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


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The mis-alignment of any components should be obscured by the ladder eventually but I hope a glimpse of detail will be visible from some angles...... :thumbsup:

Well, any mis-alignments or not, it's still one STELLAR build! I don't think one will notice any errors if any. Even if there are, we'll still think that those components are at where they're supposed to be.

:woo:

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Hello everyone,

John, Qian, Mareku, I appreciate your kind words, many thanks.

This build is certainly taking a long time huh? Are you guys happy with these small updates or would it be better to leave things longer between reports and show larger chunks of progress at a time? I'd appreciate a bit of feedback :cheers:

As it is, I do have a photo to show of the start of the canopy locking hooks. Neither Tamiya nor Aires offer these items so the cockpit sill is bare and devoid of detail. From what Chuck has said in the past, Techniks and BB do include these hooks but I don't have either of those alternatives in my possession so I'm having to scratch the hooks.

I started by removing some of the lip where the hooks align. The actual hooks are carved from Evergreen plastic extrusion with a thin strip of plastic added to cover them again. Some wire is glued under the sill lip to replicate the full sized hook detail and add some "busy-ness"... :)

tn_Canopylockinghooks003.jpg

There are fourteen hooks in total, seven on each side {~sigh~}

Ah well, back to carving teeny tiny blobs of plastic :D

:)

Edited by geedubelyer
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Hey G-Dubz!

Wow-what a burst of inspiration! It is always a treat to check on your progress. I always come away from this thread a little smarter-I appreciate that!

What are you using for references? (sorry if you've already answered this) It must be good-The detail work is stunning!

Regards,

Pig

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........ I'm not sure whether the bits in here are entirely accurate size-wise but they do busy up the interior of the ladder well and much of it gets hidden once the ladder is attached.

This is how the well looks now....

tn_Crewboardingladder039.jpg

The mis-alignment of any components should be obscured by the ladder eventually but I hope a glimpse of detail will be visible from some angles...... :woot.gif:

You are not sure whether the bits are entirely accurate size-wise? Well, well, well...Let's see...

I think that silver metal pipe right below the gun feeder is 0.0001 mm too close to. :D

Hey Guy, you must be kidding or maybe teasing us? "..whether the bits are entirely accurate size-wise..." ;)

Oh, c'mon, all look simply great! Fantastic work and very keen attention to the details! They look so crisp and neat even being zoomed. Taking into account their actual size, I can say that you are a real jeweller!

Cheers and good luck with the canopy hooks!

Alexander.

:D

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What can I say, you really captured the look of the boarding ladder interior! :D

As I used the vinyl ammo belt from Tamiyas PBR I may go the Eduard PE route for replacing the belt on my PBR instead.

So great tip on that PE set, thanks Guy (and of course Red Flag)! ;)

Those canopy hooks look very promising! I will probably try to go the same route for my build - when the time comes.

There are fourteen hooks in total, seven on each side {~sigh~}

Hmm, you don't happen to feel like making fourteen more of those hooks and send in an envelope to... :woot.gif: ... :D

Keep it up!

Cheers,

Anders

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Hi folks,

I found myself with a little time on my hands today due to broken plans so thought I'd add a quick update.

John, Marek, Alexander, always good to see you guys. Thanks for the encouragement and support. I'll continue to post regular reports until someone says otherwise

Hey G-Dubz

What are you using for references? (sorry if you've already answered this) It must be good-

Regards,

Pig

Hi Pig, how goes it? Good to see you and thanks for your generous words bro'. Aside from scouring t'internet for as many photos as I can, I'm using both the Verlinden Lock-On and DACO titles as references.

The Verlinden book is good for its' age but predominantly covers -A or -B models. The DACO book is newer and much more comprehensive. If you don't have it, imagine one of Jakes' books but on the Tomcat. Very similar in format and detail pics so probably a "must-have" for Tomcat builders if they wish to add any detail.

{~snippety~}

Hmm, you don't happen to feel like making fourteen more of those hooks and send in an envelope to...

Keep it up!

Cheers,

Anders

:(

Hi Anders, smashing to see you again, thanks for stopping by. Of course I'd be happy to rustle up some canopy hooks for you but I suspect you'd rather do the job properly? :(

Actually, with a little patience they are pretty easy to do. Here's a step by step of how I'm making these. I guess there are other routes that can be taken but this has made things simple so far. (I hope you can all read my writing..... :( )

tn_Canopylockinghooks.jpg

The plastic extrusion is 2.0mm x 0.75mm (.080" x .030") Evergreen StripStyrene #134 in case anyone wants to try this :)

For you guys with casting equipment you can take your time and just make one master then cast the rest. The ones that I'm making all differ from each other slightly......... :)

So I've got a couple of jobs to attend to. See you next time for more........

