For those who wish to build a first class model of the Tornado, Eduard has some items that will make the interior of the Tornado come alive with detail and color. Eduard is offering an excellent set of photo etched parts to replace some of the molded cockpit detail found in the Hobby Boss Tornado kit, and the Eduard parts are “self-adhesive”. It is necessary to remove the molded detail on the instrument panel and side consoles of the Hobby Boss parts. While doing so goes against the grain for most modelers, rest assured that the appearance of the cockpit will be improved once the Eduard parts are installed.
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First: Extreme thanks to FineMolds for having dared to finally provide an injection molded kit of this famous weapon. If you have never built a FineMolds model, please understand that they are one of the top-notch short-run companies out there. The first FineMolds model I built was their all-resin and metal “Tony” kit, back in 1992; it heralded in all-resin kits for me, fit great, and cost (at the time) about $100. A very “Princely” price, but it lasted for 15 years after I built it. Not bad for a model to survive three military moves with the lowest-bidder moving companies… Enough talk, on to the “Okha”!
The kit consists of over 400 parts on 15 sprues (7 containing individual track links), 1 upper hull, 1 small photo-etched fret, and 1 sprue of clear parts. The instructions are the exploded view type, with part numbers and sprue letters called out, consisting of 15 assembly steps on a single, multi-fold sheet. Painting details are shown throughout.
The Parts:
Quickboost is releasing products similar to this item for an ever-widening range of aircraft, and each of these products that I’ve seen lives up to the high standards of quality for which Quickboost is known. Included in this offering are four individual prop blades, two prop hubs into which the blades are fitted, and two spinners. Of course, also included is the “tool”, which is a solid block of resin with a specially designed layout that holds the prop blades and hubs in correct alignment for assembly.
Assembly:
Assembly is straightforward and can be accomplished after painting. That makes life easier for the builder. One simply places a “hub” in the receiving bay within the “tool”, places a prop on the “tool”, and glues it into the hub. No fuss, no muss, and perfect alignment every time!
Conclusion:
The Ship
When the Japanese destroyers of the Fubuki class first appeared in 1928, they took the rest of the world’s sea powers completely by surprise, and their combination of large size, high speed and heavy firepower set the standard for other navies to follow for the next decade. Commissioned in 1930, HIJMS Ayanami was the lead ship of an improved Fubuki “Special Type” with its main armament of six 5” guns capable of 75º of elevation, in theory making her the first warship in the world with main guns capable of taking on surface vessels and aircraft. However, her fire control was inadequate to the anti-aircraft task, and these weapons were never effective in that role.