Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/72 Air Power Series HA6705 Tornado IDS MM7071, 6-35, 6 Stormo 102 Gruppo, Italian Air Force, April 2001

True 1/72 scale. Professionally painted. Great attention to detail. All markings are Tampoed (pad applied). Option to display the model on a stand that is provided. Model can be shown with the landing gear in the down or up positions. Loads of optional armament provided. Canopy can be displayed open or closed. Pilot figures included. Extremely heavy metal with a minimum of plastic. Highly collectable.

The Panavia Tornado was a joint effort between the UK, West Germany and Italy to produce a two-seat, dual-engine aircraft with variable-sweep wings. The Tornado took its maiden flight on August 14, 1974 with the first aircraft being delivered to the German Air Force on July 27, 1979. There are three main variants of the Tornado, the IDS (interdictor/strike), ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and ADV (air defense variant) interceptor. By the end of production in 1998 there had been 992 aircraft of all versions built of which 745 were IDS variants.

In 1993 6 Stormo moved to Ghedi AB and is comprised of Stormo 102,154 and 156. In 1992 the Tri-National Tornado Training Establishment “TTTE” was de-activated and 102 Gruppo “Papero Incazzato” “The Angry Ducks” was assigned the role of Operational Conversion Unit, aka the flight school for Tornado crews. 154 and 156 Stormo are the operational squadrons. Originally assigned to 154 Stormo and then 102 Stormo the aircraft eventually returned to 154 Stormo with a Mid-Life Upgrade and over the years Tornado MM7071 has been assigned several numbers, 6-42, 6-35 and 6-12.

General specifications for the Panavia Tornado IDS Country of origin - Italy, UK, West Germany Service entry date - 1979 Crew - 2 Dimensions Length - 17.72 m (58.1 ft) Wingspan - 13.92 m (45.7 ft) expanded 8.6m swept (28.2 ft) Height - 5.95m (19.5 ft)

Weight Empty - 13.8 t (30,423 lb) Maximum take off - 27.9 t (61,508.9 lb)

Performance Powerplant 2 X Turbo-Union RB.199 Mk. 103 turbofans Producing dry with afterburners 2 X 38.48 / 71.50 kN Maximum speed - 2,236 km/h (1,389 mph) Service ceiling - 15.2 km (49,868.77 ft) Range - 1,390 km (863.7 miles) Ferry range with drop tanks - 3,900 (2,423.3) - 4,300 km (2,671.9 miles)

Armament Cannon - 2 X 27 mm IWKA-Mauser Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles Brimstone anti-tank guided missiles 454 kg free-fall bombs CPU-123/B Paveway II GBU-28 Paveway III laser-guided bombs