A Clowder of F-14 Tomcats

[Brigbeale]

With the Jet provost done and the other activities out of the way, it’s time to get back in the saddle and do some more modelling.

For a bit of a mojo boost, I watched Top Gun, Top Gun Maverick and The Final Countdown on DVD’s.

 

So tonight, out came the Airfix F-14A Tomcat (blueprint box) and the Revell F-14D Super Tomcat from the stash - both 1/72.

 

I’m going to try to build them both together stage by stage (rather than build one and then the other).

 

The Revell is better in detail as it’s a much later kit, but the Airfix one still has a certain charm to it - even with the raised panel lines which I’ve decided to leave to see how it turns out.

 

So, the first stage was to build the two cockpit tubs. 
The Airfix one is much longer then the Revell and both have raised detailing in the some consoles in roughly the same depth. 
The ejection seats are worlds apart in detail, so I might see if I can 3D print something a little more interesting for the Airfix kit. 
Otherwise the offices are fairly well detailed considering…..

Both tubs were painted with Tamiya XF-19 Light Grey (as it’s what I had to hand) and are drying off. 
They will both receive other colours to highlight the consoles and IP’s.

 

I’ve also bought an extra set of Airfix F-14A decals which offers two options - TopHatters and the Black Aces - to go with the Bounty Hunter and Grim Reaper options for the kits.

Edited March 6 by Brigbeale

[TallBlondJohn]

Loved that Airfix Tomcat when I was wee. The dog ate it.

[Brigbeale]

9 minutes ago, TallBlondJohn said:

Loved that Airfix Tomcat when I was wee. The dog ate it.

Did you tell the dog it’s the wrong type of cat?

[TallBlondJohn]

20 hours ago, Brigbeale said:

Did you tell the dog it’s the wrong type of cat?

 I was heartbroken, especially as my parents wouldn't buy me a replacement in order to teach me that life isnt fair. Its one of those models I'd now like to get to put things back as they should be, but I suspect I will find its not very good and the existential disappointment will hit new heights.

 

Did use the Wolfpack decals on a Lego super jet of my own design, looked great.

[Brigbeale]

I built the Matchbox one - twice as I liked the Tomcat so much at the time.

It was smashed with the rest of my models after a drunken bbq courtesy of my brothers at my mums. She was in holiday and they found them in the loft where I’d left them for safe keeping.

It still rankles me though 

[bigbadbadge]

Nice Brian, looking forward to seeing these come together.  I too built the Airfix kitxas a youngster, so will be good to see what the Airfix kit turns out like.

Chris

[Brigbeale]

I found the correct ejection seat for the F-14’s on Martin Baker’s website - they’re Mk7’s apparently.

A search on the internet came up with Cults3d.com which had the Mk7 seat already to go, so £7.95 later and I had the design for printing on my Elegoo Mars2 resin printer.

I opted to print 6 at the same time as these printers go by height and it doesn’t make a great deal of difference i]to the quantity printed.

 

While they were printing, I took a closer look at the Airfix fuselage- which I’d taped together - hmmm, I’m wondering about re-scribing the panel lines and the amount of work involved.

The horizontal line on the side of the nose of the Revell kit falls approx 2mm above the upper and lower fuselage seam line on the Airfix one. The seam line will need dealing with which will take out the raised panel lines - hence the possible need for re-scribing. 
I set up the panel lines with a piece of 2” tape over starboard side of the Revell nose. Using a blunt pointed tool, the lines were traced and then followed with a pencil to highlight them. 
Once they were all marked out, I followed the lines with a sharp knife blade and gingerly transferred the sections to the AIrfix fuselage. Once placed, they were filled again with the pencil to re-highlight the lines.

Thats as far as I got  as the 3D printer called to say it had finished, so the rest of time was spent cleaning up the 3D prints and the printer itself.

I nee to take a brave pill to start the actual re-scribing because there’s a lot to do on the Tomcat.

 

Looking at the seats - WOW - they’re perfectly printed - even though they are in their protective framing. 

