[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

Sorry for not posting anything recently.

I have picked up a pain over my right shoulder which seems to be more aggravated by looking down or to the right. Looking left is fine but it’s a bit hard to do modelling like that! It comes and goes and I’ve no idea how I did it

 

However, I did mask the cockpit glazing with strips of Tamiya tape to outline and then fill in with masking solution.

The coaming was painted flat black and once dry, the glazing was added. It’s not 100% perfect fitment, but it’ll be fine once it’s painted up.

There’s a little bit of black painted past where the glazing fits to the nose section which looks like a gap, but it fits reasonably well in that area.

 

The main rotor assembly was built and despite its age, fits together very well although the pitch control gear needed a little working out to see where it sits. The instructions are kind of ‘somewhere around there’.

 

I worked on repairing the port undercarriage leg by importing an image to Onshape but on the iPad, it elongated the picture and I couldn’t ‘trace’ the outline. 
Despite a few deletes and re-importing the image it was the same, so I gave up on it for a couple of nights.

The PC was fired up to work the shape using Onshape but when I clicked on the file, the image cropped up in the correct ratio.

At least that meant I could ‘trace’ the image.

It was sent to Chitubox for slicing and adding to the memory stick and then printed.

After 1/2 an our or so, the print was done. 
I looked at the parts and thought ‘that’s not right - they’re too big’. I then realised I’d forgotten to scale the design, so this morning the parts were re-sized and printed.

This time they’re more the correct size.

 

This evening, they were checked against the undercarriage and the match was good.

The port leg had the extrusions removed and the 3d printed part was fitted using superglue. Some light filing was doe to shape the contours while checking it against the fuselage.

Once I was happy with the fit, the original starboard and repaired port undercarriage legs were fitted to the fuselage. The struts were fitted and the legs adjusted until they sat evenly on the fuselage as there’s no positive fixing point.

The under panel was fitted as well as a couple of the removed underside parts.

 

I fitted sponge to the cockpit openings to (hopefully) keep the paint out.

The remaining windows were so coated with masking solution. 
 

The undercarriage seems to be able to support the weight of the fuselage with the rotors fitted so all seems good so far.

 

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

I got back to the Seasprite last night by sanding the Mr Surfacer on the seams while trying to avoid sanding the river detail off. 
It took a while but I got there in the end.

The cockpit glazing had another polish, but it’s starting to crack - probably due to its age and the polish attacking it rather than helping it.

I gave it a dunk in Humbrol Gloss Cote and it looks as good as it’s going to get. Once masked, fitted, painted and unmasked, it should look ok.

The remaining door glazing looks a bit hazy in comparison, so I’ll clean them and dip them as well to bring them back.

 

The engine pod was built. 
Not much to say on it really as it just went back together.

The seams did need filling and sanding back though.

It was fitted to the fuselage lining up the top front and rear tab. This left a gap underneath which was filled with Vallejo plastic putty.

The rotor head mounting panel was fitted - no filling required there.

 

I went to try the rotor head in the top but found it was broken in two while it was still on the sprue.

It was carefully removed and TET’d back together. Fortunately, it’s a clean break on one blade mount only.

It also drops into its hole perfectly. 
I don’t fit the rotors on the helicopters permanently, in case they need to be moved. The rotors can be taken off for easier handling.

 

I tried the tail rotor, but despite my best efforts, the shaft has been cemented. Oh well, the rotors a good fit on the shaft, so it can also be removed when necessary- or cemented if it becomes wobbly.

 

A few of the removed parts were fitted and filled to blend them in and some other gaps were filled also.

 

The now dried cockpit glazing was placed on for the photos.

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

On 05/04/2024 at 18:08, bigbadbadge said:

This is coming on very well Brian and is looking good, great work so far, seeing the broken and complete undercarriage legs, is it worth doing prints of the complete units for strength? 

Chris

Thanks of the input Chris. 
I did consider doing the whole thing, but the wheel end is a little complicated to get the shape right.

