geedubelyer Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 (edited) Hulloo guys 'n' gals, Good to see you all, hope all is well with you. Once again I am overwhelmed by your support and enthusiasm. Thanks everyone, I appreciate every comment. Hi David, cheers mate. To be honest, I'd taken the photos on Saturday but just uploaded them on Sunday. I start work early in the week so my body clock wakes me at 06:00am regardless of which day it is..... (I do get to see the sun rise though so that's good) Hi Alexander, Jan, thanks you guys. I'm glad you like the progress to date. I'm quite happy with how the footwell of each pit turned out. I think it was more luck than judgement though....... Hello Frederick, good to see you man, how are you keeping? Finished that Lawn Dart yet? Glad you like the drawing, feel free to use it if it helps. Charlie Cheetah, Mike and Maker, cheers guys. I'm pleased that you like the way the cockpit looks so far and thanks for the kind words. It's good of you all to add your thoughts So I guess I can nearly put the cockpit to bed and start on the seats now. I've managed to paint up the rear bulkhead with all of those circuit breakers and finished the RIO left hand console too. The only thing left to do would be to pick out the pipes behind the seat again but I don't think any of that will be seen with the seat in place. If anyone is ever considering a maintenance diorama with the seat(s) removed, the Aires resin set has every detail included. Stellar aftermarket set and well worth the dosh IMHO. :wub: This is how it looks with the sidewalls fixed in place temporarily. I'll have to make the seam good on the cloth by the pilots' left elbow otherwise I can fix these sidewalls when I'm ready. If you peer hard enough, you should be able to make out the addition of the various levers and knobs that adorn the walls of the pit. Here's a closer look at that rear bulkhead. The yellow warning placards are painted Now, onto the seats....... Let me remind you of the stock item Beautifully rendered version of a factory fresh GRU-7 but apparently the seats rarely looked like this in the real bird after a while. Reddog explained in another thread that the seat pads and cushions were usually replaced. The replacements rarely had the pleating seen on the factory pads but were a more uniform shape and plain cloth. Looking at many reference photos of actual in service Tomcats will show what I mean. The first job is to remove the factory seat pads and to do this I had to snip off a couple of parts....... I've kept them to replace them later. You might question my thinking on this and ask why I did n't just fill the grooves. Let me explain...... From studying refs I concluded that the seat pads regularly became flattened by use so the Aires parts are too full for the look I am after. Removing them allows the builder to start from scratch and fabricate alternative items. I sanded and filed, sawed and hacked the seat pads until I'd removed most of the excess. I then used two-pack modelling putty to try to create flattened and tatty examples... I've attempted to avoid the square, uniform, pristeen look of the originals and hope that a coat of paint will cover all ills....... Watch this space Edited December 17, 2009 by geedubelyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Mama mia! :wub: Holy cr*p! That's fantastic, amazing, stunning! Very neat paint work! Very, very impressive! Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Awesome awesome awesome! One of the best cockpits I have ever seen, if not the best. Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Zactoman Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I can clearly see the seam where you Photoshopped pictures of the real cockpit onto the Aires part. Nice try. :D But seriously, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 If those seats come out half as good as your cockpit, you've got a home run for excellent work- again. It may take awhile, but this is shaping up to be the best 1/32 Tamiya F-14A build ever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Wow... again - wow. Love the cockpit work. One note - Don't worry about that seam at the pilot's elbow. It's two separate pieces and not attached. The piece of canvas that covered the wiring aft of the panel was a different piece than what was attached to the sidewall. -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 One word......AWESOME!!!!!! The seat is spot one, trust me, I have enough time climbing/sitting/digging through them then I care to remember. The Cockpit is exactly like the real thing, right down to the yellow circuit breakers, truly amazing. Reddog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 What can I say, Guy... really impressive cockpit work! Your attention to detail make me think I'm looking at the the real thing here. I have removed the factory cushions from my Aires seats but that's also all progress I've made on my build so far. However, seeing your progress on the cockpit and those seats I now can't wait to get back to my Tomcat. Just have to finish my new workbench first, any day now... Keep it up! Cheers, Anders Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dpwatson Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Looking like those seats are off on a good start in your more than capable hands!! I dont beleive you painted those plackards! lol how do you get the "squigles" to look like writing? David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) ^~~~~believe it, he did it :o . Guy, it's modelers like you that the makers hope will get their hands on a kit and have lesser stars in the magnitude thinking they will get similar results and go crazy buying the kit. You probably help sell more kits than the advertising ever did. Another fantastic masterpiece in the making. Ya finished yet . Edited December 18, 2009 by Angels49 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rom Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 LEGEN... ... ... ... ... ... wait for it ... ... ... ... ... DARY!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Good Grief Guy. (Hereinafter GGG to save typing) that cockpit is... gah... words escape me right now. I felt pretty good putting 8 or 9 measly little dials and a dozen switches in the Ford... There must be hundreds you had to do. If I had to do that on this scale I'd be checking into a rubber room after. Simply spectacular. Between you and John W, Timmy and Pete, I think the word "Master" is an understatement. Thanks for your suggestion I try the chicken scratches on foil. I'm going to play around a little with the CB Box on the Ford and see if I can improve it any. