Tamiya 1/32nd F-14A Tomcat - finished.

[tomprobert]

I'm going to join the party with this:

It's going to be pretty much 'out of the box' but I am going to add the following:

As it's an original issue the decals are looking a little old and suspect so will be getting an aftermarket set.

I'm going to be building this as an all over gloss gull grey 'Jolly Roger' from the early eighties.

I've been looking forward to this - I can't wait to see what are sure to be some fantastic builds coming together.

Let the good times roll!

Tom

Edited May 20, 2013 by tomprobert

[c.smith10]

Our first 1/32 entry! Can wait to see this one progress

[tomprobert]

I've made a start on the cockpit this weekend.

This kit is starting to show its age now, and when compared to Tamiya's more recent F-15s, F-16s and F-4s etc it is rather basic.

Here is the 'tub' as it comes in the box:

I have purchased the rather superb Eduard self adhesive cockpit interior set to enhance things a little without having to spend a small fortune on a resin cockpit replacement:

Once the interior had had a coat of the appropriate interior grey, I simply added the consoles to their correct positions:

By far the easiest way to get the basics of a cockpit done in an afternoon! I know it's cheating a little, but it's darn good fun

That's all for now...

Tom

[tomprobert]

A little more done over the last couple of days...

Front gear bay has been painted and weathered:

Jet pipes sprayed with burnt steel:

Front end coming together nicely:

So far, so good

Will be making a start on the main fuselage later this week.

Tom

[Dads203]

Nice start Tom, looking forward to watching this progress,

Regards

Dan

[Parabat]

Looking good, the Eduard bits really make the world of difference to that 'pit. Look forward to seeing more.

[Dermo245]

Lovely work so far, those Eduard bits are the dogs' danglies really...

[tomprobert]

Looking good, the Eduard bits really make the world of difference to that 'pit. Look forward to seeing more.

Lovely work so far, those Eduard bits are the dogs' danglies really...

Agreed - they certainly enhance what is a dated and rather bland pit. This method will never be as effective as a resin cockpit set, but I wanted to build this golden oldie with as few aftermarket upgrades as possible and prove there is life in these rather dated moldings.

I've spent the last couple of evenings working on the wings and fuselage.

The underside had a panel that needed fitting - which didn't fit particularly well and required a fair bit of filler and sanding which you can see clearly in the photo below:

The upper fuselage is molded in two parts that join where the wing gloves are - again the fit wasn't great here and more filling and sanding was needed. Considering it's a pretty old kit though I'm not going to complain too much. This shot shows the wings in situ:

You can see from this shot the filling needed along the underside of the flaps, too:

Fins: more filling required where the inner halves join with the outers:

It's the same story with the stabilisers:

This test fit shows there'll be another problematical join where the nose meets the fuselage:

As I said though, this is an old kit and considering the 1980's(?) vintage it ain't that bad

I'm going to try and get the fuselage together over the remainder of the weekend.

Tom

[MPaul]

That is coming along very nicely indeed.

I particularly like the UC bay, looks very realistic, and the etch certainly has made the cockpit look good.

[tomprobert]

I've made some more progress on the Tomcat this week.

The internals such as wheel bays, intakes and jet pipes were assembled and painted and added to the interior before the top and bottom halves were joined.

The fit around the intakes wasn't particularly good, and needed extensive filling, as did the join between the nose section and main fuselage. The rear sections of the engine tunnels needed its fair share of the green stuff too. There were also quite a few sink marks to fill as well:

After a good couple of evenings with the sandpaper, things have shaped up rather nicely. All joints have been blended well, and the fins have also been added. The fit here was fine, except a small amount of filler was needed on the leading edge of the fillet where they join the fusleage. The stabilisers are just attached via their locatating tabs for photographic purposes:

She's starting to look like an F-14 now! As you can see I've gone for an early model F-14A with the small glove vanes extended and the wings will be at their maximum 75 degree 'over sweep' for carrier deck storage.

Having worked predominantly vacform models over the last few months it's so refreshing to build something that falls together like this - you get to see some serious progress after a few hours at the workbench...

