geedubelyer Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 (edited) Hello folks, Good to see you all. I'm thrilled that you like the work to date although I apologise for being a slow-coach. I get the idea that folk want to see this model finished and believe me, I'm in that group :D The trouble is, I keep looking at references pictures and seeing something else to do. Talking of which....... What about another detail on this scratchbuilt fuel tank lid, whilst we are at it, ..........................?Hi Voltaire, great photo, thanks. I'd been looking for something like that to show what the cap looked like. Now that you've given me this reference I can add the catch detail to each cap. Hi Justin, Rocky, HOLMES, Mike(Skyking) and Mike(Youngtiger), it's terrific to see everyone here, thanks for the kind words and encouragement, very much appreciated. Guy, If my 747/Shuttle project turns out half as good as your work I'll be estatic. Excellent work All the best, Paul Hi Paul, thanks for the kind words and judging by what I've seen of your progress so far, you've got no fear on that account. Uhhh I hate to tell ya this GW..buuuutt ya missed a tiny little spot just inside the fuel tank about .5mm in front of where you inserted the plastic stock...Oh well ya can't see it from the outside anyway....Dang Clif, you and your infernal x-ray vision! I'd hoped no-one would notice that whoopsie. Now I've gotta go and cut the tank apart, fix the hidden spot, re-glue the tank together, putty the joint, sand it, prime it and re-paint it......... :lol: ...... you should write a modeling book and sell itHi Ghostkiller, now there's a thought. Been a while since I checked back. .............. I know it is slow, but keep it up.Hello Richard, good to see you again. The best thing about not following too closely is that at least you can see some progress each time you stop by.... ;) Thanks for your kind words. Beautiful work, Guy! The front recess you introduced to the tank makes a big difference.Marcel PS Did you receive the pics I e-mailed you? Hi Marcel, thanks for your generous comments and yes thank you, I got the pics. Great ideas there which I'll be attempting to emulate later in the build.I've managed to start painting the tanks and pylons but before I got carried away, I thought I'd post a pic or two to show each stage. Fuel tank first. The white base primer was roughly painted over with Valejo Light Blue Grey over which I added LifeColor Light Ghost Grey and Dark Ghost Grey in a blotchy pattern. I futured the nose of each tank before I added the Checkmates shields. This is the jump off point for the weathering to begin. The pylon had some panel detail scribed onto the outside face picked out using a pastel sludge wash. (pastel powder applied dry but moistened with a q-tip then dragged into the panel lines) The colour is different to the fuel tank. This time I used Valejo Silver Grey. More soon...... Edited March 5, 2010 by geedubelyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 I get the idea that folk want to see this model finished and believe me, I'm in that group :lol: The trouble is, I keep looking at references pictures and seeing something else to do. A couple of comments. First off, you're totally nuts with all that subtle detail, which is exactly why I think this could be the best 1/32 Tamiya F-14 ever. Second, don't worry about finishing this bird, because when it is finally done, it's a real let down. I really miss my F-14B project, even though I'm on to other things now. As you know, the fun is in the progress, although when all the final details finally come together, it's a real blast- but only for a week or so with me. Keep up the excellent work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 6, 2010 Author Share Posted March 6, 2010 Hey Chuck, good to see you. Have n't seen you around much lately. Thanks for the generous comments much appreciated. I hope your current projects are going well. It'll be good to see you back on your big Bug soon. Just a quick reply as I'm on my way out the door, but I believe there were at least two different styles of end caps used on those fuel tanks, the flat and domed styles being two of them.Somebody please set me straight if I'm wrong here... Cheers, Anders Hello again Anders. You are correct in what you say. Gerry explained that the blunt end is an end cap, the rounded end is the tip of the actual fuel tank. HTHHere are a couple of quick pics of the next stages. Apologies for the poor quality of a couple of the snaps. For some reason, my little Olympus digi has real trouble focusing on these tanks, don't know why, maybe it's the reflective paint or something......? :P So the next stage for me was adding some scratches to the underside. Reddog was kind enough to point out that the bottom surface could often be quite beaten up by handling and getting dragged around. I added scratches with aluminium coloured paint (Citadel Miniatures Chainmail) and picked out the oval panels with a dark pastel wash. I used rolled blu-tack to give a hard edge in places and to mask off the oval panels when I applied a thin layer of LifeColor weathering colour. Both oil and smoke were used I think the lighting has made the colours appear darker here than they look in real life. The next step is pastels..... More to come. