My first 1/72 F-14 Tomcat (Hobbyboss F-14A Model)

[Jon020]

A painting update... mostly involving playing with white and some more Light Gull Grey 16440 building it up panel by panel before giving general light wet coats to blend everything together and giving that rather nice sheen that 16440 has, whereas 36440 is quite matt and flat; but a little more fettling found its way in too.

I started off by applying some light coats of white to the tail outer surfaces, the tops of the inner surfaces and the outer surfaces of the ventral fins. I have the Furball set for this aircraft but I know that it’s sized for the hasegawa kit, and the hobbyboss fins are a little slenderer... and this is one scheme where this matters, so I’ll be using some of the hobbyboss transfers for the tail. Unfortunately, they’re for an aircraft that had the red sunburst rays over a fey tail and not white, the transfer being red and clear, so I had to make the white myself. Hope that’ll work. Paint was Mission Models MMP-001 “White”.

White was applied in gentle thin coats. First coat. Masking didn’t need to be precise.

Tail first coat by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

And slowly built up

Tail, building the density of paint slowly by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Until eventually it was good enough, and quite nice and smooth. There’s still some variation in colour and density which gives a nice variation in effect.

Tail and ventral fins coated by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

At this stage, I remembered to check the fit of the wings... and copying Tony’s approach, I sliced he most of the gear web off and opened out a slot in the mounting hole... which seemed to work and by filing and sanding carefully, a snug attachment was gained (more later)

Wing fitting trimming by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

One problem I’ve kept having is the leading edge of the wing roots cracking... the join aft of the glove vanes is very thin and there wasn’t much surface to get a good seal. I’d back filled the inside with my tamiya thin/sprue mix, but it was still flexing and annoying cracking. A friend pointed me to another forum that had raised this issue with a 1/48 kit (hasegawa?) and I just copied the technique. I took a small length of plastic tube, flattened it a bit and then coated it in my tamiya/Sprue mix and carefully inserted it into the wing root; it gives a good surface area for the two halves to “grab” and hold together; a little back filling with tamiya/sprue mix and all (10 fays later) still help nicely.

Strengthening the wing root joints. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Right – back to paint. The fins were masked to cover the white areas, and I masked the exhaust bits (that had been treated to a few shades of Alclad and placed them in their holes - not glued!

Fins and exhausts masked ready for body colour by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I built the light gull grey colour up slowly, leaving variations between panel gaps, especially on the engine nacelles to retain a little of the base colours (but not much) – remember, this is all an experiment. As a fairly clean LGG bird, this one has only a few variations at the back end, upper surfaces and around the nose (ok.. almost everywhere then). I filled the intakes (that had had some further re-blending work) with a pair of sponge bits cut from from the aires resin exhaust bits box.

Building the colour density. Note intake sponge masks by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Eventually, I was happy (ish) with the result and unmasked the white bits. All seemed. So I pressed on and masked the wing boot fairings using a mix of (mostly) dark gull grey, with a couple of drops of sandgelb RLM and a drop of black. This gave a reasonable colour to put through the airbrush. I added another drop or two of black to the rest of the mix and applied this to the forward areas of the panels, then to what was left added a couple of drops of sandgelb RLM to give a lighter mix and drifted this on the rear and inboard areas. Noticeable? Not much, but it breaks it all up a bit.

Wing boot colours by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

A few more variations in LGG with a touch of dark gull grey added a little variety to the back ends (although I think this was after these shots)... but should be visible later on 😉

Rear Port quarter. Llight gull grey coats with white fins and Alclad exhausts by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Port side. light gull grey coats with white fins and Alclad exhausts by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Starboard side. light gull grey coats with white fins and Alclad exhausts by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I’d not painted the aerodynamic fairing of the starboard phoenix pallet with much density, because it’s a different colour. I wasn’t sure whether it was dark or light ghost grey, but Tony convinced me that it’s light ghost, so that’s what I used... and yes, of course its right.

Masking phoenix pallet aerodynamic fairing by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Phoenix pallet aerodynamic fairing painted by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I also masked up the wig leading edges and the stainless (?) Panel around the canon muzzle. I had to look at photos and the wings of the Finemolds kit as the Hobbyboss kit is devoid of panel lines to denote where the upper surfaces of the corroguard finishes... so it’s not too far back... at least there’s a line on the undersides.

Masking canon surround and corroguard leading edges by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The wings l/e were painted with Alclad II Aluminimum, as this looked quite close to the colours on the aircraft photos. I used the same colour for the muzzle area but it looked too light, so I went over it with some Alclad II steel, which blended it down nicely. It’ll do.

Canon fairing painted by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So, finally, I got out some red and green humbrol enamels and added some base colour to the navigation lights and the fuel dump outlet; a little colour always helps. These will be darkened later as they’re a bit bright at the moment.

I added the wings and tailplane (push fit) and tried the wing positions (they have to be moved on their own, but that’s obvious I hope. Clearances were ok... and the roots no longer creaped open and cracked with the wings forward (phew)... forward, swept, overswept parked.

Wing sweep test by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Wing sweep test by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Wing sweep test by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Still lots of work to do... and I’ve been working on wheels and legs this weekend (photos to follow)... and whilst it remains a practice piece, it’s been fun.

