F-14D VF-213 NH101: Major Decision Time

[Crew Dog]

I am nearing the finish line (with assembly anyway,) mainly now due to having a deadline. I have attached the wing-sweep "mechanism" cover plates, and shock to no-one, more fit issues. The leading edge by the fences popped up a considerable about over the fuselage, which necessitated a blending sand job. Additionally, due to a mismatch between said fences and their corresponding slots on the fuselage, there are large gaps left on the outer edges. I am more than willing to admit if the steps were my doing, as I glued them in place with the wings swept to the "go fast" position, and all instructions point to this bird being built in a full foward sweep configuration. I was able to reduce the amount of step on the right panel, and will further attack this once the putty on the outer edges has cured.

 

 

 

The good part of setting them with the wings swept back is it allowed the rear sections to have the characteristic step that can be seen on the real thing.

 

I also went ahead and attached the main gear struts, mainly to see if my work attaching the gear bays will hold the weight of this beast. To my pleasant surprise, she's able to stand on her own three legs now! I did pre-paint the areas of the intakes immediately under the struts, as painting them after attaching the legs would've been an exercise in futility.

 

 

Looks like the next step is to further reduce those steps on the upper fuselage, blend all the seams, and send her off to the paint barn. I'm getting excited now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'll leave you with one fina image to further accent the sheer size of the old girl.

 

 

As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited June 11, 2022 by Crew Dog

[Crew Dog]

The jet has now moved to the paint barn, and the end is in sight! After masking off and temp attaching the canopy, and two days of priming due to fighting the airbrush and primer, I gave the 'cat the usual overall treatment of black (if it wasn't for the wings already being painted, it could've subbed in for the VX-9 Playboy livery LOL.)

 

 

I then spent another whole day painting the underside in Lt Compass Ghost Gray, again, fighting the airbrush and paint clogging, most likely due to the sheer size of the old girl.

 

 

Please ignore the single nose wheel, more on that later.

 

The next step was to add the Dk Compass Ghost Gray to the sides of the forward fuselage, and was far easier than the underside due the the relative lack of surface required to spray and the soft edging required between the underside and sides.

 

 

Lastly came the Blue Gray, and the old issues arose again, so much that this coat was a further two days due to getting frustrated with the painting. After walking away from finishing the topside, I re-attacked it today, and am extremely pleased with how my black-basing turned out...far better than my Hornet from two years ago.

 

 

 

The overspray I did on the topside did have an added, unforeseen benefit of dampening down the stark contrast of the PVC wing bladders that Trumpeter included with the kit.

 

Contrary to others' work I've seen around the internet, I opted to not highlight routinely removed panel edges, as the reference photos I'm using from VF-213 do not show the touch up added to those edges, but rather a poor sealant job on only one oval panel just inboard of the left vertical stab (please visit HERE to find the reference photos I am using. The particular photo I am talking about is about a third of the way down, and is a great shot of the topside taken from behind the jet.)

 

While doing the underside, I also opted to spray the Phoenix pallets and wing glove pylons in Lt Compass Ghost Gray, and they are just down to detailing before the clear coat work.

 

 

 

 

 

All that's left now, paint-wise, is to do the gear doors, tail hook assembly and add the ECM color to the appropriate areas. As far as that nose wheel goes, I will need to either trim down the nose axle or bore out the inner wheels, because Wheeliant's wheels, while outstanding with the slight weight bulge on the tires and overall detail on the wheels themselves, are just a hair too small for the nose strut. The mains went on without any issue, but the nose are very thin and just a bit too small on their mounting holes.

 

As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited July 2, 2022 by Crew Dog

[Alex]

This is coming together beautifully.  Perseverance paying off…

[Crew Dog]

I am now on the decal/dirt phase...and as far as panel line washes go, I'm done with Humbrol

 

I began by spraying the top of the jet and the vertical stabs with Humbrol Acrylic Clear Gloss, and since I'm not fighting with the cold this time, gave it 24 hours to cure with no milkiness that I experienced with the wings. I then applied Ammo Dark Wash (an enamel-based wash) and let it set for 1-2 minutes. After setting, I dipped a Q-Tip into my enamel thinner (Humbrol Enamel Thinner) and blotting most of the excess thinner so you can really only smell it on the Q-Tip to thin out/remove excess wash, and the wash/thinner proceeded to eat through not only the clear coat, but a bit of the paint. After various head-shaking/stomping/silent-curse-muttering, I repainted the left wingtip (which was the worst spot for the pull) and applied Alclad Gloss Klear Kote. I gave that 24 hours to cure before applying a second coat of the Alclad. After letting THAT set for another 24 hours, we come to today, where I applied the wash to most of the upper surface of the jet. Whaddaya know? The enamel thinner ate through the TWO COATS of Alclad, any remaining Acrylic Gloss Clear and into the paint! Luckily, I caught it before Bad damage was done, and it jest looks like a particularly grimy spot (mainly by the leading edge slat on the left wing, so it kinda works.)

