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Tamiya /32nd scale F-14A Black Knights edition


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The intakes were fairly dirty actually. The paint was stained so the intakes were not perfectly white but white with a tan tint to it. The one pictured above is fairly typical. The only time they were pristine white was ofter they were painted and it didn't last long like that.

The rear ramp is actually in the stowed position, it did not retract fully up. Only the front two (use there was two, the front one was two piece. That panel line you scriped was the line between the number one and number two ramp) stowed fully flush with the top of the intake.

The demarcation line for the intake you describe is correct. Also, the intake grey was the same color as the bottom/side of the jet so you are again correct.

HTH

Reddog :salute:

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Hiya Guy,

Well it looks like you came through afterall, just as I figured you would. I'm hardly an expert, as I am sure 99% of the people that will see this are as well, but it looks convincing to me. Filling in the lead edge as Chuck suggested shouldn't be that difficult though. Good to see progress on it again.

Cheers

Mike

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Hi guys,

Great photo of the intake tunnel Chuck. Thanks for posting that shot, it'll come in very useful soon. And thanks for the info too. I'll take your advice regarding the wheel well roof when I get that far, cheers.

Anders, Marcel, Robert, good to see you blokes here. I'm glad that you like the slow progress, albeit steady and sure.......

Hi Reddog, thanks for checking in with my build. Your input is always welcome. I appreciate the help.

Hello Mike and JMan, thanks for dropping in. It's good to hear from you. I look forward to seeing some updates before too long eh?

This is a short update due to the my home decorating commitments but I'm trying to steal a minute here and a minute there to work on the Tomcat.

First up, a pic of the modifications to the left hand wheel bay.

tn_F-14intakes027.jpg

Once again I've hacked away the wall of the rearmost bay but this time I've gone a step further, I've removed the wheel bay roof aswell..... :worship:

I noticed on the right side bay that I ran out of depth for some of the added details so this is an attempt to allow more room for the plumbing. It's hard to predict whether these mods will have ramifications further down the line. It will become an issue if the bird is lopsided because my modified wheel bay can't support the weight of the finished bird. Time will tell eh?

In the same photo you might be able to make out the enlarged opening for the MLG leg brace. The rectangular slot that Tamiya provides looked a bit meagre when compared to refs. Also, you might notice the NACA duct is hollowed out too. I took the time to add the strengthening rib in the opening just for kicks.

Changing tack now and back to the intakes again. I've smoothed the transition inside the intake tunnel a bit so it's less noticable now.......not gone but,....less noticable :thumbsup: As Anders mentioned, it's pretty dark in the depths of the trunking so I've got my fingers crossed that it won't be glaringly obvious.

What is obvious is the front lip of the rear variable ramp when it is lowered slightly. I was staring at my copy of the DACO book and came to the conclusion that the kit part is perhaps a little on the thick side.

If you care to scroll upward a bit and have a look at the topmost piccie you might see what I mean.

So,.........I've begun to thin the lip down a bit. Compare the two parts in the pic below.

tn_F-14intakes029.jpg

I'm using the pics on p22/p23 in the DACO publication as a reference but it appears that I'll need to add some material to the ramp to get the correct overall shape. If I can get any time at the bench I'll try to post a pic of what I mean tomorrow.

Cheers,

:worship:

Edited by geedubelyer
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Hello Alexander, nice to see you. I owe you an e-mail my friend. I'll get to it soon ;) Very nice work on those missiles :thumbsup:

I confess I did n't get much done on the ramp today, too much decorating, not enough modelling! :monkeydance:

However, I did manage a little time at the bench this evening so here's what I meant by the addition of extra material to the top of the ramp.

tn_Intakeramp001.jpg

Perhaps this detail won't be too obvious in the dark of the intake but if I'm lucky, some of it may be seen.

tn_Intakeramp004.jpg

Some depth is restored to the ramp when viewed from the front yet the leading edge is still nice and thin.

I also added a strip of foil along the top of the lip and pressed some rivets into it. A wash should help see these later......

tn_Intakeramp006.jpg

That's about all I can do to the intakes now until I've finished the right hand wheel bay so I'll be back with more pics of that area in due course.

Until then, ciao.... :nanner:

:cheers:

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Hi, Guy! Firstly, tnx much for my work appreciation.

Nice progress on the intake' interior. Yeah, this mammoth project is a real battle but eventually

you'll defeate her! But now a tactic task is to win a victory over the intakes! :cheers:

Keen to see more!

Cheers and happy modeling!

Alexander.

:woot.gif:

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Those intakes look very realistic, geedub! I just love the shots of the intake trunking with compressors partly visible. They could be from a real F-14!

Awesome details - something I personally value very much. I mean an extremely (dimensionally) accurate model is always a great achievement, but without those tiny details it just doesn't come to life.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

I'd like to thank you blokes for the words of support and encouragement. :thumbsup:

Your enthusiasm is the life blood of this build and I greatly appreciate your contributions.

