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Well those new masters of the improved bombcat parts have cast very well.

So I am willing to offer these free of charge (just cover p&p) to any tomcat fanatic or people that have helped me with these builds in this thread eg parabat, Andrew etc.

To offer i have some bombcat parts: lantirn with its pylon, and a pair each of the lau -138 rails and bomb racks. See top of the page some more details. I will get some painted up over the weekend to show them off better and how I have improved them.

I also have a couple parts to suit upgrading hobbyboss tomcats in general (saw a lad scratching ventral fins with NACA vents in another thread) pm me with what you're after and we'll go from there

Top man, that's extremely kind of you.

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Another update between playing with silicone and resins..

Some pics of the stock cockpit OOB (less seat belts) before the canopy goes on in the closed position.

Also note the triangular 'wedge rail' part that the canopy strut emerges from (hasegawa resin part) which i added. Easier to glue to canopy shelf so aligned properly than to the the rear cockpit deck behind RIO's seat.

Also the all the probes on nose sides been added and painted and the pitot too, but its too big so the base of it needs to be airframe color as looked odd all silver.

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Incredible work so far. Very nice of you to offer the members here your updates. I would be interested in an update for the Academy 1/72 F-14A that I have. I was going to use some parts from the Italeri "Bombcat" and the decals as well. But if you have more accurate and detailed parts so much the better...

... nevermind also being able to follow the thread for instructions! What a boon!

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It all depends on what specific plane your after I suppose.

Cant comment on the italeri bombcat parts as not seen them... Mine are based off of the original hobbyboss bits or from the hasegawa wpns sets.

In terms of the upgrades I have i've not tested any of the parts on an academy kit, I have one in the stash and can confirm it has naca vents in the ventral fins so you wont need those. The rest should be fine as it all just attaches to the pylons.

One thing you will need are main wheels with the later hubs as the academy kit only has the early star/pressed steel looking type, as opposed to the later cast multispoke one you're gonna need which they most probably all had by the time it became the 'bombcat' (same problem with the 1/48th academy bombcat BTW ) so its a good job I have mastered (assembled, seam removed, treads scribed and then flat spotted) one set of late wheels for my hobbyboss fleet which you could have for your academy 'bombcat' 👍🏻

Edited by Tony Oliver
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Well those new masters of the improved bombcat parts have cast very well.

So I am willing to offer these free of charge (just cover p&p) to any tomcat fanatic or people that have helped me with these builds in this thread eg parabat, Andrew etc.

To offer i have some bombcat parts: lantirn with its pylon, and a pair each of the lau -138 rails and bomb racks. See top of the page some more details. I will get some painted up over the weekend to show them off better and how I have improved them.

I also have a couple parts to suit upgrading hobbyboss tomcats in general (saw a lad scratching ventral fins with NACA vents in another thread) pm me with what you're after and we'll go from there

Very kind of you Tony, thanks very much for the generous offer.

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Well here is one of the lau 138's that i cast.

The molds were done in a vacuum chamber to make sure there are no bubbles in the silicone and to get the best from the master. But to make the parts when casting I just puddle pour the long pot life resin into them cause these are a nice simple vertical shape. Some prodding with a toothpick till no more bubbles rise then leave to set. 

 

Its a 'second' as has a crease in the coolant storage dome on the front. So didnt bother trimming off the extension stub. Took it out too soon i think. 

 

Anyway put some primer and then an enamel wash to show the detail. Quite pleased. 

 

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Edited by Tony Oliver
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1 hour ago, Robert said:

That post shading looks really good. Which squadron is this one going to be in?

I will be interested in those BOL rails.

Robert

 

 

Hi pal, this one is plane 6 build wise from the list on the first page of this thread. 

 

But I'm gonna go with the vf213 markings that were destined for plane 5. Mainly because there are so many of the cag vf2's f-14d's with the langley stripes already around in all scales on the web. So build 5 hasn't got any markings again ha ha. 

 

I still need to ammend the 1st post  reference the details of the builds as now have some different decals and gonna have a reshuffle. For example the vf84 option (planned build 3) is being binned because every other tomcat model on the web has the skull and cross bones on the tails. I'm not saying they're not cool, I just want to do something different... 

 

PM me reference the rails pal. 

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Hi, I emailed Windsor and Newton about Galeria range of Varnishes  and their suitability in airbrushes a couple of weeks ago when we were chatting about it. Just got a reply..bit late and I know you like using it but just for info...

 

Thank you for your interest in Winsor & Newton.

 
I would not recommend any of the Galeria or Artist acrylic varnishes for airbrushing. You would need to thin the varnishes down and this will undermine the integrity of the final film. It could remain sticky and cause drying issues.
 
Kind regards,

 

 

Edited by bzn20
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49 minutes ago, bzn20 said:

Hi, I emailed Windsor and Newton about Galeria range of Varnishes  and their suitability in airbrushes a couple of weeks ago when we were chatting about it. Just got a reply..bit late and I know you like using it but just for info...

 

Thank you for your interest in Winsor & Newton.

