daryl_five_zero

Sorry, Werner; I've only just seen your comment! Thanks for the kind words. At this point in the operation, the 2 Apaches that were charged with the extraction were pretty much down to their 30mike, they had to call for 2 more to fly top cover during the rescue, and IIRC, they both ended up Winchester! One fun point about this build: the chappie depicted strapped to the port side EFAB - he now owns this model! I got to meet him for a few (too many) drinks some years back, and got to gift him the model after he reached out and mentioned seeing it on here. Such a humble chap, who also taught me a valuable life lesson: never try and out drink a Marine! 😅

Gents, let's not go there. I can already hear the mods gathering outside the door here. Let's keep personal views out of it. I'd jump at the chance to voice my opinions but this isn't the platform to do so. To keep on topic: As for differences in actual airframes, I read somewhere that the Polish Migs would need to go through a cleansing process... Im purely speculating here but maybe NATO sensitive equipment - comms/IFF etc. that Polish jets have that Ukrainian counterparts aren't fitted with? I'm sure that once that's dealt with, there would barely be a transition to deal with for pilots. A quick orientation flight and a briefing on slight differences. I couldn't imagine flight characteristics varying much if at all. Again, purely speculation on my part though.

I've just caught up with your thread so sorry it's a little late, but those seats are only good for a the - A/B variants. You'll need the NACES seats for a - D variant.

Fantastic result! Really clean work. Will look great amongst your previous tomcat builds, one to show off with pride, that's for sure. Daryl

Evening, all. Found time to get a little work done over the last couple of days. Even managed to get the camera out so I can upload some non-camera phone pics that don't show any detail! Got the cockpit sitting where i am happy with it, and now have the fore section all zipped up. Happy with how the bulkheads look, although most of that will be hidden by the bangseats. That age old modellers' mantra springs to mind... "at least I know it's there, at least I know it's there!" Pilot and RIO IP's in place (although not fixed yet) a few touch ups around the coaming needed. Only bits missing are yellow canopy jettison handles. Those will be added later as they're so prone to being knocked off and lost. The cockpit surround isn't attached yet; this will be painted separately and added after the main body has been painted to avoid unnecessary masking. NLG bay finished off. The PE that eduard supply really makes a world of difference here. Chin pod added a little hastily; I just couldn't help myself. The aircraft spared to film Top Gun had the bullet fairing type, as TCS pods were still very much in demand for fleet deployed Tomcats. The quickboost offering is a nice rendition of this. Now started work on the intakes, MLG bays, and the pancake. The intakes in particular are another one of Tamiya's triumphs with this kit. The engineering is sublime. Although the kit can only be built with one ramp option, the construction is so hassle free. Despite AMK having multiple options here, I feel they overcomplicated things and this was one of the major shortcomings of that kit in my opinion. Eduard supply some plumbing for the MLG bays, but they still seem a little sparse despite this. I am tempted to greeble a little more in these areas... Depends how adventurous I'm feeling when the time comes! Thanks for stopping by! Daryl

Wow, you're not messing about here! Great progress on the build so far. Methinks i need to pull my finger out hehe. Good choice on the livery. Should be a real eye catcher when she's done! Daryl

Ahhh that figures! I've heard nothing but good things about the Academy kit, so it should definitely serve you well for this GB. Looking forward to seeing this build progress!

Yeah, the revell kit had never really been on my radar - mainly being down to the wrong scale for me - but well if they haven't done their homework on that pit. Looks like a really good rendition... Should have a lot of fun picking out the detail in that!

Glad to see you're enjoying the kit so much. Tamiya really outdid themselves with this one, eh? Good progress with the cockpit! Looking forward to seeing this one come together. Daryl

Hi all! Managed to get a little more time in this morning. One thing I've done on all of my Tomcat builds to date is try to improve the covers on the IP covers in the pit. Although the Eduard resin does represent these quite nicely, I've found that all offerings are devoid of any texture to the canvas covers. Here's where a little tissue and PVA come into play. There's a whole multitude of colours to choose from as the factory black covers sun-bleach over time (I've seen burgundy, brown, tan, khaki, olive etc...) but I settled on a tan/brown for mine - purely for aesthetic, and to add a little variation to the cockpit. A quick wash brings out the folds and texture a little. Postman was here bright and early bringing goodies. Now I can crack on without deviating from the build order I'd like. Onto the main wheel well so I can get the forward fuse sealed up. Also got myself a set of these: No fictitious VF-1 patch from the movie present, but I'm sure I'll have more than enough options to adorn the flightsuits of my crew when they arrive! Thanks for looking! Daryl

Evening, all. Just a quick update so it doesn't look like I've forgotten about this build! Time at the desk has been hard to come by recently so I've been making the most of any opportunity. I've managed to make progress in the pit, and have it looking about how I want it. Sorry about the shoddy phone pics; i didn't get much chance to get the camera out during assembly, and got the cockpit buttoned up before I could take any worthwhile shots! That's as far as I am so far. The Eduard set is as nice as I remember it being for my - D build. Lovely crisp detail. Still waiting on the external PE set so I can crack on with the nose wheel well, then I can button the forward fuselage up and crack on with the rest! Cheers Daryl

Solid loadout there. The AIM-54 is always tempting but the 4+4 you've gone with really looks like it means business!

