POMPEO Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 nice build...i'm looking your forward cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 (edited) Wow! Really impressive work all around, Chuck! Thanks. I've got some pics with the pipes white, so I think I'll leave them alone. They probably should be sand/brown, but they do get repainted once in awhile I guess. Agreed, from what I have seen it seems those pipes are either white or a more brownish color. Either way should work just fine. And yes, your wheel bay certainly is detailed enough, great work! Considering so little of those details in there will actually be seen, what you have added goes a long way. Again, great stuff. Keep it up! Cheers, Anders Edited April 1, 2009 by Anders_Isaksson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Agreed, from what I have seen it seems those pipes are either white or a more brownish color. Either way should work just fine.And yes, your wheel bay certainly is detailed enough, great work! Considering so little of those details in there will actually be seen, what you have added goes a long way. Cheers, Anders I was almost embarrassed to post pics of it after seeing what you've done to yours, because your front gear bay is SO nice! The reality is that I'm just not good enough to get it to that level (I suck at scratch building), so what I've done is about all I can do. Those little clamps on your hoses really make it look real. In the big picture, however, the only time I've looked at the wheel bays of the Tomcat I made 2 years ago is just last week- and that was only because I was making a new one and I wanted some construction info on how it all went together. Still, I wish mine looked like yours, but at least it's better than stock. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 (edited) SEATS! Tiny, tiny seats with even tinier seatbelts and tiny stuff I have no idea about. Here's the details: Aires seats that came with the cockpit set. Eduard F-14A seat detail set (32-504) Eduard F-14 Tomcat placards (Self adhesive, 32-605) Some Aires photo-etch bits Tamiya kit overhead ejection hoops I forgot to ask earlier, but how much of Eduard set 32-504 did you use on those Aires seats? With the excellent detail already molded on the seat I am pondering wether it could be worth it to get that set or not. In the big picture, however, the only time I've looked at the wheel bays of the Tomcat I made 2 years ago is just last week- and that was only because I was making a new one and I wanted some construction info on how it all went together. Still, I wish mine looked like yours, but at least it's better than stock. Thanks again for your kind comments, Chuck! While I feel I really went a bit overboard with the detailing of the NLG bay, I just could not help myself as I had too much fun doing it. With such a large kit as the Tamiya Tomcat I imagine each modeller choose different areas to focus their effort on (and then some modellers go for all areas... B)). As for me I am a bit worried that I have spent too much of my available energy and motivation on an area that will remain mostly out of sight. Right now I feel I should be working on the cockpit and try to bring it up to the same level as you have on your build, but I just can't seem to get around to it... :wacko: These Tamiya kits are so good and yet so bad at the same time. They wind up being very accurate when you’re finished, but it takes a lot of work to get them there. I consider them to be F-14 framework to fix, rather than a model to build. The Revell kit may be easier to build, but it still looks goofy when you’re finished with its fat nose- at least it looks that way to me. I believe you hit the nail on the head; the Tamiya kit sure need a lot of work to arrive at a decent standard but in the end I am convinced that the finished model will look great, as IMHO Tamiya did a great job on capturing the shape of the Tomcat - making it well worth the extra effort. Well, enough of my ramblings... ;) I'm looking forward to your next update. Cheers, Anders Edited April 2, 2009 by Anders_Isaksson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 2, 2009 Author Share Posted April 2, 2009 I forgot to ask earlier, but how much of Eduard set 32-504 did you use on those Aires seats?With the excellent detail already molded on the seat I am pondering wether it could be worth it to get that set or not. Cheers, Anders I have 3 Eduard sets for this build: 32502 F-14A interior. I just used the seatbelts and a couple of the ejection handles. at the side of the seat. The ejection hoops at the top of the seat are from the Tamiya kit. I like the Eduard set more than the Aires one for the seatbelts because they're already painted and some of the buckle bits are more refined. Make sure you "dirty them up" drybrushing with flat black, or they'll look too shiny. 32534 formation lights. I've used these before, but the only thing I'll likely use (maybe not, depending on decal color) is the formation light interior bit. The formation light frame, which has nice rivet trim, sticks out from the fuselage too much, so the light doesn't look natural up close. If you look at pics of the real deal, the formation light is always flush with the rest of the fuselage. The color of the formation light is bang on, but many decals are way too bright and yellow. If my fightertown decals are dull enough, I'll just go with decals, if not, I'll use the Eduard inserts. 32605 placards. I used these on the seats (check the top of my seats on either side above), but the Fightertown decal set has enough of them that you don't really need them for the interior. If you aren't using Fightertown decals, you may want this set instead. The set also has placards for just about everything else like the wheel wells and landing gear. The placards are a little thick, but there aren't decal alternatives to many of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Very nice work on the cockpit! Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 (edited) As you may recall above, I hate the Wolfpack nozzles, so being the smart guy I am, I've ordered the Tamiya ones from the F-16CJ. It turns out the Wolfpack nozzles are not only short, they're narrow as well- at least compared to the Tamiya ones. Crap! After some thought, I've determined the solutions to be: 1) Stick with the Wolfpack nozzles and re-sell the Tamiya ones. 2) Cut the Tamiya petals to make them fit the Wolfpack base. 3) Find a Teknics airframe conversion, which will either be larger to fit the Tamiya nozzles, or at least come with proper fitting (& looking) nozzles. Well, there's no way I'm going with #1. I think the Wolfpack nozzles look Mickey Mouse. As for # 2, I can just see me making a big mess and it'll look worse than #1, which leaves me with #3. Yes, I just bought a Teknics f-14D airframe conversion on ebay last night. I'm also buying the full engine bits for the Tamiya F-16 (X 2), since it's the only 1/32 GE 110 engine that is seamless with the outside bits and the inside bits. Yes, I'm nuts, but wish me luck anyway. I always like to try new things, even if it gets a little expensive. :wub: Meanwhile, here's some more progress pics of the front fuselage. The nose cone takes a lot of work to make it fit properly, so it needs a lot of sanding and CA glue at the seam, because rescribing putty is always a mess. I even added those windshield rain blower thingies up front.... Edited April 29, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 Man that's a dang problem....seems option 3 is really expensive but afterall the best option aaaaand those 2 entire engines will look awesome!!!! Keep it up mate! Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted April 5, 2009 Share Posted April 5, 2009 As you may recall above, I hate the Wolfpack nozzles, so being the smart guy I am, I've ordered the Tamiya ones from the F-16CJ. It turns out the Wolfpack nozzles are not only short, they're narrow as well- at least compared to the Tamiya ones. Crap! Awww crap is right!!! The Teknics nozzles are wider than the Wolfcrap stuff as well Man, it never ends. I should have done what you`re doing, go with the Teknics set. Really enjoying your build!! The work and parts list is spectacular. Hopefully the issues you`ve found will help someone else through their build. By the time i`m ready to do another `Cat i hope somebody will have a new tool, super accurate kit out. BTW, nice job on the windscreen. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 Hey Man, I'll sell you some exhaust can stuff in the next 30 days. Right now, I'm not sure which!!!! Good thing I didn't sign up for the Tomcat Group Build with a cut-off of July 1st! I'll never make it with all the chnages! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Hey Chuck sorry to hear of your misfortune. I bet this build is getting quite expensive, but dang is she going to be a nice looking pussycat when finished. I cant wait to see more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 (edited) Well, I'm pulling out all the stops on this GE-110 burner can issue. I'll keep throwing money at this build until I get it right! :wacko: In about a week I'll have the following burner can options: 1) Wolfpack. Not very likely. 2) Tamiya. Likely, but only if it will fit #3 airframe bits. 3) Teknics. Only if #2 won't fit. 4) And now I've gone out and bought the following on ebay (check out 1/32 modeling). They look pretty good and I can have a closed nozzle on one side if I want. I can also use these babies on future F-16 Block 30/40/50 builds or on my next Tomcat. One problem I still have is that the Teknics airframe conversion does not have that silver ring at the front where the nozzle attaches. The Wolfpack set has it and the Tamiya F-16 airframe bits have it, so maybe I can do a Tamiya to Teknic hybrid with glue and putty? This build is going to kill me. :) Edited April 6, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have 3 Eduard sets for this build:32502 F-14A interior. 32534 formation lights. 32605 placards. My apologies for the late response to your reply on the Eduard sets. Thanks for the added info, it sure looks like I will pass on the Eduard seat detail set. I already have the exterior, interior and the formation lights set. Was surprised to see that Eduard provides two versions (early and late) for the formation light framework but as you noted it looks like those details will protrude too much from the fuselage surface to look realistic... I hope you get the exhaust issue sorted out at last, keep at it! Cheers, Anders Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Ummm... have you fitted the ebay copies to the kit yet?.... There was a big there 'elsewhere' about those ebay parts and how they aren't right -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Ummm... have you fitted the ebay copies to the kit yet?....There was a big there 'elsewhere' about those ebay parts and how they aren't right -brian Yes, I read all about the issue "elsewhere" before. As I understand it, the perceived error, was not an error at all, but an inclusion of some exhaust petal detail on the left side that is usually missing on other exhaust kits- ie: what was thought to be "on the wrong side" was not wrong at all, but an addition instead. This was later supported by photographs like the one submitted below. People thought the "pressed form doubler" detail was the darker detail on the other side of the petal. It appears to my eye that, correct or not, the scale is all wrong and too big. That's what sandpaper is for. :) Meanwhile, if they fit, I don't know of another source for closed 1/32 GE-110 cans. If they don't fit, oh well, it won't be the first time I bought something that was a waste of time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) While I wait for burner cans to arrive, I may as well get on with the most boring and difficult job in the build: Re-Scribing panel lines. My first victim is the belly, where you have to insert that supid little square into the middle. It makes no sense, it adds nothing and it doesn't fit very well. Having encountered this problem before, I ground down the little panel clips that fit behind and then used lots of glue, allowing the clips to melt and relax as I clamped the pieces together. It didn't come out flat, but it was better than last time, so putty work was minimal..... Next the rescribing, which I do on each piece before I put them together. It's easier to do this way, but I'm careful to not re-scribe near the boundaries where the pieces fit together. This should be done after assembly, when you can get the lines straight across glue boundaries. I recribed each panel line first, so that I would know where it's supposed to be, then