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I just L U V that pit! So thoroughly detailed that I can't keep my eyes off it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jminer Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Holy Cats, Guy! That's some fantastic work you've done......yet again. :) Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted December 26, 2009 Author Share Posted December 26, 2009 Hi everybody. Seasons greetings to one and all. I hope your holidays are going well and that everyone is beavering away merrily on their new gifts from Santa...... :) It's fantastic to read everyones' kind words of support and encouragement. Whether it be to just add your thoughts or to include words of help and information, every post is very much appreciated, thank you all. Modelling has taken a bit of a back seat in the geedubelyer household over the last few days but before that I did manage a wee while at the bench. The seats are still the focus of attention and work is progressing steadily. These few shots show how things look to date. The cushions on the seat on the right of the photo are done (although I have noticed a slight touch-up required now that I've taken a few piccies) You might notice some damage to the seat base cushion on both seats. This is intentional and is supposed to represent wear to the old and tatty cushions....... Sweat staining/dirt was applied by using pastels. The dark brown of the second seat on the left is a first base coat before I dry brush subsequent layers of progressively lighter shades. As you can see, the back rest cushion is folded down a bit. The strap will be tucked behind it a little eventually. I used a sticking plaster (band-aid?) to impress a cloth texture to the surface of the putty but it has smoothed out on the second seat somewhat..... :wub: I'll have to try to convey the impression of cloth texture using brush strokes on this seat back. I'm keen to get back to these but it's unlikely this week. I'll post more when I've made some further progress. Happy holidays folks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 (edited) IMPRESSIVE work and very innovatiive idea using the band aid that gives it the Cloth look..GOOD work.. HOLMES Edited December 27, 2009 by HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 Guy, the seats are coming together very nicely indeed! I love your use of band-aid for seat cushions--it's always nice to use some innovative materials. I need to remember this trick for my next build. Cheers, Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete "Pig" Fleischmann Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Hey Guy, When we all look at eachothers work, we see things..little things sometimes, that jump out at you and make you say "wow". Looking at your pit for example, it is all incredibile, but what really got my attention is the video screen on the right side of the RIO's instrument panel..Holy smoke! That thing is real, isn't it? regards, Pig Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Wolstenholme Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Mind boggling stuff Guy I'll have to get broadband, if only so I can read the entire thread rather than seeing it in part. Happy (and sane) New Year to you. Regards John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) Hello all, I hope the festive season has n't taken its' toll too much........ :) IMPRESSIVE work and very innovatiive idea using the band aid that gives it the Cloth look..GOOD work..HOLMES Guy, the seats are coming together very nicely indeed! I love your use of band-aid for seat cushions--it's always nice to use some innovative materials. I need to remember this trick for my next build. Cheers, Marcel Hi HOLMES and Marcel, thanks for the thumbsup. I must explain that using band-aid was an idea I got from seeing a build here on ARC so I can't take credit for that. (Look here at the Yak-18 built by Fabster, post #4. This is where I got the idea of using the band-aid as a texture for the seta material, Thanks FAB)Hey Guy,..................... what really got my attention is the video screen on the right side of the RIO's instrument panel.. That thing is real, isn't it? regards, Pig Hey Pig, yup, it's real. It took me ages to photo-shop the real deal into my photos. I had to line the resin parts up in exactly the right position to get it all to fit....... Cheers bro' I appreciate your kind, generous words. Coming from someone who is renowned for inspiring others, it means alot. Mind boggling stuff Guy. I'll have to get broadband, if only so I can read the entire thread rather than seeing it in part.Happy (and sane) New Year to you. Regards John Hi John, glad to see you here. Apologies for the number of images. I've re-sized them but there are still alot to see Here's a quick look at the seat progress before shooting out to a New Year bash........ I've added one or two hoses on the left side of each seat and replaced the face curtain handles with lead wire. There are still one or two pipes or rods to add at the back of the seat as well as the straps. If anyone has any pics of GRU-7s I'd appreciate a look at how the straps fall..... I hope you can see what a great job Aires did of capturing the detail of the full sized version. My attempt at showing some wear to the pilot seat cushion is a bit overdone but I guess this close to the end of the Turkeys' life, the Maintenance Chief cut his crew some slack. Let me finish by wishing everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year Cheers everybody, see you all in 2010!. Edited January 2, 2010 by geedubelyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Looks Great!!! Reddog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 That is some serious mind blowing detail work you've done Guy. Your ability to pick out those tiny details just amazes me. Happy New Year to you and your family also Guy. I'll be looking forward to more updates on the 'Cat in 2010. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hello folks, Tis the time for a short update. Gerry, Mike, great to see you guys here. I appreciate your kind comments, cheers. Just the decals to do on the RIO "chair" now.......... Belts added today along with some details on the rear of the seat. Memo to me: must n't forget to add the lever that I removed earlier on the left hand side I was quite relieved to find the resin buckle clips that I'd misplaced. I did n't fancy making new ones. I did replace the etched metal belts for the shoulder straps though. I made the lap belts up first and found the Aires etched belts very difficult to form into gentle, smooth, "clothlike" curves. Instead of struggling with the etch, I used lead foil for the shoulder straps which is much more maleable. I retained the etched buckles though, threading the lead straps through them in the same way as the etched ones would have. Seat in situ..... Straps on the drivers chair next then decals to finish off. I've really enjoyed these. I'll post the last pics soon. Cheers, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Looks like the real thing!!!! Don't forget that lever, or the RIO is going to be eating IP, that lever was harness lock lever, very important on arrested landings. Reddog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Guy, thanks for the update, it's looking superb! Marcel PS Don't forget the lever :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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