Crew Dog Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 (edited) Hey all, I'm back with another...ambitious project: Trumpeter's big Super Tomcat. SprueBrothers was lucky to get a new shipment in, and itching for a new project after finishing the Bug, I immediately jumped on it! After waiting a week from ordering, I was greeted by an email on the 30th of July saying I had a parcel waiting to be picked up at my APO box. Lo and behold (as if I didn't already know what it was) the Kitty has hit the deck. Upon opening the box, I was greeted by a very neatly arranged pile of styrene. For those who don't know, she's going to be a BIG 'Cat, as shown here by a reference photo compared to my F/A-18C Anyway, it's good to be back at the bench, and as always, thanks for stopping by the hangar! Edited August 4, 2021 by Crew Dog Landrotten Highlander, matt_1185, MDuv and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Looks like you're having some bbCode issues with your image links, Chris. This is the stuff in the square brackets, and unfortunately the forum software no longer supports it. You just copy and paste your raw image URLs, which look something this: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51357197084_de3c912fa3_c.jpg If you do that, you should see your images appear: Kev Crew Dog, zerosystem, MDuv and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 6 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said: Looks like you're having some bbCode issues with your image links, Chris. This is the stuff in the square brackets, and unfortunately the forum software no longer supports it. You just copy and paste your raw image URLs, which look something this: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51357197084_de3c912fa3_c.jpg If you do that, you should see your images appear: Kev I saw that when I originally posted, but fixed them to the "share" option on Flickr, hopefully they're all showing up for you now chrish and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Just now, Crew Dog said: I saw that when I originally posted, but fixed them to the "share" option on Flickr, hopefully they're all showing up for you now Awesome! I see them now. Kev Crew Dog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confusionreigns178 Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Will be following your build with great interest, my friend. I have a Trumpy F-14A and a Tamiya version. I don't think I've looked in either box for a year or two. Might have to start them in the next lifetime... (ho, hum). Cheers. Chris. Crew Dog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 I eyeballed the Tamiya one for a while before this one popped back up, the raised panel lines were the deal-breaker for me. Hope you get to do yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confusionreigns178 Posted August 4, 2021 Share Posted August 4, 2021 Just now, Crew Dog said: the raised panel lines were the deal-breaker for me I know where you're coming from, here. It's always seemed a very odd way to go - recessed panel-lines from the cockpit forwards, raised from that point backwards. What were Tamiya thinking? Surely raised and recessed are similar in terms of time, effort and expense (?). I'm making an assumption here - perhaps more knowledgeable folk can fill in the details.... Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 I think, and could definitely be wrong on this one, that only the updated parts in the '94 and Black Knights versions got new molds, where the rear fuselage ones were just reused from the original '80's kit. Less manufacturing costs on their end, and, as many have said before, Tamiya being Tamiya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 4, 2021 Author Share Posted August 4, 2021 I started the kit from an unusual area this time: the wings. This is mainly due to waiting on the Aires cockpit to come in. The fit was overall good, with decent (for Trumpeter) recessed details, but... there's a noticeable step at the wing root area, easily blendable to make it a uniform height I'm not too worried about where the leading edge slat will be, as the wings will be overswept to 75 deg in a flight deck powered down configuration. the other "major" issue is on the wingtip, where an interesting decision was made to have the joints on the upper surface instead of the lower. As such, I got some free panel joints out of it, but one seam gap exists that shouldn't be there The diagonal one from the leading edge going back to the flap area will need to be filled, but luckily there's no real rivet detail that is in danger. The step seen at the trailing edge will also need to be readdressed once the glue has cured. As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar! LSP_Kevin, chrish, scvrobeson and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 Work has continued on the big wings, mainly blending the wing root area shown above and adding some required bits like the foreflaps prior to sending them to paint barn for the red warning areas under the flaps and slats. The wing root was easy and straightforward, nothing much to comment on about that process I had a look on the underside of the wingtips, and the panel gaps that I showed earlier are mirrored there, but all the reference photos I've seen show only a straight line from the outboard edge of the slat to the spoiler (granted, it seems hard for me to find, in my query to the Google, a good high-res shot of either the upper or lower wingtip area, with most images being drawings.) I did have a bit of help with the wingtip step that I also showed yesterday. Attaching the foreflaps seemed to also act as a shim for the outer wings and leveled the two pieces, so a happy bonus there. The next step will be to paint the warning areas red, and attach the spoilers and flaps. As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar! Landrotten Highlander, themongoose, chrish and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 Love it. Wish i had some walk around shots for you but all mine are A’s Crew Dog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 2 hours ago, themongoose said: Love it. Wish i had some walk around shots for you but all mine are A’s No worries, I appreciate the thought all the same. MATS is quickly becoming my friend for this beast, along with Sea Forces, which has a couple of pics during the Oct '01 cruise showing the typical opening sorties hanging a single AIM-54 and single AIM-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted August 7, 2021 Share Posted August 7, 2021 On 8/4/2021 at 12:00 PM, Confusionreigns178 said: I know where you're coming from, here. It's always seemed a very odd way to go - recessed panel-lines from the cockpit forwards, raised from that point backwards. What were Tamiya thinking? Surely raised and recessed are similar in terms of time, effort and expense (?). I'm making an assumption here - perhaps more knowledgeable folk can fill in the details.... Chris. Hi Crew Dog and Chris, it's been a long time since I touched my model and my memory is a bit hazy on this subject but I seem to remember something. Have you guys looked at reference photos of the real bird in that area? Did the Navy use some form of sealant on panels in that area of the Tomcat? If so that might explain why the raised panel lines are restricted to this portion of the model. Anyhoo, good luck with your big Turkey Crew Dog. It's always good to see a large scale Tomcat built. Crew Dog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 7, 2021 Author Share Posted August 7, 2021 I get where you're coming from Geed, I know in the AF any sealant between panels is blended pretty close to flush with the panels themselves, and at least on SeaForces, there's a prominent pic of a Kitty booty as it's taxiing to a shuttle, and it looks to be the same scenario. Would definitely be interesting to hear from those who got up close and personal to a 'cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crew Dog Posted August 8, 2021 Author Share Posted August 8, 2021 Work has finished on construction of the wings, which was a pretty straightforward, if not fiddly process. This is due to the fact that each spoiler is an individual part, which would be great if I was dong her hooked up to the shuttle. Luckily all but the inboard two have spars to align the spoilers to, and allows for the minute variation that one would see on an actual wing surface. Next step was assembling and installing the giant flaps that serve as the trailing edge of the wings, and this time the seam is on the underside, which has a fit good enough to simulate a panel joint nicely. The flap installation was another straightforward process, with the tolerances between the flaps and guide spars rivaling a Tamiya kit This process had the added bonus of not needing to mark the red "danger" areas around the wings, since everywhere that would be marked is closed up and minimally, if at all, exposed. All that's left to do for the wings is minor alignment tweaks once the glue has set. I will be looking through the instructions to see the next section that I can do while waiting on my pit to come in. As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar! Rainer Hoffmann, Landrotten Highlander, themongoose and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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