Search the Community

Hi Guys, Newbie here! Finished Build, brush painted, superscale decs, burner cans stolen from an academy kit. Hope it's OK Best Regards Ben

F-14A Upgrades (Tamiya) 1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin Tamiya's new F-14A in 1:48 has caused a stir in the modelling community due to their reputation for high quality kits, and rightly so - It's a lovely kit. Here comes Eduard to make it better with a host of resin and brass sets! As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. F-14A Ejection Seat (648293) Containing two resin Martin Baker GRU-7A seats that were fitted to the early Tomcats before they transitioned to the MB.14 in later models, each one consists of a highly detailed base, to which resin cushions and PE controls are added, after which it should be painted before adding the superb STEEL pre-painted belts and handles that are supplied on the PE sheet. Also included is a small decal sheet with the stencils appropriate for this seat to complete the look. A scrap diagram calls out the painting in Gunze colours as usual for Eduard's sets. Wheels Early (648304) & Wheels Late (648290) In each set Four resin wheels are supplied, two main wheels with separate hubs, and two nose wheels with their hubs moulded in. Detail is superb both on the tyres and their hubs, with plenty of brake detail on the back side, and differing hub pattern between the early and later versions. The sidewalls have the marker's marks in raised relief, and the contact surface has circumferential tread cast in. A set of hub masks are included for good measure, pre-cut from a sheet of yellow kabuki tape. Early Late F-14A Interior (49805) Two frets are included in this set, one with nickel plating and pre-painted details, the other in bare brass for the constructional aspect of the upgrade. It included sidewall skins for the two cockpits; replacement rudder pedals; highly detailed side console skins that require removal of the moulded-in detail, as does the instrument panel replacement for pilot and RIO. Other details include switch panels on the sidewalls; small structural details; a hoop for the windscreen with built-in grab-handle, matching hoop on the canopy front with rear-view mirrors, canopy closure details with retention hooks and another hoop with mirror for the RIO (Goose!), plus some additional details in the rear bracing panel. Seatbelts STEEL (49806) The new ultra-thin an bendy steel frets are becoming common in the Eduard line, and if you aren't going for the resin seats, you can get the PE from that set separately to improve the kit parts with pre-painted belts; anti-flail injury leg straps; ejection actuation hoops, and additional seat controls. Exterior (48909) A large fret of natural brass includes a host of additional detail to improve on the base kit, starting with the landing gear, which is given additional small structural improvements, hosing on the legs and inside the bays; structural elements; bay door details including the transparent grille in the centre of the nose bay doors; a number of grilles for the exterior of the airframe; upgrades to the main bays including their covers; belly pylon end skins; mating surfaces for the wing mounted pylons; exhaust details for the included weapons; crew access ladder replacement, for which you will need some lengths of 0.4mm rod for the rungs, and additional parts for the arrestor hook. Engines (48910) This single fret of brass includes a representation of the rear of the engine, and you will need to roll two tubes (one for each engine) to form the centre spindle onto which the other parts slide. The remaining parts form the afterburner ring, which is in three parts, both of which are quite delicate, so care will be needed. There are plenty of scrap diagrams to help you position everything correctly, as well as one of a cross-section of the exhaust trunking showing the parts installed. Grilles STEEL (48914) If you don't want to spring for the exterior set, this smaller set includes just the grilles for the various parts of the airframe in the ultra-thin steel PE, which should allow them to conform nicely to any curves. Masks (EX540) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Review sample courtesy of

Hi there! My first small Tomcat - based on the very good Revell Kit in 1/144 with scratch built flaps is ready for inspection! More pics will follow. For size comparison: See you!

I am assembling this bird on 1/144, using Rose-ridge decals. I need a help: what are the colours of this Tomcat?

Here is my iranian IRIAF F-14A Ali cat，finished this week built from academy kit，painted with Vallejo air. heavy weathered as this plane is old enough.

