Geddyme

Torben, thank you! Cheers, David

Thank you sir! I did get carried away with the weathering for sure. Thank you Andy, I know less is more, but still went overboard. I may try to lighten it up some at some point, the main color came out a bit dark for my liking as well. I’m gonna put it aside for a week or so, and start my Tomcat I think. Cheers, David

My neighbor came back that night with her iPad and was going to buy me a whole new model. I said no, but she wasn’t having it and we settled on the Aires exhaust for my F-14D build and Revell’s 1/144 SuperCat as well. Anyway, here are a few snaps as she sits today on her revetment. I went a little nuts with the weathering and chipping, some of it was an attempt to mask damage, but I’ve learned a lot and will definitely do another one. More pics when I get motivated to stick the flaps back on it. That was a chore the first time and not relishing it this second. I know they didn’t often sit around with the hatches and bombay open and flaps deployed, but liked that look and will put it back the way it was before it toppled. I’m in the market for the glass piece for the TT as well! More to come... Cheers, David

Haven't updated in a while... never fear CATCplSlade. It survived this encounter in my office & the ride to/from (several times actually). Sadly it didn't get away unscathed from a later encounter. I paint & do other loathsome toxic things, masked, out in my unheated garage or driveway, Ohio weather permitting. Suffice to say a thunderstorm & my newish neighbor's skittish dog (a very friendly 100lb Rottie) charging into my garage caused this plane's perch to topple over & it cracked it open down fuselage seem, broke some parts off including the gear & most all the clear stuff, gun barrels, flap kit & various bits inside. Seams reappeared at cockpit & nose joins. It's repairable to a reasonable state tho... in fact I've almost finished, or at least as far as I'm going to go. Just the flaps to put back on (thankfully tons of extra ribs for those on the sprue). The piece of glass from the TT directly behind the engineers head when he's using it is gone though. I guess it slipped into another dimension when it hit the ground. I will never find it now. I had to get the "H" sprue (starboard gear destroyed) from Ebay but the clear sprue or even pieces... understandably more difficult. Any suggestions are welcomed!! I'll post some photo's of it in its' current state later today... & when I get it to "new normal" complete. I don't know if I'll ever put it in RFI, mostly because I don't think it ever will be... & I'll be ordering another this weekend for spring... might be the E/F model. In the meantime I'm ready to dive into this trumpy F-14D... still wanting to do the "Black Bunny" - VX-9... pics on the way! David

Nice work so far! I can only hope to do half as well on my Super Tomcat when I start it. Which might be tonight now!

That is indeed “Red 9” CAT. I was also saddened to discover 21C went belly up, I hadn’t acquired all the toys I wanted! And I would say it did influence me to get back into this hobby, also. That is an impressive collection you have there! Here is another angle of “Red 9” with the Fort. I love the lines of the radial engine FW’s. It’s a beautiful airplane from any angle, except on your six I suppose. Cheers, David

Thank you Craig, it’s been a while, over the winter I gave it a break mostly because it was ready for primer and paint, and I can only paint in my unheated Ohio garage currently. Speaking of paint, I’ve found when it’s not bathed in the fluorescent lighting at my office, but in more natural light at home that green isn’t quite so jolting and Japanese camo in hue. Still not where I want it, but I’ll get there. I don’t recall CAT, but I will let you know in the morning. If you’d like some other angles of it, I can post them here. Those two fighters and several more elsewhere in my office are actually screw together toys from 21sr Century Toys, that I bought for my dad when he was still living. That is Schilling’s “Hairless Joe” in there as well, I also have Zempke’s P-47, Gentile’s “Shangri La”. I’m sure that Butcher Bird is of some note. I’ll let you know. Thanks again folks, see you tomorrow! David

Greetings all! A lot of progress and a good deal of head scratchin’ since the last update. Waist crew door only needs handles and paint now. Hinges are doctored pieces of the PE sprues. First coat is on {MM Dark Green Enamel 50/50 with Testor’s Airbrush thinner} over thinned flat black enamel preshading (wings only). I’ve never done preshading before and I thought it was pretty dark before the first coat of color, so I freaked out a little and opted for post shading for the fuse. Now I’m concerned I’ll lose the wing preshading after a second coat. I was handed this color when I asked for suggestions for camo B-17’s at my local hobby shop, can’t say I’m pleased with it. It was pretty fuzzy to the touch (that’s on me) after the first coat, so I carefully rubbed the fuzziness away with gloves from work that are mildly and finely abrasive. It did lighten it up. But I’ll do the second coat darker, and weathering and hope for the best. It is a fictitious Fort anyway, I could just take it all off and put Candy Apple Red lacquer on it I guess. J/K Awaiting the weathering of the weighted main wheels. Lots of fussing remains with the demarcation line between grey/green {I do like where that line falls on the forward fuse here and will try to hold that line}, de-icing boots, not to mention rivets and scribing. One big issue remaining are steps and seams in the port wing roots, as of now not glued. The two fighters are actually two of the toys I bought for my dad way back when, but in the same scale. Tonight I’ll get it on its own wheels, see what can be done about the wing root, and deal with a few areas of overspray, and bombay doors (open). The aftermarket flaps await attachment as well, but that is for another (long) day. As always, suggestions are welcome, especially on this crazy green. I know we would be hard pressed to find two ETO combat veteran camo B-17’s with the same shades of green, but I don’t know that I ever seen one anywhere quite like this, and I can no longer ask my father. Thanks again! David