Cheers,

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Hi folks,

I found myself with a little time on my hands today due to broken plans so thought I'd add a quick update.

(I hope you can all read my writing..... :unsure: )

tn_Canopylockinghooks.jpg

The plastic extrusion is 2.0mm x 0.75mm (.080" x .030") Evergreen StripStyrene #134 in case anyone wants to try this :)

For you guys with casting equipment you can take your time and just make one master then cast the rest. The ones that I'm making all differ from each other slightly.........

So I've got a couple of jobs to attend to. See you next time for more........

Cheers,

Good job so far....you will be able to do more now that your plans are scuppered. :tease::tease:

very informative detailed drawings..shame about the writing :coolio:

HOLMES

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Hi HOLMES and Marek,

Glad you like the hooks.

Here are a couple of quick snaps trying to show the parts in place. (Not easy to hold this all together since the tub has yet to have its' sidewalls fixed in place...)

I hope you get an idea of how it will look eventually.

tn_Canopylockinghooks028.jpg

tn_Canopylockinghooks031.jpg

tn_Canopylockinghooks032.jpg

At least there is some detail along the sills now. I propose adding the detail to the top surface of the sills before I paint them. That will include the curved strengthening fillet at the front corner which Chuck pointed out earlier in this thread and the small, raised canopy frame guides/stops along the length of the sill.

Tomorrow I plan to have a go at replicating the cooling fan behind the grille that sits just below the windshield. I'm indebted to Marcel for sending over a bunch of pics of the Tomcat near his home. In one shot the grille is visible and with a bit of adjustment I managed to get this.....

Dscn9107b.jpg

I don't know whether you can make out the internal detail but from a description given by Reddog to Anders in his build thread, the fan is mounted on a three pointed bracket arrangement. I'll post up some piccies tomorrow if I get anything done.

See you next time.

:cheers:

*Edit.....grammatical re-arrangement :whistle:

Edited by geedubelyer
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D**n it Guy, you make it look so easy... simply super work on those hooks! :jaw-dropping:

Many thanks for taking the time to make the SBS sketch, very useful as I've felt a bit stumped on how to capture the somewhat elusive shape of those hooks.

One detail you may want to take another look at is the hook situated by the RIOs coaming (correct word?). I may be wrong but I believe Aires actually included one hook in their set:

f14a018hookdetail.jpg

It seems you now have a double set of hooks in that position.

I hope you don't mind me borrowing one of your pics to illustrate what I try to describe:

Guys_canopylockinghooks.jpg

I suppose a way to deal with this would be to cut away the Aires hook and resculpt the canvas, letting it extend all the way to cockpit sill while taking care to leave the remaining (your) hook exposed.

Cheers,

Anders

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Hello Chuck and Mareku, good to see you both. Thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts. Glad you like the recent update. :yahoo:

...............

Many thanks for taking the time to make the SBS sketch, very useful as I've felt a bit stumped on how to capture the somewhat elusive shape of those hooks.

One detail you may want to take another look at is the hook situated by the RIOs coaming (correct word?). I may be wrong but I believe Aires actually included one hook in their set

It seems you now have a double set of hooks in that position.

I hope you don't mind me borrowing one of your pics to illustrate what I try to describe:

I suppose a way to deal with this would be to cut away the Aires hook and resculpt the canvas, letting it extend all the way to cockpit sill while taking care to leave the remaining (your) hook exposed.

Cheers,

Anders

Hi Anders, you're welcome. Glad you found the sbs helpful. You are quite correct about the duplicate canopy hooks, well spotted! Aires do indeed offer the two hooks snuggled beneath the canvas. By luck more than judgement they sit side by side with the new ones that I added :blink:

Your idea of removing them has merit and I admit it crossed my mind. In the end though I've chosen to leave them as they are and try to disguise them by leaving them black. I'm hoping that by the time the canopy sill is also painted black, has it's raised detail added along with the remainder of the detail (canopy ejection handle, streamers, etc.) to the RIO coaming, those two little resin hooks will be lost in the mix, perhaps resembling some partially hidden instrument black boxes rather than canopy hooks............(~inserts "fingers-crossed" emoticon~) :unsure:

My main aim today was to replicate the avionics cooling fan and this is what I achieved......

tn_Fanandcockpitrails001.jpg

As Anders discovered when he made this part, not much gets seen when it's fitted in place behind the grille..... :lol:

tn_Fanandcockpitrails009.jpg

After that was done I added the curved bracing at the front end of the sill along with a raised lip all the way along the inside edge of the canopy sill

tn_Fanandcockpitrails011.jpg

The curved section is hollow and has strengthening spars in the detail.

tn_Fanandcockpitrails015.jpg

Perhaps a bit ropey looking in this macro shot but with a coat of black paint and a wash, it should add a little further visual interest along the canopy sill.

