeronautica) in Italy. A similar split was used for engines, general and avionic equipment. A separate multinational company, Turbo-Union, was formed to develop and build the RB199 engines for the aircraft, with ownership similarly split 40% Rolls-Royce, 40% MTU and 20% FIAT.

The first aircraft were delivered to the RAF and German Air Force on 5 and 6 June 1979 respectively. The first Italian Tornado was delivered on 25 September 1981. On 29 January 1981, the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment (TTTE) officially opened at RAF Cottesmore, remaining active in training pilots from all operating nations until 31 March 1999.

The Tornado's mission envisaged during the Cold War was the delivery of conventional and nuclear ordnance on the invading forces of the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe; this dictated several significant features of the design. Variable wing geometry, allowing for minimal drag during the critical low-level dash towards a well-prepared enemy, had been desired from the project's start. Advanced navigation and flight computers, including the then-innovative fly-by-wire system, greatly reduced the workload of the pilot during low-level flight and eased control of the aircraft. For long range bombing missions, the Tornado has a retractable refuelling probe.

In development, significant attention was given to the Tornado's short-field take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Germany, in particular, encouraged this design aspect. For shorter take-off and landing distances, the Tornado can sweep its wings forwards to the 25-degree position, and deploy its full-span flaps and leading edge slats to allow the aircraft to fly at slower speeds. These features, in combination with the thrust reverse-equipped engines, gives the Tornado excellent low-speed handling and landing characteristics.

The Tornado ECR operated by Germany and Italy is a variant devoted to Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) missions. It was first delivered on 21 May 1990. The ECR has sensors to detect radar usage and is equipped with anti-radiation AGM-88 HARM missiles. The Luftwaffe's 35 ECRs were delivered new, while Italy received 16 converted IDSs. Italian Tornado ECRs differ from the Luftwaffe aircraft as they lack built-in reconnaissance capability and use RecceLite reconnaissance pods, also only Luftwaffe ECRs are equipped with RB199 Mk.105 engine which has a slightly higher thrust rating. The German ECRs do not carry a cannon.

Production came to an end in 1998; the last batch of aircraft being produced going to the Royal Saudi Air Force, who had ordered a total of 96 IDS Tornados. In June 2011, it was announced that the RAF's Tornado fleet had flown collectively over one million flying hours. Aviation author John Lake noted that: "The Trinational Panavia Consortium produced just short of 1,000 Tornados, making it one of the most successful postwar bomber programs." In 2008 Air Forces Monthly said of the Tornado: "For more than a quarter of a century... the most important military aircraft in Western Europe."

So there you go, I hope you learned something from that little lot, I know I did!

[PhildaFish]

This is the first non 1/72 scale aircraft I've built as I've no room for anything bigger and I like all the models hanging in my kid's rooms to be in proportion to each other (which is why I seldom enter the monthly give-aways, all those large scale prizes would be wasted on me!) This, though, being half the size of my usual builds, I can find a place for, as you'll see later!

Here's the sprue and box shot:

[Lee]

Nice one Phil

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Lee! Let the build commence! First thing, as ever, is the cockpit and the level of detail in this tiny little model is outstanding! I made a mistake in there which meant that some of the electronic equipment that sits high behind the pilots seat wouldn't fit so I had to leave it out. As you'll see later, I didn't really care. In fact I'm not really sure why I bothered doing any of the interior. Can you guess why yet?

[PhildaFish]

Here it is with the cockpit canopy in place.

[Paul]

Great entry and nice start phil

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Paul! Now here's an interesting thing - a while back I made the Italeri 1:72 Tornado which was supposed to have moveable wings but they didn't really work for me but in this build the wing movement was bullet-proof and worked perfectly. Shame that several dozen coats of paint has stuck them irretrievably in place but that was my fault. The pylons wouldn't have moved anyway and I envisioned it this way. So far the fit has been wonderful to work with although small and fiddly.

[Paul]

It does look a cracking little kit, I know I can be a bit snobby with kits (I've built too many bad ones in the past) but I do like 1/144 scale, ways fun builds and being so small they are a real challenge.

Great that the wings work too

[PhildaFish]

Here's the wings in the slower speed position:

[wappynutter]

Fantastic start Phil mate...
Will it be a mid-air exploding diorama???
All expanding foam and painted to perfection??
.... or am I being a little bit too adventurous?
Good luck with what ever you do my friend..