The plan is to remove at least half of the brace on the wider end and replace it with the 3d printed part - when I get round to it as have another 1-1 toy to play with!

I bought a 2008 Mini Clubman Cooper S

 

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

The radar operator equipment was refitted back to the ceiling insert and the seams were taken car if as well as the sink marks in either side. It was painted light grey with flat black on the mounting braces (for a little added interest). The angled plate was refitted along with the viewing cone.

 

The interior was fitted to the starboard half of the fuselage and the painted up IP was fitted as well.

The tail rotor had previously been fitted and broken off. The tail rotor itself was still in one piece though, but the mounting spindle had been glued solid.

I carefully drilled it thorough to 1.1mm for a 1mm piece of styrene rod to be fitted. I had to make a bush for the inside, but the recess was about 2mm. I tried and failed to drill though a piece of 2mm rod, so I opted to use a lighter to melt the end of the 1mm rod and flare the end out. Once sanded to size, it fits nicely.

 

Once I was happy with the fit of the parts, I closed up the fuselage halves. I made a couple of nicks near the tail rotor spindle to stop the TET flowing in and cementing it back up again. The joint would just be filled later on.

 

When I’d gone round the seam with TET and it was fitted together all the way round, I went round the seam with Mr Surfacer to fill any gaps.

 

The two side fairings under the cockpit area were cleaned up and refitted,  it they’ll need some filler added as well.

 

I went to look at the fit of the undercarriage. I found that one of the two main parts was damaged. The mounting ‘loop’ was completely missing which is probably why the kit was sold as spares/ repairs. I do have the two wheels-up parts, but I want it wheels down as there’s no crew. My plan is to take a close up picture of the good one and 3d print a replacement section to graft onto the broken one..

 

I further cleaned up the engine housing and the engines themselves (one was in its two halves and had to be re-built and clamped). A trial fit of the housing showed a shim would be needed under the front end to line the top centre hump up.

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

I added seatbelts after looking at online photos of how they’re arranged. A silver/grey belt comes over the back of the seat and then has two separate darker coloured belts going to each side. There appears to be another couple of belts in there, but they would be fairly difficult to replicate. I’ll give it a try though.

 

The fire extinguisher was painted but it needs another coat of a brighter red to be better seen.

 

The three seats were fitted back into their original positions as was the displaced collective.

The collectives were painted grey with black handles.

 

I also repainted the interior side walls a lighter grey to test my previous theory of lightening the inside of the fuselage. It appears to have worked, but he paint didn’t settle too well as it was over-thinned. I’ll give it another coat before the fuselage gets sealed up.

 

The windscreen section was polished a little more, but it’s still not as clear as I would like. Maybe a dip in Humbrol Gloss Cote will help it along.

 

The decals have reacted well to being stuck to a window for the sun to help clear the yellowed effect of them. The lettering is now white and the carrier film is clear again.
Yes, we had a few days of sunny weather in the south of England.

Whether they’re still useable, remains to be seen. 

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

The floor was masked off and the fitted parts were airbrushed using Tamiya XF-63 German Grey which according to one comparison chart is a match for the Airfix callout of Humbrol 79 Matt Blue Grey. No doubt that’ll start a debate!

 

While the XF-63 was drying, I found the pot of paint I used when I painted the Lynx seats. Completely dried up, so I revived the remnants of a Mr Color Yellow which I’d mixed some red in to make orange, but I can’t remember what for. I added some more red to it and hand painted the seat padding on each of the 3 seats. It took about 3 coats to cover but the look ok to me - maybe they should be a little more red……

 

I unmasked the floor section and was happy with that.

 

The IP had received a coat of Sky Grey and I painted the dials, screens and knobs using Clear Green, Red and Black paints.

 

The masking was removed rom the inside of the two side windows. 
 

The seats were temporarily fitted in their positions using white tac - although I knocked the starboard collective off. It’s wedged between the seat and the centre console so at least I wound lose it before tomorrow’s session. I’ve not cemented them in as I need to add seat belts and will need to pass them over the top of the seats backs.

