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F-14A Tomcat, 3-6020, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force


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Starting to come together now. Nose cone added along with the beaver tail, Phoenix pallets and tail fins:

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Next up is to clean up the filler and add the few final details before priming.

More to come.

Dave

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OK, check the 'beaver tail' for any possible ECM-antennas too: none there on Iranian 'Cats.

Also, check the form of covers and vents for gun-compartment: this was a Block 80 bird, so they had different vents than subsequent Tomcats (especially those with ECM-antennas below glove-vanes).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Plodding on with this one. Doesn't seem to be building well at all for me, perhaps it is just the way i'm doing it :shrug:

Tidied up a few of the rough areas and attached the exhaust nozzles:

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Chin pod added, defunct ECM bumps removed, and arrestor gear housing added:

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A few areas of filler to clean up and hopefully that'll be her ready for paint.

More to come.

Dave

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Just about ready for priming. Took a greater effort to get this far that i'd hoped! Just need to paint the cockpit coamings, add the windshield and mask the lot off before paint.

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Seats assembled and ready to go. Etch is included in the kit:

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Hope to get this done before the deadline!

Dave

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Managed to get the windshield on today and masked off all the areas before priming this evening.

I won't get this finished by the 14th I'm afraid, but will have one or two updates before the deadline then i'll get it moved over to a regular wip.

Dave

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Kit has been primed, ready for painting, which I hope to start at the weekend.

Meanwhile, the ordnance has been painted, ready for gloss and decals:

IMG_4576_zps6e125d8b.jpg

Not much of an update, but i'm getting there. Won't be finished for the deadline but hopefully a week or so after.

Dave

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  • 2 weeks later...

I enjoy seeing Tomcats coming together, in any scale -- sounds like this has been a rough one, but it is looking like it is going to be very nice ---------

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  • 1 month later...

I've finally returned to this bugger after a month or so of it sitting at the corner of my workbench. Top colours of the 'Asia Minor' camouflage are now on are a few of the other detailed colours. Once i get the undersides painted, i'll get the pictures up and running.

Dave

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Cheers folks.

A couple of days painting has got me to here:

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By no means the best paint job ever, but i'm happy enough. Just about ready to gloss and decal. Plan to weather this quite heavily as I've seen a gooid few pictures of 'dirty' IRIAF cats.

More to come.

Dave

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Cheers guys, shouldn't be too long in coming together now.

... Is that brushpainted? It's airbrushed right? What colours did you use? That looks great, I want to build an F-14D, I just might have to reconsider, I'm a sucker for desert camouflage.

The base colour, Tamiya Buff for the upper surfaces, is airbrushed, the rest are brushed. Colours are Model Master dark tan, Model Master dark green and Model Master light ghost grey for the undersides.

Dave

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Sharp build! Always nice to see another Ali-cat in the pipe. sounds like the HB kit builds up easy enough. I've got an F-14D version in the stash I'll probably break out in a year or so. One tiny detail I noticed is that the TACAN antenna (the blade antenna just aft of the canopy) is the taller version used by USN tomcats after about 1989 or so... the version on the earlier jets (including the IRIAF ones) would be the same height as the rear-most antenna (the UHF one) on the back of the fuselage.

Just a couple of random details FYI (because discussing Ali-Cats is fun),

You were partly right about the IFR door. The first batch were delivered with them on and had them promptly removed upon arrival (this from one of the pilots who helped ferry the initial airplanes over) while the second round had them deleted at the factory. (which begs the question... is there a batch of 40 or so IFR doors floating around the cavernous storage areas of Calverton? LOL)

Second, the Iranian jets were not delivered with fuel tanks. (or the TCS system for that matter, which Iran expressed interest in, but had yet to reach maturity before the fall of the Shah)

Their new F-14AM upgrade "boasts" a whole new list of upgrades and capabilities (how much is true is another story), it also has a really wicked splinter scheme version of the original southwest asia camo that you're putting on yours!

Edited by Skull Leader
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Sharp build! Always nice to see another Ali-cat in the pipe. sounds like the HB kit builds up easy enough. I've got an F-14D version in the stash I'll probably break out in a year or so. One tiny detail I noticed is that the TACAN antenna (the blade antenna just aft of the canopy) is the taller version used by USN tomcats after about 1989 or so... the version on the earlier jets (including the IRIAF ones) would be the same height as the rear-most antenna (the UHF one) on the back of the fuselage.

That's right. This antenna has to be shortened/decreased in size.

You were partly right about the IFR door. The first batch were delivered with them on and had them promptly removed upon arrival (this from one of the pilots who helped ferry the initial airplanes over) while the second round had them deleted at the factory. (which begs the question... is there a batch of 40 or so IFR doors floating around the cavernous storage areas of Calverton? LOL)

They were all delivered without IFR doors in their place. Initially, this was 'dictated' by delivery flights being undertaken with help of USAF's KC-135s, which were using 'Iron Maiden' IFR-baskets (instead of 'soft' ones, used by USN). These baskets often caused problems with IFR-doors, which - if broken - would be sucted into engine, causing massive damage.

BTW, all the 79 doors were delivered - together with 79 F-14s delivered to Iran. They were last seen floating in one of cavernous depots of TFB.8.

(Just for comparison: certain character named Dick Channey took care to destroy anything that was related to production of F-14s, already back in 1991.) ;-)

...or the TCS system for that matter, which Iran expressed interest in, but had yet to reach maturity before the fall of the Shah)
Actually, it was Iran that was financing the TCS (just like Iran was about to finance re-engining of its second batch of 75 F-14As - ordered in 1978 - with GE engines), but the R+D of the same was incomplete by 1979, and thus none were delivered.
Their new F-14AM upgrade "boasts" a whole new list of upgrades and capabilities (how much is true is another story), it also has a really wicked splinter scheme version of the original southwest asia camo that you're putting on yours!
Available photographs recently taken at a certain fair in Tehran show very small, solid-state components for AWG-9, locally developed to replace specific parts of the radar and fire-control system.

For four examples (out of some 30), see here: http://gallery.military.ir/albums/userpics/10110/IMG_1.jpg

There are similar photos of other parts of AWG-9 and avionics, new combustion chambers, new parts of hydraulic system, gear etc. - all of that locally manufactured.

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