TomcatFanatic123
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Posts posted by TomcatFanatic123
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Gordon and Sprue Brothers are always 100% on point!
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I, for one, cannot WAIT! I'm all in for both this and the AMK offering as well. My only complaint is that I don't like the working swing wings. Tomcat kit manufacturers need to get on board with the Hasegawa wing method. I guarantee most serious modelers are going to build kit, say "this will have the wings full swept" or "this one will have the wings extended," and that'll just be the end of it. I highly doubt they'll be walking by their shelves and stopping to play with the wings. The "operational" Tomcat wings make it a PITA to paint, but at the end of the day, I can get past that. If this kit is on the same level as their Viper, then I've died and gone to heaven 10,000 times. Envisioning a OEF-era Black Aces bombcat!
Just as an aside, and not a complaint, but is it just me, or do I see some scaled down 1:32 in there?
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I rarely drink anywhere near my model bench. I am too clumsy and would probably knock the glass over and make a mess.
Yes, this...
:rolleyes:/>
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Thanks guys.
Hmm...yeah, I think I am still interested in this one :)
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From the pics I just googled, it looks like the guns have been removed ...
There looks to be a "stinger" antenna just under where the guns were mounted ..
HTH...
-Gregg
Appreciate it Gregg, but I should have been more clear. I meant the tail guns on the kit. I know the tail guns were long gone by 2001. I Googled it and could only come up with images of the one kit with the old school silver and white scheme. Thank you for taking the time to look, though.
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I've been debating the Minicraft 1/144 BUFF, but the tail gun issue is hanging me up a bit. It says right on the box that it is the current version, and the decal options give (if I recall correctly) OEF 20th BS LA-coded airframes based out of Barksdale. The profiles on the side of the box seem to show them with a tail gun, but I can't be 100% sure. I'd love to do a modern BUFF, but I also don't want to have to do surgery to eliminate that tail gun like the Revell kit had you do.
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This is just me playing devil's advocate here. I'm just going to the extreme for discussion and thoughtful ruminations: Get the tattoo. Then, after the infection sets in and you and your family have their finances decimated trying to keep you alive, ask yourself if the tattoo was worth all of it.
This was among the things the family brought up as well. And a friend of mine who happens to be an RN and agreed with my doc said "I see the way you're thinking. The infection would just kill you nice and quick and it'd be over and done. That'd be great, but you could end up laying in a hospital for two, three, six months or even years, just slowly getting life sucked out of you. Yeah, sure none of that may happen, but what if it does?"
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Does your heart condition mean you could have a heart attack and need CPR? Does your GF and family know what to do if that happens?
I think you need to find balance....you need to live your life...but not be too reckless and try to do things that will improve your health.....exercising or resting or eating certain food...I do know eating a big steak before bed is bad if you have a weak heart because red meat takes much energy to digest and this can cause a heart attack in your sleep eating a steak before bed.
So out of consideration of them you could be proactive with your health as much as you can.
BUT....you do need to live your life.
Story time.
I had a friend....big alcoholic....never settled down...womanizer....got a girl pregnant and never knew it until the son showed up 20 years later. He just abused his health all his life. At 52 he had a massive heart attack...should have killed him......but he lived but had a very weak heart after that. He met a quiet woman and decided to settle down and do the family thing.....stopped drinking...had a daughter at 53 and always lived with the thought today could be my last. He watched his weight....lived a good life and died at 80 of cancer.
Don't forget to live your life, but also try to extend your life as much as you can...life is a gift to be enjoyed as long as we can. And don't forget you could make another persons life much better with your input in their life.
Never assume you won't live a long time....you could very well live much longer than you or your Doctor expect.
Steve,
I've been told by my doctor to expect anything to happen at any time. He said it could be a quick, within seconds, before-you-can-blink, CPR-may-save-you-but-probably-not type event (which is an annoyance, because I really would like to go travel by myself, and I happen to enjoy my solitude a lot, but that's "discouraged" because of this possibility), or a slow, gradual downturn in my health over time, or something totally unrelated to my heart problem, but is brought on by a weakened immune system (i.e. a bad infection, out of control common cold, serious bout of the flu, etc.). When I was a patient at UCLA and Stanford, I made a lot of those doctors look silly, because without a heart/lung transplant, they said I was a goner by time time I was 18, 19, or if I got lucky, maybe 21. I chose then not to have the transplant and make do with my original organs. The doctors tried to convince me to go transplant, but in my mind, the cons outweighed the pros, because according to the numbers, within 5 years after a heart/lung transplant, the majority of recipients are either looking for a new set, or worse, and 3 years after that, the same thing, and so on. Well, I'm 35 years old now, still have my same heart, same lungs, and in my opinion, strong as hell. Yes, I had one "near miss" about 12 years or so ago, which was horrid, but I fought like a madman and won (come to think of it, I kind of blame that "near miss" for making me a cocky as I am, sometimes feeling like I can do or get away with more than I probably should...LOL).