 

Edited February 8 by Brigbeale

[Brigbeale]

I trial fitted one of the 3D printed seats in the cockpit tubs and they’re ok width-wise, but I was a little concerned with the height and if they would interfere with the canopy once it’s on. The Revell Tomcat is fine with plenty of room. I’m not sure with the Airfix one at the moment, as the tape is still stuck to the side of the nose for re-scribing (which I haven’t started yet), and I can’t get the cockpit section in. 
I’ll have to re-scribe the starboard side and have a quick check then (if I remember).

 

’So, what have you been doing?’ you may ask.

 

Dressing up the cockpit tubs.

I was going to paint them and add the various coloured screens, knobs, buttons, etc, but I thought it would be easier if I used a cockpit kit.

If I ordered a pair off EBay, it would take a while to arrive and I didn’t want to wait, so, rather cheekily, I found an image of a set (albeit not for either of the Revell or Airfix kits), but I won’t say who’s, but you would more than likely guess.
An online photo was copied and photoshopped to highlight the parts required. They were sized to match the Revell side consoles, printed onto clear decal paper and matt varnished. 
Each decal was cut and applied to both of the tubs, but as to what will actually be visible once the canopies are on will remain to be seen - or not!

I could possibly have the canopies open to allow a better view inside, so I will have to look at the instructions to see if it’s possible on each Tomcat. I’m pretty sure that’s an option on the Airfix Tomcat.

The Revell tub was encased temporarily in the two nose halves to see how it looks - not bad at all considering.

Not sure what the odd cutout in the ejection seat is in the right corner. I’ll check that out.

[Brigbeale]

Oh yes, I nearly forgot, I made an eBay purchase today. I wish we could still buy them for 95p. This one cost me about 20 times that.

 

This one is not for building though. I purchased another Matchbox one which had the fuselage sides cut out, so this one is for reference to have the missing parts copied and replaced with 3D printed items and then it will be the start of my ‘Not To Be Built’ Collector Stash. 

Edited February 9 by Brigbeale

[colargol]

Hello, 

 

I've really enjoyed the Airfix Tomcat in my young days

 

Be carreful with the ejection seats : for the Tomcat, it's not Mk7 but GRU-7A. They are totally different from the ones you've purchased (but I think they could be good for your Phantom)

 

colargol

[Brigbeale]

11 hours ago, colargol said:

Hello, 

 

I've really enjoyed the Airfix Tomcat in my young days

 

Be carreful with the ejection seats : for the Tomcat, it's not Mk7 but GRU-7A. They are totally different from the ones you've purchased (but I think they could be good for your Phantom)

 

colargol

Thanks for the tip. I can’t find any 3D printable versions so I’ll keep with the Mk 7’s. They’re still a whole lot better than the kit offerings - especially the Airfix ones.

 

[Brigbeale]

Work progressed on the Airfix Tomcat re-scribing wise. It’s a weird plastic- probably being very old doesn’t help. It’s almost as though it has a grain going through it which pulls the re-scribing tool out of line even against a straight edge. It also grabs and slips as the tool runs across it.

Both sides of the nose were attempted, and although they have recessed lines now, I’m not happy with the result, so the raised lines on the upper and lower fuselage halves will be staying. I may need to fill the re-scribed lines depending on how they look once the fuselage is assembled.

 

One of the ejection seats was dry fitted to make sure they would sit under the canopy.

The Revell kit was fine but the Airfix one had to have the two blocks moulded to the floor removed - which was fun with the side consoles and IP’s in position, but I got there on the end.

 

The Revell nose section had the tub cemented in and closed up. The actual fit was fine - mostly. The coaming between the two seating positions needed a little coaxing to line up as the port side was bent outwards slightly but a small bulldog clip sat an an angle pulled that in. 
Another thing to note was not all of the panel lines going across the centre seam line up fully - they are about half a line off, so, once the seams were sanded, a razor saw was gently pulled across to eradicate the step. 
The panel which fits under the rear of the nose section also needed some extra work to get it to fit somewhere near correctly.

 

The Airfix Tomcat had the optional refuelling probe panel fitted - mainly because I couldn’t find the closed version. This gives me the option of having the probe extended or fitting a piece of styrene card to cover it over.

