1:72 Fine Molds Grumman F-14D "Tomcat Sunset"

[Navy Bird]

Hi mates,

 

This is my effort for the F-14 Tomcat Group Build that is just finishing up. It's the 1:72 F-14D kit from Fine Molds, which I acquired by purchasing three issues of ModelGraphix magazine back in 2015. Kind of like the old days when you got a prize in the bottom of your Cracker Jacks, only this promotion packaged styrene sprues - but you didn't get them all unless you bought all three issues!

 

The kit lives up to Fine Molds' reputation - I did not use any putty during the assembly. None. Detail is quite good for 1:72, although I did tart it up with a bit of aftermarket (described below). I left the covers off of the avionics and cannon bays as they interfere with seeing what's inside. The markings are for the special VF-31 display aircraft from the official Tomcat retirement ceremony, a day that will live in infamy.

 

WIP is here.

 

Project: Grumman F-14D Tomcat

 

Kit: Fine Molds kit no. MG 789 2015

Scale: You have to ask? This is me you're talking to!

Decals: From Hasegawa kit no. 00931 with some stickers from the kit - the actual aircraft had no stenciling that I could see
Resin: Res/Kit Wheel Set RS72-0007
Photoetch: Some bits from Eduard set 73233 (designed for the Revell kit) including mirrors, canopy locks, seat harnesses, cockpit sidewall details, landing gear torque links, brake lines, HUD, and vent covers
Turned Brass: Master Model set AM-72-007 Alpha and AOA probes
Canopy Masks: Eduard CX532
Paint: Gunze H3 Red, H4 Yellow, H26 Bright Green, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, H317 FS36231 Dark Gull Gray, H315 FS16440 Light Gull Gray, H11 Flat White; Floquil 110015 Flat Finish; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black; Alclad ALC101 Aluminum, ALC103 Dark Aluminum, ALC115 Stainless Steel
Weathering: This display aircraft was freshly painted for the ceremony and was squeaky clean. I applied a wash to the wheels and gear bays, as well as in the avionics and cannon bays. My decision to not apply a panel line wash resulted in my expulsion from the Modelling Gimmick of the Month Club. I am now officially a heretic.

 

Improvements/Corrections

• Photoetch details in cockpit - sidewall conduits, seat harnesses
• Photoetch details on landing gear - brake lines, torque links
• Turned brass nose probe
• Resin wheels
• Homemade decal for "Felix Rules" on the drop tanks - artwork created in Corel Draw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the seats prior to installation - these are the kit parts with PE harnesses. Not too bad.

 

 

Anyway, this was a fun diversion from the putty queen that is the Matchbox Privateer which I shall now have to return to. Drat.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Heather Kay]

That is a rather splendid build, Bill. If I didn’t know the scale, I’d be hard put to guess at anything less the 1/48. Jet things aren’t normally my bag, but that doesn’t stop me appreciating good model making when I see it.

[giemme]

Impeccable. Neat. Stunning. Impressive.

Gobsmacking. I have a few more,  but I think you got my gist. Truly enjoyed the ride on the WIP thread, too.

 

(And yes, why did they retire these beauties? ....)

 

Ciao 

[Bedders]

Lovely model of a great aircraft. Interesting colour scheme too. 

 

Justin

[Remus389]

Very precise, clean job. Outstanding result. 🙂👍

[Navy Bird]

17 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

... that doesn’t stop me appreciating good model making when I see it.

 

Let me know when you find some!   

 

16 hours ago, giemme said:

(And yes, why did they retire these beauties? ....)

 

I don't mind the retirement so much - all designs retire eventually. What got me was the shredding of the airframes. That was an undignified way to end the Tomcat's career. Not unlike burying the F-111s in Oz.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[72modeler]

Dayam, Bill- that's one squeaky clean Cat! Very, very nice model, and you can tell those  panel line fanatics to have their way with a rolling doughnut!  Guess the fiddly bits are all that;s left for the Privateer? How's the back, my friend?

Mike

[Abandoned Project]

19 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

That is a rather splendid build, Bill. If I didn’t know the scale, I’d be hard put to guess at anything less the 1/48.

Agreed! An absolutely fantabulous Tomcat. 

[Cookenbacher]

That is gorgeous Bill.

[Navy Bird]

8 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Dayam, Bill- that's one squeaky clean Cat! Very, very nice model, and you can tell those  panel line fanatics to have their way with a rolling doughnut!  Guess the fiddly bits are all that;s left for the Privateer? How's the back, my friend?

 

I'm not at all sure what the reference to the rolling doughnut means, but I'm old and have been out of touch for years. I still listen to old Kinks records. So, yeah, I think panel lines are usually overdone. And this aircraft was squeaky clean. There are no panel lines that would be visible in 1:72.

 

 

The Privateer? Fiddly bits indeed. There is still a lot of work to be done on those turrets. The Cobra resin parts I have are really bad - but we'll make them work somehow.

 

My back is doing OK. The underlying pain symptoms seem to be gone, to be replaced by new ones due to the trauma of the surgery. Those will take a while to calm down. From my experience they won't go away completely, but they should be manageable. Shouldn't interfere with life - all I do is sit around and build models anyway.

