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1/32 F 14 Tomcat


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Hi there,

This is my first post on ARC, I'd been a "Lurker" for a few years, and then I finally registered last October, then I did some more Lurking!!

Anyway, I apologise in advance for the nature of my Question as i'm sure its been asked before.

Looking at the various excellent build threads on ARC regarding Tomcats, I've come to my own conclusions about the Pro and Cons between the Tamiya and Trumpeter 1/32 Tomcats.

These are,

Tamiya,

Pros,

Overall accurate shape.

Nice details.(for quite an old mold)

Cons,

Raised Panel lines!!!.

If you want to build anything other than an early one you will have to throw a lot of aftermarket at it.(This may be the mother of all assumptions on my part)

Price.

Trumpeter,

Pros,

Engraved Panel Lines.

New "cutting edge" tool.

Various models availible. (F14A,B+D)

Lower Price.

Cons,

Fit issues with Intakes. (I'd heard that if you swap the sides over they fit better,Is this true?)

Trumpeters legendary Mistakes with colour and marking call outs(althought research should fix that)

So these are my conclusions, if anyone has any other to add or to correct me in any assumptions please do

but more importantly, Which one would you choose?

Thanks in advance

Mike.

United Kingdom (Well Scotland actually:).)

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Let me ask another question: have you built the Tomcat in any other scale ( 1/48, 1/72)? I think one of these are a good primer for a larger Tomcat build. From experience, I've done several 1/72 and 1/48 Tomcats over the years gradually building up in size and complexity ( most complex, the Hasegawa 1/48 kit with loads of resin). Eventually I tried out the Tamiya 1/32 kit and WhOh! That sucker is a LOT of work and it is BIG! It's been sitting on my shelf half finished for a year now as I lost my Mojo.

Thus, I'm not digging badly on the Tamiya kit but the progressive work and size a 1/32 Tomcat requires a LOT of patience, size, time and materials I was not ready for. Work your way up to it first.

than again, Maybe you are ready and I'm just blowing smoke up your hole :thumbsup:

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The comment about the size of the 1/32 F-14 is very valid indeed. Be sure to have the space to show it, or else you really might want to consider 1/48 instead. That being said, building such a big model is definitely cool. You can go nuts with detailing and have weeks or months of fun.

I never build the Tamiya just the Trumpeter. The issue with the intakes isn't so much the fit, but the shape. It's not angled properly. It fits just fine if you remember to test fit and swap over the parts to check if that perhaps fits better. There's an error here in the instructions for sure but I can't seem to remember what that error exactly is. Always test fit and use clamps and lotsa glue to make sure it sticks. Takes a bit of extra force.

Colour callout's can be fixed by doing research. And for the main body colour you will find out that no 2 F-14's look the same. Especially on deployment maintenance crews tend to paint stuff with whatever they have laying around.

Also depends if you're into modeling for the fun of it, or for the perfection in re-creation. I bet I would have just as much fun with the Tamiya as I would've had with the Trumpeter. Building is 90% if the fun for me. Even the price is sometimes not that different if you spend time looking for good deals.

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Zactoman is making corrected intakes. Hopefully a few other pieces.

I have the D kit, got it for a great price and I am looking forward to building it. It will be a while though as I know that my skills(such as they are currently) will not be able to do it justice.

I am terrible at rescribing, so the Trump was an obvious choice for me at the price that I got it at.

I have a number of nervous looking 1/48th kits ahead of my 1/24th and 1/32nd builds.

I look forward to seeing your build, regardless of the kit you choose.

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Hi Mike,

Welcome to ARC. I'm sure many will offer great advice on this thorny subject.

My twopenneth is a preference for the Tamiya kit. For me the raised panel lines represent no issue as they appear much more accurate looking than deep trenches when compared to reference photos. Also, the rivetting on the nose section and intakes is way subtler and better than the Trumpy offering IMHO.

I agree that the Aires (or similar) resin cockpit is needed and there is no -B/D variant but again, no problem as I wanted an "A" anyway.

For a Trumpeter build you'll definately need the upcoming Zactomodels corrected intakes as the Trumpeter versions are atrocious.

Either one will require alot of work but the overall look and proportions of the Tamiya kit make it my only choice.

HTH and good luck with your build.

:cheers:

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There is a good third option, and that is the Revell F-14. It doesn't sell for the insane prices of the other two (although you have to go to a secondary source to find one as it is discontinued) and what you get in the box is decent (recessed panel lines and reasonable cockpit details for an F-14A). I admit to turn it into a show stopper requires a bit more effort, but IMHO, you aren't having to work against the kit either. The later 80s offering with the VF-124 Gunslingers decals (also reissued by Revell of Germany) is the better issue to get. But, if you know you are going to replace the cockpit ejection seats anyway, the original VF-1 Wolfpack issue is okay as well. The later pressing gives you seats that are scaleups from the Monogram kit. They are good, but resin is better in that area.

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My twopenneth is a preference for the Tamiya kit. For me the raised panel lines represent no issue as they appear much more accurate looking than deep trenches when compared to reference photos. Also, the rivetting on the nose section and intakes is way subtler and better than the Trumpy offering IMHO.

I agree, the raised detail is a non-issue. The minor issue I did have with Tamiya were those raised BDR plates, but these are fairly easily removed.

I thought the major assemblies of the Tamiya kit go together fine, overall there are less parts than the Trumpy kit making it a simpler build.

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There is a good third option, and that is the Revell F-14. It doesn't sell for the insane prices of the other two (although you have to go to a secondary source to find one as it is discontinued) and what you get in the box is decent (recessed panel lines and reasonable cockpit details for an F-14A). I admit to turn it into a show stopper requires a bit more effort, but IMHO, you aren't having to work against the kit either. The later 80s offering with the VF-124 Gunslingers decