Revell Tornado GR. MK.1 RAF (Limited Edition) 1:32

Another perspective

Review by James Vaitkevicius

Box and contents

One of my favourite aircraft of all time is the Panavia Tornado GR series. An icon of the last 30 years in the RAF, the aircraft has proven to a venerable asset to utilise and is capable of the delivery of a number of weapons from its hardpoints. Although the aircraft is in the twilight of its career, the airframe is still being used in Herrick Operations in Afghanistan and will be until the RAF withdraw in 2015. The aircraft has served a large number of squadrons through the time the RAF have had the GR1/4 in service, sadly these are slowly being withdrawn and at the time of writing this review, five active squadrons are still flying the GR4 variant.

In late 2013 the news of the re-release of the RAF variant of this kit set the comments running on a number of internet forums. Since the original kit had long since disappeared from the shops and the prices for the re-sale of the kit sometimes were reaching a silly price on e-bay, it made a welcome return with only a limited number of these kits being released. I am sure that there will be a number of these kits popping up on the IPMS Display circuit in the next year.

So what’s inside…?

On opening the box it is pretty apparent that this model (not surprisingly) contains a lot of parts, with detail included for parts like the radar/radome assembly, detailed undercarriage and cockpit, and weapons. This includes the much sought after Skyshadow Pod and 2250 litre “Hindenburger” tanks. Paveway Mk. 2 are also included in the kit to fit in line with the standard RAF fit out in the 1990’s. In total there are seven grey runners and two clear runners included.

The instructions are in the usual Revell standard format with 82 stage sequence to follow inclusive of the decal application.

Cockpit

The cockpit looks busy enough with two Martin Baker Mk 10 Ejection Seats and includes a separate instrument and side panels. The moulded raised detail is ok and once you paint and weather these they should be acceptable. Decals are included for the Multi Function Displays (MFD’s) although these always look toy like in this scale and I would usually opt to display the model in an idle mode. There is more detail in the real aircraft and so you have some scope to add plenty of smaller items yourself.

The seats have a moulded harness but do not really look convincing and could benefit from an aftermarket seat being used. Due to the vast space that the open canopy yields, I would recommend these to be replaced, the aftermarket companies have plenty of these seats available. Another feature that will require work is the canopy as this is cast with a seam line being integrated with the detonation cord in the middle of the canopy.

Other areas

A vast array of weapons is included within the build, catering more for the European Standard including the German air to air refuelling system, jamming pod and “Snakeeye” free fall bombs; the kit also includes GBU2 Paveway bombs and 1000lb retarded bombs, which were in use at the time of this kit’s original release. It does lack the latest weapon technology which is integrated for the GR4 but this can be found in the most recent Eurofighter Typhoon kit or through the aftermarket companies.

Undercarriage sprues

The undercarriage legs look fine and they have reasonable detail and benefit from moulded hydraulic lines. A raised lip to the wheel hubs always helps painting and these are included. Depending on the aftermarket parts you are intending to add, the builder might want to buy the SAC (Scale Aircraft Conversions) white metal undercarriage set to give strength to the model, but if you are building out of the box the kit offering should be fine.

Decals

Three schemes are included within the build focused around the early 1990’s to represent the GR1 era.
• 31 Squadron (ZG791) – 80th Anniversary Tail Scheme – RAF Bruggen (1995)
• 617 Squadron (ZA462) – RAF Lossiemouth (1992)
• ‘Mig Eater’ – RAF Tornado Detachment (ZA447), Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Storm (1991)

These decals are a re-release of the original kit, but have been re-printed by Cartograf and look to be perfectly registered and glossy in appearance.

Clear parts

The clear parts look clear, very clear in fact with no defects apparent.

Summary

A welcome return which I am sure will sell out quickly. There is plenty of detail and weapons are aplenty and the model will appeal to the novice as well as the more experienced as detail can be added to areas should they be required. At the RRP of £49.99 the kit also is reasonably priced to build a good quality model out of the box. I am sure this will be a popular build. Be sure to look out in the future for this build with a few twists in the process including a few extra resin parts and a different scheme!

James V.