Zactoman Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 That title though... Sorry, couldn't resist. I've received several requests to make replacement parts for the nasty rubber bladder parts included in the Trumpeter 1/32 F-14 Tomcat kit. The rubber parts are difficult to glue, difficult to paint and some have even had them weep oils that ruined their paint. As with rubber wheels, there is the fear that they will deteriorate and completely fail in time. While there are basically 3 positions for the wings, extended, swept and over-swept, I decided to only offer two, extended and swept. Those who want to do over-swept will have to do some filing and sanding. Here are the swept position parts: The bladders inflate using air pressure from the engines so there is some variability as to how much they inflate. I've found pics at cat-launch where they appear over-inflated while in others they have relaxed and the ribs in the under-structure show. I have made the (extended wing) bladders slightly relaxed to where the sub-structure barely shows. Those who want it to be more prominent can sand away material and those who want them more inflated can add material. Here are the extended wing parts: The stock kit has the wing glove sealing plate intersection with the forward section of the fuselage flush and have the rubber bladder notched to allow this. In reality the intersection should not be flush the full length, but flush at the front and raised at the rear. I made the bladders without the cut-out notch forcing the parts to fit properly. The parts in the previous pics are just sitting on the kit. Here you can see how they will look when everything is glued: Also note that the gap between the sealing pates and wing in the previous photos shows the parts just sitting on the kit with only a little tape holding things together. The gap will be tighter on a fully assembled kit (sorry, no pics to show this). The actual bladders are a Teflon coated canvas. They do get scuffed up and show wear. In some cases slight wrinkles show and in some pics it appears as though they have had large sections patched with slightly different colored canvas. Check your references for the plane you are building. I chose to make the bladders smooth and clean. You can add scuffing, wrinkles and patching if you choose or just (have fun and) replicate this and the weathering with paint. I will be pouring more production molds in the coming days and making some simple instruction sheets (the parts are drop-fit so there's not much to write about). I'm hoping to have these ready to release in the next week or two. Smokey, Dave Williams, blackbetty and 14 others 16 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobinsonh Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Fantastic work as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Phew what a relief , yet another great product from the Zactofactory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Hi. Put me up for two sets!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Looking great!! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 another reason to not start the kit gone! Iain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32scalelover Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Count me in. I will need 2 sets. LMK when they are available. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zactoman Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) Thanks guys! On 10/15/2019 at 8:31 PM, 32scalelover said: LMK when they are available. Now Available!!! www.Zactomodels.com Edited October 24, 2019 by Zactoman blackbetty, Phartycr0c, Tony T and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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