Canadian interceptor

[Kerick]

The seats are assembled and installed! What a pain! Some of the etched parts were so tiny I left them off and no one will notice. The larger parts do look good now that they are in place. If I had looked more closely when assembling the fuselage I would have made more effort to box in the cockpit better. There are some gapping holes behind each seat and along the sides. Oh well, too late now. I still have to scratch up the rest of the refueling probe. Progress.

[Old Wombat]

And progress is good! 

[Kerick]

Well, I almost screwed up. I swiped the retracted air to air refueling probe from the Revell GR.4 kit. It comes with the retracted and deployed probes so I felt I could borrow the retracted one. I was looking up photos of the set up assuming the GR and F series were the same. Not so! The F series probe in the retracted position is flush with the surface on the opposite side of the fuselage. So I had to cut away the stolen part and sand it off. I was about to try and recreate the extended pipe and fitting where it entered the fuselage. I’m glad I didn’t waste any more time on that or start painting it!
But the cockpit is done with the last of the paint applied. Now it’s masking the canopy time and stick it on so Air Superiority Blue can begin.

[Claymore]

Great build - having served through the Tornado F3 years, I always thought that it (and the standard GR Tornado) would have looked better if stretched somewhat. 

[Kerick]

I agree. That nose on the GRs is pretty pugnacious. That and the fact that stretching for the F.3 actually made it faster. So I wonder if this stretch would make it faster still?

[apophenia]

Sounds highly promising! Looking forward to seeing that Air Superiority Blue application under way 

[Kerick]

Here's the cockpit with the seats installed. The area around the cockpit has been painted black. The air to air refueling probe has been removed and saved for the future. I finally figured out the F.3 probe is flush with the fuselage and on the other side. I'll install the canopy next.

[Buzzbomb]

Oh very neat work 

[apophenia]

Indeed. Those seats look spectacular!

And good catch on the F3's refuelling probe 

[Kerick]

Thank you!
The Brassin seats are very nice and look very good just painted. The etch is over the top with tiny parts you’ll never see.
I suppose I could have included something in the backstory about the F.4 being made from unused GR airframes with a whole new nose and super stretched fuselage. That could have explained the probe. Now if I had really planned ahead properly I could have lengthened the wings like the F-111B. A little too late for that now.
Hopefully primer on the main frame tonight. It’s been a fairly busy day.

[Kerick]

Primer has been applied! Major accomplishment!
It will need a little sanding. Looks like orange peel right now. Tomorrow will be a busy day. Dr appointment in the morning and Veterans Day appointment at my niece’s children’s school. I put the old uniform on and sit in on the program they have with a bunch of other vets. A few moms and dads plus us old farts. The kids really like it.

[Claymore]

The build is looking spectacular.  Hope the Veterans Day event goes well!