 

The crew deck was fitted inside the fuselage halves to see what it’s like. Fine up front, but dark in the back. The radar operator’s seat will only just be seen even though it’s right next to the bigger side window. I might lighten up the grey of the interior walls to allow a better view,  but it probably won’t make much difference. 

The seat in the back can be seen easier as I have the light directly behind the iPhone  when I took the picture.

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

I thought it would be a good time to throw some paint at the interior - namely Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey.

It would probably been easier to paint the floor and the parts which fit to it separately and then cement them together,  but I wanted to make sure the parts were fitted together without the paint and any possible traces of the old poly cement blocking the good adhesion.

Its not going to be too hard to mask the floor to paint the fitted parts anyway - he says😖.

 

The clear parts are cleaning up reasonably well considering the poly cement in them. The two lower ones are quite clear. The windscreen needs a little more polishing to get as much of the old goo off, but it’s getting there.

I also masked the inside of the already fitted side windows. There’s no way I would be able to get them out - even using TET to soften the glue, so I decided to leave them alone and just cover the windows using the outside framing to get the size and then stick the tape inside. This means I can paint the fitting tabs of the clear part on the larger one as it will probably be seen when the starboard door is open.

 

The interior of the two fuselage halves were cleaned up a little more which means the lower windows now fit in their frames.

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

16 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Like this one, always fancied one , but never did get round to getting one, although just bought a part started Airfix Puma which I will do one day.

Great start,  looking good already.

Chris

I chase the odd Puma too,but it had to be the 330 model as used by the RAF/Army. The 332 has a different nose section where it’s more pointed as opposed to the 330’s rounder nose.

To date,  I’ve still not got one.

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

54 minutes ago, ColinChipmunkfan said:

I always enjoy following your rebuilds.

You’re first in the queue, so pick whatever seat you want!

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

Fast forward 4 months and the dismantling begins.

As predicted, the helicopter dismantled easily with practically all of the parts remaining intact. I think it was just the tail wheel which broke the mounting pin off.

There’s a bit of excessive use of the poly cement on the parts which need cleaning off especially on the upper nose section which also includes a finger print.

The glazing isn’t too bad cement wise - it’s just the two loser side windows which have blood of excess glue on them. I can replace them if need be with clear acrylic if they are too far gone or I can try some Crystal Clear instead.
 

The cockpit parts were cleaned up of excess cement and also had the still present flash and sprue nibs removed. The plastic is stained from the old cement, but apart from that they cleaned up pretty well. I used a curved blade to remove the majority of the cement and then sanded the areas smooth.

 

Some reassembly took place fitting the main parts crack to the floor section using TET this time round. I just found out the control colours are missing, so I’ll do the same as I did with the Gazelle and make a couple out of thin wire. Some reference photos should give me a rough idea of the size needed.

 

The two fuselage halves had most of the excess cement removed while trying to keep the river detail intact. A few rivets were sacrificed in this endeavour but in the whole they’ve cleaned up reasonably well. We will see how well once the primer coat goes on (not that acrylic primer I used in the Tomcats though!).

[Restoration of an Abandoned Airfix 1/72 Seasprite.]

With the (currently) 4 F-14 Tomcats still on the go and the Airfix one virtually finished, I think a breather is required to keep the modelling mojo going. 
 

SWMBO asked which helicopter I was going to do next. I have two Mistercraft kits (Desert Huey and a Cobra) which I intend to get round to, but the obvious choice, considering the US Navy theme I’m on with said Tomcats, would be the Seasprite.

 

I bought this kit off eBay for around £5 IIRC about 4 months ago when I was building the AW Merlin.
It had been part built with no paining done whatsoever using what appears to be polystyrene cement a fair while ago judging by the yellowed colour of the cement - which means (hopefully) and easier strip down.

There were a few gaps in the fitted parts which also would allow for easier dismantling. A trial of removing the engine pod proved this to be the case.

The parts which were not fitted are still on the sprues, so all in all, it’s going to be like a not quite new kit once it’s dismantled.

