WIP F-14A Academy
I was checking the fit of the wings and found it to be rather good, so I hit it with some Mr. Surfacer (50% black 50% grey).
After coating the leading edge with GX2 gloss black, I applied Alclad II RAF High Speed Silver and misted some MRP Pale Burnt Metal on to give the warm tone for fresh Coroguard.
I ordered Gaia Notes Light Gull Grey but forgot I had Mr. Color 315 on hand. I might go for that as I like the pale but warm hue.
Today I received the Gaia Color Light Gull Grey and I like the warmer tone compared to Gunze. I used the Gunze for highlighting though.
The picture’s balance is a bit off but here’s the wing unmasked. I like that both Gaia and Gunze have that shine to them that saves on clear coating before decals.
Nice metallic sheen that isn’t too overwhelming.
Lance 210 coming in. This is the configuration I want to go for because it shows the Tomcat's lines combined with the sleek looking nose to great advantage.
Lance 213 en profile.
Lance 205 just launching!
I’m using the kit’s decals for the stencils and kit specific items like, for example, the slime lights. They are Cartograf and a joy to work with!
Beautiful how the slime lights fit snugly in between the panel lines.
Sadly the Academy slime lights don’t come with the distinctive lines across them, so I fashioned those from the dog’s wings and cut thin stripes to 3mm lengths.
Used Mr. Color H30YL: Shiny!!!
Not happy at all with MYK’s ASU-DECA decal system!... The cover sheet comes loose when cutting the decal from the sheet and once it is slid off the backing paper, it is stuck! I tried moving it but it only curved up on me.
Sanded the offending decal off.
Then repainted, redecalled (I am going to switch this wing with an upcoming VF-154 bird), reglossed and, for the first time, used Flory Models clay wash.
And it turned out great!
Subtle and very easy because it’s water cleanable.
After cleaning the wash off I sprayed on a satin coat.
Now for the fun part: I applied wide tape to the wing and slid it in the stowed position, marking the wing glove outline.
I butted op some more tape and marked positions before removing the first tape.
After cutting the outline, I reapplied the tape and added some grimy oil paint to the edges.
And then streaked that oil paint using the pivot point as the circle’s center.
Voilá!
Sadly I put the tape on too early before the satin coat properly cured.... Well, wait and recoat with satin I guess....
Sadly, nowadays I have a bit more modeling time on hand while working from home.
On to this build then!
I sprayed the cockpit parts MRP FS36231 and mixed in some white for lightning. Then picked out the panels in tire black
The Cartograf decals performed flawlessly and snuggled down over every separate button and dial.
Same for the IPs except for the front far left portion as the decal was too big for the panel. It only happened here though...
All in all quite nice after a flat coat.
I picked out the screens and dials with Alclad II Aqua Gloss.
I applied some modeling putty over the instrument coamings to make them more uneven and add the overlapping flap for the RIO’s coaming.
This is how one looks after some 30 odd years in service.
I wanted to add the kidney shaped hole in the gun muzzle by adding a piece of plastic card with an elongated hole in it.
Hard to make out, but it looks like...
...this!
After a night of painting and glueing, this is the result so far.
Comments
1 2 February 2020, 15:34
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome guys! Łukasz, do you mean this kit or the '80s rebox? This kit is a brand new tooling with a commemorative box art.
2 February 2020, 21:51
Łukasz GlińskiAh, that I didn't notice 🙂 Mine is the old one 🙂 Following anyway
3 February 2020, 09:54
PierreAh, there you go! Those wings sure are a simple and nicely fitting design compared to H or GWH, aren't they 🙂
3 February 2020, 21:23
Patrick HagelsteinThey are a breeze! 🙂 I like the FineMold ones as well! They are maybe a little bit more refined BUT I don't like the raised rim around the position and slime lights. 🙁 The Academy ones are right in the sweet spot between nicely detailed and overly complicated. 👍
3 February 2020, 21:35
Michael PhillipsI just can't resist a Tomcat build... ever! Nice choice on markings too, don't see those done often.
