Tony T

I've never downed a Debbie, just Guinness.
 
Tony 

I've never downed a Debbie, just Guinness.
 
Tony 

I've never downed a Debbie, just Guinness.
 
Tony 

Saab.
Gripen.
Viggen.
Draken. 
 
Dassault.
Super Mystere
Rafael
Super Etendard.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Has to be jets:
 
Su-15 Flagon series
Su-33 Sea Flanker 
MiG-25 Foxbat series 
 
I’d also add two-seat MiG-23UB, MiG-21PF and MiG-21PFM
 
Tony, going back into hibernation now as I pass this new iPad back to its owner — the old iPad2 I use daily no longer interacts with LSP

I came back to this after an hour at the doctor's surgery! 
Utterly bizarre but it all makes perfect sense, sort of. 
 
Do continue...
 
Tony 

ok last pics for today, external loads.
 
We have two big Hindenburg fuel tanks, with nice raised welding lines and recessed access panels. Correct bulged pylons for UK variant too.
 
ECM Sky Shadow and chaff&flare BOZ pods.
 
Just let me know if you need specific pics of the kit's parts.
 
I'm thinking of build this kit as a desert camouflage Saudi's GR.1... all the parts needed are in the box and I have a couple of old-but-still-nice SuperScale decal sheet for this birds.
 
CIAO!
Piero 

I like this kind of solution for the fin air intakes... no need of filler and sanding, so the lip will not ruined.
 
We have weighted plastic wheels...
 
... and soft rubber wheels too. Here we have also soft rubber wing-gloves seals.
 
Main undercarriage legs has nice printed hydraulic lines... also the retraction legs arm are well detailed compared to the almost plain and slim parts in the Revell's kit.
 
Here we have different type of RWR antennas to be placed on the top of the fin... again, IDS/GR.1/GR.4 variant of UK, Italy and German are all possible.
 
A pics of the IP of the front and rear seats.
 
We have at least 4 different type of rear instrument panels of the early, late GR.4... and again IDS/GR.1 variant.
Also for the MK.10 ejection seat we have early and late head-rest cushion.
 
Clear parts of the canopy and windshield are well printed with no molding lines. Rivets are represented.
 
...
 
 

ok, now some pics of the plastic sprue.
 
Here we have the wing. As you can see all the moving surfaces are separate so we can have a completely "open&down" wing as during take-off, landing or parking.
Panel lines are not fine but also not too deep. With many layers of primer, colors, gloss and matt cote... this could be a benefit.

 
Here the top of the main jet intakes... the same part of the Revell's kit as almost no detail or panel lines.

 
Here you can see the detail parts that go inside the canopy.. not bad.

 
Here the radome with the correct static discharger stripes. 

 
The front fuselage section: note the separate underside part. In general, all the aiframe is splitted in a way that we could have more Tornado varints in the future... also an ADV!!!

 
As showed by the separated wing-gloves... with also the option of kruger or not-kruger devices.

 
Here you can see that we have the engine's air intake trunks.

 
The undersurface are full of details. Note the arrestor hook vane... an important detail completely missed in the Revell's kit.

 
The top surface has good panel lines and details too... note the details of airbrake vanes.

 
We have the central-rear right side of the airframe with the APU exhaust... another evident detail missed in the Revell's kit. Note also the details on the wheel bays.

 
Here we have the different gun's panels... we'll have and IDS/GR.1 for sure in the near future.

 
Another important detail well represented is this air exit on the left side...

 
The Big Fin... also here we can see details that shows future IDS/GR.1 variants. We have a separate mobile rudder.

 
The extended flaps and ailerons... we like to have this kind of options already in the box, right?

 
...

Hello,
 
this morning I've just got this new kit from my favorite local hobby shop.
First thing, payed € 129.
Ok, it's almost the triple of the price of a Tornado kit from Revell in the same scale... but we'll see that the contents and the details are almost the same ratio in favor of the Italeri's kit.
I'll going to compare the new Italeri kit with the old one from Revell also because I've finished to build a Revell's Tornado in the recent time.
 
Ok, let see some pics: the box is not too big, same size of the F-104 or the F-35 box... almost half size of the old Revell's Tornado kit.
 

 
Decal sheet is well printed, hi-gloss finish and no color mismatch.

 
We have a good size PE sheet with the access ladder and many details for the cockpit, airframe and weapon loads as the BOZ chaff&flare pods.

 
We have a color book for painting and decals and another one for construction guide.

 
What I really like of the construction guide book is that we have clear step-by-step guide when we have to choose between two or more options: each option is showed on separate pages, so we have less probability to use the wrong parts. 
For example here we have the choice between the engines with the extracted reverse thrust or with the retracted reverse thrust.

 
Very clear, don't you?

 
We have also a couple of nice drawings that shows us the final configurations we can have...

 
Another nice first for me is that we have some drawings in scale, like this two for the cockpit IP, external pylons and weapons...

 
next will be some pics of the plastic sprues... don't move!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ditto. Norwegian RF-5A, and American RF-101C, F-101B, Deuce and Six. I can even hear the whistle of their turbojets shaking up my tinlets of 16473. 
 
