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1/32 Tamiya F-14A Tomcat


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Thanks Reddog and geedubelyer! :)

The support brackets are just slightly too long but I wouldn't about it, they will be hard to see once you have it installed. All you have to do is install the fan on the other side and bingo, you got it.

Sounds good, I will call it a day and go for this setup. And true, once installed the specific details will be rather difficult to make out anyway.

Thanks for being the pioneer here ;)

Now I've got something to copy when I get to that part. :worship:

Only happy to help! ;)

If I find the time this weekend I will try to get some paint on all three interiors.

Speaking of time, I can't believe it's less than a month left to go on this GB.

I wonder how far I have come, perhaps 5-10%? :P

Working on the Tamiya Tomcat has been great fun so far, but time sure flies...

Cheers,

Anders

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks Sanchez and Tyler! And my apologies for the belated reply...

Modelling time the last few weeks has been non-existent, but finally I am able to post some pics of my progress.

The bording ladder interior has finally been painted:

f14a061.jpg

f14a062.jpg

f14a063.jpg

My attempt at the gun clearing sector holdback door interior is painted up and ready for installation:

f14a064.jpg

The RBF flag will get attached later.

Both interiors dry-fitted:

f14a065.jpg

Last, the interior for the grill.

I am not totally satisfied with my final design or how I carried out the construction, but considering how little is actually seen I will stick with this version and get it installed behind the grille:

f14a066.jpg

Well, not much time left on this GB but still a lot left to do on my Tomcat. :thumbsup:

I suppose it's time to consider the possibility of moving my thread to the in progress-forum... can it be done? :)

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Anders,

That stuff looks AMAZING!!!!! the boarding ladder area looks like the real thing, just cleaner. Great job, even a Tomcat maintainer won't be able to find fault, and if they do tell them to talk to me.

You avionic fan looks great and your right, you won't be able to see much once you install it.

Keep up the great build and if you mover your thread let me know so I can follow along.

Great job,

Reddog :thumbsup:

Edited by Reddog
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Many thanks Reddog!

Yes, coming to think of it the bay could use some more dirt and grime. I'll give it another round of weathering. :jaw-dropping:

...

And if you want, you can add one more bar at the bottom and paint it burn amber, it was the drive shaft for the gun and ammo drum.

I just now remembered you suggested I could install the above mentioned drive shaft, something I totally forgot about until now. :doh:

But as I can't find the drive shaft in my references (mainly DACO), perhaps this one is largely hidden behind the ladder assembly (towards the bottom of the bay)?

Dry-fitting the ladder shows that not much space will be left for further detailing, so perhaps I'd be better off to exclude this detail.

I'll let you know where my thread goes! :)

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Great stuff Anders. I always look forward to your updates. Very inspirational.

The ladder recess looks excellent. A little bit of colour and details picked out really makes everything pop.

With the ladder in place that will look absolutely real. First rate stuff.

When you get a photo of the cooling fan assembly in place behind the grille, would you mind posting a pic please? I'm eager to see how it looks.

Already waiting with baited breath for the next installment.

Cheers,

:cheers:

*Edit* Reason for edit, asking a question......

Anders, what ladder do you plan to use please? Are you going to go with the resin item, the Eduard etch or the kit part?

The reason I ask is that the resin ladder sides appear quite thick from photos.

Although the Eduard etch is nice and thin, I was disappointed to see that it is missing the obvious litening holes running down the ladder sides and I don't fancy trying to drill them out through the thin metal.

I'd be interested to see how you plan to overcome these issues.

Edited by geedubelyer
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Thanks Guy, glad you like it and always good to know you're following my progress. :)

As this GB is approaching the deadline I might join you and Chuck along with the other modellers who are currently wrestling Tamiya's big Tomcat over at the in progress-forum.

When you get a photo of the cooling fan assembly in place behind the grille, would you mind posting a pic please? I'm eager to see how it looks.

We (me and my camera) tried a few different angles and this was the best we could come up with:

f14a068.jpg

As stated before, it really is dark in there! ;)

But what can clearly be seen is that the panel line around the vent panel is in dire need of rescribing... :whistle:

Anders, what ladder do you plan to use please? Are you going to go with the resin item, the Eduard etch or the kit part?