The cockpit tub assembly was also fitted and given a little extra staying power with sprue goo applied around the joints to help it stay put. 
 

The Airfix wings were assembled - requiring some bigger clamps to get the rear edge of the lower half to sit flush.

I went to assemble the elevators using the bar which connects two, but one of the elevators has the square lug broken off the pin, so I will now need to find a suitable tube to accept the pins. It will actually work in my favour as it will allow full access to the fuselage seam.

 

I clamped the Airfix fuselage together with the wings and seemingly much debated glove vanes. I like them and as it’s going to be built as an earlier Tomcat, they’re staying.

I’m well aware of the ‘when they were locked off/welded shut argument and quite frankly, I’m not interested- they just look cool!

I think the Revell kit has a similar option, but they will probably be fixed in the closed position and filled over.

 

The swing wing/glove vanes work as they should on the Airfix kit. 

I was going to open up the various holes for the missile armament on the Airfix Tomcat. 

My plan was for four Aim 54 Phoenix, two Aim 7 Sparrows and two Aim 9 Sidewinders, but the kit doesn’t cater for a mixed missile load out. So the outer pylons will need to be modified to carry the Aim 7’s and Aim 9’s.

The Airfix Tomcat will need the nose wheel bay replacing as it’s just a blank flat recess at the moment.

The photo of the underside shows the open main wheel bays revealing the glove vane gearing. I might just add a piece of styrene car to cover it over and add a photographed decall to give the impression of a wheel bay.

 

[theplasticsurgeon]

1 hour ago, Brigbeale said:

Thanks for the tip. I can’t find any 3D printable versions so I’ll keep with the Mk 7’s. They’re still a whole lot better than the kit offerings - especially the Airfix ones.

 

The printed seats are good for the F-14A, and that Phantom,  but are Mk 14 NACES for the F-14D.  No face curtain handles, and very similar to F-15 Eagle seats.

I'm enjoying watching this build.

 

[Brigbeale]

Things started off in an optimistic mood this evening with the intention of bringing the Revell Tomcat to the same dry fit of the fuselage/wings assembly as the Airfix Tomcat.

 

First thing to do was assemble the wings - and that’s when it came to a crashing stop!

Both upper wings had a downward curve to them along their length - on more so than the other. 

A trial fit of the under wing showed one of them didn’t sit flush without a lot of pressure to the underside of the upper wing.

A trip to the kitchen to boil the kettle and a trip to the shed to retrieve a flat bar meant I could clamp upper wings straight and trickle water over them to soften the plastic enough to reshape it. Once I’d used the whole kettle up, cold water was run over them to cool the plastic and set them straight - which worked.

The lower wings were cemented in place but that end still needs clamping with a bit of force more than my plastic clamps can manage so I’ll see what I can work out tomorrow.

 

Despite that, I was able to dry fit the wings into the upper and lower fuselage sections. 
The glove vanes are a bit confusing as the instructions say don’t glue them on the pivot point, BUT, although there’s a small pin on the wider end, it doesn’t connect to anything - the main wing gearing is nowhere near them, so why do they need to be not cemented? They’re going to be!

 

I looked at the colours for the intakes as they will need painting before the intake housings are put on.

40 minutes it took me to find a decent set of instructions giving the FS numbers for the different paints - it was an Acedemy and Great Wall Hobbies kit instructions which gave the relevant information. I can go out merrily tomorrow and get the paints I need.

But as I was clearing things away, I closed the Revell instructions and on the back page in the bottom right is the colour call-out with FS numbers on it - although one of them is still different to one of the required greys.

 

Still here’s the two Tomcats together- the Revell has the cockpit dry fitted.

 

I’ve also been on eBay again.

I bought another Matchbox Phantom (PK412 with no box but with an extra set of decals) and also a Matchbox Piston Provost (PK-30 with no box) to go with the recently finished Airfix Jet Provost.

[Brigbeale]

I worked in the air intakes for both Tomcats tonight, by paining the insides with Mr Color H-21 Off White - my whitened up greener shaded one to use it up on internal not-so-easy-to-see areas such as intakes.

