Bowcat's 1/48 Tornado F.3 ADV

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Steven.

[Steve Jones]

Top work Bob. She is certainly armed and dangerous!

[flyjoe180]

Looking good Bob!

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.

I've pushed on with the tanks, missiles, gear doors and airbrakes, these are now all painted, weathered and installed.

[ATTACH]317769[/ATTACH][ATTACH]317770[/ATTACH][ATTACH]317771[/ATTACH][ATTACH]317772[/ATTACH][ATTACH]317773[/ATTACH]

Almost there with the build now. Still got some small parts to add (pitot tubes, etc) that I'd left off until now as I knew damn well I'd break them.

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
That is looking superb. Weathering is most impressive. Starting to get very fragile now I should imagine.
Jim

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Jim.

Yep, I'm particularly concious of the spike on the nose, I just know I'm going to break it off.

Had a frustrating afternoon trying to find this bit.

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It's marked a E194, but that part is actually a completely different bit that goes on the top. I spent an hour looking over the sprues and instructions and couldn't find it. The closest bit was this.

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This is the right shape at the back, but completely open at the front. It looks like it wants another bit glued to it, but there's nothing on the sprues which corresponds. I'm therefore in the process of gluing a bit of runner to it which I will shape as best I can.

[scottie3158]

Bob,
This is really looking good, one reason I don't do aircraft is all those decals

[rickoshea52]

That looks like a blade aerial should be fitted there and not what looks like an LRU or chaff/flare dispenser. I looked up the sprue plan from the instructions, see attached.

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[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Rick, but the two e194 parts (blade aerials as you said) are already installed up top behind the cockpit.

[rickoshea52]

I see. If there are no blade aerials on the sprues and you don’t have the inclination to scratch build one or something in your spares box I would leave it off. It’s on the underside so not that glaring an omission.

[rtfoe]

Cheers John. :smiling3:

I'm still undecided whether this black basing is worth it, it is a lot of extra work compared to pre-shading.

Hi Bob, the Tornado isn't my fav plane but I had a discussion with a friend about it last night and he highlighted that it was the smallest swept wing fighter ever made and that got me into looking into this. Well worth it as you distinctly have done weathering similar to Shuichi Hayashi with the mottling effect. I think it's looking very good.

That missing aerial will be easy to fabricate using the other two as a template.

I only have a question regarding the cockpit backseat instrument panel console piping. Are those grab handles as they look like parts of a sprue. I ask because I'm not familiar with the Tornado cockpit.

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

That missing E 194 piece is quite a mystery. Revell have clearly messed up there.
Jim

[Mr Bowcat]

The instructions are fairly crap Jim, several parts were mislabeled but this was the only missing one.

Richard, not sure if the piping are grab handles but they are supposed to be there (not sprue), at least according to the instructions (however please note above comment re instructions.

So, with regard to the missing sensor (or whatever it is), I came up with this.

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It's not great, but at least it's close and shouldn't be too obvious when it's on its base.

I also got the tanks and AIM-9L's on their pylons and the Skyflash missiles installed on the belly.

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[JR]

Bob.
Just had a good catch up, most impressive. Think these were based at Cottesmore, might be wrong but we often saw them over Stamford. Great looking plane.
John.

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers John.