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1/32 Trumpeter F-14A Tomcat


Mark Jackson

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  • 3 weeks later...

Scheme 2 or 5. So I guess in the long run, the ranking on manufacturers for the F-14, its still Tamiya then Revell and finally Trumpeter. I have one each of the first two, but looking at the work you need to do to make the Trumpie look good, I think I'll pass on it. Unless I find one in a garage sale for cheap.

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9 hours ago, Sabre F-86 said:

Scheme 2 or 5. So I guess in the long run, the ranking on manufacturers for the F-14, its still Tamiya then Revell and finally Trumpeter. I have one each of the first two, but looking at the work you need to do to make the Trumpie look good, I think I'll pass on it. Unless I find one in a garage sale for cheap.

No. Certainly not if you compare the three kits side by side (I did it some years ago). The Tamiya kit is also asking for detailing, rescribing, has far less options and the fit is not good! Actually, there is no 'best option'! All the kits are asking for a ton of work and/or a ton of money. The main advantage of the Trumpeter kits is the availability of many detailing and corrections sets. So, thanks to aftermarket, this is probably the easiest route up to the arrival of a new kit (AMK?). The Revell is quite toyish with awful trench-like panel lines and very thick details. It is certainly not better than the Trumpy kit, alas! 

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not sure if I've asked this before, but I haven't seen a direct comparison of the Trumpeter intakes, what exactly is so incorrect with them? I've seen the Zacto ones which looks like _alot_ of extra work, but I've never seen a side-by-side of them to really see just how wrong it is.. 

 

Sincerely, clueless

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I think Thierry is right, all of the 1/32 Tomcats require differing levels of work so I guess its a choice of what kind of pain/work you enjoy the most.  At this point in time I am getting to know sanding sticks/files very well but I think that I'm enjoying it (somebody tell me that I'm enjoying it :mental:).  I'll load up some photos showing how the various open bays are progressing, but I'm still trying to find a scheme/decal option which I like and the Bureau Number is correct.  Seriously considering painting markings and using decal paper for the black numbers etc.

 

 

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4 hours ago, Subodai said:

not sure if I've asked this before, but I haven't seen a direct comparison of the Trumpeter intakes, what exactly is so incorrect with them? I've seen the Zacto ones which looks like _alot_ of extra work, but I've never seen a side-by-side of them to really see just how wrong it is.. 

 

Sincerely, clueless

Look at them from the front of the kit. The lower leading edge of both intakes is creating a very distinct angle that is not reproduced correctly by Trumpeter. This is quite obvious as far as you know where you should look at. 

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1 minute ago, thierry laurent said:

Look at them from the front of the kit. The lower leading edge of both intakes is creating a very distinct angle that is not reproduced correctly by Trumpeter. This is quite obvious as far as you know where you should look at. 

I see, I'll have to dig the kits out and take a look at some point, to my eye they should be angled upwards towards the outer edge... I'll have to check my big yellow book

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1 hour ago, Subodai said:

I see, I'll have to dig the kits out and take a look at some point, to my eye they should be angled upwards towards the outer edge... I'll have to check my big yellow book

Have a look at that old ARC thread. This may help. http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/226946-trumpeter-132-f-14-tomcat/

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7 hours ago, thierry laurent said:

No. Certainly not if you compare the three kits side by side (I did it some years ago). The Tamiya kit is also asking for detailing, rescribing, has far less options and the fit is not good! Actually, there is no 'best option'! All the kits are asking for a ton of work and/or a ton of money. The main advantage of the Trumpeter kits is the availability of many detailing and corrections sets. So, thanks to aftermarket, this is probably the easiest route up to the arrival of a new kit (AMK?). The Revell is quite toyish with awful trench-like panel lines and very thick details. It is certainly not better than the Trumpy kit, alas! 

 

I agree that there is no "good" 32nd scale Tomcat on the market - but I certainly disagree with your conclusion, Thierry. The Trumpeter kit has massive shape issues which are very difficult to correct (and none of them except the intakes are addressed by aftermarket sets!) whilst Tamiya is very close to the real thing in terms of proportions. Not talking about details of course, Tamiya is an utter joke detail wise - especially taking into account the price of the kit. Revell is a good base for a low price - it is just asking for a massive (but doable) nose job using Tamiya parts. The groove lines do not look bad at all under a coat of primer. 

 

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All kits have shapes issues that are difficult to solve. The Trumpeter kit is probably the worst regarding the neck shape but the Tamiya is not correct either. The Tamiya canopy and windscreen are less accurate than the Trumpeter ones and solving that is close to impossible. The Tamiya lower nose is better than the Trumpy one. And so on. You cannot build a more or less acceptable Kitty without a ton of work. Keep also in mind very few sets were released for the Tamiya kits (only cockpits and exhausts) whereas the level of detail is very sparse. So, if doing an overall evaluation (shapes, scribing, internal details, fit and availability of correcting and detail sets), I do not think the Chinese kit is the worst option. 

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I also disagree on this point. The Trumpeter canopy is much worse with the windscreen being too flat, impossible to correct. The Tamiya one is slightly too steep but it's easily corrected by removing a bit of material from the rear lower edge. Trumpeter nose cross sections are completely off whilst Tamiya is very close to the real thing. All the open panels on the Trumpeter front fuselage are completely wrong and so on. 

 

We don't have to agree on everything, have we? :) This thread my not be the correct place to discuss this anyway - let's enjoy Mark's progress which will certainly lead to an impressive model. There are several threads discussing the "best" 1/32 Tomcat options - these would be more suited than this one here.

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I have been working hard on the F-14A but do not have any photos to upload just yet, what I have got is a much reduced base which was created on the computer and is A3 size.  The tie-down points are there to show where to dill for the white metal and brass points.

 

49724451991_e4af1a955c_h.jpg

 

P.S. The elevator tie-downs will be the cross type as is the norm.

Edited by Mark Jackson
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