DaveJL Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Hello all, When I heard there was going to be a Navy GB, 'Tomcat' popped into my head without second thoughts, so here is my first entry; Tamiya's wonderful 1/48 F-14D. I'll be marking it as BuNo 164603 as flown by VF-31 'Tomcatters' during their last cruise with the F-14 in 2005/6. 164603 was the second to last F-14 built, being delivered to VF-124 'Gunfighters' in May 1992. The jet was assigned to VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' in 1993 before being transferred to VF-213 'Black Lions' in 1997. During her tenure with the latter, the jet led the first manned strike missions into Afghanistan during Operation 'Enduring Freedom' on 7th October 2001. The following year, the jet was transferred to VF-101 'Grim Reapers', remaining there until summer 2003 when it was acquired by VF-31 and marked as 'Felix 101', completing a further 2 cruises with the 'Tomcatters.' The jet was the last US Navy F-14 to fly, when on 4th October 2006 it flew from NAS Oceana to Farmingdale, New York before eventually becoming a memorial at the Grumman factory in Bethpage, New York. Kit: Extras: Not much here other than a pair of Quickboost seats, a Master pitot tube and Fightertown decals. Reference materials: Paint scheme (which is probably my favourite for the F-14): The jet itself, pictured in late 2005: How she looks today: Will be loaded with 1x GBU-12, 1x GBU-38 and 1x AIM-9M, along with the usual LANTIRN pod and 2x fuel tanks. Dave 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Very cool choice, got to love a Tomcat! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 Thanks Rob, been a while since I've done a 'cat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 WOOHOOO!!!!! I can't wait to see this build as I have the same decal set in the stash and have planned something very similar for my next F-14D....though I really like the Black & Rainbow tail bird. I so love this tamiya model, has to be one of my all time favs, the only other extra I'd add is some new resin wheels. You probably know this site already, but it has some fantastic reference photos, really helpful for my VF-31 builds. http://www.seaforces.org/usnair/VF/Fighter-Squadron-31.htm am already for this one, good luck with her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 27 minutes ago, trickyrich said: WOOHOOO!!!!! I can't wait to see this build as I have the same decal set in the stash and have planned something very similar for my next F-14D....though I really like the Black & Rainbow tail bird. I so love this tamiya model, has to be one of my all time favs, the only other extra I'd add is some new resin wheels. You probably know this site already, but it has some fantastic reference photos, really helpful for my VF-31 builds. http://www.seaforces.org/usnair/VF/Fighter-Squadron-31.htm am already for this one, good luck with her. Thanks Rich. That's a good site, I've used it a few times. I might try oils for the first time on this one, using the filtering technique, lightly anyway as it didn't seem as weathered as some of the line jets. So hoping that goes well, never used them before in anger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 I've never used them either so will be interested to see how you go as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 3 minutes ago, trickyrich said: I've never used them either so will be interested to see how you go as well. We'll see how it goes; pre shading, a wash and what have you might suffice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I have this kit sat tempting me in the stash, I'll be watching for inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Great choice Dave I built one of these last year. Cracking kit. Look forward to some one progress reports. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ale85 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Nice! i'll follow your build! ciao Ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bowcat Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 In for the build. I built this kit recently and absolutely loved it, definitely going to build another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 Thanks chaps. This will be my 6th Tamiya kit overall and 3rd D model. It's a brilliant kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ale85 Posted February 15, 2020 Share Posted February 15, 2020 On 2/11/2020 at 7:50 PM, DaveJL said: Thanks chaps. This will be my 6th Tamiya kit overall and 3rd D model. It's a brilliant kit! Yess, it's an absolutely wonderful kit! Until now i built one D and i'm almost at the finish line with the VF-31's A. But i'm planning to build other Tamiya's cats in the future. ciao Ale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FortyEighter Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Nice choice of livery! I opted for the same in the Grumman GB but didn't meet the deadline - well it was the Hobbyboss version and at least I got a Tamiya F-14A completed on time. Regards Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Cheers Mike. Made a start on this one over the past couple of days. Cockpit built up and sprayed MRP Dark Gull Grey. Panels, switches etc all painted and tub given a light wash. I decided to use the screen decals provided by Tamiya for this one: I said in one of my previous builds that this is probably the best injection moulded cockpit out there, or certainly one of. Side walls and IPs added before being closed up in the front fuselage: One thing to note here is that 164603 did not have the reinforcement plate around the RIOs boarding step. Tamiya provide a lovely vinyl piece for this - makes a useful addition to the spares as their A boxing does not have this and one of the A models I've planned is in need of it. Wing sweep mechanism: Rear fuselage closed up with various bits added: Engine and intake assemblies sprayed: Masks for the intakes: I'd prefer if these were pre-cut but beggars can't be choosers! I maintain that getting these fitted is the hardest bit of the build ...but I got there: Will spray the Light Ghost Grey forward sections before fitting to the fuselage. Makes things easier at the other end. Wings, stabilisers and shoulder pylons: Quickboost seats: A small detail here but on the NACES SJU-17 ejection seat, the pilot's seat had taller canopy breakers than the RIOs seat. The Quickboost examples are both the same size so I chopped off the resin parts on one seat and then added similarly chopped off plastic parts from one of the Tamiya seats. You can just about make it out in the photo above - Pilots seat on the left, RIOs on the right. Finally for now, the ordnance: GBU-38 from the spares, the rest from the kit. For those of you who have not had the privilege of building this kit, I'll reiterate that it is simply brilliant. Yes it's pricey, but it's an absolute dream to build. I can only hope that Tamiya complete the lineup and release a B model sometime in the near future. More soon. Dave 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Thanks Werner. More done and the kit is just falling together. Firstly, intakes were sprayed MRP Light Ghost Grey: Once dry I removed the masking as I know, from experience, that they're a sod to get off once everything is closed up. Speaking of which: Absolutely no issues with the fit. I've just run some Tamiya extra thin around some of the seam lines. A light sand will see it tidied up and ready for primer. The IP coamings were also assembled; the HUD added to the front, with masking on the glass added and the GPS screen on top of the rear. I also added a small piece of copper wire running from the rear of the GPS screen, down to the fabric cover: More sub assemblies; chin pod, landing gear and fuselage pylons: The latter will be added to the airframe before priming. Tamiya provide a vinyl piece for one of the front landing gear doors, to act as a blanking plate which covers a vent, defunct on the D model. The filler is where the locating hole was for another part not relevant to the D variant: Finally, all parts of the landing gear set up ready for priming: I'm off to Norway for a few days from Thursday so it will be a week or so before I'm back at the bench. More soon. Dave 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ale85 Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Wow! High speed building! Nice job so far ciao Ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Thanks Ale! The kit is so good it almost builds itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Wow...wish I had your production line. Great looking kits, one after the other and in that speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Good going, looking forward to more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 27 minutes ago, coneheadff said: Wow...wish I had your production line. Great looking kits, one after the other and in that speed Thanks Alex. Shift work sometimes has it's benefits 2 minutes ago, Parabat said: Good going, looking forward to more! Cheers bud! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Excellent work Dave. You really are selling the Tamiya Tomcat as your model looks fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 4 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Excellent work Dave. You really are selling the Tamiya Tomcat as your model looks fantastic. Thanks mate. Mine certainly isn't a masterpiece as others on here but it's good enough for me! It really is just a brilliant kit. Pity Tamiya couldn't be bribed into making a whole range of modern jets!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FortyEighter Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 This is coming together very quickly Dave, Tamiya have put a lot of thought into the design from a modeller's perspective and produced a kit which is a real joy to build. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now