F-14 Tomcat Group Build idea...

Sentry: Thanks for the thought, but I'm sticking to 1/48 scale. I'm going to do modern U.S. stuff (no helos) and WWII U.S. and German stuff. All 1/48. BY "Modern U.S." I mean Vietnam and later.

Nice bird from the fujimi kit Uscusn. i heard fujimi produce great 72 nd scale range of F14. i never though this good.

maccooke unless u won mind buying from over seas , a fren of mine got this fujimi 72nd at his shop. not sure if he sold if of yet i remember it was a jolly roger

QUOTE: Originally posted by MA Cooke Chuck (it is ok if I address you by your first name, isn't it?): did you say that's the Fujimi 1/48 'Cat? Great looker...how did it go together? Does Fujimi still produce kits? I haven't seen them in the stores lately...

Mitch, we are all friends here, just don't call me late for dinner. This is the 72nd scale kit which is excellent and is comparable to the Hase kit in my IMHO. The 48th scale kit is terrible and needs tender loving care to build into a decent kit. And I have seen some that did come out just fine. Fujimi still produces kits but are hard to find at your local LHS. Squadron just announced a large restock of their kits including the F-14,Mig 21 series, A4's and the difficult to find F/A-18s. To mention a few. Retail on these kits can be higher than their Hasegawa counterparts. But yet can be had at a very fair price on Ebay.
Roen-Thanks for the compliment. But I tend to stay humble on such things. I'm adequate and build for myself and not for show.

Chuck
Fly Navy

MA Cooke, no I don't know Scott but it would be interesting to meet someone on the forums. I'm sure I could learn a lot from him by looking at his models. I spent a good bit of time yesterday sanding and filling the old revellogram bird. One big mistake I made was to try to use the testors brand white putty. This is the worst stuff I've ever used! It drys as hard as a brick and took me forever to sand down. I just took it all back down and hit it again with squadron green, much smoother and easier to use. I guess I will get some of their white as well. USCUSN, your models look great and thanks for sharing the pictures. I only hope my cat turns out half as good and I wish I was as far along on mine as you are. You are inspiring me to press on to the finish line. You guys have a great one!

Chuck (it is ok if I address you by your first name, isn't it?): did you say that's the Fujimi 1/48 'Cat? Great looker...how did it go together?

Does Fujimi still produce kits? I haven't seen them in the stores lately...

It was nice to have a kit in which you can display all the moving fly surfaces in a position at rest, on the ramp or on the cat ready to launch. Without having to go out and buy a detail set.

So now I have the Tomcat bug, a few Hornets to boot. I am a Navy guy so what the heck. But still I have a slew of A-10's also. Anyway I'm glad to be a part of this and I think I will actually complete this GB.

Looks like I forgot to add the tailhook also. I need to find the kit box which I still have and finally finish this one after 5 years. Anyway it was a joy to build this kit and cannot wait to complete the current one.
Here we have the current Tomcat in progress as the Jolly Roger awaits it's completion.


Chuck
Fly Navy

Another bit of detail I've noticed is that the kit supplied vinyl tires have split. Which will cause me to use the kit plastic wheel assy's on the next build. (Flash, one of the main mounts are deformed in this current kit, figures!).

When building this kit, it started out as what the kit originally was, an Iranian F-14A, or Ali-Cat. But I just completed one for a friend in 48th scale. Didn't feel like making 2 of them so I decided to use the recently (at the time) purchased Super Scale set of F-14 nose art decals during Desert Storm. I used the VF-84 set for this one hoping to use the VF-41 set some day which is now.

The Fujimi F-14's IMHO are comparable to the Hasegawa kits. Though I feel the Fujimi offering are not as fussy.


I have yet seen the Italeri kit at all and have not built the Academy 72nd kit but I do have one and it looks ok, even the nose shape is better than it's bigger 48th scale brother.
more to follow!