Hello all, This is my recently finished model of F-14A Tomcat in 1/72. It is a nicely moulded Fujimi kit with additional items like pylons, bombs, bombrack, LANTIRN and Sparrow from Hasegawa kit, resin seats (the kit's seats are lost somewhere) and Fightertown's decal. I detailed the cockpit's side walls and wheel wells as they are completely bare. I found a fret of Tomcat PE from old Fujimi Royal Collection that I used some of them. Painting was done using Gunze lacquer paints and weathering by oil. I chose modex 107 (BuNo 161296) as this particular bird dropped 32 bombs and also the only Black Knights' bird to shot her gun during VF-154 Final Combat Cruise 2003 in supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was one of five that based at Al Udeid, Qatar to support mainly Special Operation Task Force CTF-20 inside Iraq. My model is not historically accurate as the crew names and bomb marks were painted after the squadron left the area. However, Tomcat is one of my favorite fighter and in this September, US Tomcat has been retired for 10 years. Enjoy the pics...

Hi all and here's the latest from me - finished for the KUTA group build here. I always wanted to model an F-14 getting ready to launch with dropped flaps etc so decided to take a knife to the original Revell kit a couple of years back...and then lost all interest. She has been in stuffed away in a box on the shelf of doom for ages and I finally got the finger out and finished it for the GB. Not my finest build and some inaccuracies here and there but I had a lot of fun and am really happy to have it finished at last. The full build log is here but in summary... Kit: 04195 Revell 1/72 F-14D Tomcat Paints: All brush painted - Revell Aqua Colour acrylics, Future, Flory Models wash, W&N Matt Varnish Decals: From Hobby Boss F-14D kit for BuNo163894 VF-2 Bounty Hunters, CAG jet USS Constellation Extras: Hasegawa - pilots, wing sweep bladders, BOL rails, Lantirn pod and weapons Hobby Boss - catapult nose gear Wing slats/flaps - kits' own and scratchbuilt The real a/c was delivered to the US Navy in 1990 and served with a couple of squadrons before transferring to VF-2 squadron aboard USS Constellation in the late 90s. In 2001, the plane became the CAG jet with the callsign 'Bullet 100' and dropped over 55 bombs during operations in Iraq in 2003. The big stripe markings apparently are called 'Langley Stripes', in honour of when this squadron served in the 1920s aboard the USS Langley, the first American aircraft carrier. Thanks for looking and comments welcomed! Dermot

For my entry, I will be building Hobby Boss's 1/48 F-14A as a line jet from VF-24 Renegades during their 'Last Rage'. I will be using a fair bit of AM for this one, the Steel Beach Late Life Upgrade being essential for the NACA gun panel. Other AM being Wolfpack Design resin fuel tanks, Hasegawa Mk.83 1,000lb iron bombs (kindly donated by Neilscrim), Wheeliant resin wheels, Fightertown decals, Master Brass pitot and AOA and I still need to find my Quickboost GRU-7 seats. Kit and AM; Reference Material; (The Air International is particularly handy as it has some pics of VF-24)

1/48 UK Phantoms from 111 Squadron http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402480 Jolly Rogers Overload in 1/72 - Phantom and Super Hornet http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402477 , Tomcats http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402475 MiG-25PD http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10402494 From Hasegawa's web site http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/month/201609/ Robert

He have some shots of the upcoming Tamiya 1/48 F-14A Tomcat; showing the sprues and decal options. This kit is expected for release in early October, and is set to be extremely popular. https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/tamiya-148-us-f-14a-tomcat-model-kit/

1/72 Tomcat from new company CALIBRE WINGS details are very good is it die-cast from metal or plastic?

Hello again, Now it’s time for my Tomcat. Similarly to Su-27SM, this is mostly out of the box. I added details in the landing gear bays, there are metal pitot tube and angle of attack probe. I also corrected the opening for the gun (it was closed) and IR sensor under the nose. Painted mostly with gunze H315 and model master metalizers. Overall it looks nice, there are some mistakes – with few decals in wrong places and canopy not fitting properly (I attached it once everything was painted so wasn’t any room for corrections – and the Academy set is far from great, decals are terrible). I am aware that the sparrows are not fitted properly – when I found out how to do it, it was to late J Enjoy and thanks for watching!

KA-Models is to rebox the Fujimi 1/72nd Grumman F-14A Tomcat kit- ref.???? F-14A 'Jolly Rogers 1978~1991' Sources: https://www.facebook.com/KAMODELS2007/photos/a.390320164315130.111612.185804791433336/1106701499343656/?type=1&theater https://www.facebook.com/KAMODELS2007/posts/1108277229186083 V.P.