Thanks for reading and happy to field comments

Jonathan

[Jon020]

I set about giving the body components a good coat of Missions Models Semi Gloss. It seems to go down well and gives a good sheen... except in one case when I really did seem to mess it up and it looks like I applied too much too close and it rippled awfully along the starboard wing upper surface... fortunately, mostly just in the middle of the wing’s chord.

Messing up with the semi gloss coat by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I walked away (best thing to do) and let it harden off, and then sanded it back with fine paper (1500 and 3600) so that it was smooth... and then (carefully) drifted another lighter layer of semi gloss back over the surface. All worked out ok. With apologies for the poor photo(s).

Semi gloss coat by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

A side aspect I’d needed to address was that of the pitot probes. These looked a little malnourished, and I compared them to the Finemolds ones and the GWH ones. The Finemolds ones are massive in comparison, probably too big, whereas the GWH ones are only slightly larger than the Hobbyboss ones... which was a relief (although the GWH ones are nicer shaped. However, the GWH and FM ones have a small tongue at the bottom to aid attachment. The Hobbyboss ones have nothing. I first considered a drill and pin into the base of the probe, but my smallest drill bit in 0.3mm and the thickness of the probe was about that – so no hope of adding a hole. Looking at photos, the probes do sit on a bit of a flanged base – it’s how they attach to the aircraft. The larger probe has a grey base, the rear (smaller) probe has a metal coloured base. The front bases are rectangular, the rear circular. So, with some thin plasticard, I fashioned some small bases, and once I’d squared the bottom of the probe base off to give a good butt fit, I attached the bases with Tamiya thin... that I then built up a bit at the edges to fillet the seams. I might try adding a small hole and pin into the base of this, but if not, the large footprint will at least give a better bond. I’ll paint them once installed... and work out how to remove them from the sprue too... carefully, i guess. They do look like carpet monster fodder.

Pitot feet added by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I masked up the anti slip panels using a post-it note cut out based on guestimated dimensions (although I did use my digital callipers to take some measurements).

[Trial mask post-it]Trial mask on post-it ... by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I then used the post-it note mask to cut out some proper masks on tamiya 9mm tape... and masked the surrounding area with tape and more post-its.

Masking tape masks and area masking by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I sprayed a few light (but thickish mix) coats of Dark Gull Grey over the masks and lifted all off afterwards. It’s not as precise as the decals... but it fits the odd panel line break-up that the kit has (the size of panels looks a little fictitious) and has a better “matt” finish than the decals. I know many use textured paint for these... but at 1/72, I don’t think that’s right... it needs to be “scale” and I think a matt finish is probably enough. I’ll probably rough it up a bit later with some scuffs etc, but it’ll do for now.

Anti slip unmasked by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I’d forgotten the intake lips... so these were masked up and a few thin layers of Alclad Polished Aluminium drifted over. I also brished some alumimium on to the surrounds of the intake bypass grills on the upper surfaces.. which I think was enough.

Intake lips masked + polished aluminium by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The engine exhaust components were assembled, after I’d painted the spinners a nice dark sea grey (good enough as they’ll hardly be visible), the reheat ring assembly (a concoction of eduard and aires PE) was tacked to the spinner with white glue (glue n glaze)... and then inserted into the tube, checking that the reheat ring stayed straight – and prodding it a little with a cocktail stick down the tube if not. The fan and tube were glues with Tamiya thin. All good.

Assembling the TF30 exhausts by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I then popped some white glue around the edge of the tube and dropped it into the exhaust openings. Once dry, to reinforce the bond, I dropped some of my tamiya thin/sprue mix down into the gap to provide a better grip. All good until I managed to wipe some of the glue on the outside of the exhaust ring ... and removing it took the top layer of Alclad off (!) – insert money in swear box now)

TF30 exhausts assembled by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Once it’s dried off and I’d taken a few deep breaths, I masked up the exhaust and drifted some of the colours back over the rear portion – Exhaust manifold, jet exhaust and pale burnt metal were the three colours used. They’ve ended up quite similar to each other... which is probably good enough. I can’t see that they’d be identical on an aircraft that’s been in service for a while.

I applied some thinned black enamel paint into the crevices of the rear exhaust portion (Aires) and wiped the excess away. This revealed to me that the semi-gloss coat is not impervious to white spirit and a little bit lifted away 😞 The varnish is good, but clearly not as robust as Alclad Aqua gloss. This also explained some of the areas I found when applying some lining around the fuselage – it’s generally ok, but not as robust as hoped... but good enough as long as you don’t put too much white spirit over it. Lesson learnt.

I did a few other bits n pieces like painting the pylons with some details, and the chaff/flare dispenser... and the wheels and legs are of course sorted too.

The legs were white painted and then lined with a black or dark grey wash. The problem I encountered was in painting the oleos. I could not get any of my metallic paints to stick well... so after some thinking, I opted for metal tape. The mains are easy and sections added to just the lower oleo, but due to the moulding of the nose (steering pistons?) being a single piece, I had to add two pieces above and below this... but I think it looks ok. I added another piece to the retraction strut and whilst far from perfect, I think it’ll do as a recovery action considering I forgot. Next time I’d probably paint this in Alclad first and then mask for the white – or drill the oleo out and add a metal section.... but we live and learn.