I sanded everything down with 600 grit sandpaper. Once this was accomplished after many hours, I gave it an oil wash to find all the imperfections. This is a really good quick and dirty way to find screw-ups, which can easily be fixed with putty at this stage. Note the panel is almost gone, even without paint.... Now the panel lines at the top near beaver tail are always a mystery. The Tamiya panel lines are mostly correct, but the ones towards the rear are all wrong. Since pics of this area are very hard to find (anybody have some?), I used a hybrid of what Masa Narita used in his build and what's found on the Fightertown decal instructions. I don't know if they're right or not, but they're better than most, since I've noticed that many re-scribe every Tamiya line because they don't know any better. Here's how she looks now. If I've screwed up, now would be a good time to tell me.. Note that the engine fairings have been cut to accommodate the Wolfpack airframe bits. If I go with the Teknic set, I'll have to cut this part back even more.... Edited April 29, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Hello chuck!! great work on the rescribing. I cheated on my build and didnt do much if any rescribing between the intake/engines because the Phoenix pylons cover most all of this area. A good reference for me when it came to rescribe is here http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spi...hristine_parts/ . Lots of great reference detail shots. I could never figure out that square piece either. I cut the locators off, too but i also bent the corners down a bit to help with the fit. Once again, the Phoenix pylons covered most of this area so i wasn`t too concerned. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Phartycr0c Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 That is some outstanding modelling! I completed one of these recently, but even worse was that it was the original Tamiya release from 1983 or something. I started to rescribe but I lost all interest after a few lines and gave up. That cockpit and seats are amazing! Keep up the good work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 WOW, great job on that plate on the belly. I built one of these, and didnt really see the purpose of that, but you tackled it nicely! Great job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 A good reference for me when it came to rescribe is here http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spi...hristine_parts/ . Don Wow! What a PERFECT detailing site! I owe you man, because there just isn't any pics of some of the stuff I want, like the area around the beavertail. Now I have to putty in some of what I did already, but better now than later! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 (edited) Thanks to Don’s pic link, I altered the panel line detail near the back to more accurately reflect the small square panels that aren’t there on the Tamiya detail. The real pics show that there are a number of very subtle panel lines at the back, but from a distance you probably wouldn’t see them, so I left them off. You can see the shadow of what my guess was before in putty filled seams…. The other thing these real deal pics show is that there’s a LOT of rivet detail which is missing, so I tried out my new Trumpeter rivet tool and voila, rivets. You can see where I got off line a little bit (I need practise), but after painting and weathering, you’ll never see it…. There’s also a very distinct panel on the turtle back that I added along with some more rivets… Other panel lines along the length of the back will be done later after assembly to ensure a straight line. I’m just trying to bang off as much detail as I can now before I get everything together to save time and future effort. Edited April 29, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted April 11, 2009 Share Posted April 11, 2009 Wow chuck what a rescribing job!!!! congrats! Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 (edited) Wow chuck what a rescribing job!!!!congrats! Cheers Thank you Jack. Here's today's progress. There won't be much progress in the next few days because we have in-laws staying over........ I'm nearing the end of re-scribing hell..... :) Edited April 29, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 There won't be much progress in the next few days because we have in-laws staying over........ :( That's no problem....go away in silence and go modelling LOL LOL!!!!! Dude, I see you used the trumpy riveter...I would have never said it from the pics without the riveter...They are btter then I thought!!! Are you happy of it? I can't wait to start a project where I have to use it... Cheers man and keep at it... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 (edited) Well, it’s been quite a week. I’ve been buying all sorts of extra parts in an attempt to perfect my build, but I got a little carried away. I bought the Teknics cockpit kits below, mostly for the canopy rail stuff, which Black Box and Aires kits don’t have- or at least not good ones. Then I secured the Teknics airframe conversion set, to replace the Wolfpack set I’m not happy with, so that I could attach proper looking exhaust cans. The Wolfpack set are too short and they look goofy. Once I gathered all this stuff up, I came to conclusion that to break up a rare Teknics F-14D set of cockpit and airframe conversion is a crime, so I set them aside for a future build. For all my gripes about the Wolfpack set, it has a few things going for it that not even the Teknic kit has, like a proper ring where the exhaust can attaches to the airframe and a beautifully detailed can interior, which is even better than the Tamiya one used in the F-16 kit and it's seamless. Since I already had the Tamiya parts via special order, I got to work. I’ll start off with the punchline, then show you how to make one too (if you’re crazy). Here’s the end result, sans Future and weathering which I’ll do later. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself… Now here’s what I did to create the sucker. First you need 4 of these sprues from the F-16CJ kit to make 2 cans... As you may recall, I tried to put one of these together on the Wolfpack fairing and this is how it looked. Too big… Edited April 29, 2009 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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