1/72 Grumman F-14D Tomcat by Fine Molds / Model Graphix: source: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=283330 http://www.modelkasten.com/magazine/mg/187470366.html http://www.modelkasten.com/magazine/mg/f14tomcat.html a new tool Tomcat by Fine Molds? over 200 parts divided into the 3 magazine issues about 2000 jpy per issue? (standard Model Graphic price is about 800 JPY)

Hey All Today I present Academy's 1/72 F-14A Tomcat finished as a what-if CF-14 of the Canadian Armed Forces. In the late 1970s the Department of Defence was looking for a replacement for the CF-101 Voodoos and CF-104 Starfighters that were starting to show their age. The aircraft that made the short list were the Panavia Tornado, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15 Eagle, Mirage 2000, F/A-18 Hornet, and F-14 Tomcat. The list was eventually whittled down and the F/A-18 Hornet was chosen as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft competition. Over 30 years later the Hornets are still going strong, but like the Voodoos before them, they too are soon do for replacement (a highly controversial and much debated topic). The F-14 was struck from the list as it was deemed too expensive in the numbers required; a conclusion the US Navy had already come to. According to some internet sources, Canada had offered to purchase the Iranian Air Force's fleet of F-14As for a bargain-basement price after the post-revolution US arms embargo had left them grounded. Due to political reasons the offer was declined. Whether this is true or simply hearsay, I don't know, but what I do know is that it makes for good modelling inspiration. I give you Tomcat "123" of 441 Squadron, Canadian Forces Air Command (Didn't have enough zeroes to do "100" ) The Academy F-14 is a pretty nice kit. The build is relatively straight-forward with the only problems being at the nose to rear fuselage join. Panel lines are sharp and deep enough to hold a wash well, except around the nose where they are a little soft. The cockpit is not the most detailed but with the addition of some True Details seats looks presentable under the canopy. With careful gluing the wings are still functional after assembly, but will scrape the paint off the wing surfaces, so are best glued in your favourite position. The AIM-54s are from the kit, with the Sparrows and Sidewinders coming from a Hasegawa weapons set. If I were to do this again, I would probably replace the forward AIM-54s with Sparrows so as not to hide the False Canopy. The model was painted with Model Master Light Ghost Grey and Medium Grey, these being the closest matches to the colours used in the CF-18's camouflage, with Gunship Grey used for the "False Canopy". Exhausts were done in Humbrol Metalcote Gunmetal, with a gentle spray of MM Jet Exhaust on the inside. Decals were from the excellent Canuck Model Products sheet "CF-18 Hornet - Symmetrical Scheme" to depict the aircraft as it would (may) have appeared in the early 1980s. Seriously, these are hands down the BEST decals I have ever used. Thanks for looking and keep on whiffing! Regards, ANS

Hello everyone, First time posting a model here, after several months following Britmodeller's forums. I hope you like it! Thank you! Best, Ricardo And here is a picture of the real one

Welcome to my latest project: the Academy 1:48 F14A Grumman Tomcat 'Sundowners', limited edition. Now I know that this kit has come into some critisicm regarding the nose, but having researched the other kits available they all have thier own problems, so I went with the kit with one of the most striking schemes out there; and to be honest if it looks like an F14 then thats good enough for me! Like most of my builds I have upgraded the cockpit with the excellent Aires resin tub and photo etch along with thier exhaust cans. Other wise it will be straight out of the box.

Evening, all. I haven't finished a model since last December, so this is my first build of the year - something small to get me going again until I can decide what I want to build! It is Revell's nice little 1/144 F-14A, in what I'm sure many of you will agree is the quintessential F-14 scheme. Not much to say about the kit. It goes together well, and it looks like a little Big 'Cat. The decals were a little on the thick side, mind you. She's suffering from ghost pilot syndrome too. In my defence, it's a little difficult to readily find little men in 1/144. There are some bits I am happy with. Some not so much. I'm still not sure about the smoke trail from the AIM-9 - although it is the first time trying something like this. I still need to learn how to photograph models, too. Comments & criticism welcomed as always, and I hope you like it! Daryl.

