COBI Panavia Tornado GR.1 Set 5852

COBI's Panavia Tornado GR.1 is a 1:48 model built from 520 blocks, 36 cm long, in RAF colours with a camouflage scheme referencing Second World War RAF aircraft. The wings sweep, the ailerons and wheels move, the cockpit opens for two full-size figures, and the landing gear detaches for the included display stand. All markings are printed; no stickers.

Sixty metres, at night, in cloud, automatically

The Tornado was built for one job above all: to cross a defended border below the radar, at night, in any weather, and put a bomb on something.

That requires flying very low very fast, and no human can do it in the dark. The Tornado's terrain-following radar looked ahead, built a profile of the ground, and flew the aircraft over it — hands off, at around 60 metres and close to the speed of sound, following hills and valleys while the crew watched the instruments.

Trusting that system took a particular kind of nerve. Crews described the sensation of sitting still while the ground came at them in the dark, with nothing to do but let the aircraft work.

The swing wings served the same purpose: spread for take-off from a short or damaged runway, swept right back for the low-level dash, where a straight wing would have made the ride unbearable and the airframe short-lived.

Service

The GR.1 entered RAF service in the early 1980s and the type flew in the Gulf War, over Kosovo, in Iraq, and against ISIS in Iraq and Syria before retiring in 2019. It was replaced by the Typhoon and the F-35.

In the COBI range

Set 5853 is the German Luftwaffe's Tornado IDS at the same scale.

Specifications

Pieces: 520 · Figures: 2 · Scale: 1:48 · Swing wings · No stickers
Model dimensions: 36 × 28 × 13 cm (14.1 × 11.0 × 5.1 in)