Chuck
Fly Navy

Well the weekend turned out just great but somehow manage to blow any chance to paint, (actually was in church all day which was very nice and well worth it today). So with just getting much sanding out of the way and building some sub assemblies. I went into the garage and brought in an F-14A that I built back in Y2K. This is the Fujimi kit, VF-84, The Jolly Rogers, USS Theodore Roosevelt, March 1991.
When I built this kit, I didn't have a digital at the time and didn't get many good shots with my Canon AE-1 which I still have. But the macro settings on the SLR were not up to par like today's digitals are. So with a layer of dust off to the balcony I went to do some maintenance.
Fortunately this kit has survived several moves and the only mishap was a knocked off AIM-7 Sparrow and a Sidewinder launch rail.

I noticed that I have not installed the Sidewinders and I did not complete the TARPS pod either. I must've forgotten to go back and do this. And incorrectly left the forward area of the intakes white when they should be Lt Ghost Grey like the rest of the airframe.


I had posed this as an aircraft sitting on the cat, with full afterburner, horizontal tail at full deflection just as she is ready to launch.

I always liked that scene prior to launch. Salute, go!!!

Chuck
Fly Navy

Hey roejn, you're in Nashville...do you know "MusicCity" here in the forums? He's from Nashville. He has a website, too.....

http://www.craigcentral.com/models/

His name is Scott Craig, he has a bunch of other stuff on his website.

MA Cooke, I sure hope you feel better soon. It's going on all around here too, my wife just got over it. Thanks guys for all the tips! All the progress pics look great and I hope to post some new pics soon. uscusn I am bulding the same cat as you so it was good to see your progress pics. I hope I can do as well on mine. I think I have one more layer of putty to do and I will be ready for paint. The weather turned out nice here this weekend, but I had sandingg to do anyway. Hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!

funny ain't it? Now that you mention it a lot of it is rare. Looks like that F-4G might? go for a reasonable price too.
Got the nose cone on and I'm rescribing the front fuselage. That'll probably be all for today. I might jump back on the M1A2 that I started a while back. Armor is so much easier. These nice Dragon and Tamiya kits have almost zero fit issues and NO rescribing.
Probably get to the preshading on Tuesday night if all goes well. We'll see.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Jon:

If you notice, he has a lot of stuff that's rare. He showed me that he has a database of all Hasegawa U.S. releases, and he collects new, unopened Has. kits. He explained that people go overseas on business trips and buy kits, bring them back, etc. He has over 1,000 kits, that many just Hasegawa alone. He also has rare Monogram stuff, too.

I think it's interesting to note the time of posts...like last night, Jon posted around midnight. If you go back to Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, I posted around 11:00 and midnight and 1:00 am....I spent New Year's doing exactly what I wanted. Cool that Jon's fiancee was at a bachelorette party, and Jon got to build.

no kidding Mitch!! LOL

IMHO, next time it's HASEGAWA or BUST!!!
Mitch- I think I am going to bid on that F-4G! I've seen this guy several times on ebay and heard he's a good one to buy from. I know what you mean- I wan't a couple too.

Jon, that's what you get for buying a cheap kit!!

uscusn, those seams are looking good. Cute cat, too.

Check out this Has. F-4G on e-Bay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5961337252&fromMakeTrack=true

Check out "sellers other items"...this is the guy in No. KY. I told you about a couple of months ago, he's got hundreds of kits filling a room in his house. He literally has more than enough to stock a hobby store. Wow, I really want a couple of these items....

Hey nice plane spot and paints on the cat - mitch. hope to see the finished model soon. No wonder u been testing all those paints color on the yellow paper note. i tot of doing that but i have fear a for uncharted territory.

Nice sanding too Uscusn . one more tip for putty i wonder is those yellow ones can be use

i just paint the body no pic yet need to double check some area first.

take it easy amour , i understand your frustration. hmmm if there is a way to lessen the sanding i wondering too

I use 3m Red Glazing automotive putty for the major seamwork. This tube I bought in a Milford, Ct. auto paint store back in 1992, needles to say it has lasted this long. Haven't even used 1/2 of it yet.


