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Tamiya F-14A Tomcat, VF-211, No update, just responding to q's


geedubelyer

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the kind words guys, much appreciated. My apologies for the long gap between updates. Let's get this thread up to speed....

So work continued on the upper fuselage/wing area. One aspect of the kit that differs considerably from the full sized aircraft and is quite noticable is the gap around the wing hinge point.

 

tn_Tomcat_upper_fuselage_004.jpg

 

The kit is designed to have movable, swinging wings which is fine. However, I don't have the space to pose the model with the wings forward so my model will be depicting the oversweep, swept wing pose. this allows me to tinker with the wing swivel point to try to get a neater gap.

tn_Tomcat_upper_fuselage_015.jpg

 

As I was fiddling around with this area I noticed that the swivel point was a bit emaciated. The actual knuckle seems to have a deeper profile so I daubed on some two pack putty and re-shaped it.

 

tn_Wing_root_detail_008.jpg

 

In addition to this work, it was pointed out that the Tomcat has a gentle bend in the leading edge of the wing. Tamiya have suggested this kink but it would look better if it were more pronounced. Luckily it was a relatively easy job to fix.

tn_Wing_root_detail_004a.jpg

The end result............

tn_F-14_wing_root_012.jpg

 

A tighter gap and subtle wing kink. So these mods addressed the forward part of the wing opening but the rearmost area still had a gap. In order to reduce the gap here I took a dofferent approach. On the real aircraft, the wing is sealed by thin, sprung metal plates that hug the surface of the wing (you can see the streaks of dirt and grime on many pictures of F-14s ). My solution was to mimic those plates using metal foil.
First up, I cut out the plastic panels using RB productions saws

tn_Wing_opening_feathers_005.jpg

I then fashioned replacement petals from foil.

tn_Engine_shroud_and_feathers_002.jpg

 

Once the wings are installed and glued in their final position, the metal of the petals should allow me to bend them down onto the wing surface and glue them in place alleviating any visible gap. (Fingers crossed. :coolio: )

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I figured the next step would be to attach the intakes but before I could do that, I needed to take a long hard look at the wheel bays.
It was whilst I had the rear fuselage assembly in my hands that I discvered another slight tweek to perform. By chance, I was studying a walkaround when something popped out at me. The rear fairing around the engine was a different shape to the model. I checked more photos and came to the conclusion that the fairing depicted by Tamiya was of a very early or prototype Tomcat.

 

tn_Engine_shroud_and_feathers_007.jpg

 

The pencil line shows the profile I wanted so out came the two pack again. :rolleyes:

tn_Engine_shroud_and_feathers_006a.jpg

 

Adding some material here, removing some there resulted in a more accurate profile for a later -A model 'Cat.

 

tn_Engine_shroud_and_feathers_015.jpg

 

OK, so I had procrastinated enough.......I could n't put off dealing with the wheel bays any longer. :rolleyes:
This is an older generation kit and has some detail in the wheel bay area but not enough in this scale for my taste.
Oddly, there are no aftermarket resin wheel bay sets for this bird, quite an omission in my opinion, so it is left to the builders to make of it what they will.
This is what the kit offers....

tn_Right_side_wheel_bay_003.jpg

 

I guess some white paint and a wash could make the detail pop but when you take the time to look at pictures of the real deal you soon realise that the Tomcat has very complex gear wells..... dry.gif

The solution that I came up with was to remove most of the kit parts just leaving the gear leg mounting point in place for strength. Around that, I built a deeper section out of metal foil and plastic extrusion.

tn_Right_side_wheel_bay_008.jpg

 

Lots of pieces of plastic and wire later and I ended up with this.....

 

tn_Right_side_wheel_bay_015.jpg

 

tn_Right_side_wheel_bay_016.jpg

 

It's a similar story for the front box section of the gear well too.

tn_Main_wheel_bays_006.jpg

 

Once again, it was necessary to extend the kit part and add more detail. I added a roof to the kit parts out of metal foil and plastic sheet before beginning to add the various pipes and hoses...

tn_Main_gear_wells_004.jpg

 

tn_Tomcat_gear_bays_001.jpg

This is as far as I've got on the gear bays. Adding all of the pipes and hoses is a long, long job.
For a change of pace, I started on the cockpit...... cool.gif

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At least there is some resin available for the cockpit area! :thumbsup:
thankfully, Aires offer a beautiful 1/32nd scale F-14A cockpit set in resin and etched metal wub.gif
The aftermarket parts replace all of the kit parts and look perfect.
I started up front with the windshield and pilot IP/coaming.

tn_Tomcat_windshield_006.jpg

 

Now when I said "perfect" I should have said "nearly perfect".......one glaring detail is the HUD projector lens.

tn_F-14_HUD_001.jpg

 

This is a large circular glass lens right in the middle of the front coaming and is very obvious on the real aircraft. Although it is mounted beneath the tinted windshield, I just could n't live with painting it silver and daubing on some coloured future in this scale. sleep.gif
Out came the power tools and I began to modify the aftermarket part......
I drilled out the resin lens, fashioned a replacement from clear acetate and dropped a disc of irridescent confetti into the hole before glueing the

 new clear lens in place.

