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


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Thanks everyone for your comments.

A special thank you goes to Brian at Fightertown Decals for sending me the VF-74 Renegades decal sheet and the instruction sheets. The quality & detail is great.

I'm in the process of doing a little more surgery on the little guys. I should be able to post pic's in the next day or so.

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Well, I finally finished my little men. My eyes aren't too crossed after spending a couple of weeks detailing these little guys.

Initially, when I started to paint the flight suits, I wasn't happy with the look of the oxygen mask detail. As a result, I decided to do a 'little' scratch building. First, I carved the molded detail off the front of the figures.

Here's a before & after shot showing the as is figure on the left and the figure with the detail removed on the right;

290Step1_zps6dfa706f.jpg

Next, I started rebuilding the life vest detail using Evergreen plastic bits.

291Step2_zps3c970920.jpg

Once the glue dried, I applied a coat of paint to see how everything looked.

292Step3_zpsc4c06612.jpg

I fabricated the oxygen mask tubing from coiled .2 mm dia. lead wire.

Step4trialfit_zps19408083.jpg

Next I added 1) radio wires from the .2 mm lead wire, 2) oxygen line from plastic sprue, 3) home made Tomcat & adversary patch decals, 4) wire ring clips from wire bits, and 5) final paint.

Here's a series of pic's showing the final result.

294Front_zpsb3d354b4.jpg

295LeftSide_zps1350a146.jpg

296RightSide_zpscc0356c5.jpg

297Back_zpsec000e03.jpg

Here’s one more photo, before I go back to working on the Tomcat.

298Finished_zps9eb9ef87.jpg

Thanks again for looking. :cheers:/>/>

Edited by JohnS
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  • 1 month later...

Hi all, I’m back with a short update for my never-ending build.

I realized a few weeks ago that I forgot a tiny detail when I assembled the windscreen to the fuselage. There are two small indicator light modules that are attached to the inside of the Tomcat’s windscreen frame. I had intended to scratch build these and glue them to the windscreen prior to assembly. So, it took a steady hand to place these modules in place, after the fact.

Here’s a photo showing the end result;

290%20Windscreen%20Indicators_zpsjbxr4hes.jpg

Most of my time, lately, has been experimenting with my airbrush. I’m trying acrylic water based paints for the first time. There have been stories of acrylic paint bonding problems & paint being removed by masking tape. I’m painting some parts from a donor Revell kit to practice using acrylics and masking the camo paint scheme.

Here’s a pic of one of the practice parts;

292%20Acrylic%20Paint_zps92q4iifb.jpg

I’m learning a lot about acrylics, including;

- Tamiya acrylics are difficult to match Federal Standard colours.

- Model Master acrylic FS colours are the same as the Model Master oil based enamels.

- Acrylic model paints have low or no odor.

- I've been able the spray the Model Master paints right out of the bottle with no thinning.

- Cleanup using water or Windex is fantastic.

- Paint finish is very smooth and quick drying.

- The acrylic finish can be sanded after drying, to remove dust particles & defects.

- I haven’t had any problems applying decals, using masking tape, or applying Future or dull coat, on the acrylic finish.

So far, I’m really impressed with the acrylic paint – no smell, easy cleanup, and smooth finish. But, I need to practice and little more before I attempt to paint my Tomcat.

More to follow …

:cheers:/>

Edited by JohnS
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  • 7 months later...

Hi Steve;

I've been too busy watching your incredible F-14 build, to work on mine. lol

This build has been my annual winter project. Unfortunately, our weather hasn't cooperated this year. I've been enjoying our record breaking warm weather lately, and haven't spent any time at the modelling bench.

But I haven't forgot about my F-14. I just finished building a display case to keep the dust off the plane (once it's finished). It's a little smaller than your's.

Display%20Case_zpsdlu6xwx3.jpg

Thanks for asking about the plane. Hopefully, I'll be back at this build soon.

John

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Well, it looks like I'm back in the game. I thought I'd give a short update, in an effort to help keep me motivated to finish this build.

I'm starting the painting process of the fuselage & wings. One of the many disadvantages of stretching this build over a number of years is that every time I pick up the plane, I see more opportunities for improvement. Same thing happened this time with the exterior of the fuselage. So, out with the putty to fix some rough areas. While waiting for the putty to dry, I decided to start painting the wings. As I've mentioned in previous posts, this is my first time using acrylic paints. I'm really impressed how smooth the air brushed paint finish is.

I've completed the base coat of Light Ghost Gray FS 36375 on the wings. The next step will be to apply the Medium Gray FS 35237 camo pattern. I decided to try and match the camo pattern included in the Fightertown Decals F-14A F-14B Tomcat VF-74 Be-Devilers #48052 decal package. To do this, I scanned the Fightertown Decals paint scheme drawing for the Modex 101 aircraft, & resized the scan to 1/48 scale. I'll cut out the camo pattern from printouts of the scan and use this to make paint masks on the various parts of the plane.

Here's a quick pic of the wings and the paint mask printouts.

293%20Paint%20Masks%20-%20wings_zps9fozon8q.jpg

Wish me luck in my quest to finish this build.

Until next time. :cheers:

Edited by JohnS
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Another quick update.

I received some new & much appreciated information about the camo scheme on 101.

As a result, I took the drawings included in Fightertown Decals instructions & scaled them up to 1/48. As expected my Hasegawa model, in the centre of the photo (below), has some dimensional inaccuracies, so I tweaked drawings to match the model (easier than tweaking the model to match the drawings). :rolleyes:

And here's a photo of the printouts I'll use as a guide to lay out the camo scheme on the model. The actual colours will be different, but it's the shapes & locations that are important.

VF-74%20FTD%20Paint%20Mask%20Scaled_zpsxmnjygxr.jpg

Cheers!

