Building The Revell 1/48 Tornado
Chapter Two
In chapter two I make a start on the build of A GR.1, showing the alternative build sequence.
The build is using The Tornado GR.4 kit as a base and starts with step 3 and 4 instructions where I drill out holes for the pylons and attach the nose undercarriage bay. Take care to clean the mating surfaces, there is a sprue attachment point that can prevent getting a good fit.
The next step in construction is steps 9, 10 and 11 where I build up the intake box. Don't forgets parts D19 and D20. Not that I don't glue parts B16 and B16 (roof of the undercarriage bay). These are not load bearing and a little bit of wiggle room is useful when attaching the undercarriage legs. The intake box traps the undercarriage bays in place.
After the intake box has been fitted I move onto stage 14 in the instructions fitting the sides of the rear fuselage. Some extensive cleanup and test fitting is required for this part of the build to get a good kit. Some superglue is also used to 'tack-weld' the parts in. Work slowing and in stages to avoid getting any steps or gaps.
Finally, I switch to the upper side of the fuselage which is step 22 in the instructions. Pay close attention, for the GR.1, you need the spine that has the two recesses on the inside of the part which help guide you in drilling holes to fit the two blade antenna.
The build is using The Tornado GR.4 kit as a base and starts with step 3 and 4 instructions where I drill out holes for the pylons and attach the nose undercarriage bay. Take care to clean the mating surfaces, there is a sprue attachment point that can prevent getting a good fit.
The next step in construction is steps 9, 10 and 11 where I build up the intake box. Don't forgets parts D19 and D20. Not that I don't glue parts B16 and B16 (roof of the undercarriage bay). These are not load bearing and a little bit of wiggle room is useful when attaching the undercarriage legs. The intake box traps the undercarriage bays in place.
After the intake box has been fitted I move onto stage 14 in the instructions fitting the sides of the rear fuselage. Some extensive cleanup and test fitting is required for this part of the build to get a good kit. Some superglue is also used to 'tack-weld' the parts in. Work slowing and in stages to avoid getting any steps or gaps.
Finally, I switch to the upper side of the fuselage which is step 22 in the instructions. Pay close attention, for the GR.1, you need the spine that has the two recesses on the inside of the part which help guide you in drilling holes to fit the two blade antenna.
Parts B39 and B40, the wing pivots should be test fitted as a pair, one of them can be fitted on the wrong side but if you test fit them first the correct placement is obvious.
If you are building the air brakes closed consider not using parts A37 and A38 (step 23) as it gives much more flexibility getting an good fit as it allows you to adjust the part from above and below. A small plastic tab will help if required.
When building the wings (step 17) fit parts B42 and B43, as they are needed to attach the pylons. I don’t use part F45 as PVA glue can be used later on in the build. I don’t use part D44 either (step 18) as it can make getting a good fit more difficult. Don’t forget to deal with ant ejector pin marks before reaching for the glue
I made a bit of an error cutting the wings from the sprue, but that was easily fixed with some plasticard. I think the result of my happy accident is neater than the rather vaguely moulded kit parts. This does not apply to a build with the flaps deployed. I also tired cutting the wings so they could be attached at the end of the build...it could be done but shouldn't. Cutting the wing to enable it to be slip in at the end the build makes the wing to fuselage join very weak so I rebuilt the cog part of the wind and proceeded with the build.
If you are building the air brakes closed consider not using parts A37 and A38 (step 23) as it gives much more flexibility getting an good fit as it allows you to adjust the part from above and below. A small plastic tab will help if required.
When building the wings (step 17) fit parts B42 and B43, as they are needed to attach the pylons. I don’t use part F45 as PVA glue can be used later on in the build. I don’t use part D44 either (step 18) as it can make getting a good fit more difficult. Don’t forget to deal with ant ejector pin marks before reaching for the glue
I made a bit of an error cutting the wings from the sprue, but that was easily fixed with some plasticard. I think the result of my happy accident is neater than the rather vaguely moulded kit parts. This does not apply to a build with the flaps deployed. I also tired cutting the wings so they could be attached at the end of the build...it could be done but shouldn't. Cutting the wing to enable it to be slip in at the end the build makes the wing to fuselage join very weak so I rebuilt the cog part of the wind and proceeded with the build.