OK FSM, there must be something wrong with me. Seriously.
The 1/48 B-1 wasn't a big enough challenge, so I decide to kit-bash an AH-1G in 1/48. Around the same time, I take on my first biplane and its rigging. Then I decide to tackle Revellogram's A-10 putty monster...and back date it!. Now, while I'm still working on the Warthog, I decide to take on Academy's pig-ear of an F-14A in 1/48.
If I ever run into any of you fine people on the street...please slap me.
OK, so this is going to be a special build. I think the F-14 looks its best in VF-1 or VF-84 markings, but I am not going to waste either of my decal sheets on this kit. I'll save those for the Hasegawa Tomcats I have in my stash. This kit will be wearing special markings, but you'll have to wait and see what I have up my sleeve. Because I'm planning on focusing on the paint, the plastic is just a means to the end. This will be built OOB. I've already made the modification that I need to get my plastic to match my reference. More on that in a moment.
I started with the cockpit and added a small disk that I punched from iridescent plastic to represent the HUD projector.
The airframe I'm building is based on a few pictures I saw in a book. The airframe is on the ramp undergoing maintenance but is "kneeling." In order to get that same stance with my kit, I stole the lower part of the NLG from one of my Hasegawa kits and grafted it onto the Academy nose gear. I cut up the Academy part and removed the "knob" from the Hasegawa part.
From there it was a simple as drilling up into the Academy part to accept the modified Hase part. In the end, it all worked out perfectly.
OK, so this is where I stand with the Tomcat. I'll be working on my A-10 and F-14 simultaneously. I'll be sure to share my progress as it comes. As usual, comments, questions, and criticims are welcome.
Thanks for looking!
Cheers,
-O