The reason I ask is that the resin ladder sides appear quite thick from photos.

Although the Eduard etch is nice and thin, I was disappointed to see that it is missing the obvious litening holes running down the ladder sides and I don't fancy trying to drill them out through the thin metal.

I'd be interested to see how you plan to overcome these issues.

I have come to the same conclusion about the Wolfpack ladder; the more refinements I have added to the bay interior, the less appealing the resin ladder appears, as it indeed is a bit rough in appearance. So I may go with the Eduard set instead.

Of note is that I have not yet compared the resin or PE bits to the kit offering so the final decision on which route to go has yet not been made.

About your observation on the Eduard ladder parts, I am not sure I'm following.

To me the ladder sides indeed feature the lightening holes, or did I misunderstand your question? That has certainly happened before... :whistle:

f14a067.jpg

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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I just now remembered you suggested I could install the above mentioned drive shaft, something I totally forgot about until now. :whistle:

But as I can't find the drive shaft in my references (mainly DACO), perhaps this one is largely hidden behind the ladder assembly (towards the bottom of the bay)?

Don't worry about that, with the canopy lever panel (the panels just below the boarding ladder) closed, no one will be able to see the drive shaft anyway. Press on. ;)

The boarding ladder frame did have the holes down the side.

HTH

Reddog :whistle:

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Thanks Guy, glad you like it and always good to know you're following my progress. :whistle:

As this GB is approaching the deadline I might join you and Chuck along with the other modellers who are currently wrestling Tamiya's big Tomcat over at the in progress-forum.

Cheers,

Anders

C'mon down! I knew this July 1st deadline wasn't going to work, and now I'm glad I can just take my time and do what I want over there, when I want. Some of these builds have been going on for years, so a few extra months is no big deal. 3 big Tamiya cats going at the same time is cool. Have you seen what Guy is doing to the intakes? Very nice so far.

As far as your fan being almost invisible, it's like the wheel wells and all the other areas we've detailed, probably a bit too much: WE know it's there, so that's all that matters. That grill looks very sharp- great job!

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Thanks Guy, glad you like it and always good to know you're following my progress.

As this GB is approaching the deadline I might join you and Chuck along with the other modellers who are currently wrestling Tamiya's big Tomcat over at the in progress-forum.

We (me and my camera) tried a few different angles and this was the best we could come up with:

{~snip~}

As stated before, it really is dark in there!

Cheers,

Anders

Hi Anders, thank you so much for your quick response. That fan behind the grille looks marvellous. Just as I'd hoped. It is now obvious that there is something behind the vanes and that is exactly what I am hoping to achieve. Splendid job and thanks for showing the way. :jaw-dropping:

I have come to the same conclusion about the Wolfpack ladder; the more refinements I have added to the bay interior, the less appealing the resin ladder appears, as it indeed is a bit rough in appearance. So I may go with the Eduard set instead.

Of note is that I have not yet compared the resin or PE bits to the kit offering so the final decision on which route to go has yet not been made.

About your observation on the Eduard ladder parts, I am not sure I'm following.

To me the ladder sides indeed feature the lightening holes, or did I misunderstand your question? That has certainly happened before... :cheers:

f14a067.jpg

Cheers,

Anders

There is no misunderstanding my friend, check this out....

tn_F-14intakes012.jpg

Wierd huh.....? :blink:

This is how my set looks. It is dated 2000 and is set #32-049, what is the date and code on your set please? Either way, it looks like I'll have to fabricate the ladder sides on my build. :worship:

As Chuck says, it will be great to see this build continue in the "In-Progress" forum. Between us all, we might just crack this thing......

Looking forward to more soon Anders,

cheers,

:coolio:

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Don't worry about that, with the canopy lever panel (the panels just below the boarding ladder) closed, no one will be able to see the drive shaft anyway. Press on. ;)

...

Thanks again, I certainly will!

C'mon down! I knew this July 1st deadline wasn't going to work, and now I'm glad I can just take my time and do what I want over there, when I want. Some of these builds have been going on for years, so a few extra months is no big deal. 3 big Tamiya cats going at the same time is cool.

As far as your fan being almost invisible, it's like the wheel wells and all the other areas we've detailed, probably a bit too much: WE know it's there, so that's all that matters. That grill looks very sharp- great job!

