Jump to content

1/32 Tamiya F-14A Tomcat


Recommended Posts

Sir, you are doing a fantastic job!!!that is absolutely amazing :worship:

can I ask you two things?

the biggest pipes, like the ones circled in red on the picture above, are made of styrene rods bended with heat???

and regarding the smaller yellow pipes on one of the previous picture, how you made them?styrene rods covered with tamiya tape?

Cheers and great job again

:moai:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks, Jack-Swiss! :thumbsup:

You are right on both, the larger pipes are styrene rod heated in hot water. I was lazy at first and tried to bend the rod as is, which sooner or later ended with the rod breaking in two before completed...

The yellow areas are thin strips of Tamiya tape rolled around styrene stock. Still have to see if the tape simulates the real thing (insulation?) close enough after painting and weathering is done.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

Anders

(Edited for words missing.)

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Anders!!!

uhhh hot water...great you told me!I was about to try it out but with hot candles LOL....I was thinking about the same method of strecthing sprues but faaarr away so that it can jjjjust melt a bit and then I could bend it...too risky?

Cheers

:thumbsup:

Link to post
Share on other sites
I was about to try it out but with hot candles LOL...

Well, it could work fine with candles. But the section where the plastic melts could possibly lose its circular cross-section as well as increase in diameter. I believe the hot water method is safer, in many ways! :thumbsup:

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks janman, really appreciated! :cheers:

And many thanks to Steve B and the team for getting the forums back on track! :thumbsup:

Ok, I have decided the NLG bay is now ready for assembly. It was a fight not to rush through the detail painting, and despite a few cut corners I am happy to call this one done.

I eventually choose to paint the larger piping in a brownish color, right or wrong I don't know but I hope it's somewhere near the real thing.

A few decals for placards were taken from various leftover sheets.

Not much else to say, so onto the pics:

f14a036.jpg

f14a033.jpg

f14a034.jpg

f14a035.jpg

Considering the deadline for this GB I have spent way too much time on this area, but as I said before this work has been so much fun that I really don't mind.

Time to assemble the bay and install into the fuselage, and then it's onto the cockpit... I think. :)

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks rom! Well, the cockpit looks like a daunting undertaking but it's just to dive in I guess. Will have to add a few items before painting can begin, though.

I was a bit tired when posting yesterday evening and forgot to add pics showing the bay installed (nothing glued together yet).

Here goes...

f14a037.jpg

f14a038.jpg

f14a039.jpg

Hmm, just hope the landing gear strut and folding mechanism will fit in there now, it was a while since I last tried how it all will fit together. :thumbsup:

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
Link to post
Share on other sites

hi!

yes you will have to add some details on this cokpit...

it's pretty empty and flat in here!!

Will you put aftermarkets in the cockpit?

Here is the build of "Sweety" which shows the cockpit with the Eduard set:

http://imageevent.com/sweety1/f14atomcat;j...8e891.penguin_s

The numbers 1 2 and 3 are savings of WIP on forums in PDF formats.

4 and 5 are pictures of the build.

Hope it helps!

PS: I finish my Tomcat today :unsure:

bye

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks rom and Tyler!

Will you put aftermarkets in the cockpit?

Yes, I will go for the Aires set (pics are posted earlier in my thread). I have just now returned to the cockpit area and the RIO figure in order to finish up all assembly needed to be able to start painting, which should be fun... I hope! ;)

Also, thanks for pointing me to the build by "Sweety", I had seen his in progress-thread before but lost the link to that forum.

that scratch building is amazing! You use your materials very well. I just can't scratch build, so I am in awe. Keep it up! I can't wait to see more...

Glad you like it so far, Tyler! I must say that most hints and tips on scratchbuilding have been picked up from watching other modeller's work here on ARC, some amazing stuff is posted on these forums.

I suppose there is no way around it and I will have to attack the main gear bays sooner or later, although I wish someone (Aires?) would do the job for me... :woot.gif:

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks to you Anders I'm having a heck of a time with my front wheel bay! I'll never get mine looking as good as yours, but there's no way I can just leave it stock after looking at your work. Thanks for all the extra work!! :salute:

Link to post
Share on other sites
Thanks to you Anders I'm having a heck of a time with my front wheel bay! I'll never get mine looking as good as yours, but there's no way I can just leave it stock after looking at your work. Thanks for all the extra work!! :bandhead2:

Well, I'm only happy to help! ;)

I must say my work pales in comparison with other builds I have seen (like this one), and I'm sure you'll turn out something great when you're done. :thumbsup:

Keep it up, Chuck! I'm looking forward to see more progress on your Tomcat.

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
Link to post
Share on other sites
Well, I'm only happy to help! ;)

I must say my work pales in comparison with other builds I have seen (like this one), and I'm sure you'll turn out something great when you're done. :salute:

Keep it up, Chuck! I'm looking forward to see more progress on your Tomcat.

Cheers,

Anders

I've tried to access that German site before and it asks me to sign up- which is OK but I don't know where or how to do it since I don't understand German. Any tips?

I'm finishing up the front wheel well and the canopy. I normally don't worry about the canopy until the end, but this one has been a challenge so I took it on early. I'll have a bunch of new pics in a few days.

