Greg Baker
Suh-weeeeeet!

Daniel
tha-hank you!
Warning to all: The stencil data decals in this kit are about the thickest I have ever seen in my life. They really suck.
each one of them should have a seperate "watch your step" decal come with it...also the carrier "film" is often placed really off, so a part of the print isnt covered and you lose it.
but the main decals are top notch and in contrast maybe the thinnest I ever worked with

Spanjaard
very nice idea!

Spanjaard
strange to have such a difference in the quality of the decals of the same model

Spanjaard
what did you use for the base?

Daniel
Thank you very much spanjaard!
The base is from the revell 1:32 FW 190 and the models are stuck on 3 mm brass tubes.
Soldered the tubes together and then used hot glue to fix them to the stand

Spanjaard
thanks!

Clifford Keesler
Can't wait to see them finished.

Daniel
when dreams come true! A new tool rhino - awesome meng!

Jos Jansen
Totally agree Daniel...!

Nathan Dempsey
I have to agree with Playtime 222.

Slavo Hazucha
Oh man, I can almost hear it crack... went through the experience myself on my late Super-Flanker, gladly Mr. Michael Phillips pulled me out of my mysery then with a spare piece from a limited edition one which came with 2-sets of clear parts... I would have 2 MiG-31 spare sets of canopies to share, but I´m affraid that the fit would be miserable here... Good luck on getting a spare!!!

And I´m really sorry for Fat Amy Gaga... Did not think my end-of-the-year run-up will be spent in home-office/quarantine watching 109´s buzzing all around the web...

Daniel
exactly playtime + nathan

I could do a diorama where I pick up the topic of "how not to refuel your f-35" (which is not far fetched...) but I contacted the meng guys and hope they have some solution lying around...

Slavo, theres a lot of them! And all the guys who used to deliver cool jet pics are now building these tiny crates with 25 parts^^- only way to cope with that situation is building your own
I expect a quick build&return to the real deal, either with the fat gaga or the su-27

Patrick, I actually plan to inflict some battle damage on one of them, this time in a more controlled way. Throw it against the wall or something

Roland Gunslinger
Oh, this tragedy passed me by.
I'm sure it doesn't matter what you make of it: It'll be great. But sleeping over it for a few days is definitely a good idea.

Patrick Hagelstein

Adam Gudynowski
Cockpit looks good

Daniel
Thx Adam!

The update is that the customer service at meng is quite uncomplicated, shipping is much more expensive than the whole replacement sprue though - but I hope that it arrives here in the near future and hopefully intact as well.

As rumour has it theres a 5th gen group build next year, so this will be continued in january if things work out
Cheers!

Maciej Bellos
Nice to hear a canopy is on its way.

Should a 5th gen group build start, I might dig in my closet for that old Zvezda PAK-FA (as the Su-57 was previously called).

Alex Rodionov
Great. At first, Looking at the photo I thought it's the real plane.

OttovonLindberg
Me too!

Daniel
Thank you very much mates, really appreciate it!

Spanjaard
Absolutely impressive

Neuling
Top work: Detailing, painting, weathering. And very realistic open air presentation.

Daniel
@ spanjaard: thanks a bunch mate!
@ Neuling: thank you, that means a lot coming from the master of outdoor scenery

Clifford Keesler
Awesome.

Daniel
thank you clifford!

Daniel
Nearly finished now, was able to position the yellow doors with a tiny magnet so they can still swing open. Hope to take some rollout pics this weekend, stay tuned

Clifford Keesler
Stunning sir, well done. Otherwise, I LIKE IT!!!!!!! LOL.

Daniel
Clifford! Merci, glad you do

Daniel
trying my luck at some dirtstrip-building, I've never been further away from my usual carrier builds^^

Daniel
Finished! leaving you with the usual teaser pic, rollout coming soon

Daniel
Fwiends, nice weather, finally!
thanks for following, your kind comments+likes!
Pics here:
FW 190 A-8/R11 | Album by halohead (1:32)

Alan G
That turned out fantastic Daniel. Hope mine looks as good when finished

Daniel
Thanks alan, also for providing inspiration on engine enhancement! I look forward to yours

Roland Gunslinger

Harry Eder
I take a seat too...

Daniel
cool, nice to have you all on board gentlemen! I just realised ... winter is coming ... pretty fast I'll try to acquire some more goodies for her and will assign the next slot after the 190 and fat amy - really looking forward to this one as well!