The kit even has its original decals which is useful - yellowed but present. I’ll try the sunshine trick to see if they clear up a bit (but I might have to buy replacements).

 

As purchased using the seller’s photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

The Airfix Tomcat is all but done. 
I need to add some yellow strips to the sides and wing tips (Friend or Foe)?

 

The Aim-54 Phoenix missiles were decal led up and later fitted once the Microsol had gone to work.

The nose gear doors were fitted after they had the red outlining done.

With regard to the arrest or hook, I found in the instructions there should be a small block with the hole to receive the pin on the hook bar itself. This was missing from the kit, so I made a replacement from a spare bit of white plastic from another kit.

 

The Tomcat received a coat of Galeria Matt Varnish through the airbrush. I find it works better this way.

The canopy was unmasked and fitted in the closed position as it 1) keeps the interior of the cockpit dust free and 2) it occurred to me that the cockpit would be open and crew less only if the boarding ladder was extended. The streamlined look is shown off more with the canopy closed anyway. This left a rather ugly seam where it joined the fuselage, so I used the decals to cover the seam. The centre screen was painted with Tamiya Clear Green.

The navigation lights were also painted red and green where required. The ones near the glove vanes were done freehand as I didn’t want to risk anymore masking being applied.

With the Goshawk

 

And with the Thunderbirds F-16

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

Using my new DSPIAE PT-C stepless circular cutter, I cut the masks for airbrushing the wheel centres. This tool makes the job an absolute doddle.

The wheel centres were then airbrushed with Mr Color Off White.

Once the paint had dried, the wheels were fitted to the undercarriage legs.

I’m happy with the way the wheels turned out although the picture highlights a little white in the tyres which should hide once some wash is added.

 

The arrestor hook had been painted white previously and is still on the sprue. I needed to add the black stripes to it which meant spending some time masking it up to airbrush the black on. I could have done that but I didn’t. Using an image I had, I counted 9 black stripes, so I used a fine Sharpie to colour the two end ones and then one in the centre. I repeated colouring in the ones half way in between until I had an arrestor hook with evenly spaced black stripes. I need to drill two holes in the fuselage to fit it though. There’s no mention of drilling holes in the instructions and I don’t see them drawn either. Still - no biggie.

 

The final few minutes were spent trying out the Aim-54 Phoenix decals. They apply ok, but the only problem with these decals is that they’re a little thick. Copious amounts of Microsol was used to get them to conform to the fairly tight radius of the missile body. The instructions for the later Tomcat kit say to fit 4 each of the rear decals but the top ones will be hidden when the missiles are fitted so I left them off.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

Things have been progressing on the Tomcat where I could due to other activities including refitting the turbo back on my son’s partner’s Mini - although it threw up a half engine light due to the diverter valve on the replacement turbo. Investigations are still ongoing on it.

My son’s two Minis (Classic and 2002 Cooper S) both needed new front brakes fitting.

One of my step-sons asked me to help take a chimney down off his friends’ uncle’s bungalow. Things were going fine until one of those ‘I’ll nod my head and you hit it’ moments arose. A brick was loosened up and I went to take it off to get it out of the way. At the very time I grabbed it, my step-son decided it needed another tickle with the club hammer and promptly hit the end of my middle finger. The pain made me feel sick and woozy so I sat down caressing my left hand.

Fortunately,I can move it and as I write this (with both index fingers), the pain has subsided. My finger tip is turning a lovely shade of purple-black and is slightly swollen, but at least I can use it now.

 

So back to the Tomcat.

Despite the light weathering effect, it still looked too clean, so using my cheapo powders, I dirtied it up some more trying not to go overboard on this one.

 

I got the Airfix wheels and tried them on but I wasn’t happy with them as they looked too small and too skinny. 
For a comparison, I got the Revell ones, but they looked too thick and they’re slightly mis-moulded.

Hmmm. I checked the Italeri tomcat wheels and they looked about right - anyone else thinking of Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

I copied the design and 3d printed a set. The first incarnation needed tweaking so a second set were printed. Much better but two didn’t print for some reason. I’ll re-reint them later.

