1/48 Italeri Tornado

[Big Texan]

Wow, where to start. The cockpit is ill fitting in the fuselage halves. Its just a bit large leaving gaps at the WSO instrument hood and the instrument hood for the pilot. Also, there is only one "guide" on the right fuselage half. To counter these problems, I made a guide for the left side of the fuselage to facilitate cockpit insertion. Also, I removed the vertical guide or stop for the cockpit on the right side. This allowed me to slide the cockpit, without instrument panels, in through the rear so work could be accomplished in trimming the sides of the cockpit so the fuselage halves could be closed up.

After accomplishing this, I put a strip along the bottom seam of the left fuselage half for a stronger bond when gluing the fuselage together. I also put one a small strip of plastic on the right side half underneath the pilot's instrument shroud for the same reason, for better bonding. You can't see this strip as the instrument panel blocks any view of it. Still had a problem with the WSO instrument hood with a very noticeable gap. I inserted more card stock to the gap, both horizontally and vertically. This filled the gaps nicely and worked out well. The nose gear well fit without any issues, whew!

I'm building this plane OOB with only the addition of Neomega's MB 10A ejection seats. First plane in 14 years to be built, due to life, kiddos, etc.

More to come on the rear fuselage halves which are top and bottom pieces. They too have their issues and I will work them out before gluing them together. Also, from discussions read at other sites, the best attack in mating the front and rear fuselage halves seems to be to glue the bottom one on first to the front fuselage, ensuring that there is no gap where they meet. Also to add reinforcement strips to facilitate better bonding. Then glue the top half to the assembly and achieving the same goal, no nasty seam where the two halves meet. Let you know when I get this point.

[Samurai_Chris]

Thanks Tex.. I have this kit and have been wanting to build it for some time.. I am glad you took the time to write your thoughts. Will help out a lot.
Chris

[Big Texan]

Chris, you are most welcome.

Have an update on this build. The nose cone is slightly larger than the fuselage creating a nasty little step all around. Reading a build on Britmodeler from a while ago, a Tornado "experten" suggested sanding the nose of the fuselage down slighltly. Approx. 2mm at the top of the fuselage and 1mm at the bottom. Well, I marked off accordingly and ran a "skinny" tape line all around the fuselage at these points. When I was satisfied that it was correct all the way around, I then placed the joined front fuselage on my belt sander and sanded down to the tape. Cleaned up a bit with a sanding stick, then tried the nose cone on. This trick worked! Now, the tornado "experten" said you accomplish two things in doing this. First, you have the better fit, and second, the profile is more accurate. Still have some work to make this thing perfect, but far better than dealing with that nasty step!

Went on to the back half of the fuselage that holds the wings, engines, and main gear bays. The air brakes are located on the upper half part. The air brake covers don't fit well at all in the closed position. If you want them open, no problem. I wanted them closed and it has been a pain in the rump to get them to fit and look right. Not too happy with this at all. Still working on it to get it to look well. Also, I noticed on the port side where the elevator attaches, the semi circles that create the hole do not line up correctly. They do on the starboard side but the not the port. Not a big deal as I plan to put a brass tube there to have positive attachment points for the elevators or elevons anyway. There are also some raised injector marks on the lips of the main gear wells on the fuselage part. They have to be sanded down. On the topic of wheel well, there are some injector marks there as well and will be difficult to remove unless you have that special tool (chisel like), that can remove them easily.

Working on all of these issues at present. More to come.

[Samurai_Chris]

And mate, I will be reading!

[A4s-4eva]

reading with interest as I have this one tackle as well

[Big Texan]

Thanks guys for the interest. I'll try to get some pics taken as they are worth a thousand words. Really trying my best to keep this project simple and out of the box. This kit is not a well fitting kit, it is a kit that requires patience to get a good fit. It's my first project and I want to re-hone my skills, try some new things that I've seen and read about over the years being inactive. Probably not the wisest kit to start with, but the 3-tone German Navy scheme is really attractive on this plane.

Haven't had a chance to get back on it the last few days, but will be on it later today. Got to go to Hobby Lobby and purchase skinny chisel blades to deal with ejector pin marks in the main wheel wells! Then, paint the buggers and glue them in. Also, need to get some brass tubing for the elevons to creat attachment points on the rear fuselage. Then, glue the bottom fuselage half to the bottom of the front fuselage half. Let it set, and work on the wings. From all that I've seen from folks who have built this model, it appears this is the best way to get a great join on the bottom join, and then the top without nasty steps. Also, to glue the wing glove parts to top and bottom fuselage halfs instead of gluing them together and then onto the rear fuselage. Less filling and sanding they say by doing it this way.

[Big Texan]

All right, got some work done. Got the wings and elevons together, which fit very nicely. Fitted my brass tubing into/onto the fuselage halves. This will work great. The wing gloves.......all I can say is, WTF was Italeri thinking? Do not follow the instructions by gluing them together and then attaching them to the put together rear fuselage. You will cry, curse, moan, and possibly launch your tornado into the wall or trash can. Got to have steady nerves here. Glue each piece to their respective fuselage half. Even then the fit won't be great, but it will be better. Strengthen the underneath sides with gap filling super glue or epoxy. When you finallly join the upper and lower rear fuselage halves together, you'll still have some putty work to accomplish on the wing glove leading edges, but it will be far better than if you followed the instructions! Why Italeri just didn't incoporate these to fuselage halves in their moldings is just crazy!

