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Found 6 results

  1. Hello everyone, to my first topic in this section. I decided to show my first workshop here. I'm currently building the F-14. I was hoping that this model would be perfect and I would make it without any modifications. Unfortunately, it has some flaws on the surface so I have to add a few scratches. I bought a gun barrel set from Master and resin seats for the model. Up to this point, I had made a hatch with electronics, a gun hatch and a gun. Vulcan First job on Vulcan`s hatch. Ready gun chamber. With Vulcan. It will be a slow workshop.
  2. Hello boys and girls, today I'd like to show you my latest finished kit a.k.a. the reason I almost gave up. It's AMK's 1/48th scale F-14D Tomcat I got in my local hobby store after watching Top Gun one too many times. I had to choose between this and the Tamiya kit and decided to go with AMK because it was 40€ cheaper but now I know why. AMK stands for Avantgarde Mojo Killer and with Tamiya I'd probably not only get a kit but peace of mind. In short - this kit is a mixed bag. Beautiful fine details, great display options, two colorful liveries & sharp decals stand against a bad instruction and grave fitment issues. The long version - the kit is unnecessarily over-engineered. For example the various positions of the air intakes are a nice touch but in the end hardly visible and only create a source of mistakes to be made. The area around the intakes is just a complex mess with a lot of parts to be installed in a rather cramped space and even after several attempts of dry fitting & sanding, I never got the forward fuselage to align properly. That was the most tricky part but the rest of the kit wasn't that enjoyable either. In the end it went from "I'll give my best" to "Let's get this over with" as my patience ran thin and it can be seen in the finish. Tamiya primer and mostly Vallejo, Tamiya and Mig colors were used and also Mig washes for the weathering. The whole thing was sealed with Tamiya gloss varnish. That said, this kit in someone else's more skilled hands than mine will look fantastic and the build will probably feature nothing out of the ordinary, I was just expecting more of a kit in that price bracket, also because the last kit I built before it (ICM's MiG-25) was way more enjoyable and relaxing Still - hope you like it and thanks for stopping by. Until next time
  3. …… and wow the year is really taking off with build #2 and it’s still only January! Well time for Part 5 in the continuing VF-31 build/production line and another F-14 build (I only have another 5 or 6 F-14's to build), this time AMK’s F-14D. It’ll be interesting to see how this model compares to the Tamiya beast, as to me it’s almost the perfect model! I have had a sneak look at it already and have compared parts on both, I’ll go into this further during the build. But straight off the moulded detail on the Tamiya model is just so fine a delicate, where as the AMK detail is quite heavy and over exaggerated. Plus I can already see some possible fit issues....so we will see!! Oh and those amazing looking slide moulded stores….. luckily I won’t be using the GBU-38’s (they weren’t operational at this time) as they are all banana shaped! ..and yes what would life be without AM extras! New cans, really a must with most models, hard to be good resin ones! Some wheels another forgotten upgrade, especially when compared with the kit supplied ones! The now essential (in my opinion) Quinta Studio upgrade. Plus a really nice and comprehensive masking set from New Wave. The kit comes with a set on VF-31 decals, but I have this carrier done plus I have some issues with the scheme, it's not 100% correct. So I will be upgrading to the lovely DXM set for the F-14D. The scheme for this build is for a CAG aircraft operating off the USS Carl Vinson in 1995, middle one. You will also notice the underlining in red of 2 other aircraft, these are future builds which include the Final Flight aircraft. The ultimate plan is to have every jet aircraft VF-31 used, plus an aircraft off every Aircraft carrier they operated off, 15 aircraft in total (6 Tomcats), with maybe a few double ups for special schemes. This will make #5 so only 9 10 to go…. I hope I have enough shelf space!!! Can't with to start this one too!
  4. AMK finally released their long anticipated F-14D late last year to the sounds of various adjectives such as "yay", "Hurrah!", "Finally" and sentences such as "not sure about that rear end mate...". Having an affinity towards the F-14 - (I am after all a child of the 80's, I watched Top Gun and went "Phwoar" whenever the Tomcat or Kelly McGillis were on screen. Thankfully they rarely appear together - I digress), I seem to have accumulated a number of boxings from various manufacturers and having wrestled with the Academy, Hobby Boss and Hasegawa offerings (with Tamiya versions in the stash), I was keen to see if the AMK offering lived up to the claims. The good bits from my experience based on this build are; Cockpit - the detail is lovely. Exhausts - as with the cockpit, details is approaching resin quality, the decals performed flawlessly and the generous weapons supplied with the kit leave plenty of options. I'm not going to comment on accuracy - the end result looks like a Tomcat to me and that from my perspective is what matters. Unfortunately I did have problems with the undercarriage walls locating correctly which led to issues being manifested later in the build, particularly when it came to attaching the cockpit half to main fuselage together. This led to needing to employ clamps to perform a reverse "Wonderbra" manoeuvre, instead of lifting and separating, squeezing and integrating were required, followed with some filler to get things to look smooth and ensure no steps. Paints used were Tamiya Lacquer - Light Ghost Grey and Dark Ghost Grey for the fuselage underside and sides, with Hataka Medium Grey Lacquer used for the canopy/top of the fuselage. Jury is out as to whether the Tamiya colours are a little too blue, but having checked some references, there are certainly some photos out there of Tom's that appear to be close to these hues. I'm also aware that I got the placement of the "100" decals on the wings incorrect. Final thoughts? I'd build it again (I have three more in the stash), but I'd have the advantage of knowing what to expect and what the pain points are, those wheel wells being the main issue and cockpit to fuselage join. Having built a few different Tamiya kits I have no doubt that their offering will be an easier prospect to put together, although at the sacrifice of certain areas of detail that the AMK provides that the Tamiya does not (wings, slats, flaps and breaks deployed for instance). Having built the Hasegawa F-14, I'm inclined to state that the AMK kit is a similar, but more refined build experience to the former's offering and if you have experience of that kit, if you go into the AMK kit with expectations along those lines I do not think you will go to far wrong. I do after all like the end results. AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza' AMK F-14D Tomcat by Some Geeza'
  5. Built OOB and tried to get the very worn finish of the Bounty Hunters Tomcats using multiple shades of grey. Not exactly as I had hoped as it is slightly too dark I think, but I'm calling it done. Missing a couple of small bits that I offered up as a sacrifice to the carpet monster, so need to replace the pitot tube and 2 airspeed/AAT probes. The decals were a bit thick and silvered a little despite gloss coating beforehand, although other than that quite a nice kit to build. Crew figures from PJ Productions.