Nose gear... more weathering needed. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Wheels were sprayed white and once hard and dry, I masked them, and then sprayed enamel black. Once “nearly” dry, I used a cocktail stick and white spirit to carefully lift away any black paint around the rims (that needed touching up) and then couldn’t resist removing the paint from the tyre writing too – I know it’s not prototypical... but it adds a little detail where there is normally little. I need to paint the brake units as they’re too clean and white... but I can do that later. Once finished, it was coated with a layer of Mission Models flat coat... which I think tones it down ok and unifies all the different finishes.  

Wheels... still needing brake painting by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

 I’d tried the Ammo Mig set of 3 greys for US navy jets, and this seemed to work out ok. On the fuselage uppers, mostly I used light grey, just enough to add some definition without over showing the panel lines falsely... one some working moving areas I used a little mid grey (flaps and spoilers and refuelling probe... and access ladder cover etc)... but I kept it mostly light. Underneath i mostly used the mid grey, including in the gear bays, but used a little of the dark grey in the bays too, and on the phoenix pallets to add depth. I still need to mask the wings and add the sweep marks on the inboard bits.

Upper surfaces swept overview. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Upper surfaces unswept by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Undersides... panel lined and gear bays weathered by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The chaff and flare dispenser still needs tidying up – but that was a real test of my eyesight (eve with the magnifiers I use). I don’t want to do those again.

Rear underside. Note chaff/flare dispenser by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

And here’s more of a side elevation where the pylons are visible – with those little red bits on that this aircraft seemed to carry for a while... mission models paints – just brushed on neat. One drop is enough!

Trial assembly with painted pylons by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

One other little addition, was to cut a small piece of the metal tape as the lens of the IR sensor... I've stuck this in and I'll fill the hole with wither glue-n-glaze or microclear (have't decided which yet).. but it will lift the dark underside a little. Need to add the small red light too.

IR sensor by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

And finally, a look up the exhausts. Far from perfect, and the outsides will need matting down... but it’ll do.

Trial fit... into the hot bits. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

That’s all for now... will finish off after a break.

Nearing the decals stage - at last!

Thanks for reading... 

Jonathan

[HOUSTON]

Jonathan..

Your TOMCAT build has ME grinning all over and drooling .. Its MY Favorite  Jet.

   

 

Your Workmanship  is EXEMPLARY. Love the detailing. 

I love detailed  work and you are doing a very IMPRESSIVE  job.

Blooming  AWESOME build so far.

Cannot wait to see more.

 

 

*and I like that you post quite a lot in one go. Thank You..*

[Jon020]

6 hours ago, HOUSTON said:

Jonathan..

Your TOMCAT build has ME grinning all over and drooling .. Its MY Favorite  Jet.

   

 

Your Workmanship  is EXEMPLARY. Love the detailing. 

I love detailed  work and you are doing a very IMPRESSIVE  job.

Blooming  AWESOME build so far.

Cannot wait to see more.

 

 

*and I like that you post quite a lot in one go. Thank You..*

Hi Houston. Thanks for your very kind comments. I'm pleased that my meagre attempts meet with some smiles. Now, as for the length of posts, the following one wont be very long as I hit a snag - a case of one step forward and two steps back - but that's part of this - live and learn.

Cheers

Jonathan

[Jon020]

Ok, so as implied above - this will very much be a case of one step forward and one step backwards. Having been away for a much needed break (in the Yorkshire Dales - so far away from us [about 300mi] but so beautiful)... I came back and decided that it was time to tackle the transfers.

I'd been toying using a mix of the kit decals and those of the Furball sheet. Unfortunately, the furball ones are sized for the hasegawa kit, so the Hobbyboss thin fin presents a problem with the all-fin decal.. it's also a slightly different shape at the bottom of the grey leading edge piece. I wasn't entirely convinced that the NL lettering white surround looked thick enough (and was it too small(?) but a comparison of the port-side fins showed very different placing. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any photos of the port side fin to check, but decided that at least the kit transfers would fit, so I'd use those. 

Next problem was that the furball ones are a deeper red (hobbyboss ones are quite "bright") so I'd not be able to easily mix and match... and I need the right sharkmouth and the smaller sharkmouth for each tank (only on the furball sheet)... but I thought I could press on, use the kit sharkmouth (as its similar) and the darker fuel tank sharkmouths might not be noticeable once they're underneath... 

So... I pressed on with the kit decals

Hmmmm.

Well, I had expected that the kit decals would fit (not unreasonable I thought)... but no. I trimmed the decal film right up to the markings for the trailing edge and fin top.... and then applied them. Well, they're close, but I managed to tear a little at the forward base of the fin, and the lower edges overlapped onto the fuselage. No matter - I'll trip and tidy those afterwards. However, the decal needed settling and this is where it all went wrong.

Did I mention that this is my first time with Acrylics..?

I use MicroSet and MicroSol, or mostly just MicroSol... and it always works perfectly. Ahem. Not this time.

Yes the decal settled nicely, but it seemed to attack the fin surface. "Walk away" I thought, let it dry... so I did. No, no improvement. "Drat" (not the word I used to be honest). I'd been aware of others concerns with decal setting solutions, but I'd never had any trouble - I'd been using Enamels hadn't I.😞

So... yes... here we go - tail fin marking applied and surface bubbled rather nastily.

The perils of microsol <a href=😳"> by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I managed to remove the decal ... with some water and lifting with a brush underneath... and checked the surface of the fin....