I'm currently cleaning up the wheel wells and preparing them for painting. Cleaning up the fuselage, looking at ways of beefing up the interior for better structural strength, and painting areas inside. After this is complete, I'll finally get this assembly glued together and finally meet the front half with the rear half. Will try to get some pics of what I currently have before I glue everything together. Then you'll have some idea of what I've done, and what I'm about to do.

[JetBoy11]

Originally Posted by A4s-4eva

reading with interest as I have this one tackle as well

Moi aussi!

[Big Texan]

Sorry for the delay guys. Life took over for a while.

I've been working on the confounded air brake panels that don't fit worth a crap in the closed position! Now that I'm committed to this effort, I've been working on the right side one which is the worst of the two. I've actually added a thin plastic sheet to the side of the brake to make it look better. Still working on that. Next time I do the Italeri kit, I will pose the damn things open! The wings shoulders I have mated to the upper and lower fuselage halves and they didn't fit well either, but way better then if you followed the instruction sheet. Some minor filling and sanding and it will be ok. Also, have glued a piece of brass tubing onto the bottom fuselage half and have it ground flush with both halves of the rear fuselage. If I can get this damnable air brake looking good, I'll be able to get both front and rear fuselage halves finally glued together. One more thing, the main gear wheel wells have nasty ejector pin marks all over them! You can get some off, others are in very bad places and you will wreck the wells if you try to remove them. So, either ignore them or buy replacement wells.

I also cut some of the nose off the front fuselage as I've seen done by some Tornado experten. Approximately 2mm deep on top to 1mm deep on the bottom. I have to say, the nose cone does sit better and the shape is better as well.

For an OOB experience, it's really been a pain in the ass all around. If I were to detail this beast, I would get the Paragon sets (if you can find one), the Neomega cockpit, Aires wheel wells (even though its made for Hobbyboss kit), and the Aires exhaust set, and the Aires Air Brake set. There are Eduards sets as well. These sets would solve a lot of ills of this kit. If you're thinking of forgetting this kit and going with the HobbyBoss offering, it has problems as well. It is so close to being the Italeri kit it ain't funny! So, the Aires sets would fit the Italeri kit very easily.

More to come fellas....

[Big Texan]

Finally, got that stinking right rear air brake looking right. At least better than it was! Geesh what a pain that was. Still have some tweaking to do on both, but pretty much good to go. Will finally be able to get the rear fuselage together, we'll see how that goes.

[Samurai_Chris]

Too scared to look in my box.....

[Big Texan]

Chris, it's not that bad. It is a challenge. Just piss poor design from Italeri. I have the Hobby Boss kit as well, and even though it is better engineered, it has it's problems as well. I swear, the Hobby Boss offering "ripped off" Italeri's kit. Practically goes together the same way, just way better. On the Hobby Boss kit, seems like the canopy is an issue.

This is such a great plane, I just wish somebody would do it justice. Plenty of appealing schemes from various nations from England to Saudi Arabia can be done. Armament out the wazoo for it. It truly is the other "A-10".

I'm just impatient with this kit. I want to paint, paint, paint already! The "Tonka" experts say this kit is the most accurate in shape and form. Like I said, if one really wants to detail the hell out of this kit, there are plenty aftermarket stuff for it. Unfortunately, the Paragon Design stuff is no longer available. There is an excellent cockpit by Neomega available though. I would dare say the Aires offerings for the Hobby Boss kit would more than likely fit the Italeri kit with just a little bit of effort.

So, one thing for sure. Pose the dang air brakes open and avoid some frustration!

[Samurai_Chris]

I rarely build in flight models, and always on the wheels taxiing ect, so not sure how I would be able to build with air brakes open?

[Big Texan]

Originally Posted by Samurai_Chris

I rarely build in flight models, and always on the wheels taxiing ect, so not sure how I would be able to build with air brakes open?

Hey Chris, they appear to be designed that way on this kit. Personally, I don't like it, I like the clean look on the ground. Anyway, they were a bear and a half on this kit in the closed position! Still tinker toying with the one on the right.

[Samurai_Chris]

Got any pics mate, to help me out with how bad it is?

[Big Texan]

Nope, but I will try with the wife's help to do so. Been busy with the kids getting them ready to go back to school, band practice for the daughter, and my son playing American football. Busy Busy Busy!

[scapilot]

I get PTSD just reading this thread. I ABSOLUTELY feel your pain on this one, my friend. I picked up a commision build for a guy who wanted five planes built. An F-16A, a Mirage III, and three....yes THREE of these very kits. At first I was reluctant, one of them was the Black Panther release from Italeri, and the other two were just the standard IDS kits with the yellow, white, and red striped decals. I attacked the Black Panther first, and was ready to cry on more than a few occasions. I don't understand how they honestly thought that this was a good idea. Most notably. THE WING GLOVES!!!! I chuckled reading your opinions on them, because I knew that surely everyone else out there had to feel my pain who had built this kit. I wonder sometimes how many people have chucked it in the garbage when they got to this step of the build.

