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

[geedubelyer]

I've ordered many times directly from Archer Fine Transfers.

Very reasonable postage and quick delivery = highly recommended!

Cheers,

Anders

Hi Anders, many thanks for the link. I've just this minute placed and order.

Dax, Marek, Voltaire thanks for the feedback guys

Getting the balance right is something I think about from time to time. The last thing I want is guys tuning in to see an update and thinking "oh,..he added another rivet,...great " .

Your generosity to take so much time to share your brilliancies makes this planet a better place, I can tell you that!

how on earth can I repay you?

You just did bro' ^_^ , thank you.

I'm using my spare time to study the nose gear bay at the moment so I can plan what goes where.

One area that I'd like to amend is the nose leg attachment. Tamiya has the gear leg running into the roof of the bay but the real deal is attached via the sidewalls. (Hmm,....perhaps I am playing with fire?)

Can I ask you guys who have built these big Tammy 'Cats how heavy they are once complete? Does the nose gear leg need to be very robust or will it be ok so long as it stays in one place and is n't thrown around too much?

Ok, back to studying....

[chuck540z3]

Can I ask you guys who have built these big Tammy 'Cats how heavy they are once complete? Does the nose gear leg need to be very robust or will it be ok so long as it stays in one place and is n't thrown around too much?

Depends on how much junk you're planning to hang from it. My almost naked VF-101 doesn't have too much weight up front, but my fully loaded VF-103 bird is quite heavy. Having had other gear legs sag over time that were unsupported, like my Academy F-18, I think you're asking for trouble. I'd leave something like that for a more experienced modeler.

[Anders_Isaksson]

One area that I'd like to amend is the nose leg attachment. Tamiya has the gear leg running into the roof of the bay but the real deal is attached via the sidewalls. (Hmm,....perhaps I am playing with fire?)

Attached to the side walls, huh? I missed that (not so insignificant) detail when I had my go at the NLG bay.

Well, too late now for me to do something about it...

On the other hand, like you say it might be a dangerous modification to make if you want to retain the strength of the landing gear.

Seeing your steady progress makes me really want to get on with my own build, and pretty soon I will! :D

Cheers,

Anders

[0viking0]

Very nice work so far.

[Eastern]

Just :D

Cheers!

Alexander.

[HOLMES]

:)

[MattC]

Beautiful work, what I am particularly impressed with is how the seemingly small details, when looked at "as a whole" like the mods you did on the fins, give that somewhat "industrial" impression that full size aircraft give when you get up reasonably close. Its something that I struggle to reproduce, and I think that as well as your evident skills, you have a great deal more patience and perseverance than I do.

Thanks for sharing with so much information about what you're doing and how, I'm just hoping a bit of it sinks in.

Matt

[geedubelyer]

I think you're asking for trouble. I'd leave something like that for a more experienced modeler.

:)

Thanks Chuck :lol:

Seeing your steady progress makes me really want to get on with my own build, and pretty soon I will!

Cheers,

Anders

Hi Anders, I'm eager to see you pick up your Tomcat again. Soon I hope. ;)

Thanks 0viking0, Alexander and HOLMES, very grateful for your encouragement and support

Hi Matt, great to see you back on ARC. Thanks for your generous words, much appreciated. I hope you take something away from this build that you can put to good use. I suspect that some of what you mentioned is down to our respective preferred scales. I could n't do anything like this in 1/72nd scale. Modelling in 1/32nd scale affords me the luxury of messing with stuff that in smaller scales would be prohibitive.

(BTW,.......I think you could start your sojourn into jets by modelling a Hunter or Sabre. Beautifully sleek aircraft with some lovely schemes to choose from. Just my £0:02p you understand.... )

Well good people, I've taken my courage in both hands, bitten the bullet and been and gone and done it!

Time will tell how wise this hair brained plan decision is. The modifications to the nose gear leg are largely unnecessary but I relish the challenge of adapting kit parts.

Tamiya has skillfully modelled the front gear leg to sit on the roof of the wheel bay which provides a firm, rigid location and plenty of support. Here's how it starts out.

With the full length of the leg dangling from the roof things get a bit busy so I started by removing the lower portion below a knuckle.

I have my fingers crossed that the steel pin that runs down the centre of the gear leg will be strong enough to support the airframe when I re-attach the leg at a later stage. {~gulp~}

The final step was to drill a pair of holes through the sidewalls and into the strut top braces then add a pin to each side (red circled area) before removing the topmost part of the leg.

I have no idea how strong this joint will be!