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Thanks for the comments guys.

I spent the last couple of days applying the camo pattern to the wings & fins.

Here's a pic showing the process using the printed templates;

294%20Camo%20Paint%20Process_zps1rgqtddz.jpg

I can't say it enough about how much I like using acrylic paint. It goes on smoothly, dries fast, no smell, & clean up is a breeze.

Here's a pic of the wings & fins finish painted.

295%20Wings%20painted_zpsjlpwwrt6.jpg

I'm thinking I'm going to leave the top surfaces of the model relatively clean, but will give the underside some major weathering, especially in the tunnel between the engines, since that area did not receive the new camo paint scheme. Also, I'm going to wait & paint the antennae near the end of the build.

Next up, I'll be adding a coat of Future/Pledge to the wings & fins, and apply the decals. In the mean time, I'll start preparing the fuselage for paint.

Thanks for looking. :cheers:

Edited by JohnS
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John, she is coming along very nicely. Great to see some camo paint on her, love your choice of Tomcat topic.

I can't say it enough about how much I like using acrylic paint. It goes on smoothly, dries fast, no smell, & clean up is a breeze.

Couldn't agree more.

:cheers:

Marcel

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Thanks Steve!

Hi Everyone;

I’ve been working away at preparing the fuselage for paint. I decided to finish off the exhaust first, to ensure the fit & finish was correct before I painted the fuselage. After a little thought, I’ve taken a little different approach instead of using the typical exhaust nozzles. I’m going to display the Tomcat parked on a paved apron, including wheel chocks & FOD covers on the intakes & exhausts. I have a copy of a photo showing 101 parked with black FOD covers. As a result, I purchased a set of Steel Beach vinyl intake covers & resin covered exhaust nozzles. Unfortunately, I could only find the resin parts for the Revell/Academy kits. So, a little sanding and the addition of a 7/8” dia. ring was required to fit the nozzles into the nozzle shrouds. I press fit the nozzles into the shrouds to allow them to be removed to view the afterburners inside the fuselage. After painting, I added Fightertown nozzle decals cut to fit.

Here are a few pics of the completed covered exhausts;

300%20Exhaust%20FOD%20cover%20painted_zpsdm8larm3.jpg

296%20Exhaust%20FOD%20cover%20painted_zpsr51ikpyd.jpg

297%20Exhaust%20FOD%20cover%20painted_zpscfxpzzrq.jpg

29820Exhaust20FOD20cover20painted_zpszszgpini.jpg

299%20Exhaust%20FOD%20cover%20painted_zpshuh23x7p.jpg

Thanks for looking.

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Hi again!

I've started the fuselage painting. I've decided to attach the vertical fins, & fill in the joint between the fins & fuselage, before I apply the overall light ghost grey to the top surface. As a result, I've painted the exhaust shrouds first, since they'll be hard to get at once the vertical fins are glued on. The shrouds are matt black with a chrome silver ring.

Here's a pic of the painted shrouds;

301%20Exhaust%20Shrouds_zpsuc8hsk7i.jpg

The walkways have been added. After some trials & errors, I've used CrossDelta PE walkways. They appear to have just the right amount of anti-skid texture. Again I've used matt black paint. These will be weathered later with a little paint overspray & dirt.

A pic of the walkways;

302%20Walkways_zpszukevmyi.jpg

Finally, the windscreen & canopy were masked with Eduard paint masks & painted with a matt black base coat.

Here's a pic showing where the fuselage stands now;

303%20Matt%20Black_zpsmhhojyux.jpg

Next up, I'll be painting the underside of the fuselage. Bedeviler 101's tunnel between the engines was very dirty with a lot of paint patch work. I'm going to try my best to duplicate this on my Tomcat's belly, before painting the topside. This will be another series of trials & errors for me, so keep your fingers crossed that it will turn out okay.

Cheers!

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Next step is painting the underside tunnel between the engines. I'm fortunate to have received guidance from a fellow who saw this jet in person. He advised that "... speaking with several of the maintenance guy's who were there and even had their names on the jets, they said the bottoms were never painted (with the camo)! Only tops and sides. ... I can tell you bottom of the wings, belly of the aircraft and inside of the intake trunking appeared very dirty and patchy, heavily weathered.".

Here's a pic of 101 taken during VF-74's final cruise prior to taking on the adversary role. You can see how dark/dirty and patchy the underside really is.

VF-74%20101%20USS%20Saratoga_zpsgy492em0.jpg

So, my challenge was to make an effort to try and duplicate a very dirty & weathered appearance on the surface of the bottom of the fuselage that did nor receive the camo paint scheme. I pulled additional photos off the Internet showing how dirty the bellies of the Tomcats could get & where the paint was usually touched up.

Here's an example - Dirty Tomcat

The first step was to paint the tunnel with a coat of light ghost grey. Once it dried, pieces of blue & white tac were applied to the areas that would remain light ghost grey (simulating paint touch-up).

Here's a pic of the tunnel area masked & ready for paint.

304%20Tunnel%20Masked_zpsfuyoejod.jpg

I applied a light coat of thinned raw umber paint to simulate the dirt/grease/oil. Once dry, the 'tac' masks were removed & I applied a coat of black wash & allowed it to dry. I gently wiped the wash off, added oil & soot stains using Tamiya weathering kits, & topped it off with a coat of clear matt.

I think it turned out pretty close to what I had envisioned - "very dirty and patchy, heavily weathered".

Here's a pic showing my dirty jet.

305%20Tunnel%20Painted_zpsqvvypuud.jpg

The final coat of light ghost grey & the camo pattern will be blended into the dirty area along the inside edge of the intake trunks.

Next up, I'll put the decals on the vertical fins & attach them to the fuselage.

Thanks again for looking.

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