The fans were painted with Tamiya Metallic Grey and later dry brushed over with Tamiya Dark Sea Grey to tone them down a bit. Once dry the Airfix ones were fitted into the air intakes.

The Revell kit has a different way of doing the intakes which means assembling the two ‘tubes’ with the fans. The paint had to be applied slightly heavier to blend out the ejection pin marks which are present. I forgot to get some more filler and superglue. No doubt there will be seam lines to deal with as well.

 

I made a sketch of the Airfix nose wheel ‘opening’ and measured the depth of the recess where the undercarriage fits to replicate it when I 3D print a better nose wheel bay.

I may get way with the styrene card with some strips of wire/tape to replicate the Revell Tomcat’s wheel bays.

 

The holes for the Aim-54 Phoenix missile pylons were opened up on the Airfix lower half as well as the slots for the outer pylons. 
 

While trial fitting the Airfix intakes, I saw on the instructions that there’s a splitter assembly fitted to the top of the intake itself.

Thats where a problem arose - one of them is missing (the inescapable issue of old pre-owned kits).

I doubt very much that Airfix will have a spare so I’ll just have to 3D print a replacement using the original as a pattern.

 

On the plus side though, I did get the four paints I needed with the correct FS numbers and also the styrene tube for the elevators on the Airfix Tomcat.

Edited February 14 by Brigbeale

[Brigbeale]

The Revell intakes were built and as expected, a seam line was visible down the centre. I simply filled them with the same paint on a long bristled brush and the fans were added. Maybe a little too shiny inside but it helps bounce light around in there. 
They were fitted to the lower fuselage half with a little filing to remove flash which hindered the fit initially.

Referring to Walkaround photos, I wanted the angled grey/white(ish) paint demarcation lines inside the intakes so I masked off the angle in preparation for airbuushing.

The paint took quite a while to mix up to what looked like the colour it should be with a lot of pigment stuck to the bottom of the pots. Sponge was pushed inside the intakes to keep the grey paint out.

I airbrushed the interior of the intakes along with the relevant sections of the lower fuselage half and removed the masking and sponge. 
Looking good so far.

[Brigbeale]

Back to the Airfix Tomcat.

 

I started by replicating the air splitter intake ramp mechanism (which appears to be set for supersonic speed). 
I made four of them, two as a matched pair (being slightly shaped for each side) and two for somebody on eBay selling the same kit with the same part - 37 - missing as well. Somebody somewhere must have a pile of these things. I offered them to him/her as I was printing mine and they said they’d happily pay the postage, so it’s good alll round.

They need a little fettling to get them in and maybe a little shaved off the rear flap to see more of the fan but otherwise they’re ok.

 

The nose wheel ‘bay’ was chain drilled out and filed back to a clean opening. Measurement s were taken and the Revell nose wheel will be copied later to 3D print and install later.

 

The main gear wells had 0.5mm styrene card added to fill the opening and sprue goo was used toe reinforce them from inside.

A trial fit of the wings and gloves revealed a hiccup where something was stopping the wing sweep about 3/4 through its travel.

I investigated this and found the port side wasn’t quite flush so I sanded it to remove the step. It’s better but there’s still a catch as the wings sweep, so more sanding will be needed.

Also the wells aren’t anywhere as near deep as they need to be but they’re better than a big hole.

 

The nose cone was taped on and both Tomcats appear to be at the same’ ish stage of the builds.

[Brigbeale]

Using the Revell nose wheel bay as a pattern, I designed and printed a replacement for the flat recess which Airfix gave as a wheel well. It had a couple of adaptions to cater for the Airfix nose gear fitment.
I also re-printed shallower air intake ramps to allow a bit better view of the fans further down the intakes.

The nose wheel bay was tacked in with superglue and then sprue goo was applied around it where it met the fuselage for a stronger joint. When the fuselage halves go together, I’ll add some sponge between the bay and the cockpit floor to help just incase it decides to separate from the fuslelage.

 

The replacement air intake ramps were fettled to fit better and fixed in position with sprue goo.