Tony 

I'd love an AEW Gannet too if it has a Fairey origami wings option. That unforgettable video from Sailor when a Gannet unfurls to the music of Pink Floyd. It defines the 1970s for me, along with ping-pong, sailing 420 skifs and law books.
 
Tony 

I really found the whole IFA project slightly puzzling. 
The kits seemed like the military equivalent of travel agents' airliner models, where having something large to catch the eye was the key goal. I can understand the "wow" factor, but to me the reason for bigger is for more detail and finesse. Maybe I'm not a sufficiently good craftsman to do these kind of models the justice they deserve, so don't understand them.
 
I wish Alan well as it sounds like the whole IFA thing was starting to consume him. 
 
Tony

I'm 100% sure it's a Special Hobby re-pop of the Mk.V plastic with new decals slid into a bigger box.
 
Who injects plastic and how Covid-19 affects this and other releases is a moot point. I'm still waiting for Airfix's re-pop of the 1/48 Sea Vixen announced over a year ago.
 
But I'm buying. A Tempestuous year most definitely.
 
Tony
 
 
 
 

I'm 100% sure it's a Special Hobby re-pop of the Mk.V plastic with new decals slid into a bigger box.
 
Who injects plastic and how Covid-19 affects this and other releases is a moot point. I'm still waiting for Airfix's re-pop of the 1/48 Sea Vixen announced over a year ago.
 
But I'm buying. A Tempestuous year most definitely.
 
Tony
 
 
 
 

Just dropping everything to slow down for a photo? But he's a very long way from RAF Turnhouse! Wonder if it had the range (?)
 
I'd prefer a T.11 but an FB.5 will do nicely as a starter. Will go nicely with the Hong Kong Models/Fisher Meteors. 
 
Tony 

That kit has a lot to commend it. The real machine was quite extraordinary in lots of ways. We need to see more of its innards.
 
Tony 

Ok chaps
This is for those who might be interested in the rivet pattern I have applied.
I have used photo's of the structure and an image from an AP manual of the structure under the skin to understand where everything rivets to.  So here it is, I think it is pretty accurate, and there might be a couple of areas that are missed, but 'oh well' besides most of it is hidden behind the Vari ramp

 

 
Right-O off around to the other side now...look ok?
 
Cheers guys
Anthony

Quick update:
blocked down the join and gave it a 'Chuck Wash' little bit of missing panel lines and fasteners to add.  Also note the lamp has been filled with plastic rod and the small antenna behind it removed.  Depending on the airframe modelled there was either no antenna here, or a much larger square one.
The cover panel has been fitted behind that on the spine has also been shimmed for a better fit and superglued in.  Few more rivets to restore etc.

 
Derek, there appears to be another lamp on the spine and although Iain has sent me a pic of it, I am unsure where it is located.
 
Thanks also to Spooky56  (Rick) for your help with parts and info, I owe you one buddy!
 
Cheers Anthony

Forum upgrade commencing in 3...2...1...
 
Kev

I have built a total of four Sierra Hotel exhausts and to me they remain the gold standard. Accurate and easy to assemble, I've never had an issue. The cradle Erik cleverly designed ensures that the cans can be gently press-fit into the back without requiring glue:
 

 
If the SH exhausts were readily available I'd for sure choose those for the Tamiya kit but since that is not the case I think it's great to have what at first glance seems to be a very nice alternative.
 
Cheers,
Marcel

I received these in the mail yesterday, to my eye they look great. The battery in my vernier is empty so I didn't get any measurements but they align closely with the Sierra Hotel exhausts. I will be using these on my Revell F-4G but if I was building the Tamiya F-4 I'd also be using these.
 
Molding is perfect and entirely free of any errors. I'm assuming this brand was started by someone that worked at one of the major resin aftermarket outfits before, the set looks perfectly produced and packaged.
 











 
Cheers,
Marcel
 
 

Just a few samples!
 

Tony, I just received the Q-M-T updates. I’ll take some pics and do a review but in the interim I can tell you that all the parts and especially the exhausts look outstanding. The exhaust diameters are the same as the Sierra Hotel variants I have in my two completed Phantoms. They are maybe 1mm longer. If I would be building a Tamiya model I would go for these, but keep in mind I have not test fitted them. The nose correction looks good also, as do the belly open panels. But the exhausts are really exquisite from what I see in front of me.
 
Cheers,
Marcel
 
 

And the MDC Suisen 2 conversion is very nice. The beaching doodar is fragile but it's a nice little collection of bits.
(IIRC Out2gtcha rebuilt some of his Rufe's trolley in brass, and I might use thin steel sewing needles in lieu of rigging, for that enduring confidence - overscale, but nothing's going to snap, rust, or render me blind). 
 
ICM have got a winning streak but they certainly seem to be giving Aerocraft Ali a bit of trade. I always havelikened ICM to Hasegawa or Tamiya moulding finesse combined with Trumpeter plastic — you need Ali's brass bits for a confident build. 
 
Tony