A tweak with a drill and they fit the Airfix axles nicely.

They’re currently undergoing the painting process as are the original nose-wheels which appear to be the correct size.

 

I also masked and painted the Aim-56 Phoenix missiles. 6 Airfix with white bodies and grey tips, and the other 4 Revell ones with grey bodies and white tips.

I’ll fit the decals before they get attached to the Tomcat.

 

The gear bay doors were next on the agenda. I used a red Sharpie to represent painted edges. It’s quicker and easier than painting them. They were attached as well as the outer fuselage weapon pylons (being refitted as I knocked them both off due that primer).

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

I made the anti glare panel decal from an image in the internet of the Italeri decal sheet.

it was carefully cut from the decal paper and applied, but the ink started to disintegrate as it was being rolled down with a cotton bud. MicroSol was used to pull it down further.

While that was setting, I used some Ammo Mig Starship Filth Filter on the upper surfaces to give a more dirtier look to the fuselage. I found it was better to use it neat from the bottle using a bigger flat brush. It was given a minute or so to dry a bit and then rubbed off with a kitchen towel in the obligatory direction of airflow. The wing fold areas were given a second coat and the wings were swept with a cotton bud to give the curved dirt effect. I left it as being lightly stained.

The undersides we’re given a similar treatment and the overall effect is quite good IMO.

 

The exhaust casings were painted with Vallejo Aluminium and Tamiya Metallic Grey.

 

The now dried anti glare panel was touched up with Tamiya Flat Black and while doing that the canopy detached. It was only tacked in anyway so it’s not a problem as I was considering having the cockpit open on this Tomcat.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

Things started full of anticipation of everything going as planned - then fate stepped in………

 

I decided to pay the leading edges of the wings.

The old Airfix call-out states silver, which I felt was too bright. I considered Tamiya Metallic Grey but that’s probably too dark so the happy medium which I had was Tamiya Flat Aluminium. 
I got some tape and de-tacked it as much as I could before it wouldn’t stick thinking it would be good to make off the leading edges.

The masking itself was pretty straight forward as was applying the Flat Aluminium in light coats - although I forgot to paint the stabilators and realised half way through cleaning the airbrush. Once I applied the paint to them, the airbrush was cleaned again.

 

Then I started to remove the making. First the tail fins - ok but a small bit of red and some grey came off the inner face of the port fin - no real problem there.

The stabilators were next - no issues at all - great.

Then I remove the main wing masking.

As you might have guessed already, more paint came away with the tape due to that damned primer.

 

It wasn’t just the upper surfaces either

 

So, after a little rant and half a vision of throwing the Tomcat across the room (which, thankfully I didn’t), I calmed down and got the Tamiya Meduim Sea Grey out and touched in the bare plastic with a fine point brush.

Once that had dried sufficiently, the top colour coat was also touched in as was the red fin tip.

Gingerly, the Tomcat was placed upside down on the bigger of my 3D printed stands and I painted over the grey areas with the Off White. The patch in the middle of the wing needs another coat and maybe a light sand when it’s dry to even it out a bit.

 

Once the Tomcat was again the right way up on the stand, and the paint is drying, it doesn’t look overly bad. It’s noticeable as it’s brush painted as opposed the airbushed  surrounding areas but with a very light sand with the highest/finest grit wet/dry, it will hopefully blend in further once the matt varnish goes on.

 

That now gave me an issue to think about.

The anti glare panel needs adding, but I daren’t mask the nose section up as it’s probably the first area that the eye gets drawn to.

Hmmm.

I then remembered that Italeri use decals for the anti glare panel and there is a spare in the box from the extra pair of Tomcats I bought.