Thanks, Chuck! Somehow I thought I could get this thing finished within the GB deadline, but then the build got way more involved than I had thought from the beginning.

On the other hand, it was a looong time since I had so much fun with a kit so I really can't complain.

If this Tomcat takes another couple of years to finish I still know I can expect a lot of fun along the way, so either way I don't see it as a problem.

In other words, the longer the build takes the more fun it should be! :salute:

Hmm, I hope I didn't just now say something I will have to regret later... :rolleyes:

I will contact the mods soon to see if they can help me. Re-posting all my pics and all info feels like it will be too much work, but if the entire thread can be moved I'll be happy to join you. From what I've seen moving threads on this kind of forum should be technically possible, we'll see what happens.

Have you seen what Guy is doing to the intakes? Very nice so far.

As I said to Guy in his thread, with the combined knowledge from both your builds I'll certainly will be in a good position to avoid unnessecary pitfalls.

I sure am taking notes as you both make progress.

Hi Anders, thank you so much for your quick response. That fan behind the grille looks marvellous. Just as I'd hoped. It is now obvious that there is something behind the vanes and that is exactly what I am hoping to achieve. Splendid job and thanks for showing the way.

Thanks and I'm glad you like it, Guy!

For the fan itself I went with Reddogs suggestion of simply drawing on the pattern of the fan blades.

Now, if I could only draw straight lines... ;)

Still, with everything in place I think it looks good enough and in the end it was a real timesaver. Thanks Reddog for the tip!

...

This is how my set looks. It is dated 2000 and is set #32-049, what is the date and code on your set please? Either way, it looks like I'll have to fabricate the ladder sides on my build.

As Chuck says, it will be great to see this build continue in the "In-Progress" forum. Between us all, we might just crack this thing......

...

I had a second look at my set, it is numbered 32-144 and the year is 2005. Seems like my set is of a later generation, then.

And I always thought Eduard's Tomcat exterior set was sort of a half-hearted effort even with the later version I am using... I wonder what else could be missing from your set? :blink:

Not sure if Eduard provide the frame that goes around the ladder sides, though. If going the PE route I might be in for some scratchbuilding on the ladder too...

Cheers,

Anders

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No real progress to report on this build, but I figured it's a good opportunity to show a few items I lately have acquired for this build:

A pair of PE sets from Eduard, formation light panels and interior details:

f14a069.jpg

Following Chuck's experience in his Tamiya F-14B build (check it out if you haven't already!) I will probably not use those formation light panels, but stick with the kit detail.

But the interior set might be of use for the canopy locking latches. Also, from looking at Chuck's ejection seats where he used the Eduard seat belts it might be a good idea to use those items on my seats.

Next up, the F-14A/B/D Data sheet from Fightertown Decals:

f14a070.jpg

This set looks just great, and I look forward to use them. First decals to be applied will probably be those for the ejection seats.

Last but not least, a tow tractor by PWMP of Belgium:

f14a071.jpg

This is the long version with the starter generator on the back, which will be perfect for the small diorama I'm planning.

The kit is almost all resin and looks really good. I think it will be a fitting 'project within the project' to get some time away from the Tamiya Tomcat... :worship:

I also have a few PWMP crew figures and related details for use on my diorama, when that day comes...

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that I have asked the moderators to move this topic to the In progress-forum.

As I said earlier, really hard to belive the GB deadline is just a few days away. Anyway, it's been great fun following all the Tomcat builds going on here.

Thanks everyone for your support so far, and hopefully I'll see you in the In progress-forum soon! :cheers:

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Wondeful job! I'll made it in the same way. For a moment I re-scribed & reveting the exteral surface.
Not sure why I haven't struck upon this build before--it's awesome! Fantastic details work!

Cheers,

Marcel

Thanks Girolamo Girolamo LORUSSO and Marcel111, glad you like the progress so far!

And last but not least, thanks to the ARC team for helping me out by moving this thread to this forum.

As there is no deadline here, I might have a better chance to get this one finished... :tumble:

Well, after taking a short break in the form of a Revell F-14A in 1/144th scale it's time to get back to this project.

What I feel like is getting started on the cockpit, but first another visit to the boarding ladder area.