I honestly thought at one point that there was no way that I was going to be able to pull it off, and salvage it. I pondered just sending the guy the money for kit, and calling it off, but I pressed forward, working with it. The intakes were no day at the park either. I finished it, and was happy to be done....only to remember that I still had two more in the closet that he was expecting. I took a break and built the F-16 after the Tornado so I could regain some sort of sanity. And then opted to do a dual build with the last two, so I wouldn't have to subject my self to any length of pain. The last two were a little easier, because I knew what to expect, but that didn't mean that it was any more fun. To top it off, he had some extremely thin aftermarket decals that were horrible to work with. I scrapped most of them, and opted to paint instead of decal. That worked out somewhat better, but in the end....I was so ready to get these kits the hell out of my life forever. I told him to please refrain from sending me any more Tornado kits in the future. lol. So he shipped a couple of F-111's, and F-16's for his next order. I can work with that.

[Big Texan]

Originally Posted by scapilot

I get PTSD just reading this thread. I ABSOLUTELY feel your pain on this one, my friend. I picked up a commision build for a guy who wanted five planes built. An F-16A, a Mirage III, and three....yes THREE of these very kits. At first I was reluctant, one of them was the Black Panther release from Italeri, and the other two were just the standard IDS kits with the yellow, white, and red striped decals. I attacked the Black Panther first, and was ready to cry on more than a few occasions. I don't understand how they honestly thought that this was a good idea. Most notably. THE WING GLOVES!!!! I chuckled reading your opinions on them, because I knew that surely everyone else out there had to feel my pain who had built this kit. I wonder sometimes how many people have chucked it in the garbage when they got to this step of the build.

I honestly thought at one point that there was no way that I was going to be able to pull it off, and salvage it. I pondered just sending the guy the money for kit, and calling it off, but I pressed forward, working with it. The intakes were no day at the park either. I finished it, and was happy to be done....only to remember that I still had two more in the closet that he was expecting. I took a break and built the F-16 after the Tornado so I could regain some sort of sanity. And then opted to do a dual build with the last two, so I wouldn't have to subject my self to any length of pain. The last two were a little easier, because I knew what to expect, but that didn't mean that it was any more fun. To top it off, he had some extremely thin aftermarket decals that were horrible to work with. I scrapped most of them, and opted to paint instead of decal. That worked out somewhat better, but in the end....I was so ready to get these kits the hell out of my life forever. I told him to please refrain from sending me any more Tornado kits in the future. lol. So he shipped a couple of F-111's, and F-16's for his next order. I can work with that.

I can't tell you how often I want to set a match to this beast! Still tinker toying on the air brake assemblies. I walk by it everyday and look at this stinker! I haven't given up on it, it's why it's still on the table! You know, I wonder how bad the Esci kit is at this point. It simply has upper and lower fuselage halves. Don't know how accurate it is, but it looks easier than the Italeri offering by far! Currently, my Daughter is in the High School band, and ma Son is playing football in a youth league. Ain't got much time for squat, but I will get this damnable plane built! Like Moby Dick, it tasks me!

[scapilot]

I only deployed the speed brakes on the very first one I did. After that, I opted to leave them shut on the second two. That was a pain. For the brakes, themselves, I found that I had to do some filing on the tabs that slot in to hold them in the open position. Open and closed, I had to make adjustments on both. Doesn't look like they did very careful engineering on those parts. But with a little reforming, they tend to set well. Little easier to mess with them in the open position, because you're not trying to accomplish the flushness that you're looking for on the closed ones, but they're still a pain either way. If you've made it to the speed brakes, and beat the wing gloves, and intakes, then it's pretty safe to assume that the hard part is over. Pretty much down hill from there. I wish they would have created a way to swing the pylons like Academy did for the F-111 swing wing design. Especially with the long drop tanks. Makes no sense to have the swing wing, if you've got to manually adjust each pylon to implement it.

[Big Texan]

Originally Posted by scapilot

I only deployed the speed brakes on the very first one I did. After that, I opted to leave them shut on the second two. That was a pain. For the brakes, themselves, I found that I had to do some filing on the tabs that slot in to hold them in the open position. Open and closed, I had to make adjustments on both. Doesn't look like they did very careful engineering on those parts. But with a little reforming, they tend to set well. Little easier to mess with them in the open position, because you're not trying to accomplish the flushness that you're looking for on the closed ones, but they're still a pain either way. If you've made it to the speed brakes, and beat the wing gloves, and intakes, then it's pretty safe to assume that the hard part is over. Pretty much down hill from there. I wish they would have created a way to swing the pylons like Academy did for the F-111 swing wing design. Especially with the long drop tanks. Makes no sense to have the swing wing, if you've got to manually adjust each pylon to implement it.

Yeah, I'm still tinker toying on the right air brake. It was the worst of the two. The wing gloves look good. Like I said, it was easier to put them on the fuselage pieces separately. Once the fuselage is glued together, they will mate up nice enough. Ya already got me worried now about the intakes!