The issue is that it’s the one that goes right to the point of the nose whereas the one I’m after needs to be shorter and rounded at the front. 
So, I’ll search the internet for an image and print my own on clear decal paper.
The IRIAF Tomcat has that decal already applied, but if if weren’t for the primer issue, I’d cut a mask -  it as said earlier, it’s not worth the risk.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

I wanted to add some stencilling decals so I borrowed some from another Airfix decal sheet (A05013) which I purchased off eBay. I’ve bought another set to replace them as I plan to do one of the others as a Black Aces Tomcat.

I also needed a couple of ‘USS ENTERPRISE’ decals to fit between the glove vanes and wings on each side. I simply photographed the one from the Bounty Hunters version from the original decal sheet and printed a pair on clear decal paper.

It occurred to me that I could have done the same with the stencil decals and saved myself a fiver. Oh well - it’s only money.

 

34 ‘NO STEP’ and 6 ‘NO STEP/PUSH’ decals were applied to the wings and elevators and upper fuselage, while the two walkway decals were applied to the top of the air intakes. 4 x ‘BEWARE OF BLAST’ decals were fitted to the undersides of the exhaust housings. All done using the A05013 instructions on Scalemates as a guide.

 

The decals are glossy in finish but I need to give the Tomcat another coat of gloss varnish anyway as I need to mask the leading edges and wing fold recess off for painting.

It’ll also help seal the decals down as well.

 

More primer was removed from the Revell Tomcat so the underside of the main fuselage is pretty much clear. It’s slowly getting there.

 

 

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

The Airfix Tomcat received it original decals this evening.

Considering their age, they went on well. It was just the backing paper which went a bit gooey, which meant the decals had a quick swish in clean water once I’d removed them from said backing paper. 
Only one split but that was my fault as I still had a finger on one end while I pulled the other end from the paper. It went back together once applied with no seam visible.

 

I spent the last 10 minutes or so of my modelling session cleaning more primer from the Revell Tomcat. 
 

While putting the Tomcats away, I glanced at the restored F-16 in Thunderbird colours and thought a size comparison was needed.

I have a part started Airfix F-15 upstairs in the stash (which was cheap because it is missing the nose cone which will probably need 3D printed replacement). I should get around to it sometime.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

This primer issue is really beginning to bug me.

Still working on the Airfix Tomcat - as I’m almost afraid to even handle the Revell one incase the primer falls off - I discovered that the wing tips are grey front to back which meant airbrushing the ends of the wings up to the edge of the lightly detailed aelerons.

Using the thin strip method, I masked the tips and also the demarcation line on the port wing where I had touched it in as the hand painted touch-up was a slightly different shade. Ok in theory but when it came to remove the very de-tacked masking tape a section of the off white came away. 
I touched it in with off white, but again it’s a lighter shade. 
I’ve had enough of messing around with this problem of the primer lifting off, so I’m just leaving it and I’ll weather it out later.

 

The upper grey surfaces (which were matt) received a coat of Humbrol Gloss Cote to receive the decals and weathering. 
The two ventral fins also received their coat of Mr Color Gloss Shine Red as there’s VF-1 decals to be fitted to them.

 

With the nightmare I’m having with the primer issue and the fact the Revell Tomcat has demarcation lines which will need masking off, I decided to try to remove the primer.

My initial thought was to use Dettol but that would also get in the cockpit and intakes so I just as quickly dismissed that idea.

I have a pot of Mr Color Paint Remover so I gave that a go. 
Using a cotton bud I did a trial run on the rear centre section underneath (between the engine housings). It took a few seconds to start working but it’s removing the primer very well without damaging the plastic. The downside is it’s going to take a fair while, but it’s got to be better than the alternative.

So, I at least have a way forward on the Revell Tomcat.

 

Once the primer is removed,, I might just as well bring the other Revell Tomcat up to the same stage (fitting the forward seat and canopy). I may have a look at the compressor fan issue as well while I’m about it.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

The undersides of the Airfix Tomcat were repaired with Tamiya XF-83 Sky Grey for a primer and then overpainted with Mr Color Off White. Not 100% perfect but varnishing and some light weathering should help on that front. Also being underneath, they won’t notice so much.

