Guard Hog Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Steve! Great work -- without a doubt the nicest Tomcat I've seen (and there are some great ones out there). Especially great since you used the good old Revell kit. Awesome work! - Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Incaroad Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Very nice Tomcat. The Monogram Tomcat has some great lines to it. If it's not to late there is one thing that I think would make your Tomcat look a bit better... The Face curtain Pull rings on top of the seat. Can you cut m off and replace them with something a bit smaller. I use Copper wire or Solder that has that droppedlook to it... Makes them look more realistic at least to me... An example: Second shot obviously a Phantom II but the Face curtain pull rings are made with the same thing... I truly like what you've done with this kit. It ain't the easiest to build having built one when it first came out a looooong time ago. I mean no disrespect to what you've accomplished with your Tomcat it does look crisp! Cheers, Larry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Larry, Thanks for the feedback. As much as I agree that yours look very nice, I just can't bring myself to pull those seats out now. Believe it or not, it's actually a relief that this kit is mostly done, with the exception of the tailhook and the bombs. Oh, and yeah - I need to outline the nose gear doors in red; I must have missed that for some reason. I'll definitely take your advice for future builds, though. In fact, the Hasegawa F-16C that I'm working on now for the Reserves Group Build has a replacement ejection handle (and a lot of other scratchbuilding as well: Once again, thanks for the feedback! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Steve! Great work -- without a doubt the nicest Tomcat I've seen (and there are some great ones out there). Especially great since you used the good old Revell kit.Awesome work! - Tom Tom, Thanks very much. However, there are a lot of Tomcat models that are much better than mine, and you need look no further than the gallery right here at ARC to find them. However, I'm truly flattered, and I really appreciate the kind words. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bugfan Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Well its about damb time you got one finished. I had given up on you . Anyhow, nice build Steve, I like the way it came out, and the weathering doesnt look bad at all from this end. CONGRATS my friend!! Jack aka BUGFAN Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Well its about damb time you got one finished. I had given up on you . Anyhow, nice build Steve, I like the way it came out, and the weathering doesnt look bad at all from this end. CONGRATS my friend!! Jack aka BUGFAN Uh, is this the SAME GUY who hasn't torn the shrinkwrap off his Tamiya F-14 yet? Thanks, Jack - glad you like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Incaroad Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Larry,Thanks for the feedback. As much as I agree that yours look very nice, I just can't bring myself to pull those seats out now. Believe it or not, it's actually a relief that this kit is mostly done, with the exception of the tailhook and the bombs. Oh, and yeah - I need to outline the nose gear doors in red; I must have missed that for some reason. I'll definitely take your advice for future builds, though. In fact, the Hasegawa F-16C that I'm working on now for the Reserves Group Build has a replacement ejection handle (and a lot of other scratchbuilding as well: Once again, thanks for the feedback! :thumbsup My pleasure Steve. I'm new to this forum and have seen some fine work. I love the Tomcat for it's pleasing lines and I've always thought the Monogram F-14A had the best look to it. I have been asked by the China Lake Museum to build Fast Eagle 107 that Admiral Vinlet was in at the Gulf of Sidra and I want to do it with the Monogram model. Cheers, Larry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bugfan Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Uh, is this the SAME GUY who hasn't torn the shrinkwrap off his Tamiya F-14 yet? BUSTED!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cyrus Tan Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Steve...Awesome work! I didn't catch this thread until now?? Well eventhough it took you 3-4 years to "almost" complete, the results were worth it! Also, you probably appreciate this build more than others you've done because I know I certainly I did when I finished mine. And I completely understand why this will be your last Monogram F-14 . Been there done that! All you need is one exceptional build like this one. Btw, did you use any aftermarket at all? Looking forward to your article Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Cyrus, Thanks very much! I know that Darren can crank these kits out like nobody's business (and they look really nice to boot), but I just don't have the patience to do this again. The next one is already started, and it'll be a Hasegawa the next time around. You're right, BTW - I think I do appreciate this model a little more than the average kit, because now I know exactly how much work has to go into this kit to do it up right. Actually, I almost feel like I did it the hard way for the hard way's sake..... As far as aftermarket parts go, the only thing on this entire model that is aftermarket is the LANTIRN pod, and I even wound up modifying that a bit. All else is either out of the kit box, out of another kit box, or scratchbuilt. It was fun, and I learned an awful lot along the way, but I'll be doing Academy and Hasegawa Tomcats from now on. Once again, thanks very much for the kind words! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FrankC Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Steve, marvelous result with that Revell kit :blink: Love the weathering - you nailed it. :huh: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jug-junkie Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Hi Steve, Just picked up on this one now and spent the last 2 hours from start to finish. Fantastic build and the result is truely stupendous. Excellent work and only 4 years in the making :blink: I am finishing off a F15 and I have an Academy A cat which after going through this build - is looking real appealing. Whats next? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Mullen Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Awesome Cat Steve :D Looking forward to the article :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share Posted February 27, 2007 Guys, Once again, thanks very much for the kind words - I'm very glad that you all like my Tomcat, and although it took a LONG time to finish, I'm hoping that this will get me out of my building slump once and for all. I'm VERY flattered by all of the wonderful comments, as well as the constructive feedback that I've received, both here on the boards and by e-mail. I am finishing off a F15 and I have an Academy A cat which after going through this build - is looking real appealing. Whats next? Well, next up is the Hasegawa F-16C Block 30 for the Reserves Group Build. I'm making steady progress on this one, and once I get the intake smoothed out (which is almost done), the rest of the build should go very quickly. If there's time before this GB ends, I'd also like to do a MA ANG F-15A using the Academy 1/48 kit, although I think I'll be cutting it close. Lotsa projects on the burner; now it's just a matter of finding the time. Once again, thanks so much for the kind words and the constructive feedback so far! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tango 1 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Wow! Steve that is incredible work! Puts my F-14 to shame, I have just read through the entire thread and must say how impressed I am with what you have done. Superb! :lol: Regards, Darren. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Filak Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 Thanks, Darren - I'm glad you like it. You know, when an in-progress project goes this long, it's really kind of funny to watch the learning curve. I look at some of the things that I modified or scratchbuilt early on in this project, and I'm almost embarrassed at how some of the stuff looks (such as my first attempt at epoxy putty seat belts). However, one of the great things about this site is how much we learn from each other. Since I started this project, I experimented with some new things, I tried and failed in some areas, and I went back and re-did a lot of things that I originally did - but if nothing else, I learned.....a lot. I learned by watching others, and listening to their advice, and that's a great thing. I think that the one crucial lesson that I learned was not to get so wrapped up in any one project. Overall, I'm very happy with how this model came out in the end, but most people have probably built a dozen models in the time that it took me to do one. I wasted a lot of time worrying about minutiae, when I should have wrapped it up, painted it, and moved on to the next model. As Steve B. is fond of saying, life is too short for a kit stash. I'm going to try to change tactics this year, and stop sweating the small stuff to the extent that I do. I'd like to make this year one to start really filling the display shelves. Once again, thanks to all for the most kind comments. ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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