This takes me closer to closing the forward fuselage section but first, I must build and detail the nose gear bay. If the main gear bays are anything to go by, I might just be ready to close the front fuselage up by Christmas.........!!! :banana:

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Got to hand it to you on the fan...nice work. I really like the canopy sill detail. That is one thing I think is a great detail and often overlooked on Tomcat models with open canopies.

Are you going to add the hand hold on the top of the windcreen??

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Hey Guy,

Dude you are not well...lol. Great illustrated reference on you formed the hooks, and it's a good thing because I could not read your chicken scratching.. :rolleyes:. At least it's nice to know someone else in thw=e world has hand writting as bad as mine.

Your attention to detail always impresses me. I'd have never given the cooling fan a second thought, but there it is on yours. It's what seperates you from the rest of us mere mortals. Keep those updates coming.

Cheers

Mike

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Hi gang,

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek.

Are you going to add the hand hold on the top of the windcreen??
Hi John, thanks for the kind words. Yes, I plan to add the grab handle at the top of the windshield but not until the paintwork of the nose is about done. Knowing how clumsy I can be there is no way it would survive the masking and handling involved. ;)

Hello Marek, good to see you. I can say the same to you. In 1/18th scale I guess you will be adding every nut, bolt and fastener?

Hey Guy,

............ Great illustrated reference on you formed the hooks, and it's a good thing because I could not read your chicken scratching.. . At least it's nice to know someone else in thw=e world has hand writting as bad as mine.

Cheers

Mike

:thumbsup:

Perhaps we should have been doctors Mike? They are reknowned for poor handwriting..... :)

Thanks for your generous words my friend, much appreciated.

Here is a look at the preliminary work involved in setting out the nose gear bay and Aires resin cockpit tub.

I was pleasantly surprised by the fit of the resin and kit plastic. Dry fitting appears to show a good fit generally with just a bit of sanding required to thin the resin sidewalls of the 'pit so that the fuselage closes without problems.

The tub sits on the plastic nose gear bay assembly which in turn locates neatly in the fuselage sides. The raised detail on the upper surface of the roof of the nose gear bay should be removed though. This raised detail was to locate and align the kit plastic tub and is no longer required for the resin.

So far, so good........

tn_F-14nosegear001.jpg

These next few pics show the Tamiya nose gear bay in detail.

tn_F-14nosegear002.jpg

tn_F-14nosegear003.jpg

tn_F-14nosegear004.jpg

tn_F-14nosegear005.jpg

There is some rudimentary surface detail on each wall and on the roof of the well but more can be added in this scale.

Take a look at Anders' build here and you will immeadiately see how good this area can look with some careful effort. Definately something to strive for.

Having a pathfinder often helps and Anders mentioned the lack of depth in the gear well. With that in mind, I have taken a modified approach to this version.

By removing some of the resin of the tub some room can be made in the roof of the well.

tn_F-14nosegear006a.jpg

Cut a hole in the plastic.....

tn_F-14nosegear008.jpg

........and use the floor of the tub as the roof of the well.......

tn_F-14nosegear011.jpg

Well, that's the plan at least..... :worship:

Since taking this last shot I've cleaned up the hole and removed the rearmost rib so that the roof is flush all the way to the back of the gear bay. I intend to add any surface detail to the resin which should give me the extra couple of mm (sixteenths ") Think I may invest in some Archer rivet transfers if I can find some. They look the part on Anders build (and on your Devastator too Mike.)

I'll keep you posted with how things go.......

Cheers.

:thumbsup:

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I'm really looking forward to see you work your magic on the nose gear well, Guy! :woot.gif:

........and use the floor of the tub as the roof of the well

Looks like a great start! As stated, the well definately need as much headroom as possible to fit the details.

Think I may invest in some Archer rivet transfers if I can find some. They look the part on Anders build (and on your Devastator too Mike.)

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

Very reasonable postage and quick delivery = highly recommended! :thumbsup:

Cheers,

Anders

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This build is certainly taking a long time huh? Are you guys happy with these small updates or would it be better to leave things longer between reports and show larger chunks of progress at a time? I'd appreciate a bit of feedback :boohoo:

Awe inspiring work as always!

Definitely the more updates the better. Please don't under estimate how much work like yours help the rest of us in our building. Builds like yours have something for everyone and I think so much would be lost if you posted larger chunks of progress :o .

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Geedubelyer, please, do not change anything, this is just phenomenal.

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

The only question troubling me is: how on earth can I repay you?

:whistle:

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