Decal removed; surface bubbled. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So yes, I've now experienced the perils of microsol 😭

The fin (and the rest of the aircraft had been coated with Mission Models MMA-05 Semi-Gloss clear coat, and it seemed that it's this that has reacted. As it was about to apply decals everywhere I decided to call a stop.

Later I did attck the fin with some fine papers (1500 and 3600) and the bumps were polished away quite easily - It was just the varnish upper layer that had bubbled.

Previously, I'd used Aqua Gloss over metal and other surfaces, and had applied it to some ares of this, including the fin (but then I went over the top with some MM clear coat) and I'd not experienced trouble with this, so I thought I do a test.

I applied some Aqua Gloss to areas of my railway coach body test pieces (I used to do more detailed railway modelling than aircraft modelling) and they still serve. Once dry, I applied a spare decal across the side/roof join and applied copious amount of microsol.... several times. I added some microsol to other areas where I'd not applied Aqua Gloss... to see the different effect. This is where the decal settled and with the micosol it has smoothed out and there's no effect to the pain underneath.

Microsol test over aqua gloss by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The rough bits are just where I didn't tidy it first. But - looked ok 👍🏼

Over another area,I daubed microsol and it's started to lift the top coat through to the metal coat (Alclad) underneath. 👎🏼

Microsol test over acrylic alone by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So, it looks like I'll need to apply Aqua Gloss to seal it all in together. I've had some mixed success with this recently (not sure why) so I might limit application to areas expecting larger decals to take the microsol, and more flat smaller areas, I'll leave alone.

Would be interested in others' opinions.

So... One step forward, two steps back ... and maybe half a step forward.

...

And - now I'll have to use the furball decals - and somehow make them fit - possibly some careful measuring beforehand - but the fin tops will need painting as will the fin bases I guess.... so perhaps another step back. Oh well... at least the colours of the decals will all match (I'll just have to match some paint).

Cheers Jonathan

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by Jon020
added the last bit

[HOUSTON]

Amazing  work...

 

Ah so you were in MY part of the World.. Seems like Yorkshire Dale's and surrounding  areas  are a favorite for quite a few of you.

Hooe the weather was kind and sunny for you.

 

(I am in Fiji in the Pacific   seeing family and simply enjoying it here.......    

then on to another country close by and then a third   possibly ending up in Seychelles  where family  are also located..

 

Anyway sering MY ALL time Favorite TOMCAT just makes MY day. You really are doing a SUPERB  job...

 

it ROCKS 

 

 

[HOUSTON]

By the way Jonathan.... I am SO useless at modelling but modellers like yourself with such outstanding  detailing work gives ME joy.

 

SO thank you Sir.

[Jon020]

Ok, so per my previous post, I’ve now cleaned everything up and given the model (all external bits that will have decals applied) a really good covering of a couple of coats of Alclad Aqua Gloss... a good hard varnish that easy to apply, dries quickly and well and rubs down easily if you’ve managed to put your finger on a wet bit whilst you were handling it ... yup! But all good now.

Aqua Gloss coated by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I’ve also been thinking about the decal; sorry, transfers – but it’s fewer letters and I’m lazy 😉 I’d put the removed fin markings back on their backing paper and let it dry and trimmed close... to compare with the Furball one. The shape of the cut out at the bottom of the grey leading edge is bigger on the Furball one but I’m sure I can match a bit of spare decal to fill that bit if needed (the small triangular bit that fills that corner at the front broke off during removal.. hence it’s now missing)... I’ll have to reduce the cord of the marking to fit the fin... as is quiet evident here.

Interesting that the NL markings are so different. It’s a shame that I can find so few photos of the port fin of these aircraft to determine which is 100% right (and none of 161621) ... but I’m assuming the FB one is right. Having done a google search it seems that both were used, but whilst I could see no photos, general consensus of artists and modellers is that the FB one is correct with the N firmly inside the red band for 161621. The starboard side looks very similar and fine.

Fin markings comparison by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

and I’ll probably cut the front nose section away and paint that bit to get a better application of red to half of each fin nose. I’ll have to paint the fin caps too... so I’ll need to mix some paint to match... and that will take some testing of colours. But the red of the Furball decals is much richer than that of the Hobbyboss item... as long as they’re the same, it probably doesn’t matter.

Will probably cut here too by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I’m using Mission Models and I have red and yellow, and white and black and brown.. etc, but maybe some other paints (Humbrol enamel scarlet or revel crimson might be closer – I’ll have to experiment with some spare bits of furball decals). Anyway – that’s a test to follow in due course. I’ll paint something white to act as a base.

 

Anyway... just to add something different, I thought I’d add some quick pics of what I use to hold the model when working on it. I copied Tony Oliver’s design for small stands that insert into the sparrow missile fin slots (that have appeared previously) but generally, I wanted a nice secure mount to hold the model whichever way up I needed it. My solution was to use some bits of packing plastic/foam that me new Sparmax compressor was packaged in. Essentially, it’s a square base with two rectangular blocks glued to this... at a distance that allows the model to sit on its shoulders and lightly sit around the rear engine fairings. It’s tall enough to allow the model to sit upside down and accommodate the fins, and there’s a loose small square piece that sits snug in between the outer blocks to vary the depth of the opening and can be removed or lifted up to allow the intake bottoms to sit on this too... and thus lift it all up a bit.