[PhildaFish]

It does look a cracking little kit, I know I can be a bit snobby with kits (I've built too many bad ones in the past) but I do like 1/144 scale, ways fun builds and being so small they are a real challenge.

Great that the wings work too

To be honest Paul, my stash was built on a budget, either cheap from shows or ebay bargains, (except the Flitzer I won on here, of course!) I can't afford to be too picky except trying to stick to 1:72 or 1:76 scale but I had this odd idea in my head for this little beauty and it worked out quite well. I enjoyed the build as much as I do the larger scale and can heartily recommend them. The cog wheel mechanism for moving the wings is solid and not likely to jump out of line once the build is put together which is more than can be said for some moveable models!

[PhildaFish]

Fantastic start Phil mate...
Will it be a mid-air exploding diorama???
All expanding foam and painted to perfection??
.... or am I being a little bit too adventurous?
Good luck with what ever you do my friend..

A great idea, I have a Westland Whirlwind that I want to try that with but this is entirely different; I'd say that you're barking up the wrong tree but to be honest it's more like you're meowing up the wrong lamp post!!! Keep the guesses coming though, folks!

[PhildaFish]

Here it is standing like a space rocket ready to launch! The fully rotational tail wings also got painted in place later but they were fun to play with while they did move!

[PhildaFish]

With the tail attached it finally takes on that unmistakable Tornado profile. It's such an elegant aeroplane, it just looks 'right' to me, like the Spitfire, the Vulcan and Concorde, which are all British or part British aircraft. Is it just me or does every nation have their own iconic aircraft? I'd be interested to know, perhaps this should be asked in the non-modelling thread?

[Rob]

Great work. Fantastic detail on something so small. I am intrigued as to what you will be doing with this.

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Rob, I'm glad I'm building up the suspense!

[T3hGuppy]

Funky little Tonka dude.

[chief5437]

Looks great so far mate. Might have to give on of these a try.

Can't wait to see what you're going to do with it!!

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Guppy and Chief. I hope you'll like what I did to it!

[PhildaFish]

Air intakes in place, almost ready to completely depart from the usual build path...

[PhildaFish]

The underside done with the wheels up.

[DC87]

Looks really nice, great work on something so small - my eyes are still hurting from my 1:144 builds.

I hope by saying ''depart from the usual build path'' you don't mean 'hit it with a hammer'

[Radzy]

It comes nice.
Good job on that one Phil

I hope you are not thinking about hammering it up

[PhildaFish]

Don't worry guys, no hammering required, but thanks for the praise!

[BrummieModeller]

Nice work so far dude, are you looking forward to the complicated decals and paint scheme LOL because i'm doing the exact same kit at the moment but the IDS version and my god it is going to take a lot of planning lol

Also i'm having it with landing gear down too and loaded up to the max with all the bombs and bits and bobs

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Dan. The complicated decals and paint scheme will not be needed for what I have in mind! (Phew, I dodged a bullet there!) It will give me even more respect for you when I see yours finished though, knowing how fiddly it will be - all I can say is good luck my friend!

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks Dan. The complicated decals and paint scheme will not be needed for what I have in mind! (Phew, I dodged a bullet there!) It will give me even more respect for you when I see yours finished though, knowing how fiddly it will be - all I can say is good luck my friend!

Thanks mate what are you doing with yours then if your not following the box???

[PhildaFish]

Thanks Dan. The complicated decals and paint scheme will not be needed for what I have in mind! (Phew, I dodged a bullet there!) It will give me even more respect for you when I see yours finished though, knowing how fiddly it will be - all I can say is good luck my friend!

Thanks mate what are you doing with yours then if your not following the box???

You know me mate, I'm a little bit ! For every couple of normal builds I do I like to try something a bit or a bit . Sometimes it goes a bit or a bit but sometimes I get a result. I saw someone (I can't remember who or where, sorry!) do something similar but not quite the same... I can't say more yet, without spoiling the surprise!

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks Dan. The complicated decals and paint scheme will not be needed for what I have in mind! (Phew, I dodged a bullet there!) It will give me even more respect for you when I see yours finished though, knowing how fiddly it will be - all I can say is good luck my friend!