What this does is open up the area above the gear leg for the addition of wiring etc. and give me the chance to work on the pipework of the lower gear leg without the forward nose section attached. Looking at reference photos reveals lots of pipes even on the topmost portion of the strut so being able to get access to these parts individually eases the process considerably.

I think I'll concentrate on the pipework to this topmost part first to try to ease myself in gradually.

More soon.

[MattC]

Funny you should mention that, I've got the first couple of installments of my "korean war" phase in the post as we speak, Sabre and Hunter are on the list

I simply don't have the patience for 1:32nd, nor the space to display them, but I think your build does have something to offer, certainly in terms of the "little bit here, little bit there, you'll get there in the end" approach, where I have been too slapdash in the past.

We shall see....

Oh, and I'll be watching this one to the end, and thanks for the kind words, I'm glad to be back, its like putting on an old comfy pair of boots being here again.

[Anders_Isaksson]

I have no idea how strong this joint will be!

Well, I guess we all will know pretty soon!

I somehow knew you would go ahead and start cutting away... keep at it, Guy!

Cheers,

Anders

[chuck540z3]

Well, I guess we all will know pretty soon!

I somehow knew you would go ahead and start cutting away... keep at it, Guy!

Cheers,

Anders

Yeah, like there was any chance he wouldn't after I taunted him!

When are you back in the F-14 saddle Anders? I'm looking forward to another update.

[Marcel111]

Nice and very tenacious progress, Guy! Can't wait to see your next innovation!

Cheers,

Marcel

[Marcel111]

Nice and very tenacious progress, Guy! Can't wait to see your next innovation!

Cheers,

Marcel

[GreyGhost]

Great updates, Guy ...

You're doing fabulous work ...

Gregg

[mareku]

Interesting update, mate Waiting for more.

[geedubelyer]

Hello to all.

Matt, Anders, Chuck, Marcel, Gregg and mareku thanks so much for tagging along and adding your kind words. Your continuing enthusiasm and support is worth its' weight in gold, cheers.

When I've had any spare time over the weekend I've been working on aspects of the nose gear bay.

The first area that received attention was the back wall. A fairly innocuous and unassuming part it nonetheless deserves the same level of scrutiny that the rest of the build gets. Not much gets changed except for opening up a couple of holes at the bottom of the wall and adding the bulkheads behind.

The top of the gear leg was next.

This item is complicated :wacko: I've spent quite a while trying to discern where all of the pipes and doohickies live.

To try to show what materials are used, this pic shows the before paint stage.....

Not quite in the same league as Olivers' Huey but considering it will be completely hidden from view on the finished model, it'll do ;)

Here's the same part after the paint job......

There's a wiring bundle to add on the right side (left as we look at it in these images) but I cant add that until later.

My eyes hurt now so I'm having a rest. Perhaps I'll begin to remove the unwanted raised detail from the sidewalls or front wall next.

See you next time.

Edited April 18, 2010 by geedubelyer

[Skyking]

Excellent progress as always Guy. Does that hydraulic tubing you installed meet A/N Spec? I'd hate to see a hydraulic leak ruin all that nice paint work. It was also a hydraulic leak that took down the first prototype 'cat during testing. We want this bird to last a long time.

Cheers

Mike

[Skii]

Simply incredible work Guy, even the chipping on the pipes, amazing!

[Eastern]

Great plumbing work, Guy!

I suppose the image is 4 times zoomed and each element looks very crisp and neatly done. But how tiny all those pipes are actually.

Keep it up!

Alexander.

;)

[Marcel111]

Beautiful work on the hydraulic lines, Guy! And the little paint chipping detail is perfect!

Cheers,

Marcel

[Paul Mullins]

Guy,

I have this kit. I know how big these parts actually are. I hope you have a very large, well lit maginfying lens to work with. Good God man, these details are phenominal. I know what's going on here. you're hiding a tomcat in your garage and slowly taking it apart to see how to make the parts you're doing for your model. very clever. Seriously though, simply stunning work.

Paul

[mareku]

Wow!

[Blackcollar]

Outstanding...

btw, Oliver's build is in a class of it's own. I would have said "Master Class", but it's more like "Uber Master Class".

-Al

[Gervais8]

Guy,

I'm a little disappointed you're not using hollow tube so you can actually pump hydraulic fluid, oil, etc. I mean come on. Can't we get a little more realistic!

Incredible work as usual!

RG

[MattC]

smashing updates guy, that wiring bundle is more than I could even think about doing, I'm here for the long haul, I just HAVE to see how all this comes together, even if it will make me give up modelling again...