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Thank you all so much for the replies. I'm 35 years old don't have children, and yes, I am very fortunate to have a family that loves and cares about me as much as they do. This story here kind of sums up the basic gist of what I'm getting at by taking a risk or two, and not being afraid of what "might" happen. For years, I've wanted to get a tattoo. Not a gigantic sleeve, nothing overly huge, nothing that was going to take hours up on hours up on days to do, but just something small and simple. It kind of got put on the back burner, but recently I revisited the idea. I went to a shop, talked to an artist to look further into it, and I felt it was appropriate to come clean and explain to them my issue...I have a heart/lung condition which makes me more susceptible to infection, and I'm on a blood thinner, which makes me a bleeding risk. The artist explained to me that he would need an OK from my doctor saying that I'm good to go before he could do anything, but if I got that, he would be glad to work on me. Next time I visited my cardiologist, I asked him "hey doc, I'm interested in getting some ink done, but the shop wants an 'OK' from you. Is that cool?" This was how the conversation went...
Doc: I don't think so. With blood thinners and risk of infection involved, unless you're having it done in a hospital, I just think it's too risky.
Me: Can you explain?
Doc: First, you're on a blood thinner. We'd have to stop the blood thinners about 4-5 days prior to the work, which increases your chance for a stroke. If you don't stop the blood thinner, the bleeding could get bad. Second, an infection for you is much more dangerous than an infection for a healthy person. You'd have a difficult time fighting that infection off. I'm not saying the shop is dirty or anything, but no matter how clean and reputable this shop is, it's not going to be as sterile as an operating room, so, no matter how you slice it, the risk of infection is much higher. With your condition, I just don't think it's a good idea.
Me: Is it really that risky, though? I mean, what's the chances of something bad happening?
Doc: Honestly, I don't know what the chances of something happening are, but if something did happen, it would be really bad.
Me: But I'm OK with all that. If something bad does happen, then, hey, it is what it is.
After hearing that, of course my family sides with what the doctor said ("look, we know this was something you wanted to do, but is it worth possibly risking your life for it?"). Yeah, I kind of thought it was worth the risk. I was perfectly OK with it. I still think about just finding a different shop and artist and just not saying anything about my issues at all, and whatever happens, happens.
With me, it's not so much wanting to engage in Russian Roulette-type risky behaviors, it's more of just always wanting more. Like I said, pushing as close to the edge as I possibly can. Prime example of that: I enjoy going to the gym to work out. With my heart, I'm not "supposed" to lift anything too heavy. Doc said around 30 lbs. is enough for me. I'm the type of person that's going to go "OK, there's 30 lbs. and I'm fine. I could probably go 35 lbs." and so on and so forth. I see it as "Well, I've got away with doing such-and-such without any negative repercussions for such a long time, so, hey, it must be OK keep pushing it." and my family sees it as "Yeah, you've got away with doing such-and-such for a long time with nothing bad happening, but one of these days..."
Again, thanks again to everybody who chimed in here.
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I don't know if I've mentioned this here before, but myself and my loved ones clash quite a bit when it comes to how I handle my heart condition. I enjoy being a bit risky, and it doesn't bother me to stick my neck out there a little bit. Hell, I'll admit it, I want to push myself as absolutely close to the edge as I possibly can. At the same time, I also understand that with my medical issues, everything is a bit more risky for me then it is for a normal, healthy person. My family obviously wants me to be more conservative (I dare say "walk on eggshells"), and be, in my opinion, ridiculously over-cautious, and minimize every possible risk there is. I've told people before...hey, look, I'm not purposely hunting for trouble or trying to find something to happen to me, but if, Heaven forbid, something bad does go down? I'm totally OK with it. As far as the family goes? I told them, "look, it's OK to be sad for a few days, but just say your goodbyes, keep me in your heart, and for God's sake, get over it and move the hell on with life. And if you can't do that? Sorry, not my problem." Well, according to the family, this is a selfish attitude to have because, "it's not as easy as 'just getting over it and moving on with life,' and I take life for granted and don't 'value' it." My loved ones are near and dear to my heart, and they are incredibly important in my life, but I'm not going to sit there and go "OK, if I did this and something happens, how will this affect Mom, Dad, Grandma, girlfriend, my friends, etc." I'm sorry, but I live my life for me first, not for anybody else. I'm expected to sacrifice something I want to do just because it may be a bit too "risky" and endanger me a little bit? Sorry, I can't do that. Am I being a butthead to my family/friends, or is this OK on my part? Don't hold back...be honest!