3 February 2020, 21:39
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome Michael! Yeah, I have a sweet spot for the Freelancers markings. 🙂 But I was surprised too to see that while transferring from the Phantom they retained that black curved striping on the nose. I think it looks really cool! 👍
3 February 2020, 21:42
Slavo HazuchaCheers Patrick!
I definitely plan to build "a Tomcat" at some point in the near-to-mid future - as it seems one of the more favored plane across all manufacturers and there are so many cool patterns & states-of-decay to chose from, some final questions remain:
1; which one (manufacturer)?
2; which one (specific aircraft)?
So I will just sit down here and see what you pull out of that new Academy box! 😄 Looking forward to this taking shape & color 👍
4 February 2020, 16:57
Michael PhillipsSlavo, as a Tomcat connoisseur, I may be able to help. First I need to know about what you want to build...
What scale?
F-14A/B/or D?
Wings swept, launch configuration, or just flaps etc. hanging out?
The scale, F-14 variant, and desired display configuration will dictate the best kit to get as of right now.
4 February 2020, 17:29
Slavo HazuchaMichael, 48-scale for sure...
As for the rest, in due time, I´ll like to think about building one in-flight swept back & one gritty, dirty & worn, end-of-service-life one with flaps out & possibly one or the other panel open, but not completely gutted one...
4 February 2020, 17:35
Patrick HagelsteinChiming in with Michael and looking into 48-scale options basically it boils down to either the Tamiya F-14A or D or the new AMK F-14D. Both have their merits but are equally detailed and precisely molded. Both are very well fitting kits in their own right. Here is what might help you decide:
In flight swept back: Tamiya has plain wings without any dangling bits. This is often frowned upon but to be honest a Tomcat would only deploy full slats and flaps right before launching and coming in for landing. In flight and being parked the wings would be butted up anyway.
Having everything dangling out: AMK would be your kit of choice. The kit comes with three wing positions and with wings that can be fully opened up including the spoilers. One gripe with this kit is that our 'experts' think the aft fuselage is off as it curves in too close to the stabs. I could not see that and think it's maybe due to picture angles or such. Up to you to decide if it bothers you. 😉
When it comes to load outs and versions, I would choose the Tamiya F-14D over the Tamiya F-14A as the -A is laid out to be a very early bird. Backdating the -D to a mid/late -A or a -B is easier that the other way around. For an -A you basically need to adjust covers over the engine nacelles where there's a difference between the P&W engine vs. the kit's GE setup. Both the Tamiya -D and AMK kits come with an abundance of weapons and launchers.
For my VF-21 F-14A+ project, I chose the Tamiya F-14D but will try to fit the AMK wings to depict only the spoilers deployed. Something for later though..... 😉
4 February 2020, 18:16
Michael PhillipsPatrick pretty much nailed it. To add another wrinkle, GWH announced last year that it intends to release a 1/48 F-14A at some point, so there is that to look out for. I am sure GWH will probably make all variants and the quality is sure to be very high.
F-14A Tomcat (Great Wall Hobby 4823, 1:48)
🙂
4 February 2020, 18:32
Martin von SchreckensteinHello Slavo, I have to chime in as well. from what you have said it seems you should look into VF-154 TPS jets. Like this: [img1]
4 February 2020, 18:35
Patrick Hagelstein@ Michael, totally forgot about that one! By the looks of their 1/72 scale Tomcats, that should just be da bomb! They pretty much took over the 1/72 Tomcat competition in terms of detail and options. Their manuals might need some help but the engineering is spot on! 👍
4 February 2020, 18:57
Slavo HazuchaWoohoo, that's a lot of Tomcat backstage insights, thanks a lot! Looks like I'll have to plan for three, Tamiya, AMK & GWH... 😄
Working on the GWH Super-Flanker now, it's a kind of a Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde kit - surface & detail on every part is amazing, but some part sub-divisions are absolutely unnecessary & in cases outright sadistic...
@ Daniel that's exactly the way the journey should go! 🙂
4 February 2020, 21:38
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome Dave! I hope to have this one wing ready and noted all the paints and finishes I'm going to use before I have to leave it while traveling for business.
