Sorry again I didn't finish my entry but it was a great GB and loved watching everyone else. Some really amazing work here!

I think that is the last of the birds we were waiting on. If not, let me know. 

I want to thank everyone for particiating. This was a great GB and I had a great deal of fun doing it. It was really nice to see some modern birds show up on the forums to mix things up. You all did super nice builds and I wish I could harness all the great techniques from each of you to make me build better kits. Well done, Everyone!!!

BK

Dan, that is a stunning work of art. She looks like she is ready for her maiden launch off the deck. What an amazing Tomcat. Well done, Sir!!

I'll update the front page.

BK

Thanks Gamera & BrandonK.

I'm happy to say that the Tomcat is finished. After decals I applied three coats of Testors 1261 glosscote. Then brushed on Tamiya XF-86 flat clear on the wheels and inside the cockpit. The figures with the ejection seats where a tight fit. Then I glued on the air to air missiles. I forgot to pull out the glove vanes, I'll post some pictures Tuesday. 

Thanks BrandonK for hosting this group build.

Next up for me is Academy 1/48 F-15E Eagle.

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Dan, I have to agree, it looks sooooo good. I love the Sundowners schemes. That is a great looking TomCat and I can't wait to see it done. I think you are close.

BK

Dan: Oh wow, she looks soooooo good!!!

Funny, you remind me I've got a set of those 'Miss Molly' decals I picked up years ago just because they're so cool looking. I don't even have a F-14 to put them on!

Thanks Brandon.

All the decals are one, they layed down very well.  The large red and white decals on the tail, and the teeth on the nose is taking the longest to soften up.

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That is such a good looking build. I can't wait to see the decals go down.

BK

Thanks BrandonK & Gamera.

Touch up painting is just about done, glued on the landing gear and the air break today.

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The cockpit is a tight fit, will need to make some adjustments.

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Yeah wow Dan, great job on fixing all those seams- looks perfect from here. And sharp work on the figures and the ordinance! 

That's funny, that is the exact compressor I started ABing with. I found it too loud and went to an Iwata compressor, but I still use the other one for on the cars. 

Looks like you are nearly there. I am excited to see the final reveal.

BK

Thanks Jack: I know what you mean. The nose section was by far the worst, poor fits in the nose wheel well area.

Thanks Brandon.

After my small air compressor stopped working I decided to upgrade to one with a tank on it, picked out a Porter Cable 6 gallon unit from Home Depot. With a extension pipe I added my water filter and pressure valve. It worked great. Take two minutes and 39 seconds to full charge up to 150 PSI, it is a load unit but depending on the amount of airbrushing only need to charge it up maybe ounce a day.

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Picked up the Neo Iwata airbrush about a month ago, it works great.

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For the first set of colors to be airbrushed on I masked up those areas with tamiya tape, then covered the over spray areas with 3M blue tape. The colors where, Model Master Enamel Flat Black #1749, Insignia Red #1705, Testors Steel #1180, Tamiya X-2 White & XF-2 Flat White.

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Just about everything else is finished or near to it. Tamiya X-22 Clear was sprayed on the pilot's and there ejection seats.

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Decals for the air to air missiles are just about done softening up.

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Fuel tanks and exhaust.

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Landing gear & air break.

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Dan, that looks really good, you are almost there. Too bad about the aircompressor, that sucks. We'll hang out and wait for your finally.

BK

Dan I actually have one of these same kits in progress right now and am using your build to re-motivate myself. Yours is looking really good so far keep it up!

Thanks BrandonK. I finally have to coats of Gloss Gull Gray on the Tomcat now. Some of the rough area's I wet sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper. Have quit a painting list for the airbrush.  Canopy, canopy frame, marker lights, air bag, leading wing edge etc. On top of that my small airbrush air compressor has stopped working, hopefully I can get the F-14 in gloss and deals by mid to late June.

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I can clearly hear "Danger Zone" while I look at this Tom Cat. I can also see the ones from the movie The Final Countdown. Good stuff. She looks great Dan, well done.

BK

Thanks Gamera.

Thanks BrandonK.

Progress on the Tomcat is speeding up, all the seems and gaps have been filled and sanding. Vertical trail, stabilizers, weapon rails(inside the tunnel) have been glued on. I plan to mount the model on a dowel rod. To make painting easier.

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There's a nice gap around the nose wheel well.

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The scheme I'm going with is overall FS16440 Gloss Gull Gray, Model Master spray can #1929.

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Dan, seems like those make me crazy when building a kit. One would think that the fit on these kits would be closer than that, but you tackled it just fine. It looks like a TC for sure now. I can't wait to see the scheme you choose.

BK

Nice work. Great job on filling those seams. 

Thanks BrandonK.

Thanks Lostagain: Great job on the AH-1S.

Jack: Nice work on the bronco.

Work has been slow on the Tomcat, just about everything but the main fuselage is done. The nose wheel well is a tight fit and there is a gap where the bottom of the cockpit meets up with the wheel well. And up front where the two half's come together there's a nice gap.

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This is the best cockpit I've painted.

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I painted the wings first before gluing the fuselage half's together.  Those gaps will need some styrene strips to fill those gaps.

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While cutting out the canopy the hobby knife scratched the clear plastic, I was able to sand away the scratch starting with 1,000 grit and working up to 12,000 grit paper. Now the fine scratched need to but polished out.

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Jack,

I like this scheme, well finished!

Looks OK to me Jack, and great choice of subject.

Cheers

Tony

Jack, it looks really good to me. I have had the same issues and learned from it and moved on. I understand that decalling takes special prep beforehand. When you get the surface smooth, then you are ready for decals. Thanks for taking us along, it looks great.

BK

Actually she looks pretty darn good! Nice work!!!

The only decal I can see silvering on is the 'MARINES' logo on the booms and aircraft numbers on the fins. Decals with that much clear material are a pain to get right sometimes. 

I should have added that the tricks using the futures mentioned above did help quite a bit on the front decals but for some reason they didn't impact the ones in the rear as much. I have had trouble with the futures coming out a bit thick from the AB and picked up some of the water based alclad gloss to try on the next project. I also saw someone hand brushing the futures prior to decals which is another option I am trying soon.

Thanks again for the tips folks. I am dissapointed in the silvering on the decals to put it mildly. Mostly on the tails and if I were not participating in this build I would not be posting the pics because it just doesnt look great. Either way I am nick naming this bird "Lessons learned"! Moving forward its is gloss first then decals. Either way this was a great little kit and I made a few major errors that I can improve on with the next build. I know the wash might be overkill but I got the Tamiya brown and had to see what it looked like on white. Thanks for letting me participate in another GB!

When I prep for decals now I have learned, as others here mentioned, that the smoother the surface the better. I will gloss coat and then I sand the area to be decaled with 3000 grit paper which leaves a super flat surface free of dust and small defects that can cause silvering. I thing apply decals and follow that up with solvent if needed, then apply the flat clear. I haven't had a silvering issue since I went to the this method. I also quit using Future on the kit at all and I only use it sparingly on canopies now. As the current Future on the market just doesn't harden up like it used to and it creates problems in modelling now that didn't exist with the old formula.

BK

I have been using setting solution so I just need to stop trying to lay them onto a flat finish it seems. Thanks for all of the help and I have done my best to save the problem. I am not thrilled with it but it looks better. I tossed a nearly complete 1/72 P-51 as well today so the modeling God's have not been kind so far this weekend!