R12 Revell Tornado
May - July 2017
Final Result
Panavia TORNADO
The primary fighter/bomber for the RAF since 1982. Still in service.
Completed: July 2017
My rating: 9/10
Therapy ratting: 10/10
This is one for my 'classic' RAF collection in 1:72.
This Revell model is a Level 4 build. It is not an especially difficult model to build but it does take a long time to complete.
It comes with a 'working' swing wing mechanism with rotating missile racks so you can line them up with the wings angle. This is a nice idea but in practice the retaining slip rings for the racks are not strong enough and keep falling off. Super glue would help and maybe next time I will try that. For a first time I would recommend just fixing everything as you like it and not bother swinging.
After that teething issue everything else about this kit is just great.
An interesting documentary about the early development of the 'swing' wing and fly-by-wire systems.
A rather poor quality video that looks very dated by today's standards (1995) but full of interesting stuff and great aerial photography.
I love the cassette based data system to load the flight data into the computer. Seems archaic now. No GPS in those days.
'i realy dont know why the UK is replacing the Tornado,its more than a match for other aircraft' - YouTube Comment.
Introduced into service in 1982 the Tornado was the replacement for the Avro Vulcan
A selection of images from Wikipedia
It also replaced the Jaguar
The main kit sprues. There are five altogether the other two containing the armament for two variations. Around 120 parts to build either version.
To look at the final model it does not look like there are over one hundred decals. You can see from the very detailed decal sheet that indeed there are.
Unusually decals are also provided for the weapons as well. Fitting all of these is best done over several sessions. I guess it probably took around ten hours to fit them all. Well done Revell.
Quite a bit of detail packed into the cockpit.
Not sure that the decal white background colour is quite right but they do give a fair representation of the instrumentation in the real thing.
They were very tricky to stick on, a coat of gloss varnish really helped to bed things down. I do love the little 'game controller' knob for the navigator.
Swing anyone ?
Assembling the remaider of the model was very straight forward.
The swing wing mechanism is a little fiddly to fit and uses a ratchet and pin mechanism to link the two wings together. It actually works pretty well in practice.
The tail wings are also hinged together which allows for a hugh amount of rotation. The possible change in pitch is far greater than you would think possible. Again the provided mechanism is a nice idea but rather fails in practice. The connecting rod is just far to thin to support the weight of the tail flukes and they just snap off very easily.
The wing mounted missile racks terminate with a plastic circlip inside the wing to anchor them. This allows them to rotate individually to line up with the wing angle. As mentioned already these also were not really up to the job.
In retrospect all of these moving parts could probably be made to work quite well if you leave fitting to the final assembly stage. I prefer to construct as much of a model as possible to make painting more straightforward. I would therefore recommend painting all parts prior to assembly for this particular model. At least you would then have a fighting chance. (Next time!)
In the end it was just easier for me to stick everything into a permanent position. I wasn't too worried about swinging the wings. Once it is on the shelf it will rarely get touched again.
Fade away ?
The level of surface detail is very good. However, it is also very thin.
As a brush painter you have to apply an incredibly thin layer of paint or these delicate details soon dissapear completely. Panel lines do seem to be very shallow on Revell models. I also found this to be the case on the Sukhoi I built last year.
However, this time by using highly diluted enamels, and a watered down layer of Gloss varnish, I managed to save them from oblivion.
I was quite surprised at just how much detail did come through following a blackish/brown panel wash. Result!
The pilot and navigator/bomber consoles.
