Panavia Tornado ECR - JaBoG 32/Einsatzgeschwader 1
Komentarzy
Mid FranconianVery nice Tornado. I especially like the spot-on weathering and colors. How were the Hahen-Decals?
MariusThank you guys so much.
So I used a mix of decals from 3-4 different decal sheets. The Walkways and some stencils are actually from the Revell Kit.
So my opinion about the Hahen decals:
Pros:
1. they are very well documented; they seem to be designed by someone which has a passion for the subject; I particuarly love the ones for the German Navy (Tornados)
2. they seem complete with respect to stencils, walkways, etc; the sizing is also very good, they fit perfectly to the Revell kit.
3. they are by far the best decal sheets for German Tornados with respect to the points above
4. Mr. Harald Hensel is a nice and friendly person and I contacted him several times for extra requests (extra decals with insignia, etc).
Cons:
1.they need to be individually cut out from the decal sheet, which especially for the walkways is a nightmare. Only once I used the Walkways from his decal sheets for the unique German Navy Tornados and in combination with the next two points below, I wasn't very satisfied with the end result.
2. in my opinion, the decal film is very glossy and it shines sometimes even through a matt varnish, if the varnish isn't good enough
3. in my view the biggest downside of them: the decal film is too thick and tends to cripple at the edges, so any distorsion during cutting will create a permanent crippling of the film and create later massive silvering no decal solution can help you with; even if you manage to avoid decal silvering, you will still see those decal edges, which is so annoying and impossible to get rid of. I think in 1:48 this is less of a drama, but for 1:72 it can be horrible in some cases. This last point is the main reason I am not aure if to further recommend them for 1:72 or not. Depends on the expectations.
So I have mixed feelings about these decals. I still ordered some new Hahen decals for a German ISAF Tornado (Afghanitan missions) and I will use them once more, but I know their limitations at least.
Murad ÖZERmonopiece carrier film is always a problem especially when trimming the individual pieces.
using a scissor is a no no.
relatively safer way is using a fresh blade BUT cutting the pieces from the back of the sheet, not from the front.
which itself can be a problematic for you'll need a powerful enough light source yet not hot (?!) so you can see what the hell you are cutting without baking or warping the prints - given the paper is translucent enough that is. otherwise yeah the edges are most likely gonna curl up... 🙁
still, the build looks absolutely lovely. 😎 them luftwaffe tornadoes are always pretty to look at. also another pet peeve of mine is the attention to operational loadout combos in scale model aircraft, another 👍 there.
MariusThabk you guys!
Yeah, monopiece carrier film for decals are annoying. My main issue in this case is rather the higher film thickness which makes the cutting more complicated.
Mid Franconian@ Marius: many thanks for your reply!! The issues with decals aside: the Tornado looks great!
Album info
A Panavia Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance) originally part of the JaboG 32 (Jagdbombergeschwader 32) from Lechfeld, close to Augsburg in Bavaria.
This particular machine was part of the Einsatzgeschwader 1 (EG1), which was a specially formed unit between 1995 and 2001 from elements of JaBoG 32 together with elementss of the AG51 (Aufklärungsgeschwader 51) during the NATO missions in the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts.
In the night of the 24th towards the 25th March 1999 the German Air Force conducted their first actual combat mission (here SEAD) since World War II had ended.
The Einsatzgeschwader 1 has fired a total of 236 AGM-88 HARM missiles against SAMs, being essential for the protection of allied aicraft, which were prohibited to fly over enemy territory without prior SEAD protection. No allied aircraft was succesfully shot down by SAMs while under the protective SEAD umbrella of the German Tornados.
In 2008 the first German female combat pilot, Ulrike Flender, joined the JaBoG 32.
In 2011, the Ministry of Defense decided to further reduce the armed forces which impacted the JaBoG 32. As a result, the JaboG 32 has ceased to exist in 2013, with personnel and hardware joining the first squadrion of AG 51 (Aufklärungsgeschwader 51)
P.S.:Much later I noticed that the Tornados part of Einsatzgeschwader 1 have had reflecting stripes in a "V"-shape attached to the side of the engine intakes and another vertical one on the rudder, whichmy model doesn't have.