The front tips of the outer air intake casings would sink too low causing a step against the upper fuselage half. 
A small strip of 0.5mm styrene card as added to each side to pad them up level with the surrounding area.

 

I bought some styrene tube along with the paints to enable me to fit the elevators once the painting had been done.

The centre was drilled out to 2.1mm stepping up the drill sizes from the 1.8mm original hole.

The two original fuselage holes were drilled to 3.2mm for the outer diameter of the tube which was cut slightly wider than the fuselage itself. That will be sanded back flush once the fuselage is buttoned up.

The tube had to have about half of the diameter filed away to allow the tube to sit snuggly in the hole as the underside air brake recess is directly in the way. This actually gives me something else to fit the tube to. TET was used to fit the tube into position.
I’ll get a picture next time the fuselage is apart (hopefully for the last time) to show the fitment better.

 

The interior of the fuselage around the main gear well was sanded again and the catching when the wing is swept seems to have gone. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

 

Edited February 18 by Brigbeale

[Brigbeale]

I took the promised photo of the elevator mounting tube which was fitted to the interior of the Airfix Tomcat.

The empty top half was clamped in place and the tube was filed back flush with the fuselage. A trial fit of the elevators reveals the starboard side needed a run through with the drill again and the pin also needed a light sand to remove a slight seam line near where the pin meets the part itself.

 

I did a final check to see that nothing had been left out. The wings with the glove vanes were reinserted and the top and lower halves of the fuselage were cemented together and clamped. The rear engine ‘tubes’ needed heavy clamping to close them up and the nose section around the rear set area had to have a cable tie to keep it closed up while the TET cured. 
Another bonus is the wings still sweep without catching on anything.

Both intakes were cemented in position and clamped to encourage them fit tightly until the TET cured.

The tail fin/rudder assemblies were built - just adding an infill piece to one side and also clamped while they dried.

The nose cone had some lead and white tack added -just in case - and it was cemented onto the fuselage.

Some work took place on the Revell Tomcat meanwhile - I’ll come back to that in a minute.

The two tail fin assemblies were white tac’d in position and the elevators added to make it look like a complete(ish) tomcat.

 

Now then, the Revell Tomcat.

One of the wings had still giving me aggravation where the lower half fits at the outer end. It just didn’t want to sit flush, so I flooded it with TET and got my smallest

woodworking clamp to pull it closed. It’s finally sitting flush. I should have contacted Revell about getting new upper halves really but hey ho, it’s done now.

The glove vanes were fitted in the closed position.

The wings were fitted and the upper and lower halves were cemented together.

The nose section was going to be fitted but I’m not happy with the gap where it joins the fuselage, so that will need investigating to find out what’s holding it apart.

 

And the two together.

[Brigbeale]

The nose section of the Revell Tomcat had the joint fettled on both mating areas, but nothing definite was keeping them from seating properly. a good dose of TET and pressure seemed to do the trick, but the resulting panel gap was still larger than I would have liked.

The tail section was also added, the fit was better on the top, but the underside had a gap as well which would need filling.

The air intakes were both added. The fit was ok but again filler was needed on the inside where they met the fuselage.

The two glove vanes protruded on their top edge, so they were sanded back.

More sanding was done on the rear fuselage behind the wings where the top and bottom halves met.

 

I broke out the Vallejo plastic putty and went around the seams filling what gaps I could see. It’s surprising how much better they look once filled.

The nose to fuselage joint doesn’t look too bad now it’s filled.

The tail fin/rudder assemblies were dry fitted. They cannot be fitted in the wrong positions (although I bet someone can manage it) as they have different sized tabs. The fit isn’t great so a little work will be needed on them as well.

 

I’ve decided to fit 4 Aim-54 Phoenix missiles to the fuselage so the 4 pylons were fitted. The instructions only give guidance for the two front ones. The other two are both numbered the same so it’s just a case of getting them the right way round (curved end to the front). The advantage of fitting the pylons is they partly cover up the nose to fuselage joint

 

I also fitted the Phoenix pylons to the Airfix Tomcat fusealge as well. They look quite plain when compared to the Revell ones but once the missiles are fitted, they’re pretty much covered up.

