Panavia PA-200 Tornado IDS Italeri 1/32

[Smeds]

[mc65]

Smeds, thanks for your remark!

I confess that I spent several hours in great embarrassment, until I had the certainty (thanks again, Tommaso!) that both the Italian Air Force and the Luftwaffe crews always leave the PEC module on the seat, connecting the individual components (oxygen, anti-G suit and radio communications.) when they get on board: this takes a few seconds, but ensures a longer life for the delicate pins of the mike and headgear connections, it seems.

for completeness of information, on the right side of the cockpit there are two covers designed to plug the PEC module if/when it is removed, as RAF crews do. in the Aires set they are reproduced, but in the Italian and German planes they are there never touched over the years!

I must say that I'm very happy I didn't get this point wrong, partly because all the references I had found went in that direction, another (good) bit because it took me quite some time to make two of them credible! 

 

meanwhile, small update: the cockpit module has been successfully merged with that of the forward fuselage.

 

successfully, epoxy, and that pinch of sadism that doesn't hurt. since there was no match between the parts, on the contrary, since there was an internal surface of the fuselage devastated by the milling cutter, I found no better way than to block the tub in place with two metal pins during gluing.

 

now, as I said, it will be fun to match the Aires glareshield with the Italeri fuselage...

 

but I have faith in the "see-don't see" effect given by the canopy frames!

 

but before gluing it in place, the final details and touch ups, some still to be done.

 

cheers, Paolo

 

 

 

 

[chrish]

Fantastic level of work and detail!

[LSP_Kevin]

Very nice work, Paolo!

 

Kev

[mc65]

thank you, pals!

 

a little update, in theory from now on we should accelerate, in practice... no: there are still a lot of things to do, and above all to improve, unfortunately.

 

so, picking up where I left off: the forward fuselage module. to better fit the cockpit I changed the assembly sequence by installing the belly last, and so far it's good. but this part provides for the immediate installation of the complete front landing gear bay, which puts its leg at risk, given the times that the model will have to be handled again, before seeing the end of it.

not only. the interaction between the undercarriage compartment and underbelly is such that painting after the latter is risky for mess, so I opted for a coat of Tamiya AS-12 spray before gluing the undercarriage compartment over it.

 

at this point I added the final details to the leg, then I'll protect it by wrapping it with kleenex and maskol, hoping it will be enough to keep it safe from overspray and bumps.

 

Very well. having glued the belly in its place, I had a great deal of work smoothing out steps and inaccuracies, re-engraving some panels.

 

up to completely eliminating this square panel, since the peak of the belly coincides inside it, making it almost impossible (for me, at least) to get a decent as-per-kit fit. I will replace it with a soft metal panel.

 

just to get over my bad mood, I embarked on a job that I adore, assembling and finishing the thousand thousand external loads and related pylons. then ask me why I only make WWII planes...

 

along the way I ran aground on the BOZ's tail: the photos found on the web showed different configurations, none of which corresponded to a loaded basket. once again with some precious help from home I arrived here:

 

ditto for the AIM9-Ls, I think the comparison photo speaks for itself.

 

while I was in ordeal mode, I decided to get another tooth out of this project. the kit provides the open fuel compartment as an option. the internal detail is a bit soft like everything, but let's make sure we like it. the problem is that usually both this and the control one immediately to the right are open.

 

so either I close the open one, or I open the closed one. needless to say... saw and razor blade, and the fear passes. obviously the doors of the kit have a dramatically out of scale thickness, I used them to thermoform new ones.

 

which I then filled with evergreen profiles. Tested here after a coat of zinc chrome primer, several internal details are still missing.

 

well, it's almost time to start assembling the various sub-components, but thinking about it I'm realizing that maybe it will be better to give at least one coat of the base colors before putting everything together, since the assembly sequence makes coloring some parts really awkward. ergo, let's begin to see how the AS-12 behaves on large surfaces.

 

and for today it's enough, I'll say.

cheers, Paolo.

 

[Greg W]

Bravo! The landing gear are just exquisite.  

 

I am looking forward to your report on using AS-12. I've decanted it for use with my airbrush (best result came from thinning a touch with Mr. Color Rapid Thinner), but have not applied it straight out of the can yet.

[scvrobeson]

AS-12 is a fantastic paint.  Anyone looking for a non-aerosol option, the new LP-11 is the exact same thing, just in bottle form.

 

 

 

Matt 

[mc65]

well Greg, although I'm not very familiar with the use of cans, I must say that Tamiya AS-12 is magnificent, it has an excellent yield given directly on the primer, especially on very large parts.

so good that I decided to try the sand too, TS-46. I had to wait several days for the shipment with the colors to reach me, including Lifecolr UA 107, which should be the closest to Italian sand in the Gulf.

they are in fact very similar, this should allow me to give a base coat to all the big parts with cans, and to be able to touch up later with Lifecolor.

 

Matt, thanks for the info on the LP-11, I'll definitely give it a try. 

the characteristic that makes me choose to use the cans for the basic colors is also their sturdiness, given that I will necessarily have to continue handling the parts of the model that are not yet fully assembled.