Greetings all, It's been a while since I posted an update, but I was busy with the B-17, mostly seam work using Squadron (green) and Mr Surfacer 500, built up with a small brush. There were a few doozies as seen above, most of my doing. One or two remain and then plenty of re-scribing and rivets. With the warmer weather and being able to paint out in my garage I have primed all wing/engine nacelles seams looking for imperfections and addressing those. Engine and props done save decals, nacelles and cowl flaps (PE) primed. Fixed the chin turret gun slots to reflect the actual aircraft more accurately. Here is the beginning of that effort. The beginning of repairing the biggest misalignment I had. This one was ugly and most likely due to me not doing paying enough attention during test fitting the fuselage halves together. I'll post the the completed repair in my next post, still have a little work with Mr. Surfacer (500) to smooth it out. I actually got away with ceramic paste on most of the wing/nacelle seams. We'll see how it holds up to re-scribing. Next up I hope to get the seams for the nose finished off, those for control surfaces and tail gun compartment addressed, then turtle deck glued down, hope that seam isn't too nasty! until then, R/S David

Thank you Starfighter, I hadn't seen that thread yet, very informative read! I made note of a couple suggestions, and also will re-visit once the build commences! R/S David

Hey Dave, thank you, much appreciate your input on my upcoming build, once again, I’ll save my cash for something else! R/S David

Curious if any Tomcat builders have any thoughts on the discontinued Eduard Big Ed mega PE set for the trumpy F-14D? Found one for less than $100 (US), shipped. The extra’s I currently have already ordered; From BNA Model World - Aires cockpit, gear bays, weighted wheels and correct chin pod for the D. From Scalehobbyist - Aires Exhaust Nozzles. And of course the obligatory Intake Correction from Chris at Zactomodels. Thank you in advance for any input! R/S, David

I wouldn't say I'm a Tomcat guy, though imho it is the sexiest, meanest looking jet ever, as I know next to nothing about the variants, load-outs and such like, but I've learned quite a bit recently from the above comments, and just poking around on the internet. I've read the wiki, and many of the wikis for weapons, counter measures and other stores referred to on that wiki, then I found this site which I'm scouring as we speak. http://www.anft.net/f-14/index.htm Edit: now a busted link I'll also follow suggestions to resources I read in the Tomcat posts I find here. I have seen the Tamiya 1/48 A model, as a co-worker is building one in Jolly Rogers livery. So I thought I'd go with the 32nd scale, for my build, and I had enough balance left over to snag the 1/144th, just to fiddle with. I already have a Strike Eagle, Falcon, Super Hornet (not built) in that small scale. If I do another Cat it will definitely be one of those you mention, ringleheim. Thanks for the suggestion. On an aside, I think I might have found the specific bird I want to do for the 32nd scale... strongly appealing to me at least, now that I've ordered the kit. https://fullcolorbirds.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/grumman-f-14-tomcat-vandy-one/ Specifically the last black tomcat, from VX9, F-14D Buno 164604, the final F-14 to wear the bunny livery. I need to find more information on this jet, before I decide, but I LOVE this bird. One downside, I won't get to do a lot of exterior weathering though, these birds look fairly clean. Food for thought at least. R/S David

Thanks again Ryan, I will have a look at the Aries cockpit for sure... and I thought your post on those bladders was very clear, and your explanation above as well. I will definitely look at both again, once the kit arrives and I can see them for myself. And I’ll get a WIP going once I get rolling. Have some quite a bit work to do on the Fort to get it ready for paint, combined with the Tomcat, should keep me busy for a while! cheers! Dave

Thank you for the replies everyone, I'm strongly leaning towards the Trumpeter D model/Zacto intake corrections and some other aftermarket bits, main gear, bays cockpits at least. MARU, thanks for your kind offer of purchasing the kit and sending it over the pond. I failed to mention while typing the first message I have a gift card balance from Christmas on Amazon that will cover the Trumpeter kit, and a Revell 1/144 D model just for funzies! While I prefer to give my business to the local brick and mortar store that my dad introduced me to 45+ years ago, this time its going to be Amazon... I'll source my paint/supplies from the local place though. Thank you again MARU! Dave; I've been looking at some of the builds here, including one discussion concerning the pallets, I'll continue to look at others during the wait for the kits to arrive. There are quite a few D Cats here and much to consider with this kit... not the least of which is what actual plane I want to do. Ryan; Thank you for the links... after reading the threads you posted, I decided Zacto was the way to go for me as well. Those wing bladders look like a bear to get right, I'm still quite the amateur... not afraid of a challenge. I probably will order the F-14's later tonight, and shop for those intakes as well. Thanks again for the input folks. R/S David