Lightspeed

@Ali62 Sorry for being late in getting back here, been away and come home to find my landing gear set for the Trump waiting for me. All i can say is forget cast typemetal, so happy with the quality of this set, the detail and parts fit is amazing, cheers mate, was more than worth waiting for. Thanks Ali for providing us with a landing gear option that far excells the quality of the other options available. The fine resin cast work is outstanding, one very happy Austalian customer!!!! My recommendation, if you dont get this L/G option, your are mad.

Am super excited to have ordered this set direct from Quinta for my build, hope Quinta can get it out of Russia for me, and am still waiting for postage notification, looking forward to posting details of the kit here when it arrives.

I cannot be sure of the limited release part, on Trumpeters website it is still listed as metal parts, also there is no correction (sticker) in my instruction manual to say the UC legs are styrene. you are lucky to have an early kit where the metal legs are included, i remember when i built the 1:32 Tamiya 1980's version there was a significant amount of lead that needed to be added to the nose to keep the front UC on the ground, it was a fairly heavy kit with metal bracing for the wing mechanism, although a static display i dont think it would have taken much for a disaster to happen resulting in 1 or 2 Greens instaed of 3 Greens lol

Yes Tony i feel your pain, so far my Kit all up is well into the $600 Aud range somewhere, and it is a large project to take on both financially and build time considering the AM adaptions and extra detailing work to justify the build to oursselves. The cost for me while annoying is a personal choice, it is not my intention to go halfway and although i would love a Trumpeter F-14A variant to display along side the D the first and last variants, i do not think realistically i will invest that far in seeking out the AM again for the Trumpeter kit, i would be more inclined to build the Tamiya 1/32 and invest only in the necessary AM for cockpit etc, while the scribing matter is just time, and again a major work to correct, i feel i would still lean the Tamiya direction if not alone for the financial investment needed. I will do my best to dress up the Trump kit and am awaiting my DACO book for further research references, so the build is going to take quite some time, i did get a pile of Alclad products to assist with 20% off the range and also Mr Colour laquers again at 20% savings. More of an investment into other builds down the road so i cannot allocate these expenses simply to the Trump kit and am looking forward to experimenting with the airbrush with these laquers and finish effect possibilities. Am going to try the Armoured glass finish too on the forward cockpit screen. One thing i have noted is the extreme weathering some modellers apply, which does surprise me, i am not in any way taking away from their skill in creating these effects as they are incredible in that respect, but in all honesty they are weathered to the extreme for 1/32 and look like they would fall into 100 pieces on a cat shot, no pilot in his right mind would dare to fly them if it were a real fire-breathing Cat. I worked around jet aircraft for over 7 years as an air transport engineer liasing with the RAAF and Civil and Emergency service aviation operators for airshows etc at my local airport, i have never seen any rotary wing, fast mover military or civil with such extreme weathering profiles lol. Anyway thats a huge digression and there is a mountain in my pathway that i will overcome now, we will see where we end up at the end and see if the build is worth posing here. Kind Regards Ben.

Darren, stating facts is not attacking. As stated i have built the Tam 1/32. Your opinion is noted, thankyou for your contribution.

@Ali62 i will be needing a set, as soon as you have completed your first batch of production run so i will be watching with interest, i hope the casting goes well, we really need a set that is correct and with reasonable detail, I will not be purchasing a gear set untill i get to see what you have on offer. Well done for the effort to go to the trouble as Trumpeter have taken a huge step backwards, they are definitely a needed AM part now imho and cheers for the thread link

yes that's the only gear set i have found also, the Up Wind set, annoying cat launch position on the front leg, so wings out, slats n flaps deployed i guess?? lol Well done on the Teknics cockpit finds, with kits thats a bargain all year long. Noty even going to look at my receipts @BloorwestSiR Carl i reckon i have jumped in the deepend here, am gonna need long legs for this one mate, i would say a 4 month build for me in between all my other hobbies and work commitments. lol still cannot settle on a set of decals.

