1/32 Tornado GR1 to GR4 conversion updated Nov 24th

The time has come to start a personal project i have had on the back burner for a long time. I have amassed quite a collection of extras for the kit (far more costly than the kit itself!) Was going to do it as a work in progress if there is any interest. It's a fairly large kit so it's not going to be an over the weekend build that's for sure. Anyway I'm sure if there is interest to keep me going we'll end up with a rather nice display item at the end and hopefully some of you will pick some tips up as we go.
Feel free to suggest different/better ways of tackling any stages as we encounter them. Always open for alternatives.

Right.......the kit.

Starting point will be Revell's Tornado


She's a lovely kit out of the box. Built a few in my time.

And some of the extra parts. (Waiting for more at the moment and will update as and when things arrive)

The Flightpath GR4 update set


Comprising the following


















I also have Paragon seats


Flightpath Alarm missiles


Paragon Flaps and slats


CAM detail set with cockpit and electronics panel details


CMR wing glove boxes


Eduard canopy and wheel mask set


I currently am waiting on the arrival of some turned brass pitot and aoa probes and also some Aires resin exhausts. I'm in the process of deciding whether to get the Aires resin cockpit as well but this is an IDS or GR1 pit and would require a lot of mods so not sure yet.

Anyway, off to get changed and start some work on it. Let me know what you think.

Broke plastic with the kit today and made a start. Not a lot to show for the hours spent today and i've had to retire for the evening to recouperate the old eyes. For this i'm using a nice whisky!

Photo etch rudder pedals replace the kits plastic chunks


Next up the front instrument panel was located for some treatment. Here it is just off the sprue showing the provided detail which is ok really.


But we don't want that in this build so out came the sanders and it was gone!


To be replaced with some more photo etch and transparencies. Guages look a little rough at the moment but the white glue is still in the process of drying here.


Next up came some photo etch bending as i turned to the navigators displays in between the two cockpits. Here are a couple of the MFD's pre bending.


And then after a little bending and shaping.


Added the acetate guages and gave the displays a coat of black


More etch bends being added. Loads more still to add!


And that's where i left it for the day.

As requested here's a shot of the photo etch work next to a pound coin for scale.


Decided to have a break from the etch tonight so moved on to some resin work. Here are some of the avionics panels i'll be installing. They are from the CAM detail set.


Panels to be removed were marked with a pen


A small drill in a pin vice was used to drill a link of holes all around the inside of the panel to be removed.


Next a scalpel was carefully traced along the centre of the holes to gently scribe a line through the holes until the panel became free


The rough edges were then sanded back carefully until the edge of the panel lines were met. Checking for nice square corners.


The corresponding avionix panel was test fitted in the newly created hole checking it all fitted nicely.


One of the items on the conversion from GR1 to GR4 was now tackled. Namely the port cannon which is not used in the GR4. Tape was placed around the panel so that any wayward putty would not be caught in there. I used Squadron's "Green Putty" for this and will need to go over it again tomorrow as it shrinks a bit when it dries.


Eventually both avionics panels and the LOX panel were all in place.


These were sprayed grey and some detailing work was started before fitting the avionics themselves.


Some thin fuse wire was attched in preparation for fitting of LOX bottle. The wire would serve nicely as piping for the bottle.


LOX bottle fitted and plumbed in with a pound coin in the way for scale.


And that's where we're at tonight. Thanks for looking.

Just a small update. Progressed the avionics panels.



And added another two update items to the pile.

Tonight i started on the seats and got on with the cockpit detailing in preparation for gettiing the cockpit sides glued together.
Here are the seats with a primer coat on ready to get started.


Navigators centre screen had a photo etch shroud which had to be rolled into its circular shape. Pressing it between a paintbrush shaft and my thumb i gently rolled it back and forth untill it started taking its shape. Once almost there the end tab was folded over to give the flat spot at the top. A small amount of ca glue was applied to the join and held until it set. Once dry it was attached to the instrument panel with pva glue and left to dry.


Now the instrument panel was drying a got the cockpit tub cemented inside the halves and got them together. The nav instrument panel was fixed in place and the assembly taped up until the cement hardened. More work was carried out on detailing the seats while this took place.














Next up was some more photo etch work. This time building up the cockpit sills.


A tricky part now. Included in the Flightpath detail set are photo etch parts for the glazing frames to give them more accurate details / shape. A dab of ca glue was applied at one corner and the photo etch was held in place until the glue bit. Another dab was place a little further along then the frame was, again, held in place and so on until the frame was fully fixed around the glazing.




And that's it for this update.

Progressed the photo etching in the cockpit with the addition of the hud. Also painted the etch canopy rails.


Then another change of direction. I thought i would tackle the Paragon Flap and slat urgrade. Was a bit daunted by this as i don't think i have all the instructions for the set. The parts all have numbers on the drawing i have but i don't have a map of the parts with their numbers so i had to guess a bit. Judge for yourself at the end of the update.

Started by cutting out the required sections from the upper and lower wing halves. For this i used a scribing tool and pulled gently along the panel lines getting progressively deeper until the cut broke through.


