F-14 Tomcat Group Build idea...

OK, I'd like to conduct an "informal" poll. My F-14 rear fuselage assembly, with completed main gear wheel wells, has suffered "mortal" damage. I have two options: A) get replacement parts; or B) buy a whole new kit.

I got an e-mail from Dragon that says buying replacement parts will end up costing more than just buying a new kit.

OK, sounds easy...but I've got a "nearly" complete Hasegawa 1/48 'Cat on my hands.

Helllllllp! [:0]

I'd opt for finishing off that Has 'Cat. How close is "nearly"? Didn't get to spend time at the bench today or for that matter this weekend. I gotta go to Atlanta on business. Royally sucks. I'd much rather hold that tomcat than some clients hands.

I'm back from my trip to the big city. The big city wasn't too exciting, but the hobby shops certainly were. I managed to pick up an Accurate miniatures SBD dauntless, Trumpeter 1/48 P40 lots of paint and some good books. But most importantly, I got some decals for my Cat. The best part is that the guy at the shop gave them to me for free. I also got the squadron walk around of the F-14, so now I'm all set to detail this thing up.

armorman- No worries on the photobucket thing mate. Glad I could help.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MACooke OK, I'd like to conduct an "informal" poll. My F-14 rear fuselage assembly, with completed main gear wheel wells, has suffered "mortal" damage. I have two options: A) get replacement parts; or B) buy a whole new kit. I got an e-mail from Dragon that says buying replacement parts will end up costing more than just buying a new kit. OK, sounds easy...but I've got a "nearly" complete Hasegawa 1/48 'Cat on my hands. Helllllllp! [:0]

Hey MACooke, sorry to here about your setback. What exactly happened? Unless you used your Cat as a wall dart, it should be fixable. Let me know and I'll try to help you out.

i just dryfitted the front fuse with the rear fuse, and suddenly i went "oh my!" this thing is HUGE ! i haven never built a model so large before ! and my preferred scale is 1/48 !! goodness it dwarfs my 1/10 R/C car even. this baby measures about 13-14 inches and there is no way its gonna fit into the hallway display case, so im going to have to clean out the bookshelf in my room to display this big baby. phew - to think i wanted a 1/32 cat !

For all you 1/48 scale guys that are building your 'Cat and have not really decided where your going to put it,I ran across this while (admittedly) looking for car stuff...

http://www.scalemodelingbychris.com/148_hanger.htm

..I might change my 'Cat entry to 1/48 scale now,because i have a detail set that I can open up some panels with.Anyhoo.... it's just a thought that I would share with all of you.

Later on............

MACooke is BA-aaaaack!

After contemplating what to do with my F-14A, I have "shelved" it, so to speak. What happened? you ask...I lost my balance, knocked it off my desk, then stepped on it. I've spent probably 5 hours trying to piece the rear fuselage ass'y back together, it just ain't gonna happen.

Spare parts are going to run about $22, plus shipping & handling. So I'll wait awhile on it.

I found a fellow near me with a HUGE collection of Hasegawa kits. First off, he GAVE me a Black Box cockpit set for the A model. But, I had a couple of rare old Hasegawa birds he wanted, so we did a trade. I came home with an F-4E and a matching BB cockpit set.

AND an F-14D complete w/ BB cockpit! Yeah baby!!!

So the -A model will be finished when I can pay for parts. For now, I'm re-starting this GB, one week behind y'all, but MY Tomcat will be the fastest, it's a "D" model.

This guy has hundreds of Hasegawa 1/48 kits...I was drooling, babbling incoherently, just amazed at all his kits.

Yeeee-haaaaaaaaahhhh!!!

Wow, MACooke! I guess that solves the beaver tail "problem" you were having! Glad it worked out.
Some progess to report tonight on the models. I started decaling the F-14A and man, those yellow decals look great on the black tails! Cockpit assembly on the F-14B is finished. The rear cockpit radar display was changed to a MFD and a LANTIRN joystick was added to the side console.

F-14D Update:

Ok, started over, completely. I thought I'd pass on a couple of lessons learned from my -A model.

1. Before assembling the intake duct halves, fill in the ejector pin marks, which are on the inside duct surface. This will be easier in a "channel" than inside a box. (I must admit, there will still be seams to contend with inside the duct. Oh well.)
2. When assembling the "house of cards" main gear well structures, I assembled the four "box side" pieces, into the bottom fuselage half. I will paint them next, this time remembering to also paint the lower surface of the upper fuselage half. Everything goes together better without paint, IMHO.

OK guys, this is where I eat crow with a side of humble pie. This is my first Black Box build, the only resin aftermarket stuff I've ever used has been Verlinden's ejection seats.

I NEED HELP! Any and all hints, suggestions, etc. will be greatly welcomed. I've seen a bit about these; apparently the resin has to be washed, primed, etc. before painting?