Foam &#x27;plane holder by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I usually place a sheet of kitchen towel over the top of this, secured with a couple of pieces of masking tape at either side, so I can spray upper surfaces (or lower) and not mark the holder... it adds cushioning too... and the wings can sit atop the blocks too.

Holder in use by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

When I’ve painted the model, or anything, I place it in a lidded box to dry. With Acrylics, this is less of an issue, but with enamels sometimes a model would sit in here for a day or 5 whilst the paint dried and hardened. It’s not air tight and has small openings at each end, so there is a slight circulation of air (to let fumes escape) but it still keeps the dust out and off the model.

Holder in use inside drying box by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

With the lid attached, everything is quiet secure and kept dust free – for as long as necessary.

Drying box lid on... dust free by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I have another box, which is a really useful box that is actually air tight, and smaller items are currently kept in here – or can be drying in here too. Frustratingly, I sometimes forget which parts need attention (when in both boxes) and for the umpteenth time, I’ve forgotten to apply Aqua Gloss to the arrester hook... I’ll write myself a note!

Anyway – the two boxes sit on top of each other nicely and are stored out of the way on the shelf above my desk; it’s good to keep everything together on these projects and at least storage space is manageable when working 1/72. If i moved to 1/48, I’d need a bigger box or two.

A brace of &quot;drying&quot; storage boxes by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Anyway – I’ll experiment with some paints and see where that gets me, but if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Cheers

Jonathan

[fewr9fkr9595]

Good save on the fin mate. 

I tend always use aqua gloss pre and post decals to sandwich them in as it’s tough enough to withstand normal decal solutions and then weathering products after.  

Then when all is done the final satin/matt coat is by whatever brand I am using at the time, normally matching base paint. Not for compatibility issues as its going over the aqua gloss, more for continuity and appeasing the OCD monster...

[Jon020]

36 minutes ago, Tony Oliver said:

Good save on the fin mate. 

I tend always use aqua gloss pre and post decals to sandwich them in as it’s tough enough to withstand normal decal solutions and then weathering products after.  

Then when all is done the final satin/matt coat is by whatever brand I am using at the time, normally matching base paint. Not for compatibility issues as its going over the aqua gloss, more for continuity and appeasing the OCD monster...

Cheers Tony. Hope you're well. I'll admit that I had a few "oh sh1#" moments but gave it some time and had a think.... and some consultation with my go to modelling consultant (he'll like that) Brian and agreed Aqua Gloss the best way to go. It's a good varnish and settles nicely despite putting it down badly. I'd found I'd been using the same pressure as for MM paints (about 10psi) but saw that it should be 15-40 psi, so I turned it up and sprayed from a greater distance... yup that helped. I've to work out how much to trim the Furball fin decal and I want to test some paints first. I've got some MRP insignia Red 11136 and some MM insignia Red 31136  both "in the post" to compare on a test piece. First time with MRP so that will be interesting too. Yes, I'll seal with AQ then try some semi gloss or matt MM varnish to tone it just a little. Fingers crossed, we'll see how it pans out.

All part of the learning curve. And time waiting spent thinking about the next one.

Cheers.

Jonathan

 

 

 

 

[Jon020]

Apologies for the lack of updates of late... many thing have been vying for my time and satisfying all masters can be a challenge; the F-14 has therefore been neglected a bit, but I thought I ought to write up the progress, trials and tribulations encountered since my last report.

So... as I’ve found with much of this model, nothing quite goes as it’s intended, and applying the transfers and “red bits” found a way of going wrong that I’d not anticipated... so some rework was, in the end, needed.

To cut a long story short, for those that don’t like suspense... (almost) all of the transfers are now on and I’m waiting for a break in this damp weather so I can give a coat of aqua gloss to those most recently applied. I do work indoors but never spray varnish when humidity is too high.

So... hoping I’m not repeating myself, I applied a nice white layer to one of my test (GUV) coach bodies and then some aqua gloss (nice and smooth) and then added one of the furball rudder sundowners markings transfers across the side/roof , sealed down with microsol and then given another coat of aquagloss to seal. I then masked this and applied a few masked patches of MRP Insignia Red (FS11136) and thought this very very close. With a coat of aqua gloss afterwards, it was hard to distinguish. So that was good.

MRP colour check by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I found the MRP paint nice to use, needing several light wet coats, but slowing giving good coverage;  but being a lacquer, it was a case of using the extraction spray booth and mask when applying and cleaning up afterwards.

The bottle of Mission Models Insignia red arrived, so I tried this too... masking the same piece as before and applying patches to check colour tone against the transfer and MRP paint. Well, I’ll let you judge... As always, it sprayed nicely but tonally it was quite different... possibly closer to the Hobbyboss transfers’ red... but I’m not using those. This was FS31136, but I expected this to give a matt-finish, not be a different colour altogether.

MM colour check by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So... I stuck with the MRP paint.

I can’t recall if I described exactly how much I trimmed off the Furball fin markings, so hopefully this will illustrate. Note that I cut the nose section as this didn’t seem to marry up with the Hobbyboss profile.  This was a photocopy of the sheet I used to practice on before cutting the real decal.

Trimming the tail markings by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Once they were applied (after all that faff with microsol and not enough Aquagloss) they looked like this. I had intended to paint the nose sections, but concerned about masking around the curves, I applied the decal.