Great start so far! Those brassin seats are a real treat eh? And you're so right about the landing gear. Usually I absolutely dread that part of the build, but Tamiya made it a real joy with this kit.

Well that's a stunner! 😍 Absolutely cracking result

I do love that VF-14 scheme. They've always had great schemes that I feel often get overlooked for other squadrons' offerings. NSAWC do also have some stunning liveries, though. If all else fails, toss a coin. Whichever you go for, you'll have a stunner on your hands!

Afternoon, all! Managed to get a little time this morning to get this build off the starting line. Started with the GRU-7(A) seats supplied in the Big 'Sin set. Exemplary as always. I have a couple of good shots in my resource books, but there's no shortage of pics on Google either. I prefer to mix colours by eye with things like seats - especially with so many shades of green and khaki being present - so Eduard's colour call-outs weren't adhered to. Now on to the resin pit! If Eduard's pit for the - A is anything like their offering for the - D, I'm not anticipating any issues. Cheers, Daryl

Here are my last two Tomcat builds: Tamiya 1:48 F-14D - Felix 112, VF-31 This had everything I could muster thrown at it - Eduard cockpit, Big 'Ed PE, Brassin GBU-38, Wheeliant Wheels, Master Pitot, Fightertown decals. (Aim-54 was subsequently removed - only after the build did I realise that the Phoenix was retired before VF-31's last cruise) AMK 1:48 F-14D - Bullet 100, VF-2 OOB except VF-2 decals stolen from Tamiya Kit. After building both kits, I had previously said that the only reason I would choose another AMK Tomcat over a Tamiya one was if I wanted a crouched Cat with lowered stabs/flaps. With the recent release of Tamiya's late Block F-14A in take-off pose, I'm not sure I would consider the AMK kit a worthy addition to the stash with Tamiya's offerings now. Cheers, Daryl

Trust me, this kit practically builds itself. I've never had such sheer enjoyment out of a build as I did with my last Tamiya Tomcat. Looking forward to see what you think of the kit! Enjoy 😉

Thanks, John. That is a stunner! Really eye catching. I have the same Tomcat decals in 1:144... The Mig-28 is particularly appealing though, what kits did you work from? Thanks for having me, Col. 😬 I was torn between a few liveries, but I figured it'd be a crime to have a Tomcat GB and not see anything from the film. Hope I don't disappoint! 😅

Good evening, all! For my (first ever groupbuild!) entry, I've decided to model my Tamiya F-14a as Maverick & Goose's mount from that certain film that ignited my love of Grumman's big 'cat. I've built Tamiya's superlative Tomcat - albeit in its - D guide) previously, and it has firmly cemented itself as my favourite kit of all time. So I'm very happy to have the opportunity to add another to my shelf. I know quite a few in the STGB are also building the same kit, so I won't go into detail about it. It's a stunner and we'll leave it at that. I have Fightertown's best of the best decal set, which provides a lot of very attractive liveries. I've also got the Eduard Big 'Sin set to enhance the cockpit, burner cans and wheels. Although the OOB offerings from Tamiya are very commendable, Eduard's resin alternatives are unbeaten in my opinion. I also have Quickboost' s chin pod and tail stiffeners to update Tamiya's kit to the correct block for the movie jet. I have the Eduard' external PE set on the way as this adds a lot of fidelity to the look of the kit. And here is the livery I'll be working on depicting. I'm anxiously excited about the weathering that will take place on this build. Those movie jets were rather grubby to say the least! I have the Sabre resin crew kit on order to go with this build, and I'm looking forward to putting the helmet decals that come with the Fightertown sheet to good use! I'm very excited to start this build, and equally looking forward to seeing everybody else's builds and what we all come up with! Gentlemen; I feel the need - the need, for lots of re-runs of my favourite movie! Daryl

Absolute show winner there, fantastic work 😲 Always loved that camo scheme. Yours is executed flawlessly. Great work on the tight feathered edges. Daryl

Hi, PeterR, I'm sure somebody more knowledgeable could give a more definitive answer, but I do believe the strengthening plates were a British Harrier modification only. Thanks for the kind words, and the best of luck with your build! Cheers, Daryl

If you're after modern US Helo Drab, Hataka do it, included in their modern British Army Air Corps set. I haven't had chance to use it yet but if its any good, I believe its the first rendition of it in Acrylic (happy to be told otherwise!) Daryl

@trickyrich oh wow, I'm impressed! I won't lie, I've never even considered Etsy before; that's opened my eyes to a while new world of possibilities! Will have to check if they're still around closer to payday - it's a little more than I've typically paid for decals - but it might be a case of get them when you can! Thanks for that, Rich. You should consider starting a business out of sourcing hard to find modelling accessories for a charge: you're obviously good at it! 😉 Daryl

Thanks for the reply, Rich. Although I have bought from Ultracast in the past and have been astounded at the speed and efficiency they got my parcel to the UK, since we are currently going through certain ahem, hiccups with trade on an international level... I had seen they had those and tried to purchase from them, only to be reminded that Ultracast aren't shipping to the UK, and although they have an Ebay store to circumvent this, they aren't listed on there. I think I'll have to do a little more digging around, or reassess what this build will be finished as; I have a feeling the microscale decals will be a little more trouble to find than they're worth! The VF-33 build can go on the backburner for now. I feel the need... the need for an easier to source livery to complete my Tomcat in! Cheers, Daryl