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_012.jpg

I'm happier with the way it looks now.

The view out of the front of the Tomcat windshield is busy. Looking at the top photo of this post you can see how devoid of detail the kit windshield is. The real affair has a number of doodads hanging from the canopy framing, not to mention the deeper and more prominent framing itself. I resolved to take my courage in both hands and try to improve the glass area. Working with the clear parts is always a bit of a nail biting moment for me. I have a habit of ruining the glazing so it was with quite a bit of trepidation that I began to add some depth to the windshield surround using plastic extrusion.
One of the most noticable things about the F-14 windshield is the green tint of the centre section. It's easy to overdo the tint so I was careful to keep the effect subtle.
studying reference photos revealed that the windshield is layered. There are at least two laminations and this gave the ideal opportunity to get the tint right.
My method was to use a blue green on the kit part then cut out a second curved glass panel and tint that one in a lighter green. With the two layers together, the tint looks quite acceptable.

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_004.jpg

 

 

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_005.jpg

 

An added bonus of this technique is the greater depth created by laminating the glazing. I made a couple of curved rails to glue to the inside of the windshield and hold the second glazing part in place then scratch built the doodads (technical term) to hang from them.

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_018.jpg

 

a lick of paint and the view out of the windscreen looks much busier now.

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_026.jpg

 

The IP uses acetate behind etched metal panels for the flight instruments. Everything else needs painting.
There is no substitute for printed instrument faces is there?

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_046.jpg

 

The RIO coaming grab handle benefits from a bit of modification as it's a bit flat compared to references but the RIO IP is lovely.

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_061.jpg

 

To bring us bang up to date, here is the last photo showing the sunglasses I made for the pilot biggrin.gif

tn_F-14_HUD&windshield_056.jpg

 

So that's where I am on the build to date.
Thanks for your patience.

cheers,

:piliot:

 

Edited by geedubelyer
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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi guys,
Many thanks for the kind words. I'm pleased that you like the progress up to now.
Work has been moving forward steadily on the cockpit area of the Tomcat.

Here are some piccies of various pieces.......
RIO stick

tn-Cockpit-details-5.jpg


tn-Cockpit-details-6.jpg

 

RIO circuit breaker panels.

tn-Cockpit-details-003.jpg

 

Front cockpit.

tn_Cockpit_details_035.jpg

 

Many of the tiny resin switches were broken or missing so I replaced them with wire.
I try to give the impression of stencilling around switches and buttons to help create a busier look to the instrument panels.
Rear cockpit.

tn_Cockpit_details_029.jpg

 

tn_Cockpit_details_046.jpg

Both cockpits from the side.

tn_Cockpit_details_042.jpg

 

tn_Cockpit_details_047.jpg

 

I'd like to congratulate Aires on a fabulous product. This resin cockpit set has been a blast to paint. I'm yet to find out how the fit is but I'll let you all know when I get that far.

Lastly, here is an idea for more three dimensional looking pedals.

tn_Tomcat_pedals..jpg

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I'm also attempting to modify the seats a little.
Aires have modelled the factory fresh GRU-7 with pleated seat cushions. They are beautifully crafted and ideal for anyone building a jet that has just rolled off the line.
For an in service jet, the cushions were replaced when they wore out and have a more straight forward appearance. I'm hoping to give my jet a "lived in" look so I replaced the resin cushions with some crafted from two pack modelling clay (Games Workshop "Green Stuff")

tn_F-14_seats_005.jpg

 

tn_F-14_seats_007.jpg

 

tn_F-14_seats_009.jpg

 

More soon I hope.

:piliot:

 

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  • 2 months later...

Howdy folks,

Here's another one of my sporadic updates on the Tomcat.
The seats were completed with the addition of belts and extra details plus stencil decals from Fightertown Decals.

 

tn_F-14_seats_026.jpg

 

tn_F-14_seats_025.jpg


tn_F-14_seats_028.jpg


tn_F-14_seats_027.jpg

 

I tried to add a little visual interest by curling down the backrest cushion on the pilots' seat and tucking a belt behind it.

 

tn_Finished_seats_(6).jpg

 

tn_Finished_seats_(5).jpg


tn_Finished_seats.jpg

 

tn_Finished_seats_(4).jpg

 

Next up was the canopy. I created the lightening holes in the frame on the underside of the canopy and removed the molded on de-mist piping ready for the addition of a new one

 

tn_F-14_Canopy_003.jpg

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tn_F-14_canopy_028.jpg


tn_F-14_canopy_029.jpg

 

the locking hooks are etched metal supplied with the Aires resin. The static discharge strip inside the canopy glazing is a thin sliver of metal foil

 

tn_F-14_canopy_025.jpg


tn_F-14_canopy_021.jpg

 

Leaping from the canopy into an entirely different area I began work on a couple of the pylons.
First up, the Phoenix rail. I added some scratch built detail to the underside as I'm not intending to load any ordnance on this Turkey.

 

 

tn_Phoenix_pylon_012.jpg

 

This missile rail is heavily weathered.

 

tn_Phoenix_pylon_024.jpg

 

tn_Phoenix_pylon_029.jpg

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