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VF-74 flew some nice B models. The full colour bird with the Olympic rings looks nice. Fightertown has a sheet too.
Yeah I really like that Olympic Rings bird. I'm about to start another one, and I've narrowed my choice down to either that one or one off their VF-101 sheet.
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Sailor's don't blush! We just curse louder!!!!
:lol:
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Good call. There's a little control stick thing that came with the LANTIRN pod; that must be what you're talking about. Sticks will be getting painted and going in tonight. :thumbsup:/>/>
Really? I dry fit it and it went in without issue. Do things become dicier once the wheel well and IP shrouds go in?
So I had a look-about the web for decal alternatives. Geez, you'd think that only VF-103 flew the tomcat, based on what is available :rolleyes:/>/>
I wonder if they've maybe re-tooled those side panels. The three times I've had a go at this kit, I had to shear a decent amount of those triangular shaped side panels off to get it to fit. And there's threads around (I'll see if I can find them) that discuss that issue too. I'm so happy you didn't have any problems with it. That is awesome! Excellent!
EDIT: HERE'S that thread. And this was the same problem I ran into with the pit.
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Watch the fit of that cockpit tub in the front fuselage halves. You will use curse words that would make a sailor blush...
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I build for a few reasons. One, my lifelong dream, if a basketball career never materialized, was to be a fighter pilot. Well, because of a heart/lung issue, neither career came to be. Building models is about the closest I'll get to being a pilot. Plus, I've learned so much by building different kits and coming to places like this asking questions.
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I have to give a shout-out to Sprue Bros. I ordered a bunch of Steel Beach Tomcat stuff on Wednesday night at like 2200 hrs. First thing Thursday morning (less than 12 hrs. later), a shipping confirmation shows up in my e-mail inbox. Talk about not wasting any time! That is beyond awesome in my book!
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Had a 5 or 6 acre brush fire break out in the field across the street from me today, so the Fire/Sheriff UH-1H was dropping water. Actually got sprayed with some of his residual water blown on me by the wind after one of his drops as I stood outside watching the excitement...LOL. We had winds gusting up to 40 mph today, so not only could the fire have turned out to be a lot worse than it was, it had to be a beeyotch to hold that thing in a hover.
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I can't really answer your question since I haven't seen the other versions, but I do have the KC-135R in my stash, and I have to give Minicraft credit...they did engineer the engines very well as far as hiding seams and such go. The engine assembly for their JSTARS and E-3 kits are a pain in the keester as far as dealing with seams go.
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There's been an upswing of T-38 activity around Vandenberg the last few days. Caught a two ship of them earlier this week (not NASA...most likely ED or BB) over my house, then saw a single black one (almost certainly BB) inbound on Thursday.
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Yeah, this was a tough loss :'(
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Just out of curiosity...some decal sheets for Naval aircraft (mostly Tomcats and Hornets) show the tailhooks without stripes, and some show them still having the stripes. Is it just kind of a hit or miss type thing if the tailhook has stripes or not, or are they completely phased out? Either way, I have noticed that I see hardly any of the high-viz black and white striped ones anymore. Now, most of the time it's light gray/dark gray stripes.
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Ah, gotcha! That makes perfect sense. Thanks!
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Manfred, just out of curiosity, how close are you to being finished with this project? It really is fantastic work. Better than fantastic.
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Were loose/hangy things such as exhaust covers, intake covers, pitot tube covers, etc. allowed on aircraft sitting on the flight deck? I know they were cool on the hangar deck, but I was kind of thinking they'd be a no-no up top because 1) a flight deck can get windy and it's already dangerous enough without extraneous crap blowing about, and 2) if a cover got loose it could cause a lot of FOD issues, even if there were no flight ops underway at the time, BUT today, while Googling photos (coincidentally this happens to be the exact airframe I'm building), I stumbled across this photo...which means I *could*, in fact, put a Tomcat on a flight deck diorama with covers on it? Would this be a rare event, or am I wrong and was it pretty common to have aircraft on the flight deck with covers and such on it?
Tamiya 1/48th F-14 Sept 2016
in Jet Modeling
Posted · Edited by TomcatFanatic123
Yeah, this was kind of a downer, but it is what it is. I'm still all in on this one (and the future AMK release).
Maybe I missed it on the sprue shots, but are there options for the new NACA gun vents and up-to-date chinpod, or is it all old school? Judging by the included markings (Alphas from VF-84 and VF-2), it may only be old school.