well my box of work turned up this week Trump F-14D, my true thoughts are........what the hell have i done, mixed with its too late now and some disappointment. It is true, whatever you read on the Trumpeter kit may be modest as far as this being a box of work, and i can see why some who have applied their hand to this kit have become frustrated with it and i have only given the kit a cursory going over. Could you do oob?, well of course but i personally would feel that is mere assembling to a degree and reminiscent of my modelling when i was a teen, great kits like Academy 1/32 FA-18, Tamiya 1/32 F-14A etc can be assembled without any such work oob. But this is a box of work, just the way the kit is engineered requires patience, filling, sanding, filing, putty etc owing to the way it comes together in so many segmented parts. A big disappointment is that Trumpeter have changed the set up of the landing gear in my kit, although advertised on Trumpeter website as metal parts/stems really for the support of the structure in a split shell type outer case the same as the Tamiya old 1/32 kit, they are NOT!!! I will attach a pic. They are just plastic stems, which begs the question as to why split the cases in the first place, tbh i can see the gear snapping with any side shear movement. I cannot find AM gear in a non Cat set launch profile. The Cockpit acetate has a huge seam down the centrline, not impressive and overall just assembling the rear stabs required filing the ejectors on the split two piece mouldings for a decent fit. So that is just the starting observations, not a kit for those who may be depleted at the mountian pass needed to be crossed to see it to the end. Well on with it, so will the Teknics F-14D superset fit the Trumpeter and the answer is yeah but nah. Could you make it fit? Yes, but not without extensive modification as the profile of the two differ greatly dimensionally in length and width. see pics. So i have canned the idea of modifying the Teknics pit to match, may as well just turn it out of the bay now or take on a Tamiya after this, i cannot say i am in need of two "D" examples though. For those wanting to know and see for themselves i have attached pics of the Aires versus the Teknics versus the Trumpeter ejector seats for comparison, after seeing them all side by side i have two choices now, buy the Aires pit or dress up the Trump pit as best i can and fit the Aires seats i have, or buy a complete Aires pit and grind off the resin panels to fit 3D IP, i also went ahead and made my mind up over the Red Fox 3D pit set and the new Quintas 3D pit set, i went with the Quintas set, and am trying to get it out of Russia with DHL. After having to purchase so much AM, i cannot say i am over the moon at the build of this kit, after what looks like now needing a gear set, 3d pit IP, Zacto intakes and pallet correct, Wolfpack pallet set, Brass Vulcan set, Exhaust nozzle set, oh i royally screwed that up didnt i, i bought the open and closed Reskit set thinking i had the option of a complete set of open or closed nozzles, how wrong was i, so had to buy another open and closed set to complete as the "D" variant 110 engines i have read are equal with the exhaust leaves on shutdown not one open and one closed. Then buy some 1/32 GBU's and JDAM's and the AUD price for the build is starting to be completely OOC. I never purchased this box of work with the intent of just making do. Declined on the only Wolfpack Chinpod i know of as the part is 18 euro and another 20 something euro for postage, seriously i need a lotto win, so its out with the styrene and milliput i guess. Anyway these are decisions we make and each to his own, we will see what i can make from this in the coming months, this will be the most serious build i have ventured on. Apologies in advance for the poor pics. Plastic gear centres Top to bottom: Teknics, Aires then Kit part

Website and Ebay show both as out of stock now, so hope a member got one, ebay Voucher SAFY20 expires 26/06/22 so a few days yet, try contacting them to see if they have any extra stock. Get your relatives to get you some early xmas pressies and post them back home. I bought a stack of gear from them for the Trumpeter F-14D build, lol then murphy goes and pulls a swifty on me with the ebay store with 20% off 3 days later, uugghh, well i have a brush now anyways.

GRS make an extended version of articulating 3rd hands, the are not jaws, they use an extended tungsten carbide thin tips so you can hold fine articles, very well made and are for the jewelry trade, but they are probably the most expensive set of third hands on the market, they are not junk cheapies, cost inhibitive though, but the best out there.

Hi all, just to let you all know, I just came across an H&S infinty plus set AV 136543 with .15 and .40 needles at BNA MODELS on their eBay page I bought one for myself, there is only one left now around $360 Aud after ebay code SAFY20. My first airbrush, buy once buy right......I hope, after my research I am sure it will fit its purpose just nicely, and let's not beat around the bush, while Iwata has the down n dirty true grit product, the H&S looks bloody nice too, only thing I really wanted was a mac valve, new airline filters are including these now, so maybe I can try one in future. https://www.harder-airbrush.eu/en/infinity.html Not sure if its an ebay Australia only thing, no doubt everywhere else in the world you guys can get better prices, not down under unfortunately. Was going to do an Iwata, but wanted a micro and ability for wide cover and could not afford both. In my research on brushes over the last week, I have read that H&S is now owned by Iwata since 2017, you all probably know this, so its just new to me, also in my research found that Iwata also bought out Sparmax, very cheap brushes available here in Australia that review pretty well also. Iwata has made some power moves. So if anyone in Oz is looking for a H&S cheap, there is one waiting for someone.

well that is very true, i remeber that guy who was making models of houses and things displayed on the end of a matchstick or someting like that, any way whatever, to small to view without a microscope or at the very least a 20x loupe, but hey whatever tickles your fancy. The nano world is going to be a part of our future, i wont be here, hey maybe no one will be at the current rate of progression. Or the triodes in my tube valves and how they make the music sound so smooth, or hand winding the magnetic coil on Diamond stylus needle pickup, no thanks i will stick to my styrene, though Audiophiles will pay ridiculous sums for something i cant hear the difference in. The world is changing, better glue as much styrene together as we can, while we can. It will be banned soon as environmentally unfriendly and we will be paying carbon tax on our kits for Jet Fuelled aircraft to transport them internationally, a diesel truck to deliver them on top of VAT, GST, Postal Insurance, Safe Delivery, Ecologically and Environmentally aware postage, i crack my self up, lets not go there. Maybe the next big thing will be cars that run on winding up a lacky band. Flintstones anyone???