[Thom216]

Well, that is a lovely pair of Tommies coming together! Good looking updates to the Airfix.

[Brigbeale]

Right then a bit of a catch-up.

 

I bought some Humbrol filler for the seam lines on the Airfix Tomcat. I was unaware it was grey in colour which worked in my favour as it was more easily visible against the white plastic.

It didn’t take long to go off so sanding commenced leaving smooth seams.

I was going to fill the exhaust areas but I wanted them white for what I had planned - fitting a couple of home made decals of a picture of the exhaust. 
 

I also bought some Ammo Dark Wash for the wheel wells - I feel it’s a little too dark, so I might clean it off a bit and get a lighter shade - maybe Starship Filth to lighten it up a bit.

Anyway, they were masked off using a mix of white tac, tape and dampened tissue. 

Both Tomcats had their tail fin/rudder assemblies fitted. The Airfix ones need some filler around the base to blend them in - the Revell one does as well but not so much. Also, the starboard fin needs the antenna? at the top rear sand in gas it looks a lot more bulky than the Revell version.

 

The Revell Tomcat was trialled for balance using short cocktail sticks in the undercarriage mounting holes. The test was a little inconclusive as at first,  it sat on its tail when I placed the two elevators between the tail fins. A second test had it sitting on all three sticks. 
I erred in the side of caution and added approx 3 grams of lead weight and enough white-tac to hold it in position, to keep the nose down. 
once that was done, the cannon panel was added to complete the nose section.

I also built up the four ejection seats. The two Airfix ones needed the bases cut down to allow them to sit under the canopies.

The home made decals were fitted to the represent the Airfix exhausts. 

 

They’re approaching painting time, so they will need the cockpits finishing and the canopies temporarily fitted to keep the paint out of the cockpits. 
So with that in mind, tonight I painted the cockpit surrounds and coamings Tamiya flat black. I thinks it’s al little too stark so I’ll repaint them with NATO black instead.

Then, I painted up the four seats using an image off the internet. They look pretty good although I still need to do the black stripes on the ejection handles. I could do that once they’ve been fitted to the cockpit tubs.

 

The Airfix exhaust tail sections were fitted. Once dried, I can use some sponge to fill them in to keep paint off the decals inside. They’re not quite as realistic as I’d hoped but they’re better than just painting the insides black.

 

I also bought a bargain off EBay.

A Hasegawa F/A-18D Hornet for about £3 + postage. It’s part started and a couple of tiny parts missing. The main issue is no decals - so I need to source a set from somewhere.

It will make a double build of Hornets - the other being another Hasegawa kit, but an F/A-18A instead depicting the three initial trials Hornets which I bought a fair while ago. I plan to convert it to a carrier based one instead.

[Brigbeale]

On the face of it, not much has happened tonight.

 

Earlier on today, I used a fine pointed sharpie to mark the black on the yellow ejection handles. They turned out quite well so I’m happy with that.

The seats themselves were superglued into position this evening.

The cockpit coamings were repainted with NATO black to take the harshness off.

 

The rest of the time was spent masking the outlines of the opening part of the canopy (they will be filled in later with either tape and/or masking solution). They were then tacked into position with dabs of Clearfix once I’d fitted the clear part to the Airfix Tomcat (the Revell kit doesn’t have this part but there’s a spare in the Airfix box as there was also two main canopy parts - but only one windscreen part).

The windscreen parts were bit fully masked using tape. They were both fully fitted into position with more Clearfix.

They’re both drying now.

 

I did reshape the antenna on the Airfix starboard fin and I used a refreshed mix of sprue goo to fill the fin to fuselage joint as well.

The Revell Tomcat should get way with just a smear of Vallejo plastic putty.

[Thom216]

It sure is nice to get things buttoned up.

[bigbadbadge]

Great to see these together Brian , looking good, the Sharpie for the ejector handles is inspired, will try and remember that .

Nice hauls off Ebay too. You're gonna have to start to think of ways to get them past SWMBO without being discovered at this rate 😉

Great work

Chris