Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Sergej I
copy/paste address to browser, should be shared...
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqsdTdLwoE_0-A_OtRAXLer-DGL6?e=S753rL
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqsdTdLwoE_0-A7eqHNMAGCFxLeo?e=Kpq2kT

Urban Gardini
Following with keen interest! I plan to build a Namcat in the future but i 1:72. Just need to buy the GWH kit first and finish some other projects as well.

Treehugger
Re. photo 8: I think I recognize the tail shape as being an early F-14A one. I have been wondering if maybe I could recreate the peculiar rear end like this myself on my build. Having said that I am no expert on the F-14.

Donald Dickson II
Sergei, yep, the underside gap is OK. That is on the plane. Topside is the one I am pretty sure I cut wrong.

Treehugger, yes, that is the early boat tail on the first planes produced. Hasegawa boxed a few kits with it. The only way to do it for the Tamiya kit is to get the Phase Hangar resin kit. That also comes with the early gun panel I showed.

Urban all that is in 1/48. I have NO clue how you would do it in 1/72.

Urban Gardini
I'll give it a try at least!

Urban Gardini
My 1:48 cats is ear marked for other markings...

Clifford Keesler
Looking good Donald.

Donald Dickson II
OK, except for the side walls being attached and one other piece, pit is done. They leave the seats until later. Which I will follow. AMK next.

Jos Jansen
I know what you mean Michael, look at the pictures 56, 64 and 95...I already made them and checked them in the plane. I think I aligned them well, they are exactly in the right place as in the example. I also have a reference photo of a close-up of the tails...

Jos Jansen
It's starting to look like something, today a whole day behind the bench...!

Nathan Dempsey
Oh man a whole day?! I'd like to get one of those!

Clifford Keesler
Me too. LOL. Looking very nice Jos.

Michael Hickey
Looking just divine.

Jos Jansen
Thanks guys, what I said earlier...slow but steady! Haha...sometimes you've to please your wife to get something done

Slavo Hazucha
@last pic - so it's a snap-build model now!

All sub-assemblies looking seriously good, interesting that it's going to be a BVR-only config - I'm not a Tomcat expert, did they fly AA configs completely without Sidewinders?

In any case, looking forward to this GB hero crossing the line!

Sergej I
There is still room for two Sidewinders in this setup. Jos, we want more!

Łukasz Gliński
Whoa, what a concept

Roland Gunslinger
The main reason for the what-if build is the IMHO bad kit. It's not really a F-14D. At least not without a lot of effort. So, lets do a fun build.

Slavo Hazucha
Cool stuff! & definitely much more pleasant sight than the prospect of having lo-vis F-35 Blue Angels one day (better not even think about painted ones...)!

Mathijs Beenhakker
@Treehugger, you're welcome sir...And may i compliment you on this very nice job you're doing on this "Dog of a Cat"

Daniel
Still no shortcuts taken! I really enjoy watching this battle!
Some thoughts:
Pic 61: You could simply sand the rear seat underside? Since those are height adjustable in the real jet I think this would be my cheap solution to this
Pic 65: This is a very, very sensible step, wish I had used that on mine...
Pic 67: How do you get around the engine parts in between?

Gary Dahlström
Love your perseverance...looking forward to your victory.

Treehugger
If I can just get the damn canopy pieces on without screwing up, I think it will end up being a nice looking model. Except the nose gear bay which will look so basic, it won't be interesting to look at, and I'll be happy I managed to get the nose wheel on in the first place. I am currently painting the cockpit. I started with glossy black primer.

@Daniel
I moved the whole canopy down, which made the rear seat fit. I did try to sand the base of the rear seat, but it wasn't enough. Aah, interesting about the engine parts. I checked just now and it looks like my rod will go clear, just barely, so it looks it will fit.

Clifford Keesler
I am just amazed at what you are doing with this kit. I was looking last night and figured out why I had so much trouble with my kit. The 2 prior ones I built were newer boxings, the last one I built was one of the first boxings. It had been in my stash for a long time.

Treehugger
Ooh, the figures are tricky stuff. I tried to make the look as good as I could as mere plastic figures, but masking the tiny edges is tricky. I airbrushed the black primer, green and white, but it seems it is now back and forth fixing things here and there with a tiny brush. The hands and the few details I will have to paint with a small brush. I used multiple layers of Vallejo Green Flourescent over glossy black primer, with a brush and I think it worked nicely, or ok. Still more painting to be done with the cockpit/seats/figure. I will have to add a gloss coat to the figures and seats, and add a pin wash.