I've been steadily plodding along tinkering with this and that so I thought I'd post one or two pics of the latest escapades.

As I mentioned before, construction of the left hand wheel bay has commenced so while bits and pieces are drying I started some work to the upper fuselage area covering the wing joints.

First thing to do was hollow out the four lights ready for some acetate at a later date...

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents003.jpg

The colours of these lights is pretty dark but I took the plunge and removed the solid plastic anyway. Time will tell whether this is really necessary because Tamiya red and green translucent paints over black would probably give a similar effect. :unsure:

Next up, the two open vents either side of the fuselage. Tamiya made a lovely job of molding these two vents but each of the vanes is perpendicular to the centre line. Most of the reference pics seem to show the vanes angled back a little (although I have spotted one shot where the real vanes are perpendicular) so since replacing them will allow views into the radiators beneath, I opted to replace them. :wave:

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents002.jpg

Many of you seasoned modellers and old hands will be used to removing areas of your kits but if there are any less experienced members reading who are unsure of how to cut the material away, here are the steps I used.....

First, use a drill bit and drill a few holes around the perimeter of the panel you wish to remove. This is often known as "chain drilling".

.

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents005.jpg

(The closer that you get the holes to one another, the easier the next step is.)

Next, cut through the plastic between the holes to remove most of the material.

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents006.jpg

Follow this with some filing. I've used various files to neaten the hole edge.

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents007.jpg

Some final shaping finishes the job off.

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents009.jpg

So, now I've got a big hole in my model, what to do with it? Well, you know my fondness for metal foil ^_^

Yep, let's fashion the vanes from strips of foil.

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents010.jpg

tn_Tomcatupperfuselagevents011.jpg

One problem I'm finding is getting the correct angle of the vanes both in the vertical and horizontal axis. From some angles these look ok, from others I'm less sure. If you feel like adding your thoughts then fire away.

These five vanes took less than an hour to do and it's an easy fix to do them over if the general concensus is to alter them. Perhaps the Tomcat experts could chime in please?

Cheers guys.

:cheers:

Edited by geedubelyer
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...

One problem I'm finding is getting the correct angle of the vanes both in the vertical and horizontal axis. From some angles these look ok, from others I'm less sure. If you feel like adding your thoughts then fire away.

These five vanes took less than an hour to do and it's an easy fix to do them over if the general concensus is to alter them. Perhaps the Tomcat experts could chime in please?

...

No Tomcat expert but to my eyes you're on the right track there, keep at it! :thumbsup:

Great stuff with those metal foil vanes, Guy. You even captured those tiny angled used to secure the vanes - very nice!

I'm planning to go with plastic vanes on my build and have no clear idea how to render the very same detail. Tamiya tape? Will have to do some more thinking...

Also, looking forward to see those MLG wheel wells all detailed and painted up! :wave:

Cheers,

Anders

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Great work as usual Guy.

My only reservation with using the foil bits is strength. They look terrific, but will they hold up to the odd bump? I'd have heart failure if they broke on mine after I finished the build. Maybe I'm just too rough with stuff.

One thing of note that you may have thought of already is to paint under those engine vents before you glue them on. I painted mine today, so now I can attach the tops and plug off the entire vent when I finally get around to painting the fuselage. I've never had any luck spraying into a cavity and you also don't want to get any paint into those pretty intakes you've assembled. <_<

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Great stuff so far Guy.....I am way behind on your skill level so I usually keep it quiet but for some odd reason the second picture of the vanes seems as though the metal foil are tilted foward......is this correct? is it an optical illusion???? i could be going crazy, started using a gas mask for airbrushing but SWMBO swears that Ive already killed some brain cells

edit: lol, just noticed my sign in thingie says "Snap-Together".....made me spit out my coke.....

Edited by cheese
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Great stuff so far Guy.....I am way behind on your skill level so I usually keep it quiet but for some odd reason the second picture of the vanes seems as though the metal foil are tilted foward......is this correct? is it an optical illusion???? i could be going crazy, started using a gas mask for airbrushing but SWMBO swears that Ive already killed some brain cells

I think he's trying to replicate this....

SideVent.jpg

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these are playing mind games on me then......just seems like they are tilted forward in one of the pics...........thats allright, ill shetup now :worship:

Edited by cheese
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...

Next up, the two open vents either side of the fuselage. Tamiya made a lovely job of molding these two vents but each of the vanes is perpendicular to the centre line. Most of the reference pics seem to show the vanes angled back a little (although I have spotted one shot where the real vanes are perpendicular) so since replacing them will allow views into the radiators beneath, I opted to replace them.

...

Guy, I just had a thought; are you sure the angle of the vanes are the same between the port and starboard grills?

It just hit me that I haven't seen a clear overall pic showing both vents in the same view, and looking at the Hasegawa 1/72nd kit it seems like the vanes are angled differently with one having vanes at a more perpendicular angle to the surrounding frame. The Hasegawa 1/4th kit on the other hand, has the vents being perfectly mirrored with the vanes at the same angle.

