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1-48 Hasegawa F-14A (aka Tomcat FRS.1A) in the Fleet Air Arm


Kallisti

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Continuing my occasional foray in what-iffery, I picked up an old kit from one of my club colleagues earlier in the year, its the 1989 boxing of the 1:48 Hasegawa F-14A:

 

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Sprue shots (there are a few pieces missing as I've started assembling the cockpit)

 

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and finally the most important components :)

 

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Yes, its another set of decals for FAA Sea Vixens - they seem most appropriate due to the twin tails :D Previously I've used the HMS Ark Royal set to do a what-if of an F/A-18 aka FRS 1 Sea Vespid which is supposed to be flying from HMS Queen Elisabeth right now:

 

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Then I followed that up with a what-if of a F-15E Strike Eagle in RAF 27 Sqn marking from the mid 90s when a major structural fault caused all Tornados to be grounded and out of service for a couple of years

 

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So my next pierce of alternative histories will be how the Royal Navy ended up using F-14s in the last 70s and early 80s. I haven't yet quite got the story straight, so instead I'll get on with building it... 

 

What marking will I be using do I hear you ask? Well since I've already used the 890 NAS witch markings on the F/A-18, I might go for the 766 NAS marking with the big winged torch on the tail - that might look interesting :D

Edited by Kallisti
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5 hours ago, Kallisti said:

So my next pierce of alternative histories will be how the Royal Navy ended up using F-14s in the last 70s and early 80s.

You could go with the same reason the U.S.Navy used the Tomcat. They replaced the crusaders and phantoms. So why not say the R.N replaced the FG.1’s or Buccaneers ? 

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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Great idea but what would it have been named?  

 

During WWII British built FAA fighters were named after birds, Skua, Fulmar, Gannet, Martlet, etc  bombers were named after fish, Swordfish, Albacore, Barracuda, Tarpon etc.  

 

So what might the Turkey have been called in RN service if not Tomcat?

 

I'm going to discount Blue Footed Booby and go for Grumman Puffin FGR1

 

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Nice

 

The through deck cruisers are never approved (by extension there is no Sea Harrier) so when the Falklands are invaded the RN is forced to buy and unmothball a couple of retired US ships to form the core of the battlegroup in 1984/5 (later due to the recommissioning timescale)?

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59 minutes ago, Grey Beema said:

Great idea but what would it have been named?  

 

During WWII British built FAA fighters were named after birds, Skua, Fulmar, Gannet, Martlet, etc. 

 

So what might the Turkey have been called in RN service if not Tomcat?

 

I think you just answered your own question. Grumman Turkey GR1?

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4 hours ago, Grey Beema said:

Great idea but what would it have been named?  

 

During WWII British built FAA fighters were named after birds, Skua, Fulmar, Gannet, Martlet, etc  bombers were named after fish, Swordfish, Albacore, Barracuda, Tarpon etc.  

 

So what might the Turkey have been called in RN service if not Tomcat?

 

I'm going to discount Blue Footed Booby and go for Grumman Puffin FGR1

 

 

On this one, its already got a well known name - like the Phantom - so I would guess they'd keep its name. For the F/A-18 I just went for a variation on the Hornet name (Vespid is the latin name for wasp/hornet). The latin for tomcat is 'har' which is a bit boring, so I guess it will be just kept as Tomcat, however it will gain the British designation which I reckon should be FRS (Fighter/Reconnaissance/Strike) which means this will be come the 

 

FRS 1 Tomcat

 

In the 60s, rather than being cancelled the CVA-01 project went ahead at full steam and so by the early/mid-70s we were commissioning 2 full size aircraft carriers called HMS Queen Elizabeth (aka Big Lizzy) and HMS Duke of Edinburgh (aka Big Greek) . When it came to outfitting them, it was decided the best fit for the fighter role would be the new Grumman aircraft just coming into service with the US Navy, the F-14 Tomcat. A number of F-14A aircraft were acquired for evaluation and testing (perfect opportunity for Raspberry Ripple version!) and eventually 80 were bought and converted to British electronics by BAe, which of course increased their cost considerably and introduced a long delay into their eventual deployment, and reduced their effectiveness compared to their American counterparts. This allowed 4 FAA squadrons to be equipped with the Tomcat: 766, 890, 892 and 899.