Link to post
Share on other sites
I've tried to access that German site before and it asks me to sign up- which is OK but I don't know where or how to do it since I don't understand German. Any tips?

How far do you get in the registering process? I will take another look at the site and see what steps were needed.

As for my build, not much in the way of progress to report. I have opened up the pair of oval holes in front of and below the gun muzzle and removed those protruding panels on both sides fo the forward fuselage, but that's about it.

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Well, it's been almost a month since my latest post, and I'm afraid not much has happened at the workbench...

In preparation for the cockpit work I decided to detail the forward fuselage by opening up the pair of holes underneath the muzzle opening and after having a second (and third) look at geedubelyer's Tomcat I finally decided to try to replace the vanes of that large vent on the side. So far the kit plastic has been removed, vanes soon to follow...

f14a040.jpg

Also, Tamiya's molded on "extra armor" has been removed.

About the vent, not sure I'm going to pull that one off... hope to get done with this step during the coming week, regardless how it turns out. :thumbsup:

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites
Well, it's been almost a month since my latest post, and I'm afraid not much has happened at the workbench...

In preparation for the cockpit work I decided to detail the forward fuselage by opening up the pair of holes underneath the muzzle opening and after having a second (and third) look at geedubelyer's Tomcat I finally decided to try to replace the vanes of that large vent on the side. So far the kit plastic has been removed, vanes soon to follow...

Also, Tamiya's molded on "extra armor" has been removed.

About the vent, not sure I'm going to pull that one off... hope to get done with this step during the coming week, regardless how it turns out. :unsure:

Cheers,

Anders

Based upon what you've accomplished already, I'm sure it will be a success. If it doesn't, however, I've got your back with another old style port front fuselage for free- although it might take a while to get to Sweden. Just PM me if you crash and burn! :)

Edited by chuck540z3
Link to post
Share on other sites
Based upon what you've accomplished already, I'm sure it will be a success. If it doesn't, however, I've got your back with another old style port front fuselage for free- although it might take a while to get to Sweden. Just PM me if you crash and burn! :D

Many thanks for your generous offer, Chuck! B)

Have begun cutting up a few lengths of styrene strips for vanes and struggle to get them sort of dry-fitted.

I will let you know ASAP if a replacement will be needed!

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites
Based upon what you've accomplished already, I'm sure it will be a success.

Hi Anders,

I agree with Chuck, I'm sure you'll do just fine. I don't know whether it will help at all but I found it easiest to leave the strips slightly proud at each end and then sand them back in line with the contour of the fuselage once they were dry.

The next thing we'll need is information for what's behind this grille. :rolleyes:

I think we need to pick Reddogs' brain again, don't you? ;)

Neat work so far.......

:whistle:

Link to post
Share on other sites
Many thanks for your generous offer, Chuck! :rolleyes:

Have begun cutting up a few lengths of styrene strips for vanes and struggle to get them sort of dry-fitted.

I will let you know ASAP if a replacement will be needed!

Cheers,

Anders

One good thing about knowing you have a back-up part, is that you can go crazy with experimentation on the existing part. I don't think I'll need to be sending anything, but it's yours if you need it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Done!!! :huh:

Sorry for making such a big deal of this but I finally got those vanes for the grille installed... really happy to get past that hurdle!

Here is a quick snap. Note that I haven't yet sanded those vanes to make them conform to the surrounding surface, so they still stand slightly proud.

Furthermore, I need to scribe the vent panel and add missing rivet detail.

f14a041.jpg

As usual my Mk I eyeball says those styrene strips run pretty much straight and parallell but the camera seem to indicate some unevenness (is that a word?).

I guess the jury is still out on that one...

Now I am afraid I have introduced some kind of imbalance to this area. What I mean is, perhaps the gun vent should be rebuilt to keep detail at a consistent level?

I'll just leave this vent as it is for now.

Anyway, also visible in the above pic is the missing small rectangular panel that has just been scribed (a bit above the open boarding ladder panel). Thanks Guy bringing that one to our attention!

I don't know whether it will help at all but I found it easiest to leave the strips slightly proud at each end and then sand them back in line with the contour of the fuselage once they were dry.

The next thing we'll need is information for what's behind this grille. :soapbox:

I think we need to pick Reddogs' brain again, don't you? :o

Thanks again Guy, as mentioned I used your tip and it sure made things a little bit easier as the single main worry was getting the lengtwise alignment correct. :cheers:

And you're right, we need more info on what's behind that grille. Will have a second look through my references, but otherwise hopefully Reddog or someone else knowledgeable on this area can provide some input.

As a side note I noticed that Hasegawa on both their 72nd and 48th Tomcat has the vanes turned the other way, making the grille look more like an air inlet rather than outlet.

One good thing about knowing you have a back-up part, is that you can go crazy with experimentation on the existing part. I don't think I'll need to be sending anything, but it's yours if you need it.

Thanks again for your offer, Chuck! I'm happy to say I won't need the part - at least for now.

There are probably plenty more opportunities to goof on this build along the way... :D

Now, what to do with these?

f14a042.jpg

That's for later to decide...

Cheers,

Anders

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...