 

I found out of the red paints I had, Mr Color shine red was the nearest to the red in the Wolfpack decals, so that was airbushed onto the tops of the two fins.

 

I later discovered that the primer I had used wasn’t actually plastic primer - it is acrylic primer - which is probably why it peels off so easily - which it did again in one spot when removed the masking on the fins after I had painted the red on. I just touched the paint in with a paintbrush again.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

Also, the other two Tomcats turned up via Royal Mail.

They were extremely well packed. The seller obviously thought about their trial by post and took steps to avoid damaging the Tomcats by wrapping the kit box (which had the remaining unused parts from both kits inside) in plastic and then double side taping it to the shipping box to keep it from moving around. The only casualty was a ventral fin off the Revell ‘cat.

 

So an inspection of the Tomcats.

The Italeri (Esci original moulding with recessed panel lines) is painted in IRIAF colours and is built with gear down. The wings do sweep, but it’s a two handed affair and there’s a lot of up and down movement on the wings, but they sit level when the wings are forward.

Speaking of sitting level, the Tomcat sits level when the wings are forward, but when they’re swept back, it tail sits, so some nose weight needs adding somehow. I’ll sort then when I repaint it.

 

The Revell one is more or less built up to the same stage of the original two that I am building. It needs the pilot seat fixing in and the canopy adding.
The AoA probe is broken off so I’ll replace that with a 3D printed item.

The seams weren’t taken care of, so they will need sanding and filling.

I looked down the air intakes to see if the compressor fans had been painted but - no fans! 🤔 Just plastic with a circle on them.

I checked the sprues but they weren’t there and the it occurred to me.
They’d been fitted back to front, so I looked in the exhaust holes and bingo! Compressor fans facing backwards.

Ok, they’re fitted incorrectly, but can I get the intakes off to get access to them? I don’t know. 
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to affect the Tomcat as a whole so I might just let them be.

 

 Anyway, piccies.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

I set about repairing the paint on the underside, where the plastic primer had pulled away when the masking was removed, by sanding the edges down with course and fine papers. The areas were given a clean with IPA to remove dust and any contaminants left from sanding.

 

With the small disaster in mind I started masking the upper main wing control surfaces and rudders in readiness for receiving their coat of off white.

Using my AK tape cutting board, I cut strips of Tamiya tape approx 1.5mm wide was applied them to the wing surfaces using the raised panel line to set them against - and using the Revell kit for reference.

With the wings done, I masked the rudders in the same fashion, but I also masked the fin top at the same time to receive the red paint which is required for this scheme but is not included in the decal sheet. 
Not wanting to use tape on the paint to block in the rest of the areas incase the paint came away again, I came up with the idea of using paper with Tamiya tape stuck to the edge but overhanging by about 1-1.5mm. I measured 8.5mm from the edge, drew a line and then set the 10mm tape against the line.

I worked out that the angle for the top was approx 62.5 degrees so the paper was cut accordingly and the tape was applied. The paper masks fitted exactly, so more paper strips were added to block off the rest of the fuselage.

 

Time ran out of my usual modelling session so I extended it in order to paint the upper control surfaces.

Once painted, the masking was cautiously removed and for the most part, the grey paint stayed put. It was just the spot on the port wing and a tiny spot at the base of the starboard fin. 
I’ll do the underside repairs later today.

 

 

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

The undersides and nose of the Airfix Tomcat received a coat of Mr Color of white. It turned out very well and was put in the cabinet to await the upper surface colour.

 

While searching for a better colour call-out for the wavy demarcation lines (the old Airfix ones are a bit vague), I came across a GWH plan for the same aircraft with better imagery but in colour.
I found that the elevators, flaps, ailerons upper surfaces and rudders are all supposed to be white as well, so they will need painting.
It also stated on there that the upper surface grey was a different one to the paints I had bought for Tomcat painting, so it was off to the model shop again to get the Mr Color H325 Gray FS26440 which is a creamier grey when compared to the other greys I had.

I also bought H327 red FS11136 as it is a slightly darker red to the shine red I have.

