F-14 Tomcat Group Build idea...

You had me there for a bit MACooke !!

Jon: that cockpit looks pretty sharp.What kind of camera are you using?

I appreciate the humorous responses to my initial question.........

As for my Tomcat entry...... it is the very same A/C that is in my sig and very similiar to what a couple of you guys are working on. I have the Hasegawa ' B' Tomcat,BlackBox cockpit,along with some Eduard details and Two Bobs decals of ..........( you guessed it !! ).... VF-103 JR's. I have a camera so I will post lots of pics (mainly cuz I need to figure out how to post them on here),I have several ideas but have yet to decide how I plan on posing the finished piece. I have to admit I am regretfully starting late but at least I have a heads up on the pitfalls of what I'm about to get into.l am looking forward to finally getting started and getting involved in this GB instead of watching from the sidelines.....Sierra Hotel !!

Later on.....

Hey y'all...I'm throwing in the towel! That Hasegawa kit with the 240-some pieces is just too frustrating!

Here's my submission, my 3 year-old daughter did most of the airbrushing. It's Monogram's sorry excuse for an F-14.



OK, OK, just kidding. That's my guinea pig plane.

Whoooo! That BB cockpit has got some detail, wow. The intakes on the Has 'Cat really, really don't fit well. Anyone else having trouble?

Hope you all are having fun!

Oh yeah, Jon, that cockpit looks pretty good! I'm off to the 'bench to put the intake assemblies onto the main fuselage section. This will be an exercise in tenacity, craftiness, and self-restraint. All that before I even pick up the pieces!!

Hey A68Trans...sure you can change horses in the middle of the race. But you'll have to pay us all $100! (each)

What Hasegawa kit is it? A, A+, B or D ??

Hey armorman! That 'pit is looking very nice. I haven't made much progress on my builds this week as I've been very busy on other matters. I'll try to post pics tomorrow on what I've accomplished on both of my projects so far.
And A68T, the GB Stormtroopers will be by to kick your door in and have a chat with you, probably in the middle of the night. You've been warned!

Got a question:

Will you guys sentence me to a lifetime of ill fitting kits if I change my mind on my Tomcat entry? I said I would build the Tamiya 'Turkey but at this time I just can't get motivated to rescribe all those panel lines. I have a Hasegawa kit ( I know..... so much for variety in the GB !) that I can start on right away if you guys don't have a prob with it. Let me know what you think...or if you care

Later on...

That's looking good so far (better than mine anyway, I'm thinking of buying the BlackBox cockpit after all).
The first pic isn't very sharp however.

Okay boys here's the 90% complete cockpit: Lemme know what you think.

Hey skii, where are you located? Have you tried looking for a used compressor? Often, you can find some smaller ones, with a 2 or 3 gallon tank, for under $100. I know that you can buy a new one for about $100 at Wal-Mart (if you're in the U.S.).

I found one on e-Bay for $50, it was a "salvage" (returned for a missing piece, strictly cosmetic).

Here's an article in FSM about powering your airbrush, if you haven't already seen it.

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=a&id=303

Good luck!

QUOTE: Originally posted by pingtang Looking great skii. The shading looks awesome. I might try some post shading on my cat. Any tips? And, do you think there is any advantage over pre-shading? I imagine you'd have more control over the outcome. Thanks for the pics.

Hi Pingtang

I prefer to post shade mainly because I just don't trust my ability to pre-shade, I use a very cheap airbrush with cans of compressed air - I'm pleased to actually get paint to come out of the nozzle some nights - anyway its difficult to get the paint mix and consistency right, thus hard to paint the fine black panel outline and then thin coats necessary to paint the pre-shade effect.

I find it far simpler to simply paint an all over base coat, then on the finest setting possible 'dust' each panel centre a lighter shade, a coat of future/clear and a wash, and thats me done :)

Maybe one day when I get a nice Iwata and compressor I'll try the pre-shade route, but this method seems to serve me ok in the mean time!

Looking great skii. The shading looks awesome. I might try some post shading on my cat. Any tips? And, do you think there is any advantage over pre-shading? I imagine you'd have more control over the outcome.

Thanks for the pics.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MACooke Hey skii, that 'Cat looks great! Pre-shaded panel lines? armorman, I'm having trouble finding resin primer. Anyone besides Gunze Sangyo make it? Thanks.

Thanks MACooke - post shaded only, just base colour and the middle of each panel sprayed a lighter colour .

Hey skii, that 'Cat looks great! Pre-shaded panel lines?

armorman, I'm having trouble finding resin primer. Anyone besides Gunze Sangyo make it? Thanks.

Here's mine - 1/72 Italeri / Kitech re-box

Just awaiting Decals and final weathering.

my cat is going well, i would post progress pics but MACooke has posted progress pics already, and mine look identical to his - surprise surprise cos we are both working on the same 1/48 hasegawa kit. i havent been highly motivated to do much work on it lateley cos im kinda tired, but hopefully i can show some cockpit shots before monday

pingtang: you got that right! At least you only have seams on one side - the Has. kits have 'em all around.

I wonder what an F-14 would look like wearing USAF camo, SEA 4-color? (Grey under w/ green/green/tan on top) Hmmmm....theoretical "what-if's"...

Looks like the academy kit. Except that the seems are on the underside on the Aca kit. This GB should't be called the F-14 Tomact Group build. It should be called the "filling and sanding group build".

Wow, for a Hasegawa kit, this thing does not fit very well. Case in point: the forward intake "lips" which sort of help blend the upper and lower halves together. Except that tons of PUTTY are used to blend everything together!

Look at these:

QUOTE: Daniel, try to mix the putty with a little bit of nail polish remover

Thank for the tip mate. I'll give it a go.