And Squadron White putty for the minor and pinhole fill ins.
Tenax is great for easy does it seams as a natural filler when used on fuselage halves... Most of the time eliminates the need of any putty. Like on the leading edge seam on the main fuselage upper/lower half on this current Tomcat from Revell.


And of course we need to keep this tomcat away from the plastic ones.


Chuck
Fly Navy

I knocked on the wood too soon... HOLY S#@!! Okay there are more seams that make the zig-zag look like nothin'
Intakes are mounted- the seam where the rear of the piece (over the compressor fan) is so far off it's not funny. I'm using a rough sanding stick and a lot of filler and I'll cross my fingers that it comes out okay.
At the forward fuselage where the lower piece mates to the upper fuselage- there is so much putty there that after all the sanding the whole nose will have to be rescribed. I hate rescribing. I suck at it.
I gotta stop for tonight or else my eyes will pop out. You know, the RM Tomcat I put together a long time ago wasn't this bad. But then again this Academy mold is +/- 22 years old. So is the RM I think. Hasegawa has some issues that can be delicately(read: carefully) dealt with but this Academy kit just has bad fit, period. For 30 bucks I expected better.

Hmmmm, MA Cooke, that's sure a different way of doing it. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out. I can't wait. - WARNING The following is sort of off topic. - Just got back from the LHS today. I picked up some Leading Edge Decals for a T-33 from 414Sqn Black Knights 75th Anniverary and (Da Da DaDa)..... Italeri's 1/24 Volvo VN-780 big rig!Can't wait to crack this thing open!

Yeah, today was a BIG progress day for me. Fuselage is assembled (top to bottom) and the dreaded Academy zig-zag seam has been tamed thanks to Zap a Gap. The intakes are complete and the wheel bays have been shot with some Tamiya white. Jeez, once you get over that hump of a seam than it's all down hill. Knock on wood. I think I have the camera but since the chica is at a party she may have taken it. I'll check. If it's here I'll shoot some photos and post them in the am.
I gotta say, Mitch, that the pre-shading scheme you are trying out looks incredible. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you get some 'ghost' on it. NICE WORK!!!!
mark(ipms33206) it's good to see you back. I literally have made no progress for a month but my lady has driven four hours away to a bachelorette party and WHAM- big things coming together.
Anyways- I'm heading back to the bench for some more work. Adios!
-anytime sentry!!! When you got a question let us help ya out.

roejn: I too use the Squadron White Putty; however, I thin it with denatured alcohol, this allows it to be brushed into small, tight areas.

Mixed blessings today, I got a bit of build time in today; but I think I have the flu. I've had the weirdest headache today, felt like a tension headache that starts from a stiff neck (or a "crick), and I've been dizzy and out-of-sorts. Felt like someone went into my brain and rewired half of it.

My Tomcat's got leprosy!! Close, but not really...I went wild and pre-primed my 'Cat. It's sort of like pre-shading, but I painted a lot of the mottled primer patches with dark colors...my plan is to airbrush dark ghost grey (lightened) lightly over the pre-priming and pre-shading. I took a huge roll of the dice, but we'll see in another week or two...after my new airbrush arrives.

I also got the burner cans painted and installed, and painted the exhaust nozzles. It was about a 5-step process...first spray painted (w/ cans) black, then misted white, then misted a chrome I found at Lowe's. The insides then got washed w/ a mixture of Tamiya German Grey and silver. The outsides just got brush painted w/ Tamiya silver.

I prefer the Squadron White Putty because it is a bit thinner and has a smaller grain to it. Sanding it goes quickly and almost never needs additional filler in the same place. I also have engineered my own 'liquid plastic' that really helps in hard to reach areas and requires little to no sanding. But only works with small areas and gap filling. I use Micro Mark's Flexi-File for curved areas and it is fantastic. The Testors Sanding Films is what I use on flat surfaces and it is adequate.