I may be off here and it may be an error made by Hasegawa, but I thought I'd mention it for your consideration.

Just hope I don't cause any unnessecary confusion... :whistle:

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Great work as usual Guy.

My only reservation with using the foil bits is strength. They look terrific, but will they hold up to the odd bump? I'd have heart failure if they broke on mine after I finished the build. Maybe I'm just too rough with stuff.

One thing of note that you may have thought of already is to paint under those engine vents before you glue them on. I painted mine today, so now I can attach the tops and plug off the entire vent when I finally get around to painting the fuselage. I've never had any luck spraying into a cavity and you also don't want to get any paint into those pretty intakes you've assembled.

Hi Chuck, thanks for reminding me to paint the inside of the vents. I'd have forgotten for sure and there's no way of painting down inside there without getting paint everywhere. BTW, are you using white for the lip that protrudes down inside the vent?

As for the foil, I'll keep my fingers crossed that they're strong enough. So far so good anyway....

I'm planning to go with plastic vanes on my build and have no clear idea how to render the very same detail. Tamiya tape? Will have to do some more thinking...

Cheers,

Anders

Hi Anders, I'm not sure how you'd replicate the little bits using Tamiya tape. They are really tiny and whenever I've tried that, I always end up with them stuck to the cocktail stick and not the model.... :banana: Good luck with that. If it's any help, for the opposite side of the vane, I used lead flattened lead wire which is easy to shape.
Guy, I just had a thought; are you sure the angle of the vanes are the same between the port and starboard grills?

It just hit me that I haven't seen a clear overall pic showing both vents in the same view, and looking at the Hasegawa 1/72nd kit it seems like the vanes are angled differently with one having vanes at a more perpendicular angle to the surrounding frame. The Hasegawa 1/4th kit on the other hand, has the vents being perfectly mirrored with the vanes at the same angle.

I may be off here and it may be an error made by Hasegawa, but I thought I'd mention it for your consideration.

Just hope I don't cause any unnessecary confusion...

Cheers,

Anders

Hmm,....now you've got me thinking. Indeed, Chuck posted a similar photo to the one above on another thread (can't remember which thead right now) which showed the right hand side vent with 10 perpendicular vanes instead of the 9 angled ones shown above. The photos are very similar and would appear to be off the same bird. Can you throw any light on this one please Chuck?

As luck would have it though, I've found a lovely shot of the back of a 'Reapers bird (Gunfighter163) in the Parsons/Hall/Lawson book, "Bye-Bye Baby.." p28/29, where the vents are mirrored so I'll go with that style.

I certainly appreciate you bringing this to my attention though. Good eyes and it's comforting to know that you've got me covered, cheers. :whistle: Let me know the instant you think of anything else, ok? Could save me a world of pain! :banana:

Hi cheese, thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts, I appreciate it. It's all done with smoke and mirrors ya know! :) I think the effect must be an optical illusion though. I promise you the vanes all point in the right direction. Whether or not they're realistic is another matter.....

Hi TOMCATFANATIC, thanks for dropping by. I'm pleased that you like the show so far but I can't promise to finish any time soon. This looks like it might take some time. I hope you'll stick with it to the end though.

Cheers guys,

:banana:

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Hi Chuck, thanks for reminding me to paint the inside of the vents. I'd have forgotten for sure and there's no way of painting down inside there without getting paint everywhere. BTW, are you using white for the lip that protrudes down inside the vent?

Aw Man, now I wish I knew if it should be white or not. Oh well, it's Medium Grey now!

Hmm,....now you've got me thinking. Indeed, Chuck posted a similar photo to the one above on another thread (can't remember which thead right now) which showed the right hand side vent with 10 perpendicular vanes instead of the 9 angled ones shown above. The photos are very similar and would appear to be off the same bird. Can you throw any light on this one please Chuck?

I'll dig through my pics and see if I can find you another shot. Personally, I can't see why both sides shouldn't be mirror images of each other, but you never know. You also have to believe that some F-14's may have been at 90 degrees on some versions while the pic above is clearly at a slight angle, which is of an F-14D. Maybe earlier F-14A's were straight?

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Guy, some righteous work going into this baby :D

Hmm,....now you've got me thinking. Indeed, Chuck posted a similar photo to the one above on another thread (can't remember which thead right now) which showed the right hand side vent with 10 perpendicular vanes instead of the 9 angled ones shown above. The photos are very similar and would appear to be off the same bird. Can you throw any light on this one please Chuck?

As luck would have it though, I've found a lovely shot of the back of a 'Reapers bird (Gunfighter163) in the Parsons/Hall/Lawson book, "Bye-Bye Baby.." p28/29, where the vents are mirrored so I'll go with that style.

If you check out pages 26/27 of the Daco book you can the see 9 vanes of the port duct angle back, more than the 10 vanes of the starboard duct (both on the Reapers AD164 and the Felix D's)

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