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1/48 F-14D, VF-213 'Black Lions', OEF, 2001


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Not much done today but i did manage to get the cockpit tub painted, as per my original plan.

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And installed:

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Tub is 100% brush painted with all the details 'picked' out with various cocktail sticks. Also made up the wolfpack pylons and bombracks. One of the brackets on one of the bombracks is broken so i'll have to hide this with a GBU-24 :lol:

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I have read a lot of information about the GBU-24 and the F-14. Having discovered that it was not an overly popular weapon within the F-14 community due to it being 'labour intensive,' the F-14 was cleared to carry two, although, as pointed out by Stanton in a previous post, the norm was to carry one during OEF. I plan to use two as per my initial idea, just to make it look a bit more 'busy'.

Here is a picture of the F-14 with GBU-24's, showing that the rear weapon is dropped first:

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Next up is to attach the front fuselage to the rear and a few other jobs.

More to follow.

Dave

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Another little bit done. Added the coamings for the IP's and the rear panel behind the Rio's office. I chopped too much off the plastic at the front and rear left of the cockpit so hence the filler. Nose cone also attached with the complimentary filler!

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Gun vents on with the usual poor fit and subsequent filler:

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Fuselage halves attached:

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Surprise surprise, a lovely step on the lower join (dun dun duhhh):

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Next up is to tidy the above mess and clean up all the filler.

More to follow.

Dave

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A bit more progress to show. Tail fins on and the rear end tidied up and smoothed over:

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Same with the fuselage join (though i managed to snap the triangular frame off the rear resin piece and snap the control column!!):

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Wolfpack pallets installed and ventral strakes added:

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The forward wolfpack pallets need a bit of work to fit due to the 'step' in the fuselage join. As the resin is quite stiff, it is very difficult to get a good seal over the remnants of the 'step,' hence the filler.

Chin pod also on:

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Next up is to finish off the sanding and give a general tidy up.

More to follow.

Dave

Edited by DaveJL
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A little more progress for those interested. Tidied up the whole airframe and smoothed over the sanded areas:

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Added the metal AOA probe that comes with the wolfpack set. I don't normally use these as the kit part suffices, but in this case i had to as the kit one broke! Bored out a small hole and fixed it in place with superglue:

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Tidied up area around the front pallets:

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Overall shot of the jet:

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Just a few more little things to do then it's off for a bath and a prime.

More to follow.

Dave

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Ok, a good bit of painting done over the past few days. Didn't get as much done as i would like due to a cracking game of rugby! ('mon the Ulster ;) )

Anyway, managed to paint the majority of the aircraft. Overall light ghost grey with a medium grey 'skunk stripe' as per Twobobs' instructions:

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Wing seal 'bags,' fin tips, nav lights and exhaust shrouds painted:

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HUD frame has also been added along with the rest of the nav lights and chin pod sensors:

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Wolfpack exhausts painted and weathered:

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GBU-24's and AIM-9's:

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Next up is a few more detail parts, the highlighting of the panels and the addition of the landing gear. If all goes well, i may even attempt the decals tomorrow before the weathering.

More to follow.

Dave

Edited by DaveJL
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Digressed slightly. After highlighting the panel lines, i put the decals on before weathering (i normally do it the other way around). The two bobs decals are good, but do require some microset to get them to settle. One of the 'Rescue' arrows broke into 8 pieces when it went into the water which was a bit of a let down.

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The impressive mission tally (so big it required 2 decals!):

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All sealed in with a coat of vallejo flat varnish. Next up is the weathering.

More to follow.

Dave

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Looking good, apart from one small detail....

The mustard yellow for the ECM antenna is too far to the rear.

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Sorry bud, but would hate for you to finish it and then spot the mistake. ;)

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Looking good, apart from one small detail....

The mustard yellow for the ECM antenna is too far to the rear.

f14d2t.jpg

Sorry bud, but would hate for you to finish it and then spot the mistake. ;)

Good spot mate, two bobs are a bit off!!

Dave

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Coming along slowly this one. Added the first stage of weathering by going over a few panel lines in dark grey to replicate them being removed and resprayed:

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HUD in place, Windscreen added, antennae attached and walkways weathered:

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GE-110 nozzles and arrestor hook also added:

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I also moved the location of the forward ECM antennae on the leading edge of the intakes, thanks to Parabat's eagle eye!

Next up is to add the landing gear and doors.

More to follow.

Dave

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A little bit more to report. Working twice as many hours in a week now has slashed my modelling time. Gone are the days that i can enter 4 jets for one group build!

Landing gear was attached two nights ago and left to cure until this morning. Then on went the doors complete with red trim. Wing pylons were next followed by the fuel tanks:

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NACES seats are also ready to go:

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That's the main airframe assembly now complete, minus the wings, stabs and canopy. Weathering is next along with decalling the weapons.

More to follow.

Dave

Edited by DaveJL
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Cracking on with with this build as i type this. Adding some finishing touches and should be in the finished and in the RFI thread later this afternoon. Keep 'yer eyes peeled!

Dave

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Thanks chaps, that's her all done now. Photos are here.

Enjoyed this kit, even though it took me quite a while to get there! Thanks to all who followed/commented.

Another F-14 to come soon!

Dave

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