A bit of advice on Tomcatting :)

[james424]

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

[colin ritchie]

Welcome to ranks of LSP'ers .. its fun here , we have BIG models!

Tamiya F-14A , hmm,, you don't say which version , there are 3 ,the initial release from the 70's , it was re-vamped a little ,and most recently in the early 2000s as the Black Knight version, The plastic in the box in each of the cases is essentially the same , the only real difference is the addition of extra weapons , especially in the Black Knights version, there's a Lantrin Pod LGB's bomb racks etc.allowing you to build a modern A with correct weapons

As regards the basic plastic, its pretty good. ALthough it always looks to be like the kit was tooled by two separate teams of designers , coc cockpit ha beautiful engraved details, (apart from the heavy armour like panels that have to be removed), the rear of the airframe has raised panel lines- get an engraving tool and have at it!

As to enhancements - a new cockpit really is a must have , if your building the model as an A , the the Aires resin/Brass pit is excellent , fits well, beautifully details, unlike the kit one which for the money they charge for it is shockingly basic . U/C bays also from Aires are I believe a good idea, they are a major enhancement over what's in the box. engines , well the kit ones are ok , not brilliant but if you're building it as an A they way be worth getting as are replacement wheels, they varied a lot in the Cats career and the kit ones are very basic and an an early design

Eduard do a full range of sets as usual, however if your using the aires pit you can forget them, the same goes if your using the Aires UI/c bays , you can pass of the bulk of the Eduard airframe sets

Decals - again depending on the kit you have , a new set of decals might be the way to go , with the A there is a HUGE choice of alternative markings , from High Vis early schemes to the battered washed out greys of the later low vis schemes

B/D conversions - it can be done, and there used to be sets Tekniks that allowed you to convert the A to the later B or D models, but having done that in the past , I'b be incluned to stick with the A for the time being , and if ou want a later cat get the Trumpter kit

If you're determined to convert it , have a look here

http://www.wolfpack-d.com/htm/catalog32.html

Wolfpack designs, they have a lot of options including a B/D airframe conversion, ( remember if you're doing a D you'll need a D pit , they're very different from A pits)

Other than that have fun , its a great kit , it builds to an excellent model , and hopefully you'll have a blast!

[The James]

Well, it would appear that a Tamiya F14 in 1:32 dropped on to my door mat yesterday... I wonder how that happened

Me too, you must have a huge letterbox!

[pigsty]

I'd endorse that advice about the cockpit. I can hardly believe that such a big kit with such a big canopy has decals on flat panels for the instruments. I have the Avionix one, which is excellent, but all options are ferociously expensive.

Undercarriage: you should be OK as all three legs have steel reinforcing pins between the plastic halves. That does, though, mean more assembly problems and seams to watch for, which if memory serves is also a special feature of the missiles.

Decals: there are loads to choose from. The CAM range is quite nice and not too dear. The main thing is, find some alternative to VF-84, VF-154 or VF-211, cos almost every bugger does those. Also the kit decals are a bit thin on the white bits.

[LeVi Tophatter]

... The main thing is, find some alternative to VF-84, VF-154 or VF-211, cos almost every bugger does those...

Absolutely. Add to that VF-103 for F-14B's and VF-31 for F-14D's. Yawn...

VF-24 Fighting Renegades are an often neglected squadron, Fighter Town Decals did a decent sheet at a fair price. Bit of a shame the earlier F-14A and later F-14A+ desert schemes were never followed up...

[colin ritchie]

Well top hinest you really don't have much of a choise when it comes to D, only 3 units ever operated them

My preference , one of the aggressor schemes - you very seldom see F-14 without tanks, and shoulder pylons ,

[logical]

Sorry to hijack the thread.

I've acquired the Eduard Danger zone kit. Now I know it's the Hobbyboss kit. The cannon is a little lacking in detail. Any recommendations for a replacement?

There's an empty bay behind the cannon what would be here? Anything I can use to fill it other than closing the panel?

Finally the Hobbyboss kit has 2 detailed engines which I'd like to display one of them. Does anyone have any pictures of the panels that would be opened up when doing maintenance work?

[james424]

Colin Ritchie: The kit is the 'Black Nights' kit, looking at the kit I think it's probably the 2000 release you mentioned. I fully agree about the supplied 'pit, I was horrified when I saw it. I kind of thought maybe I had a sprue missing where the actual detail parts would be found... But no So definitely need to invest in something a little more appropriate. If you could pick one cockpit out to use, what would it be?

As for decals, it's got to be one of the hi-vis schemes. I don't think it looks like a proper 'cat without a massive pair of tail fins that can bee seen from over the horizon I've seen a few that catch my eye, but I need to see which variant is purely a fighter variant (lets keep it doing what it does best!) before I can work out what decals I get.

Wolf pack website was a tempting me to spend mucho £££!

LEVI, Fighter town decals also tempting me to open my wallet!

[geedubelyer]

Hello James,

The Tamiya F-14 looks good for the mostpart. I agree with much of what has been said thus far. The aires cockpit is very good as are the "Wheeliant" resin wheels.: http://www.wheelliant.com/ (Check the version that you require.)

Many go all out and re-scribe the aft half of the airframe but if one checks references it may not be wholly necessary for accuracy.

If you add resin wheel bays bare in mind that very little can be seen when the model is on it's wheels unless it is posed over a mirror.

A metal pitot and AOA probe is a nice addition and some of the Eduard etch will make the boarding ladder look better.

Here are a couple of WIP threads:

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53744&hl=tomcat#entry628027

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=49608&hl=tomcat

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=40506&hl=tomcat

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=26307&hl=tomcat&st=0

HTH

Cheers.

Edited March 18, 2015 by geedubelyer

[dambuster]

Biggest disappointment for me was the totally incorrect ( read non-existent) intake trunks. I spent ages building up some semblance of trunking using miliput. Best option IMHO is to fit intake blanks....

Peter

[LeVi Tophatter]

Well top hinest you really don't have much of a choise when it comes to D, only 3 units ever operated them...

Quite a few Squadrons operated the F-14D:

VF-2 Bounty Hunters, VF-11 Red Rippers, VF-31 Tomcatters, VF-101 Grim Reapers, VF-124, Gunfighters, VF-213 Black Lions, VX-4 Evaluators, VX-9 Vampires and various NAWC detachments...

VF-2, VF-31, VF-213 and the 'Black Bunny' hog the limelight as they were essentially the last F-14D squadrons/operators. Sadly there doesn't seem to be much demand for the other 'forgotten' users of the F-14D for some bizzare reason, you could get away with custom printing some of them though...

Sorry to hijack the thread.

I've acquired the Eduard Danger zone kit. Now I know it's the Hobbyboss kit. The cannon is a little lacking in detail. Any recommendations for a replacement?

There's an empty bay behind the cannon what would be here? Anything I can use to fill it other than closing the panel?

Finally the Hobbyboss kit has 2 detailed engines which I'd like to display one of them. Does anyone have any pictures of the panels that would be opened up when doing maintenance work?

Logical, for the Vulcan itself, I would get hold of Profimodellers turned brass/photo-etch barrels and some extra detail for the breech block and bay might be found on the various Eduard photo-etch sets.

Some images that may be of some help:

F-14 gun bay and ammunition bay

F-14 engine access panels (TF30 equipped F-14A) and another

I remember a guy from Japan properly sorting out Tamiya's 1/32 scale Cat, although he converted it into an F-14D there is a lot of good info on general detailing, including sorting out the intakes. Have a looksy here, click the 'How to Build' link. It's such a good build, it now lives in Tamiya America's HQ...