Hello one and all, I started this project back when the F-14D STGB was on. I did have every intention of actually finishing it off. However my modelling time is few and far between nowadays So I had the great idea of putting this up in the WiP in the hope that the interest from other people will force me to actually get somewhere with it!... That's the plan anyhow and I am going to stick to it! I will start from the beginning with all the groovy pictures then I will upload the current state of play. Here we go I am really nervous about that mould line down the middle of the canopy. I have been given great advise on how to deal with it, I'm just a little worried that I will fluff it up. That is the last that anyone ever saw of it on the STGB. I did work on it, I just never go around to posting the pictures up of it. So here is the work up until now. Gotta love all of those decals... The Pilots and WSO's IP's, I decided it wasn't worth going all out on them as you will not be able to see them. Now I am not too sure... First time I have actually used etch. I am really happy with the dry brushing, first time it has really worked for me. I can not remember if those colours are correct or I just decided to throw them down to make it look more important.... As of yet the cockpit isn't finished, still need to sort out some belts or something. The vents over the Gatling Gun where utter dog poo. Gotta use a fair bit of filler on that load of fun. Air intakes and the fuel tanks, not much to really see here tbh. I like the way these things go together tho. This is as far as I am at the moment. I do intent to have the flaps and slats open. Even still, she is a big bird. I am not used to making models this size as the vast majority of mine are 1/144. Hopeully this will give me a much needed KUTA to sort this one out, lord knows I need it! Hopefully there will be more pictures soon. I have another... 4 of these IdolM@ster aircraft to make, so I had better get a move on huh? Kind Regards, Dazz

Hi, here's a few pics of my current WIP. Nice kit but not without a few fit problems. Thanks for looking. FF

Well, it would appear that a Tamiya F14 in 1:32 dropped on to my door mat yesterday... I wonder how that happened I really want to make this kit the best one I've built, and as a mediocre modeller (and maybe I'm giving myself a little too much credit there) I wanted to ask you good people for some help and advice to help me along. Do any of you have any recommendations for decals, photo-etch parts, resin extra's? I've seen a few on Hannants that take my eye but thought I'd see what you guys came up with before I bought anything? Are there any metal undercarriage sets out there as I'm not sure I trust the plastic parts to hold the kit up? Do any of you know of any 'work in progress' threads (I've looked but can't find any)? And basically anything else I should be aware of that will help me make a really good go of this kit... Thanks guys and girls, look forward to reading your replies. James

Hey gents, I'm currently turning my circles around the modelling forum world again, just trying to gather some intel and some impressions. I'm currently working on converting the Tamiya 1/32 Alpha Tomcat into a Delta and just fit the Aires Burners (please note, the ones explicitly for the Tamiya kit!!!) to the airframe and flamin' rod do I have to spend some proper load of putty to straighten everything out. Did I just hit a screwed kit or can it really be that the Aires cowls are somewhat too small? As said, I'm using the set specifically tailored for the Tamiya kit, at least that is stated on the set but it kind of feels like having to fit the stuff to a Revell kit. Anyone who has used the Aires stuff on the Tamiya kit before willing to share his or her two cents? Would help me out a great lot. Thanks in advance everyone.

Hello, With the arrival of the airbrush and compressor yesterday I've decided to take the plunge and build two kits at the same time. the two kits I'm building are the 1/100 Academy F-14 and the reboxed Italeri/Tamiya Jaguar GR-1, here is the usual box shots for the moment. Box Shot of both kits: Academy 1/100 F-14 Tomcat: Stand for the Tomcat: Sprue A: Sprue B: Tamiya/Italeri Jaguar GR-1: Sprue A: Sprue B: The Tomcat is going to be finished in White, and at the moment I'm unsure about the Jaguar, its either going to be in the Gulf War Colours or the Grey/Green scheme which it can also be built in! Thanks for Looking.

Hey, I'd like to show you my F-14D Super Tomcat in 1/72 scale. The kit is by Revell and overall pretty good. When I built this model in 2012 I wasn't that concerned about cleaning flash, filling or sanding - and thats very visible in some areas. I still hope you like it! Cheers, Tom

Just finished this mighty fighter. Hasegawa kit 1/48 with some aftermarkets, resin cockpit, metal landing gear and pitot tube, resin exhausts and missiles. Few PE in the canopy. hope you enjoy it. regards from Mexico!