Matty, yep for sure mate. I already have a Korbanth SSD resin kit which i started optic fibre lights on and it kind of died there, sick of drilling hundreds and hundreds of .25mm holes so the metre long model ended up back in its box, same thing happened when i was doing the optic fibre on my Fine Molds Millenium Falcon, back in its box too. Not feeling the Star Wars vibe, thinking of selling the Kits, the Korbanth SSD is not being made anymore as far as i know and i have two of the Falcons, just been feeling the F-14 rush since watching TG2. Hoping i will get the love back for the Swars kits after i complete the Cat. Either that or i will just move the Swars kits on.

Got it sorted, i searched DACO products and it lit me up a different page so my order is in and paid for. No problem, appreciate it, i do not expect a drop fit, i have read it is not a drop fit into the Tamiya kit so i am sure i can work with it and remove and add where necessary. I also do jewelry as a hobby so most of my gear i can use for my kits too, Jewelers gravrs, drill, tungsten carbide drills and burr of all descriptions etc for scratch building, even casting in metal if i need to so so long as its close i can make it work. Was just interested to see the process and work of others and their finished pit. Appreciate your responses Thierry, awesome!!!

it is even with postage, and yes it is in stock and they give you a DVD for a few more dollars too. Trouble is if you visit the site you can add it to your cart and thats it, there is no checkout, no contact email, nothing, i have tried several times now and the site was updated in Jan or Feb this year, but like i said you can add items to your cart but you cannot even view your cart let alone find an icon to click on for checkout, go figure.

@thierry laurent can you help me out i cannot find a build thread where it has been adapted to fit, the only one i have seen was a person who wanted to fit it and was replied to and recommended to sell it or use it in a Tamiya build.

Yeah @BradG am realising that unless iuts in your face, i will not be passing my model for competition voting so if its unseen i will just add scratch built detail. Nice to see a fellow Aussie on deck

Thanks mate for clarifying that one for me

lol, just found this while googling the LAU Rails for kit comparisons and fit. This has got me thinking if the the Teknics pit i bought for the for Tamiya 1/32 will fit into the Trumpeter and Frankenfit.

So none of this sort of kit in your stash then. Wow price tag versus the Trumpeter 1/32 https://www.primeportal.net/models/thomas_voigt_reviews/zm_skyraider/index.php?Page=1

yep, bit like the Wolfpack 32052 update set for the Trumpy F14 pallets and racks, bit more detail but for god knows what reason they have copied the Trumpeter mold leaving the front aero design of the pallets LAU-93 or 132 still needing correction so the only option there is to still get the Zacto pallet correction. Would like to do 2 of these kits, but have no idea where in my house to display them, was thinking an A version and the D variant representing the Alpha and the Omega but there is no way i am forking out my hairloss to double the trouble. My next favorite is the A-1 in USAF or USN, what a beast. Last of the bugsmashers.

Love your work @Treehugger good example of what we can do with our skills. After research on the Trumpy F-14D, when i made the order for the kit i did also add some evergreen .010 , .020 and .040 styrene sheet pack to aid in whatever i needed or wanted to re make and adjust, i have seen most of the build threads on the kit that i can find and it's fantastic to see guys adding their own detail to the box stock parts and re-making or scratch building detail, for me that's true modelling, i am def not against simple OOB builds either, i have done many of these over my life with pretty good results. Academy FA-18, and Tamiya F14A, nothing but spray cans stock decals and some brushwork, very few paints, in fact what i have learned in my life derived from many circumstances is that you can truly attain great results by simply not having all the tools at hand, this enables invention and outside of the box thinking to attain a result where we can try, test and retry things and different ways and methods if we do not have a full blown workshop with everything you could ever want at hand. Scratch building is great, its an entire level above simply sanding meet points to fit, judiciously cementing, lacky bands for clamps etc and applying a bit of paint, offers a huge creative outlet for us to add to our projects outside the sphere of what the manufacturer of the kit has provided. So anyway have just purchased the Aires Resin kit AIR2175 SJU-17 seats instead of the entire cockpit and will go from there, found a nice Vulcan Cannon M61A1 Brass kit and a few Reskit GBU 24 a/b to go with the GBU 38's, managed to find them from a seller i have already bought from on the bay at 20% off so being in OZ saves a huge cost in postage from anywhere else in the world, often postage to Aust is as much as the item itself and that's a killjoy. Not having much luck on Decals at this stage to suit but am trying to source a DACO book here in Aus so i can do further research , found one but its $100, lol i am so stingy. I have had a look at "Christine" and have the site bookmarked, amazing though, i have NEVER seen an F-14 with a black tinted glass cockpit ever, never even seen one modeled either so thats new to me. https://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spidle_f-14d/f-14d_159600_christine_parts/index.php?Page=2 Anyway am getting off topic so i better not digress further.

Definitely agree there, its great to aspire, create and have goals, sometimes we inhibit ourselves by setting the bar of self expectation too high, no point in placing goals if we are unable to fulfill them, things can quickly turn around once the passion is dissipated from dealing with the unforseen or underestimating our challenges we set ourselves.

Cheers mate for the heads up on how to like comments, got it sorted now, i think new accounts may be inhibited from that action, but all seems to be working ok now.

Thierry, you are thinking very much along my train of though now, thanks for your input, it settles me to know i am not the only one trying to walk the line between all things to consider when your object of passion and time investment demands it