Clifford Keesler
It looks good to me sir.

Michael Hickey
WOW... You've put a mountain of work into this project so far, well done.

Treehugger
Tip: Afaik, the top side "console" in the middle of the canopy has a handle bar for the "wizard" in the rear seat to grab onto when getting in and out of the rear seat. On my Aires resin in 1:48, the handles weren't there and isn't shown in the instructions, so I made one of styrene parts. Edit: Ah, looking at photo7 it looks like this handle is actually articulated on your large resin kit, nice.

Roland Gunslinger
Unfortunately, in my opinion, you have to pay a lot for that

Today i started to reduce the huge pile of sprues and glued some parts together. So far the pieces have been working very well together. Not as perfect as the 48 Tamiya but better than expected. Especially since you read almost only bad things about this kit, at least in German forums. Only the details are not very well worked out. In addition, the kit has the same strange panel lines as the Hobby Boss kit. Somehow this was to be expected

Roland Gunslinger
@Treehugger Our comments have overlapped. Thanks for the hint

Nathan Dempsey
Somehow I've missed this one. Following!

Roland Gunslinger
Welcome Nathan, You haven't missed a lot

Clifford Keesler
It is looking good Roland.

Michael Phillips
Oooh, somehow I missed this one too! Count me in. Looking good so far, that cockpit is going to be a beauty!!!

Roland Gunslinger
Thanks Clifford and Michael Take a seat. Lots of gluing but not really a big progress

Choppa Nutta
not great but better than nothing

airwingmodels.de/t663f44-F-A-Tomcat-in-von-Italeri.html

JOHN THOMAS
Iezama, I have a instruction manual for is kit. If you give me your mailing address I will send it to you. I also have the decals if you need them.

iezama
hi Mr. John Thomas. Sorry for replying so late (4 years late to be exact), but do you still have the IM for this kit?

Maciej Bellos
Following!

ronan lallet
Thank you for your interest in this project

Patrick Hagelstein
I'll chime in too!

ronan lallet
Thank you too for your interest

Clifford Keesler
Very nice.

ronan lallet
Thank you

Daniel
very nice progress and awesome photography!

ronan lallet
Thank you

Patrick Hagelstein
Nice!!!

Michael Phillips
Wow, missed this one! Looking great so far. One of my favorite schemes for the Tomcat!

Clifford Keesler
Very nice indeed. I just ordered a decal sheet for that version.

ronan lallet
Thank you.

Michael Hickey

Slavo Hazucha
I´d better check in here too!

Daniel
Yep, I'll reserve a seat as well cool subject!

@mathijs: Haha, I knew she looked familiar The artist took the "QUEEN of spades" part literally^^

Michael Hickey
From all the seating being taken up I just might have to do this one next.;)

Jos Jansen
Oh yeah Michael...go for it

Patrick Hagelstein
Bring it on!

Roland Gunslinger

Michael Hickey
Center of fuselage cut out, and first panel above air intake removed.

Clifford Keesler
Yea you have to be careful breathing that stuff. I used to build R/C model aircraft when I was younger. We used silk and dope to cover them with before they came out with the iron on coverings. I spent many an hour with my eyes going round and round. Smelly stuff. LOL.

Gary Dahlström
I still have a couple jars of Aero Gloss kicking around. Every so often I pop the top and use it as air freshener. *Good times*

Augie
I did aeromodelling in air cadets.. doping balsa aircraft.. I swear I was the one flying after that.

Clifford Keesler
I do not know if you can even get Aero Gloss, or any kind of dope anymore. I have a whole stack of balsa and tissue models.

Patrick Hagelstein
I like the new avatar Augie!

Augie
thanks Patrick

Sergej I
Here we go, Cliffort, first cat-dog is on her feet. Beautiful! Bar is set, I will get back to mine after August. Still need to pick up a package of corona in Greece lol, hopefully I get the state-sponsored 2-week bench time.

Clifford Keesler
I will be looking forward to seeing your excellent build completed.

Andy Ball
It's outstanding Sergej, for my taste subtle weathering is far better on the eye- it doesn't detract from the model. Can't wait to see the finishing line!