MACooke - The wheel well looks good, and the wash turned out nicely. It really gives it some depth.

Daniel, try to mix the putty with a little bit of nail polish remover.

Thanks for the info on resin primer, Jon...

Here's my first try at posting pics. First photo is of the main gear well, before applying an acrylic wash (Tamiya "German Grey" thinned w/ isopropyl alcohol).



And here is the main gear well after the wash.



I'm still trying to get my digital camera to focus up close on things. It's quite tricky.

Actually it's from Gunze Sangyo called: Mr. Resin Primer Surfacer (love those names) lemme fetch the bottle and I'll give youa product code... uh, GNZB-517. It runs about 5 bucks a spray bottle. I've had this one for a year and primed numerous resin parts and I still have half a can or better left. I got it when the LHS guy told me on my first resin purchase that they needed to be primed before painting with acrylics, ect. It's a really light gray, and acrylics and enamels really stick well and you don't have to re-coat. You might be able to spray it with any other primer and I got taken on a sale but who knows. It's the LHS guy and he knows I am a sucker! By the way- it comes in a spray can.

Oh yeah...what is resin primer? Who makes a good one? Where do I buy it? How is it applied...regular brush or airbrush?

Questions, questions, questions...

Jonathan: I like the Hasegawa kit. It's sort of a...a...uh, words fail me. I built one back in the early 90's. Well, I started it in '93, shelved it a year later. Got it out of mothballs and got about 85-90% done by '99. Then my dog, Caesar, knocked it off my desk with his tail, then inadvertantly stepped on it. Oh, Caesar is a 170-lb. Great Dane.

We sold Caesar to someone with lots of land.

So, to make a long story short (dont' you DARE say "too late"), this -D model I'm working on is actually my third attempt at building the Has 'Cat. I like that, the Hascat. If I actually finish this one, I'm gonna put it in a hobby shop, so that it won't fall prone to some strange accident here at my home. With two toddlers running around, it needs to be out of here.

I like the kit, but it sure could be a better fitting kit, IMHO. Hasegawa's F-4 line are great kits, their fit is awesome!

Hiya fellas- okay I got a little bit done today. I skipped working on the seats to start on those trunks and I at least got them nice and smooth, though with this kit that is not easy at all. Where that zigzag seam on the inboard side is I use Mr. Surfacer 500 which is a thin putty from Gunze Sangyo. It's great stuff if you can find it. I found some really skinny yet flexible sanding sticks at Hobby Lobby and attach them to a pencil and have at it. Once the primer is dry I'll shoot some gloss white. The seats are still waiting to be finished but I think I made some good progress that'll be furthered this weekend.
pingtang- I have heard you can thin squadron putty with denatured alchohol. Or use a cotton swab dipped in it to smooth the seam enough to sand it smooth. Might wanna ask the fellas in the Tips and Tech's forum to confirm that.
Mitch- I think you should roll with that display idea. I really think it would look pretty swank. How do you like that Hasegawa 'Cat? The only thing I can recommend is that you prime that BB Cockpit with a resin primer. The finished result will be a looker.
Are you gonna superdetail that cockpit on that 'Cat djmodels1999? Cause if you are it's going to be amazing! I remember your 1/144 Rafale and that was fantastic. Here's a question: Has anyone ever superdetailed a 1/144 cockpit?

Of course, NOW I think of this, after putting countless hours into those intake ducts...are there resin intakes available for the 1/48 F-14?

D'OAH !!

Whoah there...I better not get in over my head. The BB cockpit is enough resin for me for now.

For those of you building the Hasegawa 'Cat, does anyone else have a fit problem with the leading edge of the intakes? Once the upper and lower halves of the rear fuselage are assembled, these forward lips go on, and I have found the fit to be horrible! Horrible, I tell you.

Mate, I'm just chucking a whole heap of Tamiya putty at the seam and sanding with sanding sticks. Probbably not the easiest method, but I might try your method on the right hand intake.

BTW, does anyone know of a good way to thin Tamiya putty? At the moment, I'm using a mixture of putty and CA glue, it dries harder than putty would, but fills better than CA. Only problem is, it dries really quickly, so you have to do the filling really quickly.

Daniel: how do you plan on dealing with the seams in the intakes? I'm sort of "plastering" the entire inside of the intakes with light coats of Squardron white putty, thinned down with denatured alcohol. I'm brushing it on with a 1/4" flat brush. I found this method to be easier than just puttying over the seams. I just have to "smooth over" the brush marks, I use sanding sticks I made with sandpaper and popsicle sticks.

Jonathan: thanks, I think I've retained enough skills to turn out a head-turner. As I stated earlier, this is my first ever use of an entire aftermarket cockpit (Black Box). I am looking upon that phase with both anticipation and trepidation. Kind of like that first date with the girl of your dreams, the one you pursued forever.

I'm still thinking of displaying mine in an airshow static display setting. Having the BB cockpit, the canopy will definitely be open. I remember sitting in an F-14 at the Dayton Air Show when I was a kid, the pilot let me put on his helmet and mask. I was 8, and begged for a ride.

I've finaly started on my Tomcat! It's Revell diminutive 1/144 offering and it is really sweet! My last Tomcat was a 1/48 Revell kit sometimes in the early 80s, and this kit not only has better fit but way better details than it's old bigger cousin..!

The main bits are already glued together; I sidestepped the cockpit stage, leaving it for later, probably after the painting stage...

Mate, I can take a pic of my cockpit progress if you want. It's just about finished so I'll take a pic this afternoon. I also gave the white bits another coat today and they look good. Only problem now is the massive seem on the inside of the intake that is very visble. I'm always finding things to fix on this kit.