And here we have both starboard wing halves with the required cuts made and cleaned up.


Then started assembling the resin parts using CA glue to fix the parts in place.




Then, once assembled i gave the wing an undercoat to see how it all looked. Still needs some cosmetic work and some light sanding here and there but i think the wing looks convincing enough. Still have the actuator screws to apply but will leave those until after painting.






Also progressed the detailing of the bang seats. Not long until these are completed.


And that's it for today. Hope you are enjoying. Comments / questions are welcome.

Small update tonight.. In all the times (and there are many!) I have built the Revell Tornados from 1/72 right up to 1/32 the weak point of the kit has lways been the horizontal stabs. They are so large and are given such a small piece of plastic to support them. (Made worse by the fact that they are moveable). I decided to make this weak point a strong one.
I picked up a length of 2mm brass rod and a piece of brass tube that the rod fit snugly inside. Using CA glue i stuck a piece of the tube to the inside of the fuselage lower half.



The lugs on the stabs were removed and a hole drilled in their place. The brass rod was cut 30mm longer than the piece of tube and fixed using CA glue inside the hole in one of the stabs. This was fed through the tube in the fuselage and the other stab fitted to the end of the rod.



Bet it doesn't break this time around!!

And here's a pic showing the stage we are at tonight. I finished the upgrade to the other wing also so it's really starting to come together now.



Thanks for looking.

Gonna leave the electrics for the next model Paul. Thought that empty cockpit, open panels etc wouldn't look right with strobes etc flashing.

Little bit more progress on the Tonka today.

Used CMR wing bags as i think they look more realistic than the flath paragon offerings


Cemented the wings and bags into place.


Cemented the forward fuselage onto the main fuselage.


Then had a change in direction again and put the fin together. After a clean up of the fim seam lines it was sprayed and varnished ready for some decalling. Think you'll recognise which jet it is when you see the colour!

Had som decals made up for me and this looks a bit technical. They have to be sliced up and fitted one triangle at a time according to this instruction sheet!


Some of the tail decal


And removing the triangles


To fit one by one!


Gonna be a long job but if it works out it'll be worth it.


Had a sneaky try on to see how it looked!


Thanks for looking. Comments more than welcome. More soon.

Progress has been a bit slower of late as i have had a commission for an MH-53 and an E4 for a chap down south. The blue tail has been presenting itself with a few problems but i think i've pretty much overcame them and with just a few touch ups then the filling in with the silver, black and grey parts will complete it.

Couple of progress shots for you. Firstly the Flightpath set provides top panels for the intakes as Revell didn't provide any panelling detail at all in this area.


And an in situ pic of the tail so far


Hope you like. Thanks for looking.

Tom, caught up with a couple of your builds you did for the Airfix mag (Skyraider and Greyhound) which are awesome.

And now we are treated to this current build. Its great that you include all the stages with the resin and brass, it helps to see how it all comes together. These types of WIP are really inspirational (whether I will ever achieve anything of this nature is another matter).

Really enjoying this mate and looking forward to the next load of updates.

Ab

Wow, this is spectacular. Really enjoying reading through this..look forward to the next update.

Matt

Awesome and inspiring as ever Tom.

I know we spoke ages ok about this one. I have a 617 gr1 in mind to do in the new year. Can't wait to see how yours completes

Keep up the great work

Major project or what, you're throwing some serious Aftermarket stuff at this one, although it looks like you're making short work of it. Great progress so far.

One note though, are you going to be using the ALARM's as I can't ever recall seeing a 14 Sqn jet carrying them?

I have! along with 9 brimstone and a litning 3 pod. I have some pictures i took on base too if you can use them.

I seem to remember seeing that photo before now I've seen it again, interesting load out isn't it? If you wish you can post some of the pictures in the Tornado reference thread within the Reference section, I'm sure some of the members will find them of use.

ah mate thats brilliant.

Great work , awesome in fact, looking forward to seeing your update

Small update for those still awake lol..

Fitted the resin pods under the nose with CA glue. Some putty was required in the join too.


Got the resin exhausts assembled and painted the fitted to the back end. Will dirty them a bit more once the model is being weathered.


Assembled and painted the undercarriage. White metal and some plastic parts were used here.


Masked off and gave the panel lines a bit of a pre shade


More soon. Really starting to come together now.

Fantastic mate.

Ab

Thanks Ab. Had a bit of a session on it today and started on one of my favourite parts. Bringing it to life by getting some paint on to that preshade.

For this i used Xtracrylix dark camo grey on the upper surfaces and camo grey on the lower surfaces.


Allowing the paintwork to dry i thought i would progress the fin. Nasked and painted the black and silver parts.


Little bit of artistic licence now as i thought i would add some replacement panels just like the real thing,




More soon. Thanks for looking. Your comments are more than welcome.

Thats a great looking bit of work Tom. The tail fin really is fantastic.

Coming along nicely Tom, as Alan says the tail is especially sharp looking. One thing though, from the photos it looks like the pre shading is showing through rather heavily in places maybe another pass with the AB?

Simply awesome. What more can I say?

got any further?