Sergej I
Thank you everyone! Keep it coming, need that uplift for 1/72 stencils mojo, haha

Patrick Hagelstein
Good thing even those stencils are Cartograf: insanely small, but wafer thin and in excellent register!

Carlos Martin
It's looking amazing! All the best with the stencils.

Sergej I
Thanks Carlos! Still looking for that mojo, last seen somewhere in June

Thomas Kolb
Absolutely lovely work! I really like those gaudy, pre-80's US Navy high vis schemas! Every time I see something like this, I feel the need... to build one myself.

Sergej I
Thanks, Thomas! I do feel like drawing a cartoon on these gray-on-white models.

Clifford Keesler
It looks great, coming along nicely.

Patrick Hagelstein
reading your whole story, it could ONLY be the Revell one. In that case, good luck and we'll guide you along your dark path of Tomcat building. There will be light at the end of the tunnel in form of that GWH Tomcat as Martin can surely tell you about then.

Piotr Sarniński-Górecki
Hahahaha - it's good to have you both by my side :-D

Martin von Schreckenstein
haha to be fair, Revel is definitely not the worst 72 Tomcat, that place is occupied by Italeri beyond any doubt, Revell being actually pretty good in comparison But on the other hand, after building many Hasegawa and Academy kits, the GWH is just a dream

Patrick Hagelstein
Piotr, could you tell me where you found those Dr Pepper Resins Hornet intakes? I don't seem to find a(n online) shop stocking them and I can not read the Dr Pepper Resins website...

Piotr Sarniński-Górecki
Didn't find them though... They were on the list of options to Hornet in scalemates so I add them but not to the stash - only to wishlist. I'm afraid they are unavaible

Patrick Hagelstein
The link on Scalemates only leads to a fishy lawyer site. At least when using Google Translate. Fingers crossed they might show up somewhere!

Piotr Sarniński-Górecki
OK. I've decided to change the main actor in this movie :-D So ther will be Academy bird as Bullet 106 from VF-2 and Revell Tomcat will be finished as Felix 105 of VF-31 Tomcatters So this project gain the IDEA status and a new project appear simultanously

Patrick Hagelstein
The Academy Tomcat is sweeeeeeeeet!!! You'll enjoy building that over the Revell one for sure!

Treehugger
What kind of metal was used for the landing gear parts? Looks like maybe a little hollow.

I think I would use a clear acrylic rod and not metal for showing the tomcat up in the air, somehow the metal rod in photo 9 stands out too much. Or, maybe a thinner metal rod could also work.

Thomas Bischoff
That's cool! Following for sure

ZHOU Kun
to Treehuger, I used stainless steel tubes to represent the gear oleos. As for the supporting pole, steel tube is better than acrylic rod since it is rigid and has sufficient strength

Roland Gunslinger
Very nice I look forward to the „glam pics".

Sergej I
Congratz! Looking sharp, love the details on the tails and missiles.

Murad ÖZER
Calling em done.

Thanks a bunch for the group build folks, all wonderful builds so far from everyone!

Roland Gunslinger
Very nive pictures. I particularly like picture 15: three cats at once

Sergej I
Me too! What a nice trio, Murad!

Murad ÖZER
Roland and Sergej cheers guys, much appreciated.

Daniel
Excellent work on all three of those, wouldn't have guessed they are in this small scale

Neuling
I fully agree with Daniel!

Nathan Dempsey
I agree that's great work on all three.

...and now I need to go find that kit on ebay.

Murad ÖZER
Daniel, Neuling and Nathan thanks a bunch folks.

Ingo F
Looks great!

Jasper Breur
Impressive Cats, especially in that scale!

scalemates
it is a nice box art though!

Jos Jansen
Thank you Roland, I was indeed a bit too premature to put this in my wish list, after doing some research I agree with you completely.

Roland Gunslinger
I already had the kit in my shopping cart
IMHO the new Revell kits are very good. The artwork and the instructions in particular are very appealing. And the new WW2 32nd kits are great.
I think it's a shame that Revell used these old molds here.

Konrad Limmer
!

Treehugger
I bought the Revell Airbus 350 in 1:144 and to my annoyance, even though this was a new kit the clear part for the canopy didn't fit well with the plastic. Trusting brand names is a big no no for me, and so I place my trust in good reviews where you can get a good idea if there are sink marks (lol) and crap.