Next job is to get the cockpit finished off.

Until next time...

Tom

[tomprobert]

That is coming along very nicely indeed.

I particularly like the UC bay, looks very realistic, and the etch certainly has made the cockpit look good.

Many thanks - the u/c bay was simply painted matt white and given a light going over with some Promodeller clay pigment wash.

The etch does work well - if you can't be bothered to paint a resin tub upgrade then this is the perfect solution

Tom

[Giorgio N]

Nice job Tom !

Not much to worry if the kit does not fit that well... no Tomcat kit I've built fits well ! The front-rear fuselage is always problematic no matter tha brand and age of the kit...

[Spence]

I have this kit and really want to give it a go - that etch may be the way to go for the cockpit...

Following this with interest!

Spence

[c.smith10]

This build is coming along very nicely

[lipkicker]

Mazeballs,love it

[Will Vale]

Looks very solid so far, and presumably huge?

I've got one of these too, and was considering taking the plunge in the swing wing group build but then remembered that I think I'm saving it for the splendid cats GB. While looking at other builds I found this one by Mr. Narita very inspirational:

http://www.naritafamily.com/howto/F14D/photo_frame.htm

It's a D, but still pretty relevant especially for painting ideas.

Will

[viper108]

ive got this same kit in my stash will be watching with intrest

[tomprobert]

Looks very solid so far, and presumably huge?

I've got one of these too, and was considering taking the plunge in the swing wing group build but then remembered that I think I'm saving it for the splendid cats GB. While looking at other builds I found this one by Mr. Narita very inspirational:

http://www.naritafamily.com/howto/F14D/photo_frame.htm

It's a D, but still pretty relevant especially for painting ideas.

Will

Yes that build is quite something - and a true masterpiece in terms of weathering.

This F-14 will be a nice gleaming high-viz bird, which with their nice glossy coats stayed nice a clean. However, I do plan to do Trumpeter's D model at some point and do a low-viz highly weatherbeaten finish as a contrast to this high-viz one.

Tom

[tomprobert]

I have got the seats painted up today - this is how they come from Quickboost:

And now:

The pit is coming together quite nicely now:

I will now need to tackle the canopy itself - with its lovely seam line right down the middle

Tom

[Parabat]

Superb work on those seats, very nice.

[tomprobert]

A little more to update you on...

The canopy has a very prominent mould-line along its length which has to be removed.

First job is to apply some masking tape along either side of the line:

Then it's a case of sanding the line away, leaving unsightly but inevitable scratches:

With various grades of sanding block, I then polished the damaged areas, starting coarse and finishing with extra fine:

Finally, out with the plastic polish for a blemish free canopy:

This was then installed on the model, along with other final details such as the nose cone, antennae and pylons:

She's now masked up and ready for some paint:

Fingers crossed for some lovely Bank Holiday weather...

Tom

Superb work on those seats, very nice.

Many thanks - painting cockpits on modern jets is certainly not my forte, so I was pleased they came out as well as they did!

Tom

[Will Vale]

Looks really good, second the comments on the cockpit.

Thanks also for the clarification about high- vs low-viz schemes. I'd assumed saltwater would weather all Tomcats alike, but I guess they had more time for maintenance (and more pride in the fancy paint jobs!) back then? I think the reference I have is mostly later schemes.

W

[tomprobert]

Thanks Will Vale! The high vis birds did weather, but nowhere near as badly as the later low vis schemes. The paint remained fairly uniform in colour unlike the multiple tones seen on the later low vis schemes.

I imagine the glossy finish enabled water to run off more easily and thus it didn't stay on the airframe long enough to damage the paint.

Edited May 5, 2013 by tomprobert

[tomprobert]

More progress on the big cat...

Black sprayed onto the cockpit to provide the correct colour when looking through the canopy:

Whole airframe primed:

Black tails sprayed next:

Then it was all over gloss gull grey, with the final area of black added around the cockpit:

It's been great taking full advantage of some warm and sunny weather - long may it continue...

Tom

[Parabat]

Looking good, this is really galloping along now. Looks great.