 

while waiting for the colors to arrive, since the devil always finds work for idle hands, I tried to do something else. I finished assembling the Mk.83s in resin, and started sprinkling some color on them.

 

not without a series of errors and corrections along the way, of course. a peculiarity not contemplated by the Videoaviation resin sets, however very well made, is the supply of proximity fuzes, used at the time for the Mk.83s at a rate of two out of five in the missions of our aircraft. after a bit of searching on the web, i found a couple of images that were enough to try and make them from leftover plasticard and washers.

 

et voila. now only the safety pins with their RBF flags are missing (and the rear fuzes, another chapter I still have to get to grips with) but the big part is done.

 

also the kit's AIM9-L have been subjected to several corrective interventions, here still halfway.

 

In short, slowly, but I'm proceeding...

cheers, Paolo

 

 

 

[mc65]

hi all, little updating.

not that I've gone very far, also thanks to my predisposition to cha cha cha, or to take one step forward and two steps back, but I've produced something.

for example, after having painted and applied the decals to the AIM9s I realized that the fixing system to the rail provided by the kit is a longitudinal recess that has nothing to do with the real one, which instead consists of two hooks on the body of the missile, so that the sidewinder is separated from the rail, except for the two single contact points.

so I plastered the opening on the body of the AIM9, planing the correspondent on the rails.

 

here it is. it's not perfect, but it's definitely better.

 

I used the minor parts to test the Tamiya can sand, and I must say that it satisfies me, any touch-ups with lifecolor are practically invisible.

 

well, I'd say that here we are, net of the BOZs I want to go back to with the Alclads. then a round of futures and decals for everyone.

 

since I like this yellow, let's get down to it. after studying the instructions and considering the complication of painting after assembling all the parts, I decided to paint the subassemblies separately.

 

also giving a first round of oil lining.

 

in this way I can (I have to, in my opinion) now apply the decals in areas that will be extremely uncomfortable, once everything is assembled. for example the sides of the fuselage will be very awkward to reach, with elevons and wing in place.

 

Now I can proceed with the assembly. in the end, after much thinking about possible modifications to install the elevons with the fuselage closed, instead of open as foreseen by the kit, I decided not to give a damn and accept the risk of having these two double sheets between my hands for all subsequent operations.

 

now turn this photo upside down and tell me if it doesn't remind you of Mazinger?!?

 

next step: closing of the fuselage and assembly of main sub-components.

cheers, Paolo.

.

 

[mc65]

well, I don't want to sound like a complaining, squeamish or exaggeratedly demanding or critical modeler, but perhaps I am a little,and for sure I have my reasons, allow me 5' of complaints: but dammit, how is possible to conceive a kit as big as a diver's fin in which it takes at least three hands to assemble the fuselage, with the added complication of having that little bit of tail and airbrakes in between, risking wrecking everything?? but what did it take to design a teflon washer to place the elevons at the end of the assembly, or positive joints for the speedbrakes, so as to position them after the tail, which is as tall as a three-storey building??

 

 

 

alright. I could have made the aforementioned changes, without even trying too hard, but I didn't feel like it, mea culpa. after a certain number of contortions and invocations to different deities, I managed to obtain a coupling that was roughly satisfactory, but certainly far from perfect.

 

after a night under pressure, I connected the two half-fuselages, another source of discontent: the front one engages on the rear through a bayonet joint that will remain hidden in the air intakes. nice idea, and also well done, pity that there is a half mm gap in the lower contact line.

 

rather than modifying the connection inside the air intakes, characterized by complex curved lines, I preferred to keep the gap, also because the fit is good in the upper part, and in the end that will be the most visible side.

 

ditto for the air intakes, each made up of five parts whose alignment is based on the internal vertical wall, integral with the fuselage. and if this is good morning...

 

okay (let's say so). I plug the gap with plasticard strips, and I reinforce the inside with plasticard plates, given that it is in any case a structural coupling of a certain importance.

 

assembling the vents I focused on the alignment visible from the outside, which leads to these interiors, however visible, snooping through:

 

and in any case some brute force will be needed, to get a decent alignment of these... the same for the hump behind the cockpit: there is at least a mm of gap between the parts.

 

by rectifying the coupling breakouts and -again- brutalizing the hump a little, it comes out, but let's say that the relaxing part of this hobby is somewhat lost, like this.

 

in short, I'm getting close to completing this model, and I must say I'm really happy with it, I'm not having much fun with it.

cheers, Paolo

[themongoose]

Beautifully done. Wort the effort. 

[scvrobeson]

Really well done work. A very interesting approach to construction, and it looks like you're thinking it through very logically. Looking forward to more.

 

 

 

Matt 

[mc65]

Thank you for your participation and encouragement! I really need it with this model... 

 

therefore, we had remained at the general fit.

after a reasonable time for the glue to dry, I picked it up again, and here there is a first problem of dimensions: it is difficult to handle this flying box without risking damaging tailplanes and airbrakes, and without leaving fingerprints on it, given the pressure needed to keep it from flying out of hand! so, gloves are mandatory, which I hate.

and then check the various junctions. at the tail the left one was so much offset that I cut off the pin and replaced it with a brass one in the right spot. the one on the right didn't look too bad, and I left it from the box. bravo. really bravo.