 

6 hours ago, Abandoned Project said:

Agreed! An absolutely fantabulous Tomcat. 

 

Thanks! I think she came out well.

 

6 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

That is gorgeous Bill.

 

Thanks, I like it too. I think I'm finally figuring out how to paint.    

 

Cheers,

Bill

[kapam]

Lovely!

Although I have never acquired one (budget constraints, partially enforced by my Significant Other), the Fine Molds F-14 has had great appeal to me.

I love to read the many and varied appraisals of the FM kit in comparison with the rival brands.

Your build is truly awesome. 

Moreover, the reference photo backs up your "no lines" approach.

Except for its reference to Pearl Harbor, I am not entirely sure of your "infamy" quote, but I suspect it is something to do with the whole retirement thing.

[stevehnz]

That is one lovely Tomcat Bill, a super job on it & a super result. The WiP was a bit super too, lots of Tomcat lore to behold.

Steve.

[Navy Bird]

10 hours ago, kapam said:

Except for its reference to Pearl Harbor, I am not entirely sure of your "infamy" quote, but I suspect it is something to do with the whole retirement thing.

 

The whole retirement thing is correct. Many Tomcat fans would have preferred that she stay in service, and don't look at that day as a reason to celebrate. For me, I understand that all aircraft are retired at some point, but it was the shredding of the airframes once they got to the boneyard that seemed infamous. Luckily, we still have quite a few in museums and as gate guards.   

 

I can only compare the Fine Molds kit to the Hasegawa as they are the only ones I've built. In my experience the FM kit fits better and has more detail, but both build into very credible replicas. Neither kit comes with weapons so you need to procure those elsewhere, which is not a big problem.

 

6 hours ago, stevehnz said:

That is one lovely Tomcat Bill, a super job on it & a super result. The WiP was a bit super too, lots of Tomcat lore to behold.

 

Thanks Steve. It was a fun build of a great kit. Now back to that Privateer, which is not a great kit and hasn't been a fun build...

 

Cheers,

Bill

[kiseca]

That is a lovely model and despite your description, I was struck by how refreshing it is to see a Tomcat that looks so light and clean. I'm now so used to seeing them in shades of grey that the colour took me by surprise a bit, and it was only when I got to the picture of the real thing that it really hit home how close to the actual aircraft it really is.

[2lefthands]

Your model ist absolutely beautiful!

The only thing i miss is the blueish-greenish-greyish armored windshield.

Most modellers overdoe that imho :)

 

[simont382]

Great looking Cat. I must agree with some of the other comments made already in that I have NEVER seen such a clean looking F-14, I didn't know they actually existed after studying numerous pictures over the years! I was lucky enough to see one in the air at one of the Mildenhall Air Fetes in the early 90's, it was luv a first sight 😍 Thanks for posting

[F-32]

Beautiful work

[Navy Bird]

On 13/12/2021 at 10:56, kiseca said:

I was struck by how refreshing it is to see a Tomcat that looks so light and clean.

 

Being a rather elderly old bloke, I was around when the Tomcat was new to the fleet, and they were all squeaky clean. It seems to me (although I am most likely mistaken) that the extreme weathering began to appear with the switch to the TPS (low visibility) paint scheme.

 

On 13/12/2021 at 11:10, 2lefthands said:

The only thing i miss is the blueish-greenish-greyish armored windshield.

Most modellers overdoe that imho

 

I agree it's usually overdone. I always thought (and I'm probably wrong again) that since the F-14A used the centre section of the windscreen as a HUD glass it was therefore coated for the proper reflectivity (as opposed to the glass being tinted). I assume that the coating is applied to an interior surface of the laminated armoured windscreen glass for protection. Since it's a coating, the apparent colour of the glass varies according to the angle you are viewing it at (some Phantoms are the same I think). For this particular aircraft, some photos show very little colour, and others show the characteristic blue-green (which is quite typical of multi-layer optical coatings).

 

Anyway, I chose not to try and replicate this in 1:72 scale since pretty much any amount of a clear blue-green paint ends up looking like too much, and there is no way to create the viewing angle colour change. Maybe next time I can fire up the vacuum chamber and put a multi-layer coating onto the center section - that would be cool. Oh, wait, I can't recall what I did with my vacuum chamber...

 

Cheers,

Bill

[djos]

Excellent model, and great details.

Regards

[kapam]

On 12/13/2021 at 11:53 PM, Navy Bird said:

I can only compare the Fine Molds kit to the Hasegawa as they are the only ones I've built. In my experience the FM kit fits better and has more detail, but both build into very credible replicas.

Yes, Navy Bird, I do have one pre-owned Hasegawa kit in my stash (the slightly later tooling with recessed lines and P/E fret included).

I had to invest in at least one decent kit, based on the inspiration of many, many F-14 builds (in all scales) - most of which I've seen in Britmodeller!

[PlaStix]

That really is very impressive Bill. Awesome modelling as always.

Kind regards, 

Stix