 

 

The Vertical stabs fared much better, with no noticeable paint-pull and the effect is more or less what I was going for (some rivet heads just didn't want to play.)

 

 

 

With all that said and done, I took a break from dirtying her up and moved on to applying some of the decals, mainly the Left forward fuselage section as that is the easiest for me to access without too much handling of the jet.

 

 

As you can see, I also added the ECM panel color, made by mixing Yellow, a little Dark Earth from my Spitfire and a slight (two drops) addition of Red. It was all mixed by eye, so I have no idea of the ratios

 

I will think up some sort of jig to hold the model so I can clear coat and dirty up the underside. Speaking of, I'm seriously considering moving on to Flory washes for the dirt phase, as they seem to be the easiest and clear-coat friendliest option. I figure it will be best to order now while I'm still in the UK.

 

As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

Edited July 15, 2022 by Crew Dog

[Neo]

Oh man i feel you, i had the same problem with tamiya panel wash i was pulling the clear coat away tried a bunch of different clears tam x-21 was the most resilient, but bite the bullet and got flory wash, never had another problem, it is harder to get streaking on gloss with them. 

On a side note, i did have better success using mineral spirits vs enamel thinner on washes before changing, it a little less hot

[Alex]

6 minutes ago, Neo said:

Oh man i feel you, i had the same problem with tamiya panel wash i was pulling the clear coat away tried a bunch of different clears tam x-21 was the most resilient, but bite the bullet and got flory wash, never had another problem, it is harder to get streaking on gloss with them. 

On a side note, i did have better success using mineral spirits vs enamel thinner on washes before changing, it a little less hot

- AK Interactive White Spirit as the thinner, for sure.  Enamel thinner is likely to be essentially lacquer thinner = eat through anything.

[themongoose]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:51 AM, Neo said:

Oh man i feel you, i had the same problem with tamiya panel wash i was pulling the clear coat away tried a bunch of different clears tam x-21 was the most resilient, but bite the bullet and got flory wash, never had another problem, it is harder to get streaking on gloss with them. 

On a side note, i did have better success using mineral spirits vs enamel thinner on washes before changing, it a little less hot

I moved to mineral spirits as well and started letting the clear dry for 24hrs anytime i planned to use the panel line washes. Then I followed in Neo’s footsteps and went to the Flory washes.

Neo iuse satin clear with Flory when i want some streaking.

[Crew Dog]

I can concur on this, tried the PLW on the right wing, dipped the Q-Tip in my big bottle of mineral spirits, and it did far better on the wash than the enamel thinner has. It pulled a bit more wash than I would've liked, but at least the clear coat and underlying paint was intact, which is far more important in my eyes.

[Crew Dog]

My shipment of Flory wash has arrived, and how I did models without it, I have no idea. I clear coated the underside of the jet, and while that is curing, I proceeded to apply the Flory to the undersides of the wings and the Phoenix pallets. Let me tell you, I am one of the converted! Easy application, easy clean, all paint/clear coat intact, what's not to love? I went with the Dark Wash, and it's a similar color to MiG's version. I will leave these with you to formulate your own opinions of the new wash, but I think you'll agree with me.

 

 

 

 

As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

[themongoose]

Cool, you’re on the fast track now baby! Looks great 

[Crew Dog]

I am now at a bit of a conundrum.

 

With my move coming up in a couple of weeks, I am seriously debating on finish the model completely or get 95% of it done, and leave the more fragile parts (glove pylons, TCS pod, armament, gear doors and vertical stabs) off, box them up with the rest of the model, and essentially pack as is. I plan on getting the same foam that camera operators use to pack their equipment, cut custom holes to nestle all my models (tough job on the already completed ones, I know) and secure the models as best I can, since they will be going overseas.

 

With that out of the way, decal and detail work has been continuing as and when cure times allow. I added the bare metal lips to the intakes, taping off the exterior and carefully freehanding the interior.

 

 

 

I have also opted to add the Lion Head nose art, as the majority of reference pics I've seen of her time with VF-213 show it on the jet.

 

 

I have given the areas that I touched up the Flory treatment, and will clean it up after work today, mainly to ensure the Flory has plenty of time to cure.

 

 

I may just go over the rest of the upper surface with the Flory to even everything out. I also dirtied up the glove vane pylons, and they turned out exactly how I wanted.

 

 

The last main bit to do that I know I can before packing is to paint off the tail hook, as you can see that is already underway.

 

 

Any thoughts on if I should temporarily call it a day on her and wait till the move are always welcome and appreciated.

 

As always, thanks for stopping by the hangar!

[themongoose]

I’m a wait for the move vote. Pack it up before you have the really fragile parts on it. 

[Oldbaldguy]

20 minutes ago, themongoose said:

I’m a wait for the move vote. Pack it up before you have the really fragile parts on it. 

Yep.  Ditto.  Too many opportunities for too many small parts to disappear.