 

upper fuselage. here as I said the union between the two front and rear half fuselages is very good. the placement of the hump helps consolidate the overall strength. everything nice, until you look at the alignment with the air intakes...

 

the right it's still acceptable, but the left doesn't look a bit. yet the intakes are straight, I've had a lot of work making them well built.

the only solution I've found to fix it is, as usual, medieval: with a fairly thick saw, I cut off a slice from the vertical wall of the fuselage.

 

a rectification until reaching the desired height,

 

and re-gluing, taking care that the two planes are parallel. while I was at it I also fixed the one on the right, who was getting jealous. the sprue thread that can be seen on the hump will serve as a gasket between the hump and the fuselage, where a nice groove remained.

 

meh. okay, let's go on. primer on the air intakes, check for imperfections (macro imperfections, I don't even want to look for the others)

 

and sand layer. as in the best of traditions the can has breathed its last with this session, from here on I'll rely on Lifecolor.

 

let's talk about the canopy, which is now its time. nice, non-glassy, sits almost perfectly in place.
when closed. but to keep it open? nothing. not the actuator arms at the base as in the real thing, nor a positive joint on the fuselage. nada de nada, zero, nil.

 

the mc-solution consists of a brass tube passing through the fuselage, glued and puttied flush above and below (open above, closed below).

 

and in a rod planted in the canopy, also in brass, with a diameter corresponding to the internal diameter of the fuselage tube. this gluing will have to be done with epoxy, and I already know that it will never be very solid, but it's the simplest and most functional thing that came to my mind to solve the problem.

 

while I was in the area, I implemented the windscreen with internal stringers and widening the contact area with the rear part, as shown in the reference photo.

 

in my spare time I replaced the telescopic part of the refueling probe with a chromed antenna segment. for the terminal part there is a Master aftermarket in turned brass. I thought about keeping the plastic, but since I had another order in progress, I succumbed to the charm of heavy metal... in a few days I'll arrange for the transplant.

 

and that's it, for today.

next step: decals, I hope.

cheers, Paolo

Edited February 28, 2023 by mc65

[mc65]

sorry for the long absence, I didn't have much time to dedicate to it, this model is a bit of an ordeal, and I continue to take steps back and forth. corrected the major general fit problems, I applied the decals, trying to observe how they were modified in the locust specimens: many of the upper stencils simply weren't there, some were dark (grey?) instead of red. all however were then covered by a veil of yellow sand. the cartograf decals are as moving as they are beautiful.

 

pity that in the specimens used in the Gulf the warnings in german  were eliminated, and I noticed it (but what noticed, I was promptly reprimanded by Tommaso, thanks again) only after having applied them, moreover after a coat of Future! there were three options: don't care, excluded a priori. overpaint them with sand; cut them off. what could be more risky?

 

then luck says it's not needed... unfortunately I couldn't get a thinner black thread than this, to frame the panel again.

 

same thing on the other side, of course.

so done-undone-remade this, I went back to the cockpit, where I began to scratchbuild the sunscreens of the navigator displays, some handmade fabric objects done on the field:

 

then since evidently I was progressing too fast, I thought it best to let the model slip out of my hands during a maneuver to overturn it. remember the lovely Aires resin reproducing HUD? well, just forget it.

 

alright, modeling is..?

I redo it, starting from the modified and implemented kit's parts.

 

beautiful, not beautiful, who cares, so little will be seen under the windshield.

wow, look how much dust. and those little gray teeth near the pillars of the blind glass? primer seepage under the protective tape...if  ever, we talk about it another time, I have yet to make peace with the damage i did to the rear canopy.

 

in the end what you will see is this, and I'm fine with it, above all I'm fine with it, having modified both the HUD and the internal transparent uprights.

 

another very annoying thing is that I wasted a lot of time looking for a decent image of the rear fuze of the Mk.83, and I lost it in the depths of my phone memory: poof, vanished. I found another, less clear one, and between this and the memory of the other I came up with these:

 

now I'd like to age the underside, install the Mk.83s and the landing gear, and dedicate myself to the upper part, but I'm missing the two lower cockades, and I've been waiting for them for weeks (why Italeri supplies only four of six is a mystery, but never mind).

in the end I got bored and decided to start working dirty at least on the fuselage belly, in order to proceed. when the cockades arrive I will also think about the wings.

I advance slowly with successive coats of airbrush oil, allowing the previous coat to dry well before risking the next.

 

what can I say, I feel like those elderly ladies who park a small car in the space of a truck: first gear, smell of clutch, 20 cm ahead. brake, reverse gear, more clutch smell, 21cm back. brake, first gear, a lot of clutch smell, 22 cm ahead, etc etc etc. sigh.

 

cheers, Paolo

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

I think that's some of the most deft (and courageous) in situ decal modifying I've ever witnessed! I personally would have definitely been in the leave it alone camp. Brilliant work, Paolo!

 

Kev