Comparing the Wolfpack Design ladder assembly with Tamiya's rendition really is a bit pointless as the WD resin item is miles ahead:

f14a072.jpg

However, I still feel the Wolfpack item could use some refinements around the two steps and door.

If one should go with the Tamiya parts there are Eduard's PE parts designed for this area.

I still haven't made up my mind which path to choose here...

I had started detailing the interior of the steps and felt the basic details were just about there when I had another look at my

work and... >sigh< ...suddenly found both bays for the steps look way too shallow! :coolio:

Perhaps my added details only resulted in making those bays look even more shallow but I never really noticed until now.

f14a074.jpg

Some re-building will be needed!

A good thing is that Tamiya molded the inside of the bays pretty thick, leaving plenty of room for making both interiors deeper:

f14a073.jpg

Work on those interiors will start soon...

Finally, this is how the WD ladder assembly looks when dry-fitted:

f14a075.jpg

More to come, but not sure when as time at the bench will most probably be down to a minimum the coming weeks...

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Slow and steady wins the race Anders! Not that there's a race or anything, but I know from experience that rushing things in between family and/or business commitments yields poor results. Take your time Buddy, it will all be worth it and we'll all learn a lot watching you.

Edited by chuck540z3
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Hi Anders,

The resin boarding ladder is a huge improvement over the kit part and will really look good set into the fully detailled recess that you've already done.

I also noticed that you're inadvertantly getting the "Tomcat look" on the fuselage with all of the patchy paint. Excellent! :thumbsup:

I'll watch your modifications to the steps with interest.

Let's hope you manage to get some modelling done before too long.

cheers,

:cheers:

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Thanks richter111, Ryan, Chuck and Guy!

Ryan, good to see you around these parts of modeling cyberspace again! :thumbsup:

Always good to alternate between aircraft and other subjects like AFVs, I think.

Chuck, I agree. Always better to not rush through things and like you said elsewhere, after all it's supposed to be a hobby. :)

Guy, after having a second look at my WD ladder... does it appear to be a bit clunky? :deadhorse1:

Could be the angle in the photo but I'll let the jury stay out a little bit longer on this one.

Ah yes, that patchy paint is indeed very suitable for an aircraft like the Tomcat. I found it a good way to unload the airbrush and at the same check for flaws (there are certainly a number of them to be found...).

I guess it could form a good base for applying the base coat, when that time comes! :P

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks RG and D_IcarUS_ for your interest. :P

Apologies for the belated response, but I didn't have anything new to post on my build until now.

After a couple of weeks vacation with the family, then followed by a few weeks of working and taking care of everyday matters around the house, I must say I've found it rather difficult to get back to the workbench. :salute:

To steer this thing back on track I've began with trying to do something about the depth of the bays for the two folding boarding steps.

The bays provided in the kit were hollowed out. During this work I slipped with the knife a few times and had to do some repairs around the bays (green spots).

f14a076.jpg

The steps as rendered by Tamiya leaves something to be desired.

The outside of each step (left in the pic) looks perfectly ok while the inside feature a rather prominent ejection pin mark:

f14a077.jpg

I increased the thickness of each step by gluing sheet plastic to the inside, which at the same time conveniently serves to hide the ejection pin mark:

f14a078.jpg

Also, I have tried to add the cut-outs for the locking mechanism. Reference pics (primarly in the DACO book) show these openings to be slightly different in shape but this version will have to suffice for now.

Well, that was not much to show but hopefully some more soon.

Cheers,

Anders

Edited by Anders_Isaksson
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Hello Anders,

Nice to see you back at your workbench again.

I'll be keen to see the results of your latest endeavour. I had n't spotted the shallow step openings so I'll be fascinated to see how your modifications improve things.

{~snip~}

Guy, after having a second look at my WD ladder... does it appear to be a bit clunky? :)

Could be the angle in the photo but I'll let the jury stay out a little bit longer on this one.

{~snip~}

Cheers,

Anders

That's a good question Anders. If I were being perfectly honest I'd say yes, I think the WD ladder is too heavy but, it is more detailed than the kit part. Perhaps a little judiscious use of a sanding stick might thin the edges enough to replicate the look of the original?

Again, I'll watch this space to see how it goes.

Cheers,

:)

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