Italeri

1/48 Tornado IDS with "Black Panther" Special Color

Kit Number: 2668

Reviewed by  Steven Brooks, IPMS# 45582

MSRP: $36.00 Kit supplied by MRC/Academy: www.modelrec.com This is the first time, after finishing a review, that I was impressed enough to go out and actually buy another kit. I could see a real Tornado fan buying four of them, just to build all the options offered by the huge collection of decals. Those options are: Aeronautica Militare Italiana 50 Stromo, 155 Gruppo, San Damiano, Piacenza, Italy 2007. Royal Air Force, No. 9 Squadron, Bruggen, Germany 1985. Royal Air Force, No.31 Squadron, Bruggen, Germany 1991. Luftwaffe, Jagdbomber Geschwader 33, Buchel, Germany 2007. I chose to build the Italian "Black Panther" Tornado from the 146 light gray styrene and 10 clear parts. After deciding on which aircraft to build, you will be faced with more choices. The canopy and speed brakes can be built open or closed, the refueling probe can be added in either extended or retracted positions, and the wings and horizontal stabilizers are positional. The position of the weapons stores are designed to be movable depending on the position of the swept wings. The wings bring up a multitude of problems. The first is something referred to as "Rivet Hot" in the instructions. "Rivet Hot" is sliding a pin on one part thru a hole in another part and melting the protruding pin with a hot knife or soldering iron. I failed miserably at this particular skill. "Rivet Hot" is first used to hold a pivot linkage between the two wings to allow them to sweep in unison. It is also used to join the horizontal stabilizers to each other, and again to hold the weapons stores in place. This allows them to pivot when the wings are swept. The weapons stores are held in place with a single pin and are very wobbly. The next problem with the wings comes when they are in the forward sweep position…there is a large gap visible where the inflatable fuselage seals would normally be. I overcame all these problems by modeling the aircraft with the wings in the fully swept position and gluing the weapons stores in place. The only other problem I had with this build was attaching the intakes to the main fuselage. They are designed to overlap, and this leaves a large seam over both intakes. It took a lot of filling and sanding to bring it around, but it can be fixed. The decals included with this model are very crisp and clearly printed, and there are a lot of them. The most challenging were the large panther head and claws. These are about 2 1/2 inches long and will require care and patience to get the alignment correct. With a little Microsol, they settle into the surface detail very nicely. I really enjoyed building this model and would strongly recommend it. I would like to thank MRC/Academy and IPMS for the opportunity to review this kit.

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