Thanks mate what are you doing with yours then if your not following the box???

You know me mate, I'm a little bit ! For every couple of normal builds I do I like to try something a bit or a bit . Sometimes it goes a bit or a bit but sometimes I get a result. I saw someone (I can't remember who or where, sorry!) do something similar but not quite the same... I can't say more yet, without spoiling the surprise!

LOL aww ok look forward to seeing whatever your doing!

[PhildaFish]

Refuelling nozzle attached: this was a bit small and fiddly!

[PhildaFish]

So except for the pylons, external fuel tanks and missiles the build is done so a coat of Rust-oleum Plastic Primer in matt white on the underside; I thoroughly hate this stuff and do not recommend it to anyone, ever - it dries like chalk, doesn't adhere to the plastic well and takes about 48 hours to dry properly. Now I've bought it I can't bring myself to bin it, though, money's too tight.

[PhildaFish]

Here's the side view:

[Gav0909]

Just a note Phil, the Tornado hadn't been in service long before the end of the Cold War, so what I would say is to ensure that any bombs, missiles etc your thinking of using are suitable for the period, as well as the paint scheme.

It wouldn't be a Cold War jet if it was painted plain grey and loaded with Brimstone missiles for example, as that is a modern loadout and scheme. Not trying to rain on the parade, but making sure the rules are adhered too.

[PhildaFish]

Gav, I'm really not sure that this is an acceptable entry into this GB anyway for reasons that will become quite clear later on (without spoiling the surprise) and will not be put out if it is deemed not to be acceptable and moved to a different area of the site. I am doing this as a bit of cold war humour which is not to be taken seriously as far as any prize giving goes.

The finished article 'as is' doesn't look great anyway and one day it will need a proper coat of paint from an airbrush but until I replace my compressor this isn't going to happen.

I do not mean any offence by entering a less than serious entry into this GB, and I am not trying to lessen the standards of the GB in general.

This is just my idea of a bit of fun, please try not to take me seriously.

[PhildaFish]

And the top view or plane view... plane view of plane top... top view of plane view... plane top view... view from on top of plane...

Sorry, those responsible for the captions have been fired.

(And replaced with Llamas.)

Here it is and before you ask, no I haven't masked the canopy and, yes, I meant to do that!

[Gav0909]

Haha don't worry Phil I am not trying to come across as being all serious and trying to stop anyone having any fun. So heck keep going as you are and ultimately if Lee or Paul decide its not quite within the rules they set out then that's up to them.

I am more than interested to see what you have up your sleeve!

[PhildaFish]

Ok, I've kept you all in suspense long enough so here's the final stages of the build:

The first coat of paint went on appallingly... Metallic paints are never easy. This was an old Games Workshop Citadel Colours Burnished Gold.



The second coat wasn't much better. You may have noticed a slightly better covering on the far air intake because I tried a little GW-CC Shining Gold underneath which covers much better and the Burnished Gold on top.



The third coat is starting to look a little better. In some lights it looks alright but in others it looks really washed out.



Underneath I tried painting a coat of GW-CC Boltgun Metal as a better undercoat than just painting on top of the white primer.



After a blast with the airbrush it looked much better but the airbrush gave up before I did, (remember all the hassles I had a few weeks back that turned out to be the compressor? This was the model in question!)



Here is the underside with all the armaments in place. I think you'll agree it has a much better finish with the Boltgun Metal applied first.



Now jump over to the Final Reveals thread to see what this is all about! (As if you clever people hadn't guessed yet!)

[EpoxySniffer]

Just a note Phil, the Tornado hadn't been in service long before the end of the Cold War, so what I would say is to ensure that any bombs, missiles etc your thinking of using are suitable for the period, as well as the paint scheme.

It wouldn't be a Cold War jet if it was painted plain grey and loaded with Brimstone missiles for example, as that is a modern loadout and scheme. Not trying to rain on the parade, but making sure the rules are adhered too.

From what I remember the Tornado F3 Air Defence planes that flew out of Leuchars in the early 80's were painted in the same grey colour as the Phantoms they replaced. Remember seeing them at the annual airshows at the time. Dont recall seeing any in the particular scheme Phil has chosen .... pity that would have been cool!!

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Brilliant, just brilliant....