Canadian interceptor

[Kerick]

Well, I’m jumping in with an idea I had a few years ago. Take a Tornado F3 and extend the fuselage a little more for more fuel and add the best missiles around. Have it flying missions over the great white north instead of the short legged F-18. Tough decision will be to use the ADC grey of the retired F-101 or the three tone F-18. Or get crazy and do the F-15 Air Superiority Blue.

[GTX_Admin]

So something conceptually similar to the Tornado 2000 proposal though without the faceting:

[apophenia]

I like it! But here's a bit of RW background ...

On the road to transform the AFVG into MRCA, Canada became a programme partner. We called our bit CAMRA - the Canadian Advanced Multi-Role Aircraft - with Canadair assigning the type number CL-236. But the incoming PM, Pierre Trudeau, wanted out of Canada's NATO nuclear strike role and cancelled CAMRA on 22 Oct 1968.

WHIF: So, Canada never cancels CAMRA or pulls out of what becomes MRCA. Instead, Canadair modifies the MRCA airframe into a pure interceptor. Hey presto, stretched Tornado toting missiles over the Arctic Archipelago! Nice 

... Tough decision will be to use the ADC grey of the retired F-101 or the three tone F-18. Or get crazy and do the F-15 Air Superiority Blue.

If we get a vote, I put my 'x' beside ASB. IIUC, the 2- and 3-tone grey schemes were created to match mulit-role duties. By contrast, ASB was created for the F-15A when it was still seen as a pure interceptor.

[Kerick]

I love that drawing. I'll probably stretch a little more to make the difference more noticeable.
Here's the preliminary photos.



Decals are from Leading Edge and perhaps Promodeler.





I've got some Hindenburg fuel tanks I cast a long time ago. Now I have to find them again.

[apophenia]

Leading Edge do good stuff 

Your CAF beastie will be doing some serious fuel carting - 900 litres internal plus another 4,500 in your 'Hindenburgers'! AFAIK, RAF GR1s were also cleared to carry the standard underbelly pair of 1,500 litre tanks as well (although, aside from prototypes, the F3s never carried them).

I really like the conformal belly tank concept for the Tornado 2000 as well - much less draggy than the paired underbelly tanks. IIRC, the 2,250 litre tanks kept the Tornado F3 firmly subsonic. But, apparently, at high subsonic speeds, they produce very little drag. Sounds ideal for a very long-range interceptor 

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"One day in your life; Shouldn't cause you pain" - 54-40

[Kerick]

I’ve never heard of a pilot that would turn down having more gas on board! The Hindenburg tanks should carry enough fuel and still allow high speed. The ventral tanks would block carrying Skyflash or AMRAAM missiles so I won’t be using them. So it will be a loadout of four Sidewinders, four AMRAAM and two Hindenburg, so far. If another idea pops up we’ll just where that takes me. The fuselage extensions will also have more fuel. Lots of airspace to cover over all that tundra.

I’m working on getting the top and bottom fuselage sections to line up correctly in the cockpit area. I’ve glued tabs to the upper half to get the bottom half to spread out and line up better. Much less putty involved this way. The basics of the cockpit are installed and the first cut to the fuselage will be right behind the cockpit.

[apophenia]

I’ve never heard of a pilot that would turn down having more gas on board! ...

True dat! Especially with nothing but tundra beneath you for a few hundred kilometres in either direction 

[Kerick]

I cut the rear fuselage at the panel line just behind the wings. I also cut a slice from a different kit of a Tornado in the same area. This will lengthen the rear half by about 7mm. This is in the top half of the kit. Now I have cut the bottom half and splice in something the same length. It will be about the same for the front fuselage where the cut will be behind the cockpit.

[Kerick]

Here's a couple of pics to show I'm actually doing something for a group build. There has been an awful lot of razor sawing going on. Dust is piling up on everything. About half the glueing is done too. I have to put together the wings to continue the reassembly. While I was checking out the Revell GR1 I noticed it had a retracted as well as extended inflight refueling probes. I'm going to have to steal one of them for this build and use the other as intended by Revell. Extended or retracted remains to be seen. Now we'll see how long it takes someone to make a rude physiological comment.   



This weapon system comes with its own warhead! The instructions said 10 grams and this was 10 grams. It fit perfectly too.



The cockpit is pretty nice. I extended the side consols forward. I found a very fine tip pen that uses ink. I guess my hand is a little shaky.





Lots of cutting and splicing. I cut the bottom at an angle so as not to mess with either missile stations. I also picked up the Finemolds Japanese missile set. One pair of the Japanese home made missiles will go on the Starviggen and the AMRAAMs will go here. Next will see putty and more dust flying around.
If I had two of the same kit this would have been easier. I could make one long F3 and one shorty F1.5.

[apophenia]

This weapon system comes with its own warhead! The instructions said 10 grams and this was 10 grams. It fit perfectly too.

Without getting into "rude physiological comment{s}", what was that nose-weight thingie? [Ah, a bullet of some sort!]

Lots of cutting and splicing...

I'll say! Such hackery and slashery is not for the faint of heart! 

... I guess my hand is a little shaky.

Obligatory Canadian Music Lyrics Reference =
"He said, 'Bring on a brand new renaissance; Because I think I'm ready;
When I was shaking all night long; But my hands were steady'"
 - The Tragically Hip ('Three Pistols')

[Kerick]

Here's a couple of up to date pics as of last night. We've been running around lately taking care of my wife and I's doctor appointments and stuff for my mom's estate. Very time consuming.





I may have glued the cockpit together a little too soon. I should have added the instrument panels. I think I can still do it from the "outside" without any problems. I filled some of the gaps with CA glue and baking soda combo which will leave a lot less putty work. It's really nice weather so I'll try to do some of the sanding outside. Next time I use a bullet for nose weight I'll stuff a piece of foam in just before I close it up. It still rattles a little.

[apophenia]

Dang! That stretch is looking great 

Hope the instrument panel cooperates and slides in easily from the outside 

[Kerick]

Lots of putty has been applied. I’ll see what’s up tomorrow.

[Old Wombat]

Looks like the Italeri 1/72 & 1/48 Tonkas break down into a very similar parts set (not identical, though).

Interesting watching this & my semi-Tonka coming together at the same time.