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1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Finished 29/05.


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1 hour ago, Jasonb13 said:

Well, my Tamiya F-14A just arrived! :)

A fine set of sprues, isn't it? :lol:

 

I managed to get the Quinta set added to the cockpit parts today. The detail really is fantastic. Attached with some Zap canopy PVA.

 

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I added a drop of wash and some dry brushed silver in the footwells to add some weathering. The TARPs jets, as far as I'm aware, did not fly with the port side control stick in the RIOs office. I haven't been able to confirm if this was the case, but would seem logical to me as it was used for controlling the LANTIRN and PTID inputs.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

 

 

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Update 04/04.
2 hours ago, Jasonb13 said:

That Quinta set looks great, definitely have to find one!

 

I think ebay is your best bet mate. I've sets for another 2 of the 6 F-14s in the stash, would like to get more myself.

1 hour ago, coneheadff said:

The Quinta decals look great and bring life to the cockpit

They are very good Alex, this is my third time using them.

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A little more progress. Firstly, the intakes were sprayed white and, once dry, the kit supplied masks fitted. A pain in the backside to get to sit correctly!

 

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A squirt of Light Ghost Grey later, and the masks were removed, the fan sections fitted then the whole trunks popped into the fuselage, along with a few other odds and ends:

 

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Front fuselage closed up:

 

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Another shot of the cockpit detail:

 

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Landing gear assembled:

 

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Quickboost seats were also prepped. One thing to note here is that Quickboost have cast both front and rear seat with the same size of canopy breakers. This is incorrect, as the pilot's seat had larger breakers. Tamiya got this right so it's a simple task of chopping off the resin parts on one seat, chopping off the large breakers from the kit part and fitting.

 

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Pilot's seat on left. The TCS/IR chin pod was assembled with a mask from the New Ware set popped on. I also added a bit of copper wire to the rear of the GPS display atop the RIO's coming to add a little detail. 

 

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The fuselage should be together over the weekend.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Update 05/04.
6 minutes ago, arfa1983 said:

I don't remember seeing those intake masks in my F-14A kit?

They aren't included in the Original A boxing, only the D and Late A boxings for some reason!

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1 hour ago, Dansk said:

beautiful clever simple touch with the wire on the rio’s cowl Dave. a small detail but really helps the illusion. 👍👌

Cheers Paul. It's a detail I like to add as it can be quite visible on some D models.

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Coming along nicely now. The fuselage halves were attached before the forward phoenix pallets and bomb racks went on. 

 

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Another interesting thing with the TARPS capable jets was the removal of station 5 - the 'middle' AIM-7 recess under the fuselage. I'm not 100% sure why this is, I assume it's either for a ballast of sorts or for certain wiring. 

 

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TARPS jets had to be flown with either the forward weapons pallets installed, or dummy AIM-7s loaded to stations 3 & 6 to ensure the aircraft was correctly balanced in flight.

 

A few bits to add, one or two areas to tidy up then it will be onward toward painting.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Update 07/04.
27 minutes ago, Col. said:

Good progress again Dave and more interesting information on your subject :speak_cool:

Thanks mate. The F-14s could be described as 'mutants' at times as there can be a random assortment of details on different airframes! Hopefully highlighting any differences helps future builders! I heartily recommend the Daco book on the F-14.

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A little more done. Firstly, I painted both coamings, adding some weathering and a flat coat. The Pilot's part had the HUD fitted then the whole assembly was fitted to the cockpit:

 

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The RIO's part had a couple of last bits from the Quinta set added:

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One thing to ensure you check on your build is the 3 dots in front of the windscreen. I know I've mentioned this before, but these are rain repellent nozzles that were fitted to the F-14A/B BuNos 158978 to 162611. They were completely absent on the D model, other than 18 A models which were remanufactured as a D. Just a little touch to add to your build. A gentle sanding and they come off.

 

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Fitted, side windows masked and middle section coloured:

 

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Chin pod was added:

 

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Canopy masked as well. Here's my current bench side by side:

 

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Not much left to do then we're ready for priming.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Update 10/04.
1 minute ago, coneheadff said:

Looking good Dave!

 

Even the smallest details from Quinta bring life to the cockpit. 

Thanks Alex. The details are lovely and much easier to work with than the equivalent etch.

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9 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Dang, the 'cat is a big'un!

Big and beautiful!

1 hour ago, 81-er said:

The green centre panel is a nice touch

 

James

Thanks James. Tamiya actually suggest clear blue but looking at images both in the Daco book and online, it looks more green to me so that's what I plump with!

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On 4/11/2022 at 11:57 AM, DaveJL said:

Big and beautiful!

Thanks James. Tamiya actually suggest clear blue but looking at images both in the Daco book and online, it looks more green to me so that's what I plump with!

I don't know why but Japanese manufacturers seem to have a thing about clear blue, whether it be the Starboard nav lights or the displays on the Hasegawa Tornado I am currently building. In both cases I believe it should be clear green though I could perhaps understand blue for tinted winscreens - it is not as if Gunze and Tamiya did not make a clear green!

 

Pete

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19 hours ago, PeterB said:

 

I don't know why but Japanese manufacturers seem to have a thing about clear blue, whether it be the Starboard nav lights or the displays on the Hasegawa Tornado I am currently building. In both cases I believe it should be clear green though I could perhaps understand blue for tinted winscreens - it is not as if Gunze and Tamiya did not make a clear green!

 

Pete

I've never noticed that before Peter but just had a look at other instructions and you're right! :lol:

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53 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

I've never noticed that before Peter but just had a look at other instructions and you're right! :lol:

I know I first noticed it on Hasegawa kits a long time ago and as they used to quote Gunze paint refs, I wonder if back then they only made clear blue at the time as they may not have been doing the current acrylic range 45 years ago. After that it is almost as if it has become a habit.

 

Pete

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Slow-ish progress on this one but managed to complete the first lot of sub assemblies over the last couple of days. Firstly, the exhausts were done; base coat of Tamiya Nato Black, petals then masked with the excellent New Ware sheet, then MRP titanium over the top. Inners are white with a good seeing to with the Tamiya weathering sets:

 

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Seats were finished next. I added the ejection pulls from the Quinta set and a couple of decals from the kit, which silvered slightly.

 

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Next up was the ordnance. From my references, some TARPS pods seemed a bit worn, but not grimy, so I went light with the grey to show some of the base layer of Nato black through. The MK.82s looked pretty grubby, so I added some dirt from a selection of oils.

 

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Fuel tanks also nice and grubby looking. Again, a mixture of Flory panel wash and oils used  Sorry for the flash, but was hard to make out in plain light.

 

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Canopy on, intakes and landing gear areas masked up so the main airframe is now ready for primer:

 

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Same for the rest of the bits and pieces:

 

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Still plenty to do but getting there! Won't be finished in time for the deadline as I'm away to Madrid and Barcelona next week 😎.

 

More soon and stay safe

 

Dave

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  • DaveJL changed the title to 1/48 F-14D, BuNo 164350, VF-2 'Bounty Hunters' OIF, 2003. Update 25/04.

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