@Clifford: teamwork is always good inspired by your great looking hornet aggressor I bought the vallejo flanker set and they seem to have researched their stuff really well. One thing that made me hesitate with this project is the kind of hard to get look of the bleached classic flankers with all the colors blending. have a good feeling this will work out with these colors

Nathan Dempsey
Yes, I want to see this one too

Daniel
welcome nathan!

Augie
Oo watching this one

Clifford Keesler
I will try and be a good teammate. The vallejo colors work very nice. I thinned them in the bottle. I took the top off and added thinner untill it came to the top of the rim on the bottle, added a couple of Mission Models metal balls, that I bought a bottle of, they are for putting in those type bottles of paint. They can then be dispensed right into your airbrush, ready to paint. I have the Dream Models detail set for mine. It is very compelete. I think all I need is a set of wheels.

Daniel
Welcome aboard Augie!
@clifford: Sounds good! I also bought a bag of mixing balls for my remaining vallejos, just always forget to put them in...

Clifford Keesler
I forgot quite a few also, went to shake up a bottle today and found I had left them out of it.

Clifford Keesler
I'll be watching.

Daniel
Great! some patience will be needed but I'll send the word once kicked-off

Clifford Keesler
I have the Revell 1/32 A model, but bought the Tamiya detail sets for it. Someday I will build it. LOL.

Neuling
A symphony in blue and gray .... very beautiful!

Holger Kranich
Great bird, great base! Just wonderful!

Stefan Fraundorfer
Wow, this is a very impressive Hornet. Congratulations mate!

Daniel
Guys, thanks a lot! I'm flattered

Slavo Hazucha
Great job Daniel! The scheme choice surely was a good start, but the execution has taken it to some length - really like the job on the upper surfaces - just the right amount of everything that should be present, you got it spot on

Daniel
Thank you for the compliment slavo, a "spot on" coming from you means something!

Gareth Windsor
A beautiful finish Daniel.

Daniel
Many thanks Gareth!

Daniel
good call, time to unite the cat lovers!

Holger Kranich
Fear the bones!

Daniel
cheers Holger, of course, but this is vf-2 turf

JD de Ruijter
Nice Daniel. Following. Great squadron VF-2 and a awesome fighter

Sergej I
Watching

Gareth Burge
Hi Daniel can I ask what red paint you used in this build? Looking for a decent solid red...just picked up the same kit and yours is #1 on the Inspiration list...

Daniel
Hi Gareth, sure - its mr.hobby H327. Happy modelling and hope you share some pics for me it's a great honour to provide inspiration, so thx!

Gareth Burge
Thanks Daniel, much appreciated.

Daniel
Zhou, thank you very much, means a lot coming from an AMK-build-bro
For a lot of steps I looked up your take on it, so thx for the inspiration!

Spanjaard
awesome

ZHOU Kun
Would you mind if I share your work on my Instagram post? I would credit you and put a link onto your scalemate album

Michael Hickey
I was scrolling down the page and happened to stop just where the forward section of the cockpit was showing and I thought it was a real in flight photo of a Cat, then I scrolled down further and my jaw just dropped.

Daniel
Spanjaard, many thanks

Zhou, no problemo, since I am not active on the insta i am more than happy+honoured if you'd like to show some stuff over there for me If you need an original pic send a pm

Michael, thanks a lot for your kind words, achieving a realistic appearance is the biggest praise one can get, thx

Andrew P
A beautiful job. I have the kit but not sure that I will ever be able to dedicate the level of effort it demands.
Any in progress reports? I too like to put my aircraft on popsicle sticks and would like to know how you were able to secure a relatively heavy build so far off it's (presumed) center of gravity.

Daniel
Andrew, thank you very much! For me this was a subject that really kept me going, the kit does not put too many obstacles in your way as well. But see for yourself:

Bullet 106 - WIP | Album by halohead (1:48)

On the CG part it helped that I put a lot of lead in the rear quarter as I wanted a wheels on deck tail sitter first. other than that it is really just a thin tube with a canted tip put through the sparrow fin opening as the idea to keep it flying came pretty last minute. But - works

Daniel
And for a more professional way to put things on spikes I recommend a look at Zhou's work, eg pic 13 here
AMK F-14D WIP | Album by ZHOU Kun (1:48)

Soeren .
Great work witrh the weapons Daniel - they are superb!

bughunter
A airbrush artist at work - fantastic result

Clifford Keesler
I am amazed at the scope of your ability to turn out such stunning work Daniel. I stand in awe of your work sir. Simpily stunning.