 

So, last night I started masking the Tomcat for the wavy demarcation line and also for the white band on the nose - which would also have a yellow/radome coloured tip (I mixed this up using a Yellow/Desert Yellow mix - it seems a little bright, so I’ll repaint it I’m a mor mute colour).

I tried thin tape but it wouldn’t give a smooth wavy line - maybe it was just me after the day I had.

I decided instead to use white tac spaghetti and my usual cheaper low tac masking tape.

Masking the air intakes was a bit of a pain but I finally got there.

 

I applied the FS26440 to the upper surfaces by spotting between the raised panel lines to give more solid patches and then moving the airbrush away to shade the area over. It’s an ok result considering one coat. 
I don’t like leaving the tape on painted surfaces for extended periods of time so I pulled the masking off.

 

 and any other relevant emoji you care to imagine.

Despite giving the two Tomcats the usual wipe down with IPA, the plastic primer and off white pulled away with the tape.😫🤬. I didn’t even press the tape down - it was left off the pair more as a shield. It just touched the paint while handling the Tomcat for the top coat.

Not just little spots either - which could be just touched in with a brush - oh no - big swathes came off even though I’d further de-tacked the already low tac tape - you might guess what I said as a was not a happy bunny!

 

Thats twice I’ve had this happen with the Simoniz plastic primer. The Halfords one was better at this job IMO, so I’ll go back to that or try the Vallejo primers. 
The nose was fine though even though it had Tamiya tape over it.

 

Still it’s modelling and these things happen - deep breath - think positive……

I will have to sand the areas to blend them in, re-prime (maybe with a Tamiya XF roughly the same colour as the primer and then, as I have to use more white anyway on the upper control surfaces, repaint the affected areas. 

My concern is the masking for these areas and whether it will happen again.

 

On the bright side though, the Tomcat is looking good in its early paint scheme.

Still waiting for the other two Tomcats to show up though

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

I mounted both of the current Tomcats onto wires for priming this morning. The other two are currently winging their way to me😜

The Airfix had the wires pushed into the intakes as there’s nowhere in the exhausts to support the weight. The Revell had the wires inserted into the empty engine/exhaust ‘tubes’.

Both were then primed with plastic primer and left outside until the primer had lost the shine from the fresh paint.

The wings were given a tentative push to make sure the primer hadn’t stuck them while it dried - both sets of wings operate normally.

[A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats]

I have been making the Aim-54 Phoenix missiles and the outer fuselage pylons for them.

The Airfix ones were previously built on Thursday and had Mr Surfacer on the seams which was sanded back tonight. One had to be re-cemented as it peeled apart at the nose end for some reason. 
The Revell ones went together tonight with no issues at all - just seams lines to clean and some fine gaps to fill.

 

The pylons were assembled as well. I’m not sure if it’s easier to fit them to the Tomcats and fight to mask around them or leave them off until the painting is done.

I’ll probably do the latter.

 

I bought an amazing tool as well.

I’d been looking at roundel masks for RAF WW2 and post war/present but the cost stacked up if I bought all of them (which probably could be used more than once but the listing didn’t say).

I was watching someone building a Tomcat on YouTube and this tool was used to make the wheel masks.

Paused the video to get the tool name - DSPIAE Integral Stepless Curcular Cutter. 
I have the compass style one but it doesn’t do the circles small enough for what I need.

This tool can cut circles from 1 to approx 50mm (IIRC).

A quick Google search and I found them going for about £50 but the Scale Model Shop was selling them for £20, so I ordered one.

it arrived and I gave it a go - it’s absolutely brilliant. 
The 10mm hole was cut perfectly round and clean so either the circle can be used to mask round windows, wheels etc or the outer can be used to mask for painting coloured circles. I did two more holes - one 2.8mm and one 5(ish)mm. They were cut cleanly as well.

The tool is easily adjusted and has concentric circles on the transparent centre to help line the tool up.

For £20, it’s an absolute essential for my toolbox and I’m very happy that I’ve bought it.