Fin &quot;nose&quot; markings applied by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Of course, this left a bit of a gap, so rather than paint (let’s face it, I should have done that for the whole thing) I cut a small piece of “spare” transfer from the Furball sheet and inserted this. The join isn’t completely smooth... but maybe it’s a seam of a panel line 😉 but I can live with it – and once coated in a coat or two of Aqua Gloss, hopefully it’ll not be too noticeable. I know that the red doesn’t reach all the way to the bottom of the fin L but I’m going to live with (ignore) that from now on (law of diminishing returns)

Gap filled by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So, I masked up the body leaving the ventral fin outer edges and vertical fin tops exposed for the MRP red.

Masking for fins Ensign red coating by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

DISASTER STRIKES! Well... all seemed to go reasonably well until I removed the mast piece (yes the last piece) of masking tape. I pulled it around from the rear of the fin rather than the front (stupid!!!) and it ripped the transfer. This was sealed under some aquagloss, but this was another of those transfers that didn’t stay down the first time (varnish bubbled using microsol) so I think its “glue” was less strong when it went down second time... and hence... well. Never mind. Less said the better. The swear jar is doing well out of this kit.

Masking tape ripped transfer :-( by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I managed (don’t know how, to remove the upper triangle of the rear sun ray from the masking tape, and stuck it back down (stuck down with some Johnsons Klear). But, I could not remove the lost parts of the letter. So, I raided the Furball Sheet again and cut out the tops of a “N”, then narrowed the verticals a little and adjusted the pitch and applied these. I added a coat or two of aqua gloss and then rubbed it down carefully. There are a couple of ridges left in the fin where the transfer tore.... but i think it’s have to do. I know it’s here so I can see it but overall... well, it’s a Hobbyboss kit and my first, it wasn’t going to be perfect, so.. it’ll do. Lesson learnt.. again.

Tail markings &quot;repaired&quot; by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I wasn’t too happy with the red on the ventral fins either; not as neat as I hoped. So I used some strips of red transfer to tidy it all up ... again, not the best way to do it, but it’ll be ok if nobody looks too closely. The white boarder was also not perfectly straight, so I used the Furball Transfers cut into three of four pieces to aid placement of such a long transfer... leaving the rear vertical white bit of boarder off as photos of the aircraft show it not to be there. With my apologies for the slightly blurry image.

Fins complete by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Needless to say, after these were all sealed under some Aquagloss I carried on with the transfers.  There are no photos of them being complete (light wise it’s not been conducive to grabbing any shots recently) so these were from a short while ago. I was still using microsol to settle the transfers and it seemed to work ok. I’d recently bought some Daco Decalsetting solutions and gave these a try on the last transfers (yellow panels on nose (not in photos) and intake warning triangles – and it seemed very good; it was thicker than microsol and seemingly more controllable... and worked well. I might use this from now on.

The Sharkmouth went down ok. I expected to need to cut the edges a little to settle it, and it did take a little manoeuvring (remember its sized for a h’gawa kit) but it was fine. I think I used one pair of wrong transfers at the back end (sssh – please don’t tell) but it can be a challenge working out which transfers on the Furball sheets apply to which aircraft.

Transfers coming along by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I popped the wings on for a couple of shots too – one here

Wings forward by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So, whilst waiting for the weather to improve, I thought I’d have a look at a few other bits. No pilots in this one, but nothing to stop there being one alongside. I had the Italeri Nato crew set (don’t like it – soft plastic, lots of flash and a bit crude – but maybe I’ll come back to them someday) and some lovely little CMK resin pilots, so I went to use these. Separate torsos, legs, feet (boots) arms and heads mean assembly is required, but those bits that I did managed to remove and clean up and assemble went together using Delux Rocket Hot superglue ok – but they’re fragile; too fragile. Hands broke off all the right arms and once the legs broke, getting them to reattach was seemingly impossible.. I didn’t try the right hangs as there was nothing in the way of surface area to attach them with. Suffice to say. I gave up. I’ve now ordered some Reedoak figures. We’ll see what they’re like.

My pilots&#x27; undone by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So, I opened the Eduard detailing sets back up and took out the canopy rings and mirrors and bent these to shape (checking against the completed canopy). These had a coat of Halfords primer and then some “just off” black. I used Mission Models paints as before, 8 drops of black and 2 drops of white, with some thinner and polymix and sprayed them up. The single mirror for the rear seat is there too. I had intended to attach this to the internal etch ring, but getting this to the inside of the canopy was becoming tiresome, so I’ll just add the mirror.

Canopy rings painted dark grey. 8 drops black; 2 drops white Mission Models paint. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The Static and rear AOA probes (that I previously added small base plates to) were primed with Halfords primer, removed from sprues, tidied up and then the noses painted white. These will have a layer of alclad hot metal added, but as the front sections of the probe are a lighter metal colour, I thought it easier to use a lighter base coat to give the colour variation than trying to ad two metal colours afterwards... but we’ll see how that goes. They’re attached to a small stick wrapped in masking tape here.

Probes underpainted. Metal coat next by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So... that’s all for now. Some progress and nearing a stage that’s approaching the end at last.

Thanks for reading and for sticking with me on this one.

