Profile Photo
Marcello Rosa
14 articles

Tornado GR.1 "Armoured Charmer" (Op Granby), Italeri 1:48

March 26, 2022 · in Aviation · · 11 · 1.9K

This is my recently completed "" , built pretty much out of the box. There were no aftermarket items, but I did add some details using copper wire and Evergreen strips.

I found this kit quite enjoyable. For a budget price, you get a no-frills, reasonably correctly shaped Tornado, with potential to add improvements if you wish to do so. The panel lines are recessed, the fit between parts is OK (nothing that can't be fixed with standard filler and sanding...), and there is no flash worth mentioning.

But there are some problems if you are striving for accuracy. One of these is a huge gap where the leading edge of the wing meets the wing root, which I tried to fix with filler. The result was far from perfect, but still better than the kit's original. Another is the lack of any representation of the wing root pneumatic seals, which required me to cut rectangular slots on the fuselage, and add the seals from evergreen strips. The price of doing this is that the wings are now fixed in the "parked" position. The cockpit is OK, the instruments seem to be in the right places, but of course not as good as an aftermarket would be (there is a photo of the completed cockpit, in the gallery below). The only detail added were the parachute risers on both seats. Finally, minor surgery was required to fix the angle of the fins on the drop tanks, which did not resemble the real things.

For photos of the stages of the build, feel free to visit my web site (https://www.marcellorosa.com/1-48italeritornadogr1), or send me a message.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

17 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. Great work on this Marcello , well done on the weathering.

  2. Nice job, Marcello.

  3. A great looking Tornado, Marcello @marcellorosa1
    The wingroot seals do look very nice and to me the wingroot gap is not visible from the pictures.
    The weathering is indeed beautifully done.

    • Thank you. For anyone who may be planning to build this kit, I attach here an image of what the wing root gap was, before a healthy dose of filler was used to reshape the leading edge.

      1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  4. Very nice Tornado, Marcello! Thanks for all build details!

  5. Nice looking Tonka in the pink desert camo.

  6. Some strong work Marcello, you brought out the best in this Italeri kit. The painting is sharp and crisp and the panels look great with the dirt and grime from the APU and on the wings and things. The photos are sharp and crisp and the back round compliments the model.

    There should be a medical term for modelers. Its called "Modelers Guilt" . . . would have, should have and could have done better. The after market folks know this too. Like a coin, "Modelers Guilt" can be a weakness or a strength. I prefer to think of it as a strength, you can always improve things . . . its knowing when to stop. Looks like you found the sweet spot.

    Two thumbs up.

  7. Super weathering work.

  8. Thanks all for encouragement.
    With respect to weathering: If anything I probably under-did it, given photos from the time...(photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum).
    I tell myself that my Tornado was still early in the deployment.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

  9. Looks great! I really like the Op Granby scheme (I did a Jaguar in those colors), and your weathering and paint work is very nice.

  10. Love this tornado - well done - Brilliant work.

Leave a Reply