Revell 1/48 F-14D Super Tomcat Completed.

No way of telling the difference between them!  I tried tackling their F4U Corsair kit early on in my modeling ventures, and learned my lesson!  It landed up getting chucked, lol.  I did buy the kit again, and feel pretty confident that it won't beat me down now with the expierence I've gained. 

Did you say "modeler"? A while back I was speaking to an executive at Revell. We were talking about problems that may be encountered with some Revell builds. His comment was "that is modeling".

Now to tell you a modeling story. I have A Trilogy of 1/48 Mustangs on one stand. One is a Accurate Miniatures P-51B, a Tamiya P-51D, and the hack of P-51B-1NA. P-51B-1NA is the aircraft that North American pulled from the assembly line to hack off the bird cage canopy and add a bubble top to make the D model (plus some other modifications). I did this by combining  Revell B and D kits. I did not have any fit problems with any of the three manufactures kits!

Three planes, four kits; which one is the Tamiya?

Agreed!  I've only done 2 Tamiya kits, 2 Hasegawa, and the rest have been Revell, Monogram, Italeri, and 1 Otaki.  If I built kits that went together perfectly every time I think I could just call myself an assembler, not a modeler, because your skills would never need to improve.

Shipwreck

Keyda, I looked at that Tamiya kit; and I wanted one. But, with A and D Revelll cats sitting on my shelf, I realized that I do not need to break the bank in order to spoil myself with a Tamiya build and end up with a model that looks as good as one that costs about 5 times as much. Then it is OK to be spoiled a little if you get the opportunity!

 

I got that backwards! I meant to say to "…end up with a model that looks as good as one that costs about a fifth as much."

Keyda, I looked at that Tamiya kit; and I wanted one. But, with A and D Revelll cats sitting on my shelf, I realized that I do not need to break the bank in order to spoil myself with a Tamiya build and end up with a model that looks as good as one that costs about 5 times as much. Then it is OK to be spoiled a little if you get the opportunity!

ardvark002, Thank you!  I didn't always have the skills, lol.  I still have a long way to go to be as good as most of the forum members. 

hogfanfs, thanks!

Straycat1911, The LHS has the Tamiya kit, it's bit out of my price range though!  I'm sure it builds up beautifully.

Thanks lawdog114!

Now you need to build a Tamiya Tomcat to make you appreciate how far some companies have come.

Great job on the 14D! I have to agree with PJ, you can't stop at just one! 

That is why I like using the reflective holiday ribbons. ;)

Pictures just don't do it justice as you have to get extreme angles for the camera to catch it. I believe I need some clear green to further enhancement it the way you guys have. I think the combination will be unbeatable. I just have to test it.  :D

Plasticjunkie, Thanks for the tip, and I'll be sure to add more cats to the collection.  I've been eyeballing a few at my local hobby store.

Bish, Thank you!  I will try that next time for sure!

ManCityFan, Thank you, and yes I need a bigger house, lol.  There is currently 28 on display in my living room.

Great job on the cat there, some really nice detail and a great finish.

And i'll echo PJ on useing the tamiya clear. I do the same for aircraft wingtip lights when they are the small molded on ones.

I think that was me saying you need some cats. Well done on that D and now you need an A in high vis paint and a Bobcat to follow. You can never have enough cats I say!

Great job on the IPs and the rest the model. These old Monogram molds require lots of TLC but build up to be very nice cats.

Here's a small tip for adding even more sparkle to the screens. I use some silver paint first and let it dry as a screen base color then apply Tamiya clear green till I get the reflectivity I like, usually one thick coat is ok. This is the trick to using the clear green otherwise without the silver under paint it looks too dark cause of the black or grey background base color.

Thanks Mike!

Nice set up you have there.  Yea I wasn't quite satisified with spray booths online either.  The dust collector I bought at Harbor Freight was the most expensive part to the whole contraption, but it more than does it's job.  I used a can of spray primer earlier, and didn't smell a thing in the process.  Mine is vented right out the bedroom window.  I know what you mean about the sagging, lol.  Mine is already starting to do that, but I can easily fix that.  It is a little large, but it should be able to fit just about anything I plan to paint in the future.  Hubby isn't bothered by it either.  Wish I would have built in sooner!

Keyda,

Nice work! You made the seams disappear and have another fine model in your collection.

Regarding your homemade paint booth - I too made my own about 5 or 6 years ago (I think - time has a way of slipping by quickly at my age ). I was not enamored with the rather small booths I saw online and for a few dollars less I thought I'd build one from poster board. It's still holding up (albeit in a slightly sagging way) and I feel I've gotten my pesos worth out of it. I bought some LED "closet" light banks from either Walmart or Amazon and am satified with it in general.  I run the exhaust to the small bathroom that never gets used - except when I'm too lazy to walk down the hall to my master bath - and have a double window fan in the bathtub to suck the exhaust. The black garbage bag  is to keep any unfiltered paint particles from adhering to the side of the tub.

I use rechargeable batteries in the light banks so, although I have to recharge them after two or three painting sessions, I really save a bunch of $.

 P.S. The inside dimensions of my contraption are: Width: 30", Depth: 19 1/2". and the height varies between the rear - 15" and the front - 18"

Thanks so much Mark!

Wow...  just, wow. 

Great work.  Really enjoyed reading through this thread.

Cheers, Mark

Thanks Shipwreck!  I'm slowly getting better at the Revell kits.  Don't get me wrong, they aren't all bad, some are actually really great kits, I simply had a blast building their B-25 kit, and the F-15E went together flawlessly.  Others need some work, but that really is the fun of modeling, the challenge of it.  I think it would get boring if all they needed was some paint, and decals slapped on them.

Finally got to the most stressful part of it all....hanging her up on the wall!  Makes the A-7 and Fury look tiny, lol. 

Keyda, you did a really fine job on your F-14. Thanks for sharing your build with us. You have showed us that those old cats can still be made into fine models and without breaking the bank. You have given me incentive to pull down my Revell D and A kits.

Modelcrazy, Thanks!  My Dad built model cars when I was a kid.  I remember him sitting in a chair with one of those folding endtables in front of him in the living room.  He must of passed the model building gene onto me, I just had to figure out I liked building aircraft, and not cars, lol. 

scottrc, those seams were a bit of a pain, came out looking better than I thought it would honestly.  Thank you, I'm sure I'll be starting something else on Sunday, it's supposed to rain all day! 

Mark, thank you! 

Mike, thanks!  I'm tempted to see how I do on a P-40.  It's time for a prop build.  Either that or the P-47 I have in the stash.

seasick, Thank you! , lol.

Pawel, Thanks, I have a tendency to not leave something alone once I start working on it, lol. 

goldhammer, yea I needed a cat in the collection! Thank you so much.

I knew you were due for a 'cat.  Nice job with it, looks ready to give the neighborhood dogs a run for their money.  You are impressing me more with each build.

Hello!

Congratualtions! You're cranking them out faster than I can say "Mississippi"! What's next? Good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

Well done, Keyda!!!!

That cockpit is absolutely stunning

modelcrazy

 

 

Keyda81

I'm a stay at home Mom.

 

 

Cool mom, I wish I grew up with a mom like that.

The Cat looks great! The dreaded Tomcat seams didn't seem to slow you down any.

 

I was saying the same thing, those seams were nasty and kept me busy for a few weeks.  Keyda, youre build logs are fun to follow along because you move a such a quick pace.  Great looking kitty, hope your other cat doesn't get jealous. 

Keyda81

I'm a stay at home Mom.

Cool mom, I wish I grew up with a mom like that.

The Cat looks great! The dreaded Tomcat seams didn't seem to slow you down any.