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Great Balls of Fire! (1:72 Top Gun Trio)


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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry everyone, I just realised that I'd been forgetting to take pictures as I worked!

 

The F-14 now looks like this.  I tested a painting method on the inboard side of the wings (to make sure the paint extended into the area overlapped by the fuselage) and glued some bits together.  This kit really didn't want to have it's wheels up, but I got there in the end.  The fit of the fuselage was poor at the back and needed a fair bit of putty.  So did the vertical tails.  Masking the cockpit was fairly easy since the glass areas are much larger than what I've been building recently (WWII fighters).  I'll remember to take more photos from now on.

 

35313875461_622e8644fd_o.jpg

 

Also, these arrived!  They look to be of pretty good quality, very excited about them!  My worries about ordering from an un-known cheap brand on Ebay appear to have been un-founded.

 

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The Skyhawks are on hold for various reasons, but I might (with a bit of luck) have some progress by the end of next week.

 

 

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Hi,

Things are indeed moving along nicely.

Although I have the movie, I am long overdue to watch it again! That is why I may seriously stand to be corrected re the decals.

The fist holding the lightning should belong (In the boring real life) to VA-25, Fist of the fleet. Do you know if it is as portrayed in the movie?"

The VF-213 is quite correct, but I can't comment on the VF-1 logo... Does it look like a Wolfpack?

Whatever, with Tinsel Town license, all is possible and I am sure the end result will get several of us to our dvd cabinets!

 

Great show.

JR

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From what I've read, the VF-1 and VA-25 logos are entirely fictional and made up for the movie.  You don't see much of the VF-213 one, but the other two can be seen plenty of times in the movie (and seem to swap aircraft every now and then, too).

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  • 7 months later...

OK, it's been a long time but I'm back on this.  I spent a while without a camera and ended up not documenting the F-14 progress, suffice to say it's ready for decals (and I'll post a photo ASAP!).  As for the Skyhawks, it's taken a lot longer than anticipated but I think I'm at a stage to re-do their noses.  My chosen technique:  3D printing.

 

I've been experimenting with finishes on a 3D-printed SR-71 for a friend, and I think I'm now ready to make some noses that will look good on the Skyhawks.  I'm about half-way through modelling them up now and I know someone who can print them when they're ready.

 

Sorry for the long delay, and also the lack of photos in this post (I need to take some, and posting this will make me feel silly if I don't now go away and do it is the plan).

 

Photos soon.

 

Beggsy

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On 26.6.2017 at 11:29 AM, Beggsy said:

From what I've read, the VF-1 and VA-25 logos are entirely fictional and made up for the movie.  You don't see much of the VF-213 one, but the other two can be seen plenty of times in the movie (and seem to swap aircraft every now and then, too).

The so-called VF-1 logo is from an existing E-2 unit, i think VAW-120 could it be: LINK

And the VA-25 is also existing! Nowadays they are called VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet.

What they made up: the fact that these units fly F-14 Tomcat, this purely fictional.

Maybe the Moviemakers looked out for the coolest looking Unit Badge and so they chose these two!

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I love those decals, it's so cool to see the crew names in full. I hope the sheet is still available.

 

As sporty as the Airfix Skyhawks are, I really feel for you not realising the differences between them and the Top Gun variant until well into the build. I'm curious to see how your rhinoplasty goes!

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OK, here's a couple of photos.

 

The F-14 after receiving a couple of decals:

40236338891_061f5b9b87_b.jpg

 

And with many more:

40203357302_d8c14d4af6_b.jpg

 

Once those are done, I just need to add a wash, seal it and finish the stores (the ones in the movie appear to have missiles on the pylons, even in training.  Yikes!)

 

Finally, I built this in a day a few months ago because I wanted to get something done.

39525469274_d2957b3a69_b.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

40051036114_e6f262b6b4_b.jpg

 

Well, after a bit of struggling I think I have modelled up the part I need.  It's not perfect, but some sanding and putty will get it looking good, I think.  Time to print it!

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More F-14 progress....decals done!

 

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Just a wash and some matt varnish to go on the main airframe.  Then I'll finish off the tailhook and external stores.

 

Haven't printed the skyhawk nose yet, but the time will come.

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39924791085_c93b63ee3b_b.jpg

 

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The wash went on.  Lots of panel lines, took a while, and all just so I can take it off again. Should be worth it, though!

 

Also:

 

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Safety orange is what was in the machine, so that's what I used.  I hope the primer goes on thick!  Test fitting and clearing off of the wash after dinner.

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Progress!  This project has felt stalled for quite a while, but today has been a good one.

 

The F-14 has had the wash removed and a coat of Micro-Flat.  This was the last spray coat, so I removed the canopy masking and painted the wing and tail lights.

 

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The tailhook decal went on really nicely, and I attached that too.

 

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That's it for the main airframe of the F-14.  Still some external stores to go, but I'll let the Skyhawks catch up until I'm done moving house in a couple of weeks.  Speaking of the Skyhawks....

 

Quack quack!

 

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They may look rough now, but I've tried my hand at smoothing out 3D printed parts before and it went pretty well.  The results of that experiment are here:

 

 

Back soon with more!

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