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1/32 Tamiya F-14B, VF-101 Grim Reapers


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Man oh Man Chuck. This is going to be a real gem when you get that dull coate on. Mind if I get your input on my kitty? Well that is when I finally get one? I know it wont look near as awesome as yours, but when you learn from the best you become the best! Thanks for showing this beautiful kitty!

Edited by JMan
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Man oh Man Chuck. This is going to be a real gem when you get that dull coate on. Mind if I get your input on my kitty? Well that is when I finally get one? I know it wont look near as awesome as yours, but when you learn from the best you become the best! Thanks for showing this beautiful kitty!

Thanks JMan. I recommend you do 2 things before you give this a whirl. Assuming you've read my instructions above, I'd also give these instructions I did back in December a review. I've modified my technique a bit since then, but the overall concept is the same:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index....p;#entry1595503

The second thing I'd do is to give it a try on something that doesn't matter, like an old model or fuselage part that you don't care about. Once you get the hang of it, then go for it. It's a lot of fun!

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Chuck,

here's a brain-teaser: Will you apply the wing Stars-And-Bars upside down as the evidence shows you should pic, at least if you'd be doing "164"?

:woot.gif:

Cheers,

Marcel

Nope! I'm doing "101" (BuNo 163222) which is an F-14B. 164 is a "D", but I used that pic extensively for ideas on how to weather the back. One other big difference is the ramps are gray on mine, vs. traditional black on 164. Another quirk of "101" is that it doesn't have all those annoying "No Step" stencils all over the place. :woot.gif:

Having said all that, if I WAS doing 164, that decal would be placed upside down- just like the decal instructions call for.

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Nope! I'm doing "101" (BuNo 163222) which is an F-14B. 164 is a "D", but I used that pic extensively for ideas on how to weather the back. One other big difference is the ramps are gray on mine, vs. traditional black on 164. Another quirk of "101" is that it doesn't have all those annoying "No Step" stencils all over the place. :woot.gif:

Having said all that, if I WAS doing 164, that decal would be placed upside down- just like the decal instructions call for.

Should have know you're all over this :woot.gif:

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Did you do that weathering with rock-salt? Or the stuff that you use on the driveway and sidewalks during the winter-time?

That weathering job looks absolutely awesome.

Thanks. Ordinary table salt and sea salt from a grinder like below....

Salt20.jpg

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Now the real fun begins! Dullcoat!

With all the layers of paint and Future, it's really hard to photograph just exactly what the model will look like at or near the end. The indoor lighting I've used also makes things difficult, because it reflects off the shiny Future. I've noticed that many of you photograph your models outside. Now I know why. Here she is sitting in the sun on my outdoor hot tub with a fresh coat of MM dull lacquer (MAN, does this stuff STINK! :bandhead2: , Protect yourself with proper mask and ventilation!).....

Dullcoat1.jpg

Dullcoat2.jpg

Dullcoat3.jpg

Dullcoat4.jpg

The bottom....

Dullcoat5.jpg

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A few more pics. This thing really looks like a weathered Navy bird now....

Dullcoat6.jpg

Those grease marks on the wing look fairly accurate...

Dullcoat7.jpg

The shiny skunk stripe got toned down a bit, but not too much....

Dullcoat8.jpg

The sides will still need some Tamiya pastel work....

Dullcoat9.jpg

And one last shot in the shade, just in case you thought it was still too shiny. This bird is DULL!

Dullcoat10.jpg

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Chuck, did you polish the gloss black skunk stripe? How bout the vertical tails?

Im on the fence whether or not this would be correct....my thinking, "self, they crews wouldnt care too much about the glass like paint look."

Cheers, Mike

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Chuck, did you polish the gloss black skunk stripe? How bout the vertical tails?

Im on the fence whether or not this would be correct....my thinking, "self, they crews wouldnt care too much about the glass like paint look."

Cheers, Mike

Hi Mike,

There's really no right or wrong way to weather (or not) the black stripe or vertical stabilizers. I've seen them nice and shiny like the pic below.....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/isht...CAG_SHARK_1.jpg

....and I've seen them heavily weathered- even rusted. My bird was re-painted to its current configuration in 2004, then it crashed shortly thereafter. I'm thinking "unweathered", or at least not very much. ;)

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This is, without doubt, one of the most realistic weathering jobs I've seen, all subjects and a/c included... given some reference pics that were shown and found... you sir, are hitting the nail on the head with this build.

Wow, you are too kind! With that kind of praise, pressure is on to finish it off and see how my cockpit and burner cans look all assembled!

This will take a while due to personal and business commitments. I need to finish off the gear doors, landing gear (the Tamiya gear is crappy) and make a decent looking CATM-9 missile and ACMI probe attached to two LAU-7 launchers (kit ones suck too) on the port side. The empty pylon on the starboard side will take some work too to make it look like the real deal. Oh well, good thing I'm not in a hurry! ;)

Here's one last close-up pic I took today in the shade.....

Dullcoat11.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
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Thanks again Guys!

For a whole bunch of reasons, I won't be modeling for about 3 weeks. I keep telling myself that "this is only a hobby", but it kills me to not finish this baby sooner than later. Oh well, I promise to make it very pretty at the end if you are patient.

In the interim, I offer the following pics of what I found when I removed the Tamiya tape from the cockpit after all that painting and weathering. This is the stage when I almost always find a whole bunch of boo-boos like paint that leaked underneath, glue that seeped into places it shouldn't and maybe a cloudy canopy. I'm very happy to report there was NOTHING to fix, so I must be learning! :beer4:

I threw in the seats just for fun and, although I'm not finished with canopy hooks, etc., I think it looks pretty darn good, even for me. I hope you think the same.....

Cockpit18.jpg

Cockpit19.jpg

Cockpit20.jpg

That green food coloring added to Future looks really good to me on the windshield ("windscreen" for our British buddies)

Cockpit21.jpg

Note how I tried to make the side fuselage dirty where the pilot and RIO would enter and leave their respective seats. This was done at the salt weathering stage, which is why it looks mottled and more natural than straight black/brown....

Cockpit22.jpg

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