 

The Tomcat was, however, a very capable addition to the force, and quickly replaced the Blackburn Buccaneer as the main strike aircraft and the FG1 Phantom as the fighter. This created economies as the carriers were only operating one type of fixed wing fighter aircraft.  By the early 80s, the radar was finally upgraded with US AN/AWG-9 radar and it was possible for the UK Tomcats to finally carry the AIM-54 Phoenix missiles.  This was designated

 

FRS 2 Tomcat 

 

and was instrumental in the successful reconquest of the Falkland Islands in 1982, providing long range top-cover for the fleet sent to retake the islands. The Argentinian Air Force never stood a chance! 

 

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A few days have passed and its time for an update - I have to admit to forgetting to take photos during the cockpit build so all I've got are the closed up ones...

 

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I used the kit cockpit, which wasn't easy to assemble as the instructions in the kit are (IMO) not very good and in sveral instances quite confusing. I've used AirScale decals for some dials and screens, while for others I've used silver paint and Tamiya clear green paint. The above photo was taken before the front instrument panel and cowling was added.

 

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The seat belts are a bit crude, moulded to the seats, but I'm going to close the canopy so it won't be an issue I reckon. Here is a better close up of the cockpit panels

 

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The main fuselage is going together, needs a bit of filler and sanding in places - some panel lines have been lost, but its looking okay so far

 

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Again the instructions are confusing and its easy to get the steps in the wrong order the way the page has been printed. Finally for now, a selection of the stores that will be added. All these come from the various Hasegawa bombs and missile sets. There are 2 x AIM-8L Sparrows, 2 x AGM-54 Phoenix and 4 x AIM-7F Sparrow. I'll probably add the extra fuel tanks as well. More to come...

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Last night was a bit more progress however a problem rose its nasty head with the starboard weapons pylon. The port weapons pylon was fine:

 

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The problem was that one of the sides of the upper pylon was missing, this was all I had

 

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So I had to solve the problem by scratchbuilding the rest of it

 

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First I added a thick bit of plastic card in the middle to give it bulk and then added another layer on top 

 

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Its tricky to see the white plastic as different from the grey but the upper part is the added plastic card. Thankfully this is the side closest to the fuselage so won't be quite so noticeable. This pic shows it a bit better 

 

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and these are both of them together

 

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Since I've taken the pics I've filled in the little gaps in the joint that are visible so I reckon I might get away with this :D

 

 

 

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Good progress the latter part of this week, including attaching the nose to the fuselage which was not an easy job as there was a significant step in the joint on the underside which needed a lot of filling and sanding, with the loss of surface detail as well. However its the underside and I don't put my models on mirrors so don't worry too much about what goes on beneath - so long as the step is eliminated, I'm not going to worry too much. However the upper joint also needed some filling so there will be some rescribing to do around that. The nose radom was also fitted which went on okay, with just a minimum amount of sanding - again mostly underneath, but on that I will need to do some rescribing as that will be a bit more noticeable.

 

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The twin tails also go attached which was tricky to get them to align as there is minimal guidance on exactly where they should go. The slots for the tabs in the bottom of the tails was huge with lots of room for the tab to move about. 

 

The wings have been assembled as well. I didn't bother with dropping the flaps or flying surfaces - the model will be displayed with wings folded anyway to save space on the shelf :) The method they've come up with to assembled the wings and add the spoilers (I checked on the term - they are not ailerons!) is quite tricky, but having them straight avoided most of the complexity.

 

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Finally for now, the undercarriage legs have been assembled. The instructions give you two options for the nose wheel but no guidance as to the circumstances behind the difference. Once option has the oleo extended, the other has it much shorter. Is one with the aircraft unladen and the other with pilots and weapons loaded? Who knows...