Roland Gunslinger
@Treehugger
Of course, you shouldn't blindly trust a brand. I actually mean that Revell have shown with some new molds (32nd Spitfire, Focke Wulf, ME262) that they definitely have the potential to bring very good kits to the market and, of all things, they use these old molds for such a popular topic.

Jos Jansen
IMHO the Rafale M 1/48 is one of the best molded kit from Revell ever, you sometimes have to do some research to find the right good Revell kit or listen to the mates her on SCM Of course it is a Hasegawa rebox but their Phantom FGR Mk.2 1/48 is also a very good sharp molded kit, and cheaper then the original Hasegawa ones!

Cortex
1978 release, that's pretty old : )
I think -with all the great new releases we now have- the strategy for modeller today is to get the best kit they can find for their money. Because you might get an old cheap kit, but you want get the satisfaction you seek plus you'll spend money on paints and tools for a bad kit.

Jos Jansen
Great start...keep on going!

ZHOU Kun
Had deleted the original album by mistake. It is a pity that scalemates does not provide a 'confirm' button

Daniel
Oops, I m back in

Roland Gunslinger
#metoo

Martin von Schreckenstein
I really like the dynamic setup. is this gonna be a landing scene when the turkey is at its most majestic?

ZHOU Kun
It is going to be a takeoff scene @Martin von Schreckenstein

Patrick Hagelstein
Oh noooooooh!!!..... But luckily, I found it again! Here we go for round two!

Humpty Hays
Nice build. Watching, because I'm interested in getting this kit to build.

Mathieu
Sneaking into a seat! Thanks for sharing

Clifford Keesler
Looking very nice sir. Glad you are back in.

Sergej I
How did I miss this one?

Gareth Burge
Looking good so far...definite follow

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.

Sergej I
Sweet!

Jos Jansen
Following!

Maciej Bellos
In!

Daniel
watching

Falk Röllig
welcome all.

Roland Gunslinger
Watching...

Laurent "HELLER-forever"
yeah f14

Treehugger
Re. photo 15, maybe you have the resin part the wrong way? Maybe the resin part is more wide on the other side?

Cuajete
Nice decoration.
Well done so far... Following.

Daniel
great detail work, expecially being 1:72...

Urban Gardini
Following!

Falk Röllig
Thanks all. Back on the bench after summer break. Next i'll paint pilot and rio.

Tóth Márton
Buy the fujimi or the gwh kit. This is hard to build, and the decals are bad.

Tóth Márton
And I did the oil marks on the wings with revell acrylic black paint, painted with a cotton bud.

Daniel Lane
Thanks for the info, I greatly appreciate the input. Coming back after so many *decades*, I'm learning it all over again! As for the 'cat, I have the Hasegawa kit already, so I'll probably try to make the best of what I have, but I will admit I have a backup on the decals. If it all goes pear shaped, I'm thinking the recent Academy 1:72 release plus the decals I have for the Vandy 1 version. The aircraft has a special meaning to me, so I'm definitely going to work out the best option here!

Daniel Lane
Looks great! The cockpit detail is impressive for 1:72. I've got a 1:72 Tomcat in the queue, this is nice inspiration. What did you use for the wing swing grease marks?

Tóth Márton
Revell acrylic black, and a cotton bud.

Maciej Bellos
Following!

Maciej Bellos
Following!

Roland Gunslinger
Oh Yea, Watching

Michael Hickey
I started cutting out one of the panels on the beaver tail and for now I've lost interest, I'll come back to her though soon enough.

Daniel
Well, I'll be watching then

Jos Jansen
I am in Michael...!

Konrad Limmer
Watching too!

Urban Gardini
Wee, I'm grabbing a chair for this one!

Slavo Hazucha
Pic 1 - well that´s like they all start, isn´t it...? another one to look forward to!

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!

Roland Gunslinger
Nice start Watching

Urban Gardini
Thanks mate!

Sergej I
Tomcats still coming up, great ! Still second half of 2020 to come, maybe it will bring more isolation for modellers

Urban Gardini
Yes, I've got several planned and that's just me and there's others out there as well. This is more or less a test run.

Michael Phillips
Very nice work Augie! It is cool to see you do a Tomcat, and a particularly awesome scheme to boot! I think I want to try this scheme some day too. Well done!

Clifford Keesler
Looks like you broke the Unicorn cure, Well done Augie, she looks great.

Augie
Thanks guys

She needs a few days to dry before i go further so with the tonka fighter.

Bernhard Schrock
A very interesting camo.

