Tornado ECR
“Tigermeet 2001/02”
 

Revell Germany
 

 HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron

Reviewed by Dave Williams

Revell A.G. has released their new-tool 1/32 scale Tornado kit as a Luftwaffe ECR version. The kit is essentially the previous Luftwaffe IDS boxing (not the RAF GR.1 boxing) with an additional sprue and different decals. As there are buildups and reviews of the previous Tornado releases available, this review will focus on the new parts.

The parts on the new ECR sprue include a pair of HARM missiles, missile rails, undernose Infra-red Linescan System (IRLS) fairing, undernose Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) fairing, new instrument panels for the pilot and backseater, and a new instrument box to go on top of the rear-seater’s instrument panel. Also included are plugs for the cannon ports as the ECR had the cannon deleted due to the installation of the IRLS. The molding quality of the new parts is consistent with the rest of the kit, although the cannon plugs each have a minor sinkmark in my sample.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The highlight of the kit is the huge (13 ¼ inches x 17 inches) decal sheet, printed by Cartograf of Italy. The majority of the sheet contains markings for ECR 46+44 of JaboG 32 in a Tiger Meet scheme.

The striking scheme shows the standard camouflage peeling back to reveal the tiger striping underneath. The decals provide the black tiger striping to go over yellow paint that must be applied by the modeler. The decal instructions are well done in that a four view of the aircraft is shown with just the yellow areas to be painted on the aircraft to clearly show the demarcation lines without decals and positioning arrows cluttering up the view. Subsequent views show how to apply the individual stripe sections in detail.

There are a number of decals in the scheme, so patience is necessary to ensure that all the sections line up correctly. Markings are provided for both the 2001 and 2002 versions of the tiger scheme, although the only difference appears to be that the German national flag on the tail is painted over with stripes on the 2002 version. Alternate markings are provided for ECR 46+38, also of JaboG 32, in standard Norm 95 camouflage.

The decals are very thin and in excellent registration. The “airbrush shading” effect on the stripe decals must be seen to be appreciated. Because of the thinness of the decals, care should be taken during application as some the stripe decals are quite large and may tear easily.

Recommended.

Sample kit courtesy of my ever dwindling bank account.

Dave Williams
IPMS/USA 19050

Review Copyright © 2003 by Dave Williams
Page Created 12 July, 2003
Last updated 09 November, 2003

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page