Hope you all are having as much fun as I am.

http://www.kitparade.com/features01/f14cockpitdwa_1.htm

all you need, MACooke

That black box cockpit looks like it has a little bit more detail than the Academy one. Just a slight improvement though . That article is good though, it's given me some more ideas on how to make my academy pit look half decent. Thanks Reggie.

reg: thanks for the link. I've got that site bookmarked, I read the whole thing (twice!) before I started my 'Cat.

Well it's Saturday, Jan. 8...today would be the 70th birthday of The King. "Good Luck Charm", "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up" are his three best songs, IMHO.

I may not get much done on the 'Cat today, wifey has us taking down the Christmas tree. Fun.

We had so much rain, there was in fact a carrier in our neighborhood doing flight ops. I got plenty of ref pics of Tomcats for this GB. But, when I left to go to the store last night, I had to chase the LSO out of my driveway. And the tailhooks are really scuffing up the streets.

i made good progess on the cat. i got the upper and lower boday halfs together along with the intakes and wheel hubs painted. need to work on the cockpit. any body got a clue to were i can get a pre painted phot etched set. they make it for the 1/48 cat but not the 172 cat.

I've completed most of the painting on the cockpit tub of my cat. Next it's on to the ejection seats and finishing off the instrument panels. I might have some pics for you all to look at in the next few days.

Hey all...the topic on my mind at the (fleeting) moment is colors. Is is safe to assume that most of the participants in this GB are doing the TPS three grey scheme?

If I'm correct, the overall bottom color is FS36375 "light ghost grey", sides of forward fuselage and vertical stabilizers are FS36320 "dark ghost grey", and top of wings and fuselag is FS35237 "medium grey".

First question, has anyone seen any photos of a 'Cat fresh out of the paint shop? I've seen photos of a lot of F-14's in this scheme, and the upper color looks more like dark ghost grey than anything. Perhaps this is due to fading?

I understand that the Navy has (or had) a procedure to re-paint various panels or "patches" of the aircraft after routine maintenance, and over several months the colors all faded at different rates, fresh colors were put on, and the result was a sort of mottled look.

I hate to cite this movie as a reference, but I looked closely at the upper surfaces of the 'Cats in "Top Gun" and the mottling is fairly prevalent. It looks as if there are 30 or 40 shades of grey on those 'Cats.

Also, has anyone seen this effect done on a model?

As usual, all input is greatly appreciated.

Hey Reg, what kit are you doing?

MACooke - im doing the 1/48 hasegawa

i have seen plenty of cats with the patchy look, and a few models with this patchy look. unfortunately i couldent direct you to pictures cos my memory is like a sieve

im not doing a 3 tone gray scheme (dont like em at all) im doing this exact airplane



i dont plan on weathering it much, its going to be a clean build. but i am going to arm this baby to the teeth !


one more thing : the paint callouts list FS16440 and FS17875. these are gloss colors, is this correct ? for a scale effect should i make the finish semi-gloss ?

Hey MACooke! The colors you quoted are indeed correct for the TPS but there are many variations among the squadrons in how they are applied. Sometimes the entire upper surface is painted 35237 and sometimes just the area around the canopy. I have a VF-213 F-14D in my collection that's overall 36375 withe just the canopy part in 35237. Best thing to do is check your references and your decal sheet as it seems no two planes are exactly the same.

Right now, I'm doing an F-14A in overall Gull Gray and I am simulating the spot priming that's done and it really does make for a more interesting model!

I started applying all the data markings to my VF-21 CAG bird tonight using CAM Decals and these are some of the neatest decals I've used! The formation light decals actually glow in the dark just like the real thing!

bstrump: Watch out! Those glow-in-the-dark lights (I assume you're talking about the "slime lights") may have a "radiation hazard" warning?

Reggie: Is it OK if I now refer to you by your first name? So you went with the Hasegawa bird, eh? I've read so much about it, yes, it is a daunting kit, but there's no finer 1/48 Tomcat out there. And, your bird will be colorful.

I got to looking last night, and it seems that a lot of the Tomcats only have the "medium grey" (FS 35237) around the upper forward fuselage and canopy. I'll probably do mine overall in "light ghost grey" underneath and "dark ghost grey" topside. I plan to pre-shade all the panel lines and lines where curves intersect; I also plan to pre-paint a lot of individual panels dark grey, blue-grey, and very light grey. The top coat will go on thin, to get the "patchwork" effect.

If you go to the Aircraft Resource Center galleries, Steve Filak Sr. did a 1/48 Has. 'Cat in VF-84, Jolly Rogers "Last Cruise". This is how I want my 'Cat to look...filthy! Except that I hope to do the Pukin' Dogs, or another squadron. It seems you can't swing a dead cat without hitting an F-14 in Jolly Rogers markings. (NOTE: no offense if you're doing the JR markings.)