Nathan Dempsey
Those are gorgeous weapons Daniel!

Treehugger
Oh, magnets for attaching weapons onto pylons? (photo 70 comment)

Slavo Hazucha
More progress - and looking all good and shiny (actually messy & dirty, but in an entirely good sense )

Do you find just one rod sufficient to hold the full opulence of a 48-scale Tomcat safely in the air? I used two on the F-111, which works perfectly, my Hornet got one and is pretty wobbly on it, but then that´s a longer rod and a more "pro-motion" angle...

Also, are you doing a landing-approach with unspent ordnance or a post-take-off scene?

Daniel
Thanks mates!
Yep, this cat is returning to the boat after dropping one of two bombs on the sortie, quite common during the last wars where fighters were often just waiting on station for targets to appear. Often in vain.

@ Treehugger: yes, I tried it on my big hornet where I had a truckload of cool ordnance and just couldnt choose which was the coolest
You can see pics of different loadouts here: Blacklions in OIR - Completed | Album by halohead (1:32)
To be honest I didnt change the load out that often since then...but i could anytime!

@slavo: Since we have few earthquakes over here I trust the small rod^^ Its pretty stiff as is is quite short (twss) having a tailsitter also helps the balance here
And since my F-16 still sits gracefully on her super wobbly arched bicycle spoke, I dont worry about this construction.

Daniel
Calling it done!

Scalemates F-14 Tomcat Group build 2020 | Album by halohead (1:48)

Was a blast to make and to share, I want to thank everybody here for sticking around, liking and commenting!

Daniel
Thank you Clifford!

Jos Jansen
Nice Daniel...also a nice subject

Daniel
thx jos, glad you like it!

Slavo Hazucha
I suspected the digital camo is too good to be true... Looks much better than the title pic!

Patrick O
Nice one! The color scheme and digital camo go really well together.

Neuling
Clean work on this interesting plane! Amazing paintwork.

Pero Sušić
Very nice camo. I like it.

Daniel
thank you very much Slavo, Patrick, Neuling and Pero! I am very happy you like the result of my little camo experiment!

Bill Gilman
Very nicely done indeed...amazing work! I think that Superbug needs a carwash though.

Daniel
Thank you very much Bill, I'm sure they'd consider it before the next airshow
Spanjaard, me too mate

Holger Kranich
Great sh*t dude!

Neal
The color and grime on those bombs is absolutely on point!

Ricardo Reis
This is a fantastic job! Thanks for sharing!

Daniel
@Holger: Thx mate!
@Neal: Took some extra steps to get the thermal coating structure right and the rest was just quick light gull grey w/ sandbeige, oils and drybrush Thanks for noticing!
@Ricardo: Thanks for commenting! always a pleasure to share the hobby with you guys

Pierre
Sweety build, love the plane and the modular ordinance

Daniel
Thank you Pierre, I appreciate it!

Maciej Bellos
Great looking Super Hornet!

Daniel
Thank you very much slavo and Maciej! Were getting there, back on the balcony, steadied my hand with some beers and painted some more details today
@Slavo: asking for a volunteer theres always the one guy in the line who doesnt step back as the others^^

Jos Jansen
Wow Daniel... you have magic hands mate, very will done on that carrier base...excellent!

Daniel
Thank you very much for the compliment jos

Got the crew assembled, the clones were joined by a former air force employee who got issued a helmet. Otherwise I am painting weapons...a lot of them, not much to show here - and its draining the mojo a bit

Slavo Hazucha
You don't have to do a piece of ordnance for every one of the (104 if I counted right) bomb symbols on the nose...

The crew looks cool on the deck I can almost hear them murmuring "Get it done & grab the camera..."...?

Daniel
haha, yeah, they look a bit grumpy, the dude on the right is like: "stop wasting time and get back to the bench man!"
Now I felt obliged to count them myself and can confirm 104 boombooms dropped so far (and Im preparing merely 36 )

Daniel
My new 1:32 Delta-Hornet arrived today and guess what - next to some deck crew, bazillions of ordnance in there …and I still have magnets left... Though part of me hates me for it, I decided that I could need some more loadout options

Daniel
Fought my way through the last weaponry - phew, that took longer than expected and was getting more tedious than fun. But I will save the time during the next 32 build

Now, having the bug armed up and on the deck, I could finally take some photos and call it done. Thanks everyone here for tuning in, please take a look:

Blacklions in OIR - Completed | Album by halohead (1:32)