 

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Last night I spent a while in the shed painting missiles and fuel tanks. The sidewinders are done and decalled and the Phoenix have been painted but need decals. I think I may need to repaint the Sparrows as I might have made a mess of them :(

 

More later.

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A large part of today has been spent putting decals onto missiles and priming the other parts. I did come on here to say that the missiles are all done, but having looked at this photo I see some places where the paint needs a bit of touching up!

 

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The decals on the Phoenix missiles (top left) are showing some yellowing - I'm hoping that a coat of matt varnish will blend them in better. The black fins on the Sparrows have caused me no end of problems - I stupidly decided to hand paint them rather than mask and spray and the demarcation lines have given me nothing but grief and are still a bit wonkey as can be seen int he photo :( At least the sindewinders look fine!

 

The rest has been in the shed for today getting a primer coat on and touching up any gaps and joints that don't look the part. This kit is definitely showing its age (aren't we all!)

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/14/2018 at 11:31 AM, Kallisti said:

On this one, its already got a well known name - like the Phantom - so I would guess they'd keep its name. For the F/A-18 I just went for a variation on the Hornet name (Vespid is the latin name for wasp/hornet). The latin for tomcat is 'har' which is a bit boring, so I guess it will be just kept as Tomcat, however it will gain the British designation which I reckon should be FRS (Fighter/Reconnaissance/Strike) which means this will be come the 

 

FRS 1 Tomcat

 

[Snip]

 

FRS 2 Tomcat

Other way round! The British system doesn't allocate a designation to each aircraft type the way the US one does (e.g., F-14, F-18, A-6, B-52, etc.); the code letters are descriptors showing the role(s) that the aircraft is used for, and the name comes first! Different types can have the same descriptors because they do the same job, as in the Harrier GR.1, the Jaguar GR.1 and the Tornado GR.1.

 

So the name of the RN F-14 aircraft would be "Tomcat FRS.1". The Phoenix-armed version would either be Tomcat FRS.1A, the A indicating a systems upgrade but no major changes to the airframe (as in Tornado GR.1A and Jaguar GR.1A) or Tomcat FRS.2. Actually, depending on exact timescale, the FRS.2 could have become the Tomcat FA.2 by now, just as happened to the Sea Harrier FRS.2. And it could well have the unofficial designations of F-14K and M just like the Phantom, which were given the F-4K and M designations by McDonnell-Douglas.

 

But, regardless of what it's called, I look forward to seeing the beast when it's done. Keep up the good work.

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4 hours ago, Tarkas said:

Other way round! The British system doesn't allocate a designation to each aircraft type the way the US one does (e.g., F-14, F-18, A-6, B-52, etc.); the code letters are descriptors showing the role(s) that the aircraft is used for, and the name comes first! Different types can have the same descriptors because they do the same job, as in the Harrier GR.1, the Jaguar GR.1 and the Tornado GR.1.

 

So the name of the RN F-14 aircraft would be "Tomcat FRS.1". The Phoenix-armed version would either be Tomcat FRS.1A, the A indicating a systems upgrade but no major changes to the airframe (as in Tornado GR.1A and Jaguar GR.1A) or Tomcat FRS.2. Actually, depending on exact timescale, the FRS.2 could have become the Tomcat FA.2 by now, just as happened to the Sea Harrier FRS.2. And it could well have the unofficial designations of F-14K and M just like the Phantom, which were given the F-4K and M designations by McDonnell-Douglas.

 

But, regardless of what it's called, I look forward to seeing the beast when it's done. Keep up the good work.

 

Okay that makes sense, so under your advisement this will become a Tomcat FRS.1A :)

 

There has been more progress but I haven't got any new photos yet, will take some over the weekend and post - lots of painting has been done :)

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On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 5:18 PM, Bigdave22014 said:

I really must do an F111 in RAF colours one day.

Pity the RAF cancelled the F-111K (and TSR.2, for that matter). Would've been nice to see it in service with more than two countries.

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