Since a few of us are in the filling and sanding phase, I would like to ask what methods/products do you use? Any good tips fpr the less experienced? I have tried thinning squadron green with acetone (nail polish remover) and it works well. I then brush this on and let it dry, then sand it down. I still seem to have a lot of sanding to do even with this method, perhaps I'm trying to lay it on too thick. Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this topic. :-)

I am still progressing on the filling and sanding on this model. Man, there is a lot of it!!! Most of the airframe is complete. I am going to shoot the gear, doors and missiles with white. I will paint the AIM-54 in the more current gray scheme. I have shot the innner parts of the engines with Alclad II Jet Exhaust. One nice thing about painting here, the humidity is always lower. During the summer it never goes above 20% except during the infrequent rain. Good luck to you all.

im sorry to hear u guys on the weather things , but hope thing will get better soon. . my side no weather problem as hot and humid all year round . Nowadays it is damn hot here bush fire all around and the worse is the tsunami thing happen here .

thanks amour and out04 for some info on the tinted front windshield. i din know there is blue tinted windshield.

i done some body on th cat hope will get some photo in here soon

Well we haven't been immune from the wet weather this year here in So. Cal.
Not the typical mid 70' s we normally enjoy this time of the year. Again a freak storm today with a hail storm unlike I've ever seen here in this part of the country. I wish I had my camera as this event took place. As the storm moved on the hail actually stuck and did not melt. Now the nearby mountains are absolutely gorgeous with the snow on them. I love this time of the year. But with less rain.
Anyway rain is in the forecast for Saturday, so painting is going to be limited again. Hopefully Sunday will be a much better day. As the Lord wishes. So I'll get some more work done on both Tomcats with the Fujimi kit much closer to completion. The Revell F-14D is having major seamwork being done and Saturday may be a great day for that.

Chuck
Fly Navy

No, I have a climate controlled home, I just do not have a basement, or a "real" modeling room with a vented airbrushing booth (yet ;-) ) where I can spray so I have to use the garage which is not climate controlled. So, with the humidity in the air when it is raining not to mention tempereature fluctuations all limit my ability to paint when I want.
All of you guys that have a modeling room where you can leave your projects out with all of your paints, brushes, etc should all go home tonight, kiss the wife and thank God you have a space you can call your own! Until one of my kids leaves for college I will be banished to the kitchen table and the garage! But the other side of that coin is when they finally DO go to college I won't be able to aford the hobby anymore....Yikes!!

roejn...you mentioned that it's supposed to rain, and that painting is out. I've read that a few times, here and on other threads. I'm a bit uninformed..I know that humidity affects how a paint performs, particularly when airbrushed.

Do you not have a "climate controlled" home? Or, is it that your modeling room is probably in the basement, and that area is not heated or AC'd? We have a humidifier to keep it from getting too dry in the winter, and our basement has a stand-alone dehumidifier, so the weather has no real impact on my painting. At least I haven't seen one.

Just curious.

Mitch

Well, I am hoping to get some progress done this weekend myself. If I can make it past the sanding phase I will be alright. It's supposed to rain here though, so looks like painting is out! Best of luck to all on their builds. :-)

Welcome TOMCATLUVR. Where on earth did you come up with that name?

Look forward to seeing your builds...right now, some of us (me) are posting every few days, but haven't actually made ANY progress in weeks. I'm almost ready to shoot my D model 'Cat, but I'm waiting on my new Badger 155 airbrush to arrive...my Paasche H lost an argument with a 3 lb. sledgehammer. Temper temper.

Hope everyone has a kick-a** weekend, and gets some progress on their birds. Take care!

sentry- as far as I have seen they have been the jade green on both but... I have seen some D models without.
tomcatluvr- Welcome to the GB!!! Glad to have you on board. We figured this GB would be a great send off to the last sexy plane in the Navy. BTW- how is that Italeri kit? Fit, lines recessed or raised and accuracy?