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brett M Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 Always impressive to see your work. Thanks for sharing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 7, 2010 Author Share Posted March 7, 2010 (edited) Thanks Brett, thanks for taking the time to add your generous and kind words, much appreciated bro' So I can move on to different things now, the gas bags are done...... Left...... Right...... I used diluted oil paint to add a splash or two of "grease" along the undersides and in randon spots along the flanks, airbrushed the red and black to the fillers then added the arming levers from metal foil and plastic stock. I've got to decide what to turn my attention to next.......perhaps the Sidewinder and BOL rails........ See you all soon, Edited March 9, 2010 by geedubelyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brett M Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Something tells me I need to spend more time on details! I wish my B or D had this much impressive work! Have you started on the fuselage at all? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Wow, the best tanks in the biz! Great weathering, I particularly like the scratched undersides, nice touch! Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 So I can move on to different things now, the gas bags are done...... Left...... Right...... I've got to decide what to turn my attention to next.......perhaps the Sidewinder and BOL rails........ See you all soon, Mama mia!! That's a stunner!! Absolutely amazing, perfect! Belissimo! A real masterpiece! Congrats Guy, the "gas bag" looks like a real thing! BTW, I eager to see what you will be accomplishing on the Sidewinder and I hope you mean to use my cannards. Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 11, 2010 Author Share Posted March 11, 2010 (edited) Hello fellow plastic manglers, just popped in with a brief update on where I'm focussing my attention next. Have you started on the fuselage at all?Hi Brett, hmm,.....if memory serves, I think I posted a few pics of the forward fuselage on p5.Hello Marcel, thanks man. The scratches were actually explained to me by Reddog (Gerry) so I wanted to try to recreate them on the model. There are a couple of shots in the "Anytime Baby" book which show the underside of four Checkmates birds and all of the tanks have some scratch damage evident. ...........BTW, I eager to see what you will be accomplishing on the Sidewinder and I hope you mean to use my cannards. Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander. Hi Alexander, many thanks for your continuing enthusiasm, much appreciated my friend. I have taken a look at the AIM-9 rails and while Tamiya have made a super job of replicating them, I may re-visit the BOL launchers. There is something that is n't quite right about them. I can't quite put my finger on it yet but further research may reveal more......So instead of attacking the missile rails I switched tack and sought another innocent victim. The unlucky blighter turns out to be the arrestor hook and assembly. I am fascinated by the complexity of this device when looked at in greater detail. It's easy to dismiss this unit as simple yet there are no less than six parts to it. Here are a few detail photos of how things look to begin with. Closer inspection reveals some good points and some not so good. The bump stop looks perfect. The locking point is not and will likely be replaced. The attachment point is pretty good, ...... .......the hook is not. The moulding is generally very crisp, even down to minutely rendered bands for the alternating black and white hoops on older jets. Most of the work will involve "finessing" the kit parts so nothing earth shattering but this whole assembly just begs to be improved. One of the first tasks was to attempt to create a new drain tube(?) or whatever it is.... In the Tomcat Bible DACO book there are some great photos of the arrestor hook and assembly (p64-65) including a shot from beneath showing the shape of the drain hole. I began to try to sand the plastic part to shape but the walls are too thin resulting in a changed side profile. The solution was to fashion a new tube from brass. After much hammering I came up with something approaching the correct shape. This metal oval tube will be fitted to replace the plastic part. More next time. Edited March 11, 2010 by geedubelyer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhinolover Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 Glad you see you are able to get back to the Turkey. I can't wait to see what you pull together for this little segment. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 14, 2010 Author Share Posted March 14, 2010 Glad you see you are able to get back to the Turkey. John Hi John, The other little project was a pleasant diversion and I enjoyed spending the time dabbling with it. I was most impressed by the work John S performed and read his PS tutorial with interest. By coincidence, my eldest pointed out that we have a copy of PSE included with the drawing tablet so I plan to load it up, compare it to my current software and play around some more. I have managed to work on the arrestor hook assembly too. Here are a couple of pics showing one or two mods that I've performed. More to do so see you all soon...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Wow! That looks great! And the parts are movable! Very nice progress, Guy! Keep it up! Cheers! Alexander. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mareku Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Great work mate! Your Tomcat build is realy one of the best i´v seen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Qian Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 :jaw-dropping: WOW Guy.. That is some excellent detailing on the arrestor hooks! I really admire your attention to even the smallest and most minute of details on this baddie. If only I could add as much scratched detail to enhance the look of my current F-15SG build, but I JUST can't do it as this is still way beyond my scratch building expertise! Oh well, maybe I just need more modelling experience as I'm still very young. :lol: Keep up the good work bud. Am really lookin forward to seeing this cat being finished up soon. At the rate that you're going, I think this is gonna take another 6 months at least to finish. :wub: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rhinolover Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 I have managed to work on the arrestor hook assembly too. Here are a couple of pics showing one or two mods that I've performed. That hook looks stellar. Curious...what kind of tool do you use for cutting the copper tubing to keep it from collapsing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Yumpin Yiminy!!!....he's now detailing the details......the man is mad I tells ya, MAD!!!. Well G that hookface is in need of fixin' ,but to you it'll be about 2 min and movin' on to the next fiddly bit. Loooooookeeeng gooood ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 14, 2010 Author Share Posted March 14, 2010 Hello everyone, just a quickie update..... Wow! That looks great! And the parts are movable!Very nice progress, Guy! Keep it up! Cheers! Alexander. Hi Alexander, thank you my friend. The moving parts are only temporary I'm afraid. Once all of the fettling is complete they'll be glued together permanently. BTW, I have n't forgotten that I owe you an e-mail. It's been a busy weekend and I'd like to spend a few minutes replying to your last note. I'll write soon when I get the chance. ;) Oh well, maybe I just need more modelling experience as I'm still very young.Hi Qian, you're certainly off to a great start and with a little more experience I'm sure you'll be able to do anything you choose to........... At the rate that you're going, I think this is gonna take another 6 months at least to finish.quite possibly.......or even longer! :) Curious...what kind of tool do you use for cutting the copper tubing to keep it from collapsing?Hi John, good to see you. I cut this particular tube with a fine modelling saw. As it turns out, this was pretty robust and I had no problems with the thing collapsing. The tube walls are probably a bit thicker than they appear because I thinned the metal at the tube mouth to look more in scale. ............Well G that hookface is in need of fixin' ........... Hi Clif, thanks for stopping by :o Did you mean like this........? Quite a bit of material removed to lessen the blocky appearance of the kit part. The silver disc is metal foil punched from a sheet. There is a subtle fix "required" (only if you are inclined) to the rear of the arrestor bar. More of that soon. :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Nice work on the hook! Cheers, Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Really nice work on the Externals and the Tailhook assembly is looking very good as well ! :) Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnS Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Wow, what an exciting build! Terrific workmanship. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jinxter13 Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Hi Clif, thanks for stopping by Did you mean like this........? Yup!!! just like that, Guy that has to be the best example of an arrestor hook I've seen. Ya just gotta know that someone with connections to Trumpy will be showing those pics to the folks at good ol' Trumpy and at which point the cussin, head banging, chair kicking, glass breaking and door slamming starts followed by....why didn't we do it like that to start with....followed by more cussin!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Outstanding work, Guy! The hook looks perfect. What amazes the most is that even in 1/32 scale this must be quite a delicate assembly and still it looks so neatly done without traces of glue or anything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hi gang, thanks for all of the encouragement, much appreciated. Just time for a brief update today before I hit the hay.... Continuing on with the tail hook for now and a little detail that can be enhanced. The red arrow points to a panel on the arrestor bar that is n't present on the full sized article. It looks like Tamiya repeated the detail from further along the bar but the actual version differs somewhat. I sanded this detail flush and added some plastic extrusion before filing the shape to a round once more. I then scraped and sanded a flat area to the sides of the bar (1). Lastly, I added the triangular fillet to the underside and began to blend it in.(2) It's quite difficult to photograph clearly with my current set up and choosing white primer does n't help but I hope you can make out the mods. I'll smooth this off next and finish up the rest of the details on the bar. Cheers for now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Great progress so far, Guy! After you conducted such vast research and having modified the tail hook that way, it seems to become a model itself. ;) Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Hey Guy, I'm sure glad I led the way and finished my Cat before you, because all these details you've discovered would drive me nuts trying to fix them all. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss! Although I don't respond all the time, believe me, I'm following your every skilled move. I just can't wait 'till this sucker is finished! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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