Augie
Thanks Bernhard I like the odd ones

Clifford Keesler
Yea I saw the Tonka lurking in the background, another stealth build. LOL.

Augie
Noo, there is album for it

Clifford Keesler
I missed it. Sorry about that. My "Cat" is finished.

Patrick Hagelstein
The nacelle putty thing looks interesting, that's what a lot of folks complain about. Curious to see how it turns out after scribing.

Spanjaard
and MYK has one set in 1/72 U.S. Navy F-14D Tomcat VX-9 ..` (MYK Design A-72127, 1:72) being from 2018, it should be possible to still find one

Andy Ball
Wow!, a great execution of a less-usual F-14 scheme/theme....years of economic isolation for Iran provides some modeller's benefits for their airforce's subjects.

Evgeny Brovkin
>you have a user selling a set in 1/48....
I do not need 48. 1/72 only.

>and MYK has one set in 1/72 U.S. Navy F-14D Tomcat VX-9
There is not playboy bunny in this set

Some times I think, that decal makers are people with very-very strange logic

Spanjaard
i do agree with that Evgeny... but if you just miss the bunny, that part is easy to be replicated with a mask. or you can get a 1/72 for a phantom, and get the bunny from there

Spanjaard
not sure if they are still in business, but the set F-4J Phantom II VX-1 Vandy 1..(HobbyDecal AL72001V1, 1:72) could give you all you miss in the MYK. i must say that most of it is dry is dry transfers. i did use the 1/48 for my Black bunny Phantom. got nuts to get the 1000. stencills, but it was worthy

Evgeny Brovkin
Thanks, Andy!
>years of economic isolation for Iran provides some modeller's benefits for their airforce's subject
And very few photos

Alexander G.
Not a big fan of the Tomcat and I know it is a great blasphemy punishable by death around this place but your model is very nice

Nice to see one in camo instead of your regular grey

Evgeny Brovkin
Thanks!
>Nice to see one in camo instead of your regular grey
That's was my main idea

Treehugger
I would strongly avoid the 1:48 version of the Academy tomcat, but the 1:72 is afaik better without me having that 1:72 kit myself (the one you linked).

Felinx
Ah, alright. Cool, thanks for the advise. Much appreciated

Treehugger
So the thing is that the Academy tomcat has the same box art for the 1:48 kit and the 1:72 (newer) kit, but afaik the 1:72 kit has at least other clear parts by the looks of it. I would think the 1:72 mold is entirely different (better), but I don't know that.

Thomas Bischoff
Comes along nicely
How do you like the kit?

Celliers
Hi Thomas. It's a very nice little kit, no issues with assembly and really good details for this scale.

Roland Gunslinger
Looks very nice so far

Celliers
Thanks Roland, she's finally finished

Roland Gunslinger
Great job Beautiful!

Thomas Bischoff
Beautiful cat, well done!

Celliers
Thanks Thomas

Stew Pitt
I have one https://ventura.craigslist.o..chnologies-2/7145034264.html

scalemates
awesome

Alec K
Sorry for missing this one! Very well done

Greg Baker
Łukasz... wait till the hairspray sodden cotton gets stuck to both your tweezers and the light bulb. When that happens, I just call it "adding extra volume" to the explosion.

Thanks Slavo. I was thinking about trying something like this for the F-111, but chickened out. I'm glad I saw it through this time. Thanks also to Frank for his understated comments. . And no worries Alec. This one sort of just rolled down hill. I did just start a kind of Area 88 WHIf project... so stay tuned to this channel.

Juergen Klinglhuber
another great built! congrats

Martin Oostrom
Imagination can be a real joy. Perhaps you can talk Lode into modifying his Hood into an explosion as well?

Spanjaard
Amazing result Greg, crazy idea,but executed to perfection. Not many would have dared to en try, and even less would have pass it with such flying colours

Greg Baker
I think Lode's ships could do with a few more explosions... y'know... just to add character. I'll suggest it to him.

Also, Spanjaard, I've said it before, but I enjoy the mental gymnastics involved with modelling destruction. In real life, it's much easier to destroy something than create it (which small-minded people prove to me time and time again). But in modelling, you have to create the creation, AND the destruction - wether that means blowing up a Tomcat, or rusting out an El Camino. That always fascinated me.

Spanjaard
it shows

Lode Schildermans
Not interested after all that precise work, chaps