  6. F-14D Tomcat Trumpeter 1:144 The final variant of the F-14 was the F-14D Super Tomcat. The F-14D variant was first delivered in 1991. The original TF-30 engines were replaced with GE F110-400 engines, similar to the F-14B. The F-14D also included newer digital avionics systems including a glass cockpit and replaced the AWG-9 with the newer AN/APG-71 radar. Other systems included the Airborne Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ), Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), SJU-17(V) Naval Aircrew Common Ejection Seats (NACES) and Infra-red search and track (IRST) Although the F-14D was to be the definitive version of the Tomcat, not all fleet units received the D variant. In 1989, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney refused to approve the purchase of any more F-14D model aircraft for $50 million each and pushed for a $25 million modernization of the F-14 fleet instead. Congress decided not to shut production down and funded 55 aircraft as part of a compromise. A total of 37 new aircraft were completed, and 18 F-14A models were upgraded to D-models, designated F-14D® for rebuild. An upgrade to the F-14D's computer software to allow AIM-120 AMRAAM missile capability was planned but was later terminated. While upgrades had kept the F-14 competitive with modern fighter aircraft technology, Cheney called the F-14 1960s technology. Starting in 2005, some F-14Ds received the ROVER III upgrade. Source: Wikipedia The Kit The kit comes in a typical top and bottom card box layout; with an evocative rendition of the F-14D Tomcat, 100 AJ (BuNo164342) of VHF-31 "Tomcatters" in flight with wings fully extended; these markings are included in the decal sets. Within the box are four grey plastic sprues, one clear canopy sprue, two sets of decal sheets and an illustrated instructions booklet also with colour callouts. For anyone who has the earlier F-14B kit (Trumpeter 03918) it will be clear that this new kit is exactly the same kit; however, there are differences and some parts will need to used in place of the F-14B version. Even with their first F-14 kit, the F-14A (Trumpeter 03910) the producers obviously planned to issue all the U.S. versions as there are interchangeable parts for all the types here. With this latest offering there are various components which are used in place of the F-14B kit; namely, ejection seats, TCS units and wheels. The first sprue (A) has the lower component of the main fuselage unit, the wings, plus two pylons for the AIM-9 sidewinder missiles Sprue B holds the upper unit of the main fuselage, the tail fins and the mounts for the AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. Next up is sprue C1 and this, along with C2, has the remaining items that would be attached to the main fuselage unit. The parts here consist of the nose unit, intake fairings, front & main undercarriage struts external fuel tanks; plus AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. It also has one set of the two forward fuselage pairs and a pair of Martin Baker GRU-7 ejection seats,all of which are not required for this variant. The final grey plastic sprue is C2 and has the cockpit internal base, more missiles; plus the forward fuselage pairs, Martin Baker NACES ejection seats, electronic chin-pod (consisting of TCS, IRS-seeker, ALQ-100 antenna and position light) and wheels specific to the F-14B & D variants (parts no.C30). Also included are the exhaust vents for the, not required, Pratt & Whitney TF-30 P-414A engines, and the General Electric F-110-GE-400 units that will be used with this kit. Each exhaust vent has a plug, representing the turbofan blades, in order not to leave a gaping hole when viewed inside. The canopy sprue holds a single, closed, canopy piece. The frames look to be well defined and the glazed area is very clear. Instructions and colour cards The kit comes with a 4-page booklet, containing an illustrated parts list and a set of assembly instructions. There is also a 2-sided sheet of colour details and marking placement guides. One is for a VF-31 aircraft of the "Tomcatters" based on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The second sheet depicts another aircraft from VF-31 "Tomcatters"; this time in low vis markings. Decals The decal sheets for this kit are the most comprehensive that I have seen for such a small model. There are two sheets of decals and, remembering that this kit is in 1:144 scale, measuring approx. 13cm by 13cm (fully extended), there are no less than 175 markings, insignia and stencils etc on the first sheet alone. The second sheet is smaller but it as over 90 more stencils and demarcation strips. This lot should keep the most dedicated modeller busy for quite a while with this lot! Conclusion This is a lovely little kit of the F-14D Super Tomcat; however, as mentioned previously, there are appears to be enough parts to be able to F-14D or even backdate to the F-14B or possibly even a late (upgraded) F-14A. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for
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