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1/72 Fujimi Grumman F-14A Tomcat


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  • 2 weeks later...

Ain't she pretty with those hi-viz markings!

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The markings are a mix of old Microscale F-14A markings, Microscale US insignias and original Fujimi decals. The Fujimi decals are awfully thick whereas the Microscale ones are pretty thin and delicately printed and can't stand Mr. Mark Setter. Both worked quite nicely anyway even though some fixing is needed e.g. on the bort side "NAVY" marking.

Next I'll add the yellow decals for the vertical tails.

The HUD lense. The original solid lense was a bit lame so I drilled a hole for it and made the lense from Micro Kristal Klear. I'm not sure whether it should have some tint on it since I haven't found one single photo showing the lense clearly. Even the DACO book fails here.

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Dang.

The Microscale decals are officially meant for the ancient Airfix kit - hence the too short yellow stripes for the vertical tails. :P The problem naturally concerns only the trailing edges since the leading edge has natural metal finish.

I also have another Fujimi sheet which includes markings for another Swordsmen bird (received from Jackman, many thanks) but these decals refused from cooperation with me. They are quite yellowed and didn't want to come off from the backing sheet. I had to resort to raw power in removing them and you can imagine the end result...

The Microscale stripes worked like a charm and I'm sure the missing lenght can be corrected with some yellow paint.

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The solution:

The too short yellow bands were fixed with pieces of yellow decal from the original kit sheet. The colour difference is more visible in artificial light but overall the tails look quite decent. The thin black stripes framing the bands were carefully done with "00000" brush and black paint.

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Totally awesome, namesake!! :thumbsup:

Always wondered tho how you brush paint that white and get it to look so good?

I´ve been using airbrush the last 8 years now so I´ve forgotten lots of my brushpaint skills....but I never really got white down very well even when I did brushpaint.

Cheers!

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Man still staring at those exhaust....geeezz what a beauty!!!!!!those are fantasticly painted!

well, now onto the other work, it's really great and I love how you repaired the gap of the decals!

great job indeed!

Cheers

:thumbsup:

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Janman, you Da Man!

That looks awesome! I agree with Jack-Swiss. Those exhausts are amazing!

Shame about the Fujimi decals. I feel bad about it. Can I make it up to you by offering you the decal sheet from this kit?

http://www.hlj.com/product/HSG00613

I don't need the Jolly Rogers markings (I only need the data stencils, National insignia , etc) but the rest of the decal sheet is yours if you want it. The best part? It's by Cartograf, so the quality is assured :)

PM me if you want them & I'll have them off to you. :whistle:

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Janman, you Da Man!

That looks awesome! I agree with Jack-Swiss. Those exhausts are amazing!

Shame about the Fujimi decals. I feel bad about it. Can I make it up to you by offering you the decal sheet from this kit?

http://www.hlj.com/product/HSG00613

I don't need the Jolly Rogers markings (I only need the data stencils, National insignia , etc) but the rest of the decal sheet is yours if you want it. The best part? It's by Cartograf, so the quality is assured :)

PM me if you want them & I'll have them off to you. :whistle:

Thanks, fellas!

JackMan, you really don't need to be sorry. I mean how could you have known for sure? You warned me they had yellowed and from that I should've known that some other difficulties might be ahead. I took the risk and I have to live with it. Luckily nothing devastating happened since I had so many other marking options to choose from! We're cool and I really don't need those markings. :) JackMan's a great trader!

Janne, as said a gazillion times :coolio: , I don't brush paint white anymore. Only some smaller areas and detailing parts. Why bother if you can use those great Tamiya sprays - just like I do. :)

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Beautiful work Janman. You have made a very realistic looking Tomcat, build wise and paint wise. I am very impressed with you brush painting skills. This is one of the best brush painted kits I have ever laid my eyes on! Really nice work! :monkeydance:

I look forward to the rest!

Martinsson

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beautiful - how many quick shots did you drink to have such a calm hand for those black lines? :bandhead2:

A whole bottle of freezer-cold "Koskenkorva" vodka. :)

And please keep in mind that I had to paint those black lines only for the extension bits so it wasn't that hard a job.

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B) Janman great work on this cat!!!! I like very much the first years of the cat in the navy and

the old Beaver Tail looks very good and acurate.

Currently I´m working on an F-14 with similar markins.

Realy Great Work!!!

Greetings

FEDE

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Janman,

Didn't anybody tell you that there's a law that you have to put a skull & crossbones on the tails of your Tomcat? B) Tsk, tsk. Great model! I've been watching your build and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't built a Tomcat since I was in college and this makes me want to build another. I like the effect that you got with the Tamiya sprays. Even airbrushing white is a pain the backside for me.

Patrick

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And Congrats on your new baby girl....

Thank you very much! She got a name on Saturday: she's now Saaga Dahlia. :)

:thumbsup: Janman great work on this cat!!!! I like very much the first years of the cat in the navy and

the old Beaver Tail looks very good and acurate.

Currently I´m working on an F-14 with similar markins.

Realy Great Work!!!

Greetings

FEDE

Thanks, I like you signature! Those yellow tails never fail to please the eye.

Janman,

Didn't anybody tell you that there's a law that you have to put a skull & crossbones on the tails of your Tomcat? :cheers: Tsk, tsk. Great model! I've been watching your build and I'm really enjoying it. I haven't built a Tomcat since I was in college and this makes me want to build another. I like the effect that you got with the Tamiya sprays. Even airbrushing white is a pain the backside for me.

Patrick

Heh! That's a good one, Patrick! You can count on me when I say that those markings will never decorate my kitties! :D

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Janman:

Do not know why but I love this scheme.

Hope to see it finished soon, congratulations a great great final is near.

Greetings

FEDE

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  • 3 weeks later...

Coming together slowly - but firmly.

The ventral side is now weathered and only needs a clear coat. Then it's time for rest of the detail parts, which also are finished. I added some wiring for the main gear wells, but they look quite invisible. Maybe I should add some more.

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The Phoenix missiles. The rear pallets will be left empty so I tried to detail them more carefully than the front ones.

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The canvas covers that I scratched from aluminum foil didn't fit under the canopy so they were removed and I had to resort to the original ones. The only thing missing are the seats.

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