6 February 2020, 15:46
Patrick HagelsteinI used the new MYK ASU-DECA system and it......sucks!!! The protective sheet falls right off of the decal when cutting it from the sheet. Then, when you apply the decal it immediately sticks in place with no way to nudge it in the right position. I tried but it only resulted in the yellow 'shadow' outline of the 205 curving up. No way I can get the black portion to line up correctly now! 'Luckily' MYK has the design completely wrong: all of VF-21's Modexes in the high-viz scheme are slanted. So without any pain I can just sand it off and start over with 'normal' decals I found around. 🙂
17 February 2020, 17:23
PierreNice save on the decal and the satin gloss 🙂 Did you use any decal liquid with those misbehaving asu-deca?
19 February 2020, 23:08
Patrick HagelsteinI did use the Gunze system, the Mr. Mark Setter as preparation but didn't get to the Mr. Mark Softer as the decal already stuck in a wrong way and I already decided to remove it. Well, on the satin coat.....I'm still waiting for the oils to dry before tackling that.
20 February 2020, 00:44
Spanjaardvery nice job on those marks in the wings. i hope you the problem with the tape is easy to fix
20 February 2020, 12:33
Bryn CrandellHopping on board. Great work done on the wings. Love how you did the streaking from the glove area.
20 February 2020, 12:38
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Spanjaard, Bryn and Bart! For now I tucked it away, so I won't be tempted to touch it. 😉 But as Pierre mentioned, once it's really dry, I go in with some very fine sanding sponges and see if I can restore the satin sheen again without sanding through the paint. The parts for this VF-21 bird are being prepped and should receive some primer to test my progress somewhere this week(end).
20 February 2020, 15:56
Dominik Weitzergood work on the wing with that "moving lines", very interesting!i Keep that in mind,if i build my tomcat.
20 February 2020, 16:00
Michael PhillipsFabulous work on that wing Patrick, the streaking looks just right to me!
20 February 2020, 16:01
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Jos! 🙂 I just realized I have to do the same for the underside where the wings lie on the inflatable wing glove bags. Same process, different shape.
20 February 2020, 18:10
PierreI read some more on HGW transfers tonight and noticed they advise to use a softener and not a setter before application. I gave it a try with a MYK decal and Micro sol and I was able to move it around a bit before it adhered totally. Will find out tomorrow if I can remove the glossy part and the thing is stuck correctly.
20 February 2020, 21:59
Patrick HagelsteinWelcome Christian and Cuajete! I'll keep my fingers crossed Pierre! 😄
21 February 2020, 00:12
Slavo HazuchaQuite an adventurous reading😉 - but the wing-job looks great 👍. One never grows tired of watching Tomcat builds - so many paths to explore... Looking forward to the next episode of this show!
3 March 2020, 09:46
Martin von Schreckensteinthe corona squadron is growing. nice progress. i wish i had the energy to document my builds like that. I put the canopy on both my social distancing tomcats and then realized i took no pictures of the interior🙁
20 March 2020, 09:13
Slavo HazuchaPatrick, I can now fully appreciate how hard it is to take meaningful pictures of hidden stuff like your No.36! Alignign lightsource, object and camera so that something is visible is an art in itself 😄 Looking all good & everyone is ready for more!😉
20 March 2020, 09:49
PierreFinally some progress 🙂. Watch out with the IP coamings, I'm finding right now that tolerances are very tight not only on the front part but also on the sides of the rear one.
20 March 2020, 09:57
Patrick Hagelstein😄 I see a different Martin appearing. 😉 Yep, finally some progress. 🙂 Taking pictures with my phone late at night isn't the easiest thing to do. Even though those details are hard to photograph, I know they are there. Pierre, what do you mean with those tolerances? I saw you added some coamings too, are those interfering with the clear parts? Seeing your's, I tried to get none of the putty on any mating surfaces.
20 March 2020, 18:37
PierreThe unmodified front coaming practically touches the windshield, so I had to sand back to plastic for the front canopy to sit right. I'm now having to shave off plastic of the canopy insert because the rear coaming sides also come very close so I cannot close it.
20 March 2020, 20:14
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Cuajete! I took my extra time to finally clear up my modeling desk and this one is flying back onto it once everything is re-ergonomized. 😉
11 April 2020, 01:20