 
I would not recommend any of the Galeria or Artist acrylic varnishes for airbrushing. You would need to thin the varnishes down and this will undermine the integrity of the final film. It could remain sticky and cause drying issues.
 
Kind regards,

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing this info mate, 

 

I sprayed the varnish unthinned so no dramas there then. Plus seems to been fine, if somewhat fragile. 

 

And I had no plans to use their normal colours anyway, but anyone who perhaps was now has the gen from the manufacturers themselves 👍🏻

 

 

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Well here are some of the 'lesser seen' decals I was on about earlier, vf14 80th anni. Quite colourful, has red wingtips too. Late A model so will suit the backdated B build. 

 

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also got hold of these for a few pence - airfix tomcat sheet.  

Only for the bottom part with the missile data/live yellow & brown bands mind, as you only get the dark blue bands with the hobbyboss kits. Another bonus Is the airfix sheet has Aim-54C stencils on it too instead of only the Aim-54A that the hobbyboss decals have which doesn't really work for any plane depicted later than 1987 (when the C pheonix came out from what I read). 

 

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Edited by Tony Oliver
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Glad to see these progressing, you're doing a great job !

Also like the parts you've been casting, they look very good with no bubbles or other flaws. I've been doing this kind of things myself for a while and I know well how much trouble goes into perfecting the technique

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So, for build 5, being devoid of markings yet again, needs planning. To avoid the more frequently seen paintjobs as I don't want to use the already popular style vf2 version, I have the choice of some different/rarer vf2 schemes from hasegawa kits, 

 

1st a TPS from 1995, with the older style NE stripes in red/white/blue with yellow outline and yellow fin caps. 

 

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2nd a TPS from 1998, which is an early version of what I was going to do, without the nose langley stripes and colour ventral fins. That is what seems to be the most familiar/popular vf2 scheme (as comes in the hobbyboss kits) compared to this one just having the red/white/blue on tails with yellow tips, the rest being in low viz. Its not the same plane though as the 2003 scheme, as it has a diff BuNo. Found a real pic of this plane with a dual 138 rail set up on the port glove pylon which is interesting. 

 

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3rd is the 25th vf2 anni scheme, A nice colorfull retro gull/white scheme with blue rudders and fins with yellow tips. Also has some mismatched areas/reaprayed panels and different colour pylons when looking at pics of the real plane on the web. 

 

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So which one would you guys like to see???

 

 

 

 

Edited by Tony Oliver
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So some instrument panel/coaming problems and solutions. 

 

On the first 'D' build OOB i had to reduce the height of the hud by half to get it to fit in the space between the coaming and windshield. I think its down to scale thickness. 

 

So on the next couple builds i have found some solutions. First the B. The coaming sat too proud and there was an air gap between the top of the IP and the coaming.  So I trimmed the coaming around its bottom edge so its not so tall. So now it fits fine around the instrument panel, there is room for the hud and the pilot has more realistic forward vision. Note bits trimmed off from coaming - Side cutters then sanded smooth. Also front corners of tub need trimming. (Mentioned on first build) 

 

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Edited by Tony Oliver
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And the 'B' (build 2 as detailed in post #1) as she stands now. Some satin (scale gloss) put back on the black areas after the galleria matt. 

 

Ordinance/Undercarriage/exhaust being done this weekend. Small details (nav lights etc) need doing still too. 

 

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On my build, I noticed on dry-fitting the cockpit with the ejection seats installed, they sit too low in the cockpit. Are you facing a similar issue?

 

I'm looking forward to the weathering on your builds. Your preshading and highlighting looks very promising!

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2 hours ago, alxzinbox said:

On my build, I noticed on dry-fitting the cockpit with the ejection seats installed, they sit too low in the cockpit. Are you facing a similar issue?

 

I'm looking forward to the weathering on your builds. Your preshading and highlighting looks very promising!

 

 

Yes alex I noticed too that the seats sit low, was going to show the comparison between two builds at some point in the future...

 

On my first completed plane (build 4, vf31) I have just left them low as it was an 'out of the box' example so to speak.  👍🏻

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So a bit of a rewind, build 6 is being painted but here are some shots of the canopy before it was masked up. This was dipped with ak gauzy glass coat. Its very clear but quite thick when on, and if you catch and edge you can then peel the whole thing off like a layer of skin/cling film. (Dont ask how I know) 

So I am a bit apprehensive when it comes to masking tape removal later on after the decals/flat coat on this one. 

 

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And then some showing the coaming in place over the trimmed IP (small rectangular top bit removed) allowing room for the hud, which is etch from the dream model set (films still to be added as masked windshield only tacked on)

This is the opposite to the 'B' (build 2) where the IP was untouched but the coaming trimmed.

 

 

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'B' (build 2) IP (no HUD yet) with green screens & coaming for comparison to the 'D' (build 6) Note rectangular bit trimmed of at the top of IP as mentioned above. 

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Back to the D (6)

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And then with the painted screen from 2 borrowed to 'look in' from the outside to see the clearance around everything. 

 

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Edited by Tony Oliver
Spacing of pics.
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