Oh, Reggie, one more thing: if you're doing the light gull grey over white, you may want to paint w/ flat paints, and then gloss over. What paints do you use? I recently watched "The Final Countdown", which has some great aerial shots. There's some closeups of the planes in the hangar deck, and I specifically remember seeing a Tomcat w/ gull grey over white, and it was GLOSSY. Hmmmm.....and it was Jolly Rogers bird.

You may try that, Reggie. Do flat paints, then Future over that.

That's my

reggie the early tomcats were painted FS 16440 over gloss white. then they went to the all gray and then finally the 3 tone gray.. from what i have seen in pictures now a days the only cat that has any color is the CAG bird and its usually the the cats tails rob

Is it too late for me to get in on this GB?

Hey out04! It's certainly not too late to join the GB. The more, the merrier! Besides, we're just getting started. The official welcome will come from armorman and he'll fill you in on all the details but for now accept my personal welcome to the F-14 Tomcat GB 2005!
Hey reg, that's a great looking F-14D you have planned and your suggestion is correct. Dull the sheen down for scale effect. I can't wait to see it finished!
And MACooke, LOL on the radiation warning!

okay boy's I'm finally back from Atlanta- I can't wait for the 2005 show they are having down there. So how is everything progressing? From what I have read it sounds like things are coming along. Sorry, MACooke, about the mishap with your number one cat. So far I have the instrument panels and cockpit tub completed and I have a little paint on the seats but not much. Hopefully this week I'll be able to knock out the cockpit completely and begin the work on the intakes. For those of you using the Black Box cockpit you won't regret it. I was told that it would fit the Academy but in my opinion it needs a lot of trimming. It does however fit the Has kit like a glove and I cannot wait to tackle it later in the year.
Reggie- that paint scheme is going to look real nice. You are going to have a nice colorful bird.
I am going to try a little something different on my cat. I am going to preshade the panel lines with a dark brown before spraying the gray and hopefully it'll give it a subtle look. Or not. I'm going to try it on another kit before I try it on the F-14.
Out04 to this GB!! It's never too late... the only things to note are: gotta be a cat, any scale, detail is up to you. Finish date is around March 15. It might change-who knows. Most of all- Have Fun!
Alrighty fellas- I'm off to the bench to get some work done.

No problem. 1/72 Hase. 'cat, VF-154. My first GB BTW.

armorman: for those of us building the 240-plus piece Hasegawa 'Cat, an optimist would expect to have it completed by March 15. Maybe I will, because I'm unemployed right now. I'm averaging 1 to 2 hours a day progress on 'Cat #2, the -D model.

Progress: intakes are sanded & painted...boy they look rough. I'm going to apply Future then re-fill and re-sand. Ugh. Rear fuselage is together, with wheel wells, and beavertail. Have not yet even LOOKED at starting the Black Box cockpit. I'm going to assemble the wings and fuel tanks tomorrow, may start the cockpit this week.

Oh yeah, I'm a mechanical engineer in search of gainful employment. Helllllp, anyone!

Ah, we're starting un-employed anonymous here are we?

Hi, my name is Daniel, and I'm un-employed. Please give me a job.

In other news, I'm progressing slowly on my cockpit. And I even managed to get one wing glued together. Then I realised that I should have thinned those trailing edges first, they are way too thick. I'll just sand it from the outside, it's not like there's a whole heap of detail to sand off there anyway.

OK, pingtang, OK...I'm just trying to "network". Hey, I gotta get work, in order to maintain my modeling habit. My kids have to eat, I'll take care of that, but...ah, fuhgettaboudit!

ohyea, do thin the trailing edges before gluing the wing together ! (this is the 1/48 hase kit here) good greif im going to be removing material with my #10 X-acto for a loooong time...... the other side will go together faster hopefully. to think im building the wing the "easy" way - flaps and slats retracted. i shudder to think about what i would have to go through for a flaps and slats deployed build.

well no work on the cat 2night. i did mange to get the cockpit decaled the other night. just no mojo today to do anything. by the way when is eduard going to make a 1/72 pre painted photo etched cockpit detail set for the cat. they got it in 1/48

Reggie - I'm talking about the 1/48 Academy kit here. The trailing edges are very thick. I'll have to do something about it because it doesn't look very good as it is. Everything on this kit seems to be too thick actually, so I'll be doing lots of thinning.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

yikes- no work on the Tomcat tonight as I just had to buy the most expensive program I have ever seen: Adobe Photoshop CS ver 8. Needless to say the kit budget just got vaporized for the forseeable future. That's the good news because I have a some stashed away but the bad news is I'll be mixing my own paint from smashed minerals and berries. Hopefully I'll be able to hit the bench this weekend but I have several work projects to tackle in between. I guess I'll have to quit crying. Later fellas