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F-14B, VF-74 Be-Devilers Adversary 1/48


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I APOLOGIZE THAT PHOTOS ARE NO LONGER INCLUDED IN THIS THREAD DUE TO PHOTOBUCKET HOSTING ISSUES.

HOWEVER, I HAVE UPDATED LINKS TO THE PHOTOS OF THE FINISHED MODEL AT THE END OF THIS THREAD, BEGINNING HERE!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

 

I'm really looking forward to this build, as it will include two firsts for me - my first 1/48 scale model, and my first experience with resin parts (cockpit & wheel wells). Up until now, I've focused on 1/72 and 1/144 scales only. I'll also be able to use many of the tips and tricks posted by the model building pros on this site.

I'm starting with Hasegawa's 1/48 F-14A Tomcat "VF-14 Tophatters CAG" 09786 kit , Aires F-14B resin cockpit and wheel wells, F110-GE-400 engine nozzles (provided by Rhinolover), and Two Bobs VF-74 decals.

The model will a big brother for my 1/144 scale VF-74 Adversary Tomcat. I'm a big fan of the adversary camo paint schemes.

My first reaction after opening the Hasegawa box was - 'Wow, is 1/48 scale ever big!' :woot.gif:/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>

Here's a photo of the 1/48 kit parts next to my 1/144 Tomcat.

011-48VF-74Build.jpg.

Although I had planned on starting the build later this year in the fall, the plans changed when I opened the Aires cockpit box. I was disapponted to find many of the cockpit detail parts were broken. Rather than shipping the the cockpit back, I decided to repair the 'pit, now, so it would be ready for the actual Tomcat model build in the fall.

Here's a few photos of the progress to date.

Fixing the broken parts.

02ScratchBuilding.jpg

03ScratchBuilding2.jpg

Some additions.

04ScratchBuilding.jpg

The painting begins.

05PaintingBegins.jpg

I'll post more photos as the cockpit painting and assembly progresses.

Edited by JohnS
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A little more 'work' done today. Finished detailing the cockpit tubs and added some 'dirt' & scuffs to the cockpit floor.

06Cockpittubcomplete.jpg

07Cockpittubcomplete.jpg

08Cockpittubcomplete.jpg

The tubs are now pretty well complete.

09Cockpittubcomplete.jpg

10Cockpittubcomplete.jpg

Next up - pilot's & RIO's front control panels and joy sticks

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[size="3"]John S...

The cockpit is looking mighty FINE and even with the scuff marks on the floor your work is SO neat and tidy...

The pictures are so sharp that you can see the details in the tubs..[/size]

:(

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I've been experimenting with colours for the canvas covers for both the pilot & RIO instrument panels. I'm disappointed with how the 'red' colour turned out. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I mixed that colour. So it looks like I'll be doing some stripping and repainting.:jaw-dropping: I'm going to replace the 'red' with the tan colour already on right side of the RIO cover and then add some darker hi-lites to simulate fading.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. :)

11ControlPanelpainting.jpg

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After a little trial and error, I finally got the dirty & grimy look I wanted for the canvas instrument panel covers. I still need to add a flat clear coat, but here's how they look.

12ControlPanelpainting.jpg

13ControlPanelpainting.jpg

I've always had a love/hate relationship with PE parts. Having only made models in 1/144 & 1/72 scale, I was never too concerned about detailing these parts. However, in 1/48 scale they're just big enough to see the detail, but still very small to work with. Here's an example - the Canopy Jettison Handles.

14CanopyJettisonHandles.jpg

In a smaller scale, I'd just paint them yellow and be done with them. However in 1/48, if you look closely, you could see the yellow and black cross hatching on the handles. I tried twice to achieve this, 1st painting them yellow and then painstakingly masking them to paint the black stripes, and 2nd painting them black and then painting the yellow strips. Both times the masking pulled off the paint. So finally, I got the idea to make decals for the handles. The decals were relatively easy to make as I've got a fairly high resolution printer, but they were a PITA to install (on both sides of the handles). Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

15CanopyJettisonHandles.jpg

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John,

Beautiful progress so far. If you dont mind sharing....what is your technique for painting/weathering the canvas covers? They look awesome!

Thanks,

Michael

Thanks Michael.

I wanted to try to simulate a realistic faded, oily, grimy, & dirty look for the covers. Luckily, I didn't have to strip the first painting attempt, as it provided a good base color.

Here's the process.

1) Painted the base colors. I tried to match the tan and purply colors included in many of the available reference photos.

2) Once the base colors were dry, I dry brushed black artist oil paint over the base. This not only provided the dark hi-lites, but it gave that grimy, oily look I wanted.

3) With the oil paint still tacky, I dry brushed black pastel powder over the covers to darken the finish. The pastel powder adhered to the tacky oil paint.

4) I then lightly dry brushed crimson red artist oil paint over the Pilot's and RIO's (left) covers to enhance the purply look.

5) Once this dries, I'll spray a light coat of clear matt.

Hope this helps.

Edited by JohnS
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In a smaller scale, I'd just paint them yellow and be done with them. However in 1/48, if you look closely, you could see the yellow and black cross hatching on the handles. I tried twice to achieve this, 1st painting them yellow and then painstakingly masking them to paint the black stripes, and 2nd painting them black and then painting the yellow strips. Both times the masking pulled off the paint. So finally, I got the idea to make decals for the handles. The decals were relatively easy to make as I've got a fairly high resolution printer, but they were a PITA to install (on both sides of the handles). Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

15CanopyJettisonHandles.jpg

That looks GREAT! I usually just paint the damn things yellow then draw the black crosshatching with a fine tip pen.

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Hi John,

Glad you persevered with the canvas, the end result looks spot on :thumbsup:

The whole cockpit tub looks beautiful, the paintwork appears flawless on my monitor

{~snip~}......but they were a PITA to install Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

Worth all of the pain and anguish though. The canopy jettison handles turned out superbly :cheers:

This all looks very promising and I'm eager to see how this build progresses.

Keep up the good work.

:blink:

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Well, finally finished painting the tubs. This is my first resin 'pit, so I spent a lot of time becoming familiar with, and detailing, the parts. It's too bad most of that detail will be hidden when its assembled in the fuselage.

Here's some photos after the paint was dry.

18Tub.jpg

17Tub.jpg

A shot of things to come.

20Tub.jpg

I tried to get some close-up shots of the instrument panels, but my photographic skills leave a little to be desired. :worship:

16Tub.jpg

19Tub.jpg

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John.

The work done on the IP panels and the cockpit is just AMAZING...looks FANTASTIC AND so like the REAL thing.

Love the coloring and the weathering on the Canvas...SO FINE ....

SUPERB...

HOLMES :thumbsup:

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Thanks again everyone. It's comments like these that encourage me to always try to do the best I can. :worship:

I'm still unhappy with the photo quality, e.g. even though the 'pit is covered in clear matt, the sharp edges reflect the flash and show up white. I'll try to get better shots before I put the sides on.

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