Darren Roberts

Make sure you have the newer release. My first attempt had some shrinkage problems, so I redid them. Also, you have to make sure to sand down the mating surfaces in the rear fuselage area. Even the kit supplied parts are too small in diameter if you don't. You could also cut a thin disk from sheet styrene to simulate the "ring" the is between the nozzle and the fairing area. I had it on my original master, but took it off of the second one. This would help with any discrepency in fit.

I've got RTV on the way and I'll do some casting shortly. Look for them around the end of April.

Here's a couple of pictures of Ripper 112 before I send them off to Steve. The base kit is the R/M with no rescribing done to it. Intake and nozzle covers are Steel Beach as well as all the humps and bumps. I experimented with modifying Khan's weathering and was pretty happy with the way it turned out. I've got a couple more things I want to try out on the next one.

If you're doing a Delta Tomcat, the reason the area around the engine looks darker in pictures is because it's actually a carbon fiber material. It doesn't have a metallic look to it, so I use flat black and it works like a charm.

I absolutely LOVE MM Acryls for brush painting. I never airbrush my cockpits. I simply brush paint Acryl Dark Gull Gray and after 2 coats, it's ready to be detailed. I've even painted an entire 1/72 Tomcat model with a brush, and you can't tell the difference. I've never had great luck with the Pollyscale products.

Here's my favorite, the R/M F-14 kit, done up in VF-11's new markings. Not much of a change, just the AA and the 100 series sidenumbers, but these are the last markings they will be in. The Rippers will be swapping airwing assignments with the Jolly Rogers, who will go to CVW-7 and the AG tailcode. As far as the kit is concerned, it has the Steel Beach F-14A/B update and FOD covers with Twobobs decals. I need to add the canopy in the down position, a set of covered nozzles, and the other fiddly bits. Then it will be packed up and taken with me to Oceana next week to be given to one of the squa

As always, a job well done, Mike. Another fine example of what can be done with the R/M kit. Now, get crackin' on the next one! :P

Okay, here's my 1/72 collection so far. I have 20 of 32 squadrons done (or nearly done). The others will get done over time. The final picture is how they are displayed in my dingy, messy basement. Note the spider webs hanging from the ceiling. I actually didn't even notice them until I took the picture!

I need a favor from you.

Okay guys, I know you've been getting ancy. Here's the latest update as of today. I talked with a company that cuts vinyl, and they will be cutting my FOD covers for me. I will have 30 of each (red and black) initially made in both 1/48 and 1/72. To offset the price of the cutting, I will have to charge $5 for a pair of covers. This is a slight increase over the original price. Sorry about that, but now you will never be without them! The guy who's casting my A/B, D, and Lantirn sets has the molds made and is beginning to produce sets. They should be ready in about a week or two. One change is

Great job, Sponge. The finish and weathering is fantastic. One thing you might want to do is take off the tall TACAN antenna that is further back from the cockpit and replace it with the standard short antenna. The tall TACAN antenna behind the canopy is correct, though. Again, great looking model.

You can actually still get the second beaver tail (without the dialectric panels) from the Hasegawa kit. You simply cut away the dialectric panels, fill the gap/seam with putty, and you've got the second beaver tail that's in the Fujimi kit.

Beautifully executed model! The finish looks fantastic and the overall look is very appealing. I like the addition of the Eduard set. It adds just that needed touch to an otherwise decent cockpit. You may want to use a needle for the alpha probe on the tip of the nose. That will give a nice, streamlined look to the chubby Academy nose section. Great job! Now, get the fiddly bits done and get that picture sent over to Steve.

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info!

Nope, no ECM blisters. In fact, one of the a/c has the original beaver tail, and that was in 1989. I hadn't realized those had hung around for so long.

I found an interesting little tidbit about Gypsy 207. I was looking at the picture in Tomcat Alley and realized that the gun vent is the early style that went along with the original beaver tail. The BuNo is such that it had the standard beaver tail, but the only way to get the early style gun vent is in the VF-1 Wolfpack Hasegawa kit, which doesn't come with the standard beaver tail. For most, it won't matter, but I thought it was an interesting little fact about the aircraft.

Yeah, that was it. It was Kaan who did it! I couldn't remember, but that was it. He did a fabulous job on his Hornet. It really does give a good effect. I can't wait to see what it looks like when I add some dirt streaks.

Lookin' great, Jotter! But only two? Come on, quick slackin' and get crackin'!

I had some time last night, so I pulled out a Tomcat I was building for VF-11 and decided to try something new. I remember reading an article on ARC about spraying dark gray on the panel lines before going back over it with a light gray. I thought that author did a phenominal job of capturing the look of the touched up areas, so I thought I'd give it a try. Also included were three different hues of the base color to break up the monotone finish as well as pastel work over the entire base color before adding the spot priming. The final step was lightly highlighting the raised panel lines with

I'd like to just make a comment on the preshading. This in no way impunes your work, which is very, very nice. I also realize that when someone does a model, they can do it any way they want. I also don't want to sound like a jerk! However, most panel lines on TPS aircraft are not darker, but lighter than the surrounding panels. Preshading gives the opposite effect of what is on most Navy aircraft. What preshading can be used for to good effect is to break up the monotone finish of the base color and give it some tonal variations. This would be all over, though, and not just along panel lines.

No Darren, I don't believe it was. John From the first pic, it looks as though the LANTIRN is black. That would be very interesting to put on a model.

Interesting how pictures can be so deceiving! Is the LANTIRN covered, too?

That first picture is COOL! The black chin pod and LANTIRN pod with the 2 stars on it would be a very unique thing on a model. They are usually gray, though.

Maybe like this? I took the lower front portion from the Revell kit and grafted it in front of the Academy wheel bay. I did use the Revell sidewalls, though, as they fit much better than the Academy 4 piece bay. You will need to shim the starboard side with some plastic to aleviate a gap that exists, and you need to sand down the Academy gun muzzle piece, as it stands a bit tall. My test fitting has shown that it should go together nicely, though. Oh, you also have to bend the Academy gun muzzle part a little bit to get the correct shape into the Revell part.

I was thinking about that. As soon as I get some multiple molds poured, I think I'll make them available for $1/tail. You're right about the decal collection never getting used. That's what started me on the idea!