Jonathan

[Jon020]

A quick post as I'd grabbed some photos ... still need the weather to improve when I've a few minutes spare and apply some aqua gloss... but for the time being:

Transfers complete by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

and

Transfers complete overview by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

see if you can spot the transfer that's wrong... or rather the one that I know is wrong. It's visible in the first one only

cheers

Jonathan

[fewr9fkr9595]

Looking great so far mate. Definitely worth all the effort. 

 

 

[James G]

Indeed...top build! I just got a Hasegawa Tomcat so bookmarking all the great Tomcat threads on BM for reference and inspiration. 

[fewr9fkr9595]

On 06/10/2020 at 13:15, Jon020 said:

see if you can spot the transfer that's wrong... or rather the one that I know is wrong. It's visible in the first one only

It’s probably the fire panel or ‘beware of blast’?

I wouldn’t sweat that mate. 

[Jon020]

Thanks for the comments chaps.... And yes Tony. Beware of blast. The ones I took off the transfer sheet were center justified whereas they should have been the rear justified ones.... left justified text on starboard side etc... but I realised a bit too late. I did find using the Furball sheet quite a challenge as many of the markings are similar, but not identical. The modex numbers are all slightly different and working out which ones on the sheet to use for this aircraft took some comparing, but I'm pretty sure I got those right... just didn't spend as much time on the smaller details 🙄

Now I know.

Cheers

Jonathan

[Jon020]

OK, so this is quite a constructive post as much as come together. I decided to do some finishing off and some weathering (using oils and oilbrushers) which seemed to be enough for this clean bird. But first of all, a little hiccup. At some point between the clean finishes, a little much got picked up or wiped on the left side of the nose, which seemed to emanate from the sensor probe base plate that the artwork of Miss Molly rest her hand on. So, I had to carefully rub the varnish back to remove this muck. That was fine and I got enough of it off, but carelessly I also removed most of the colour of the transfer of Miss Molly’s right foot. (insert facepalm emoji here and another 50p in the swear box). With a 000 brush and breath held, I applied some MM paint mixed to give the right red, flesh and black... and I think it’s barely noticeable.

Tidying the artwork by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I then popped the flattened wire blade antenna into the IR sensor... added the clear red dome (the Quickboost pack comes with a small sprue with three of these... but I managed to not lose the first one), which was tacked and secured with some odourless CA glue, and then the base painted in LGG (cruel close up below). I also filled the main sensor head with “Glue n Glaze” (stuff I had from my railway modelling interests). This goes in white but dries nice and clear; the silver disc at the base is still visible.

Sensors and antennas by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I then set about some weathering, mainly on the engine nacelles as most of the aircraft is quite clean. The tanks got some weathering underneath using a mix of white, starship filth and black oilbrusher stuff, applied with a small brush in irregular patterns

Fuel tank weathering oilbrusher mix applied by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Once it’s dried off a bit, I blended it all with the bigger, soft brush until only a hint remained... looking just grubby. Once this had all dried, I gave it a coat of aqua gloss to seal it, and then some MM semi gloss to tone it back a bit.

Fuel tank weathering oilbrusher mix blended by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The Georgian oils and oilbrushers that I used

Oilbrusher and oils by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

I fitted the rear deck in the canopy – and took a quick shot.

Canopy by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

And painted the canopy ring, rear mirror and windscreen frame, tacked to cocktail sticks with some white glue. These should be black, but i mixed about a 5:1 mix of black to white to lighten it a little and allow it not to absorb all light.

Canopy ring and details by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

The probes previously shown had a couple of mixes of Alclad applied. I think I used Stainless Steel and then some hot exhaust to darken the rear sections. I’d hoped that the translucency of the paint would work over the varied base colours; it didn’t. So, I added the darker colours with a business card held over the front pieces – which was just enough masking for a soft blend. These are put aside for fitting at the very end.

Probes by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Some further weathering... the wing glove bags and anti slip patches. Oilbrusher “dabs” with a 000 fine brush, blended with a softer 00 brush... seemed to do the trick and give just soem variation

Oilbrusher splashes for fabric cover toning by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Fabric covers colours blended. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Antislip panel toning colour application by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Antislip panels blended by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Wings... having read Tony Oliver’s approach and one I found on FB, I used tape to mask the wanted area and then found a small enough screwdriver to poke through a piece of scrap cardboard in the wing attachment rotation slot... dabbed some oilbrusher paint on (a mix of starship filth and white) and then with a bit of cotton wrapped around a brush and the screwdriver, wipe the brush towards the root dragging the paint and softening the effects. This allows the sweep marks to follow the right curve radiating from the rotation point. Apologies for the blurry photo – I rushed the photo not wanting the paint to dry off too much.

Apologies for the blur... wing oil mark application by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Unmasking.... always a nerve wracking moment; how much will come away with the tape/maskol at the edges. Well... none. Phew. Quite pleased by that. I think the w/screen panel might be a bit too “green” but I quite like it; I think it contrasts nicely with the red markings

Canopy unmasked by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Cockpit unmasked looking forward by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So... all ready for assembly... Yes, I could have posed it more tidily couldn’t I. Oh well, too late now. The red rectangles are intake blanks; there’s little inside the intakes worth showing off... so these will hide that.

F-14 readied for final assembly by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Ok. So initial assembly went ok. I’ll admit that some of the gear doors were a fiddle (big ones on main bays and on nose bays) but otherwise it was ok. Yes, I know I still need to add the black rectangles to the nose gear doors – a job for an evening this week.

 

So, I’ll just leave these four here. Wheels – went in ok with a little more fettling to give a nice positive but not tight fit... all held in with odourless superglue.

Yes, still more to go... but getting there.

Assembled #1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Assembled #2 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Assembled#3 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Assembled#4 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

So yes... on the final straight at last. Thanks for reading, and any comments of course welcomed. Any questions, and I'll do my best.

Jonathan

[fewr9fkr9595]

That’s looking great mate! 
Not too familiar with this jet but do the ecm/rwr bumps (glove vanes, tailplanes, beavertail and one on chinpod need a dab of radome tan/dirty light brown on them? To represent the coating they had on them. Or did they get a fresh coat of gull for this special scheme? 
Can link/post some pics if you’re not sure which bits I’m on about. 

[Jon020]

4 hours ago, Tony Oliver said:

That’s looking great mate! 
Not too familiar with this jet but do the ecm/rwr bumps (glove vanes, tailplanes, beavertail and one on chinpod need a dab of radome tan/dirty light brown on them? To represent the coating they had on them. Or did they get a fresh coat of gull for this special scheme? 
Can link/post some pics if you’re not sure which bits I’m on about. 

Hi Tony. Hope you're keeping well and thanks for the comment.

Nope, I know exactly which bits you mean and whilst there aren't many photos of the aircraft apart from that one day, all those shots show the radomes being very tidy and no yellow showing through at all. That was a shame because I think they do add a splash of colour, but given that it was a relatively tidy bird at the time, I've refrained from applying this treatment... this time 

It could have had some wear showing on the port side or rear blisters as these don't show in the photos , but I'd imagine they'd all be in the same state.

The next one might be slightly less pristine.

Cheers

Jonathan.

 

[Jon020]

Right... all the final bits have finally been sorted. I'll do a final write up and then I'll sort some proper photos and do a RFI post.

But.... for now whilst the rain in battering down outside, here's some colour on a sundowner

 

I might try a GWH one next.

Cheers

Jonathan

[Jon020]

Whilst I must get around to finish writing up the final steps.... and I give some thought to better illustrating this for a RFI thread.... I'll just add this one 

 

[Jon020]

Well, the project is now finished. Final assembly needed a few of the holes to be opened out a bit for the tanks, pylons and the masters brass probe on the nose as they'd filled a little with paint, but otherwise, it all went quite well. 

Here the gear and tanks are fitted. The weathering on the tanks looks as I'd intended... just a bit grubby underneath which suits my wishes. The other aspect visible here is the limited attempt at intake ramp details... pencil lines to represent the panel lines... which seemed enough for this one.

Gear and tanks assembled by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

Care was taken with the kit side probes that I'd added larger bases to, and this made their attachment easier. Seen here having been removed from the masking-tape wrapped wooden stick on which they were secured for painting

Probes ready for install. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

and here having been stuck on with a tiny drop of odourless superglue

Adding the probes. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr

They seem strong enough, but the model needs careful handling (how do you pick up a F-14 model..? Carefully!

Anyway.... a RFI thread is now available.... so, until next time. That's all folks.

 

Thanks for following this build, it's trials, some of my frustrations and triumphs.... Thanks too to all of those that have contributed to this tread with suggestions, advice and guidance; it's been a massive help, and sanity maintainer - perhaps if I was sane I'd not have attempted it in the first place... hmmm. oh well 😉 and I suppose that all in all, it was worth it.

Now for the next one 

Jonathan.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Jon020
Forgot the pencil lines I'd added.

[Zorglub]

Thank to you for sharing all these steps with us.

 

I intend to keep your build aside to have an example to follow and help me later (I have 2 Tomcats waiting in reserve, but Hasegawa and Fujimi).

 

[Shalako]

Beautiful work Jonathan!

 

Did you conduct some research before you decide to build the specific aircraft?

 

The reason why I'm asking you this is because, I'm in the process of building a Hasegawa F-14 (the old mould), and I also have the decals' sheet from Superscale that gives markings for the specific aircraft. However, the issue here is that Superscale provides only one decal for Miss Molly's artwork and no information.

 

Therefore, I was wondering if you know if the aircraft, - and at least the beginning, - had the artwork applied only to the one side and later on, on the other side also.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Jon020]

15 hours ago, Shalako said:

Beautiful work Jonathan!

 

Did you conduct some research before you decide to build the specific aircraft?

 

The reason why I'm asking you this is because, I'm in the process of building a Hasegawa F-14 (the old mould), and I also have the decals' sheet from Superscale that gives markings for the specific aircraft. However, the issue here is that Superscale provides only one decal for Miss Molly's artwork and no information.

 

Therefore, I was wondering if you know if the aircraft, - and at least the beginning, - had the artwork applied only to the one side and later on, on the other side also.

 

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill. There are a few photos of the aircraft, when it was flown in to NAF Washington on December 2, 29189 when Ms Molly Snead was present to see the aircraft named in her honour. The photos show the Miss Molly artwork on both sides of the nose. Note that the artwork is handed, the caricature of Molly Snead faces aft in each case.

It is always possible that the artwork was only applied to both sides just prior to the event, but I understood that it was all in her honour so I'd be surprised if there was a case for it being only on one side. I believe that the first aircraft to carry "Miss Molly" was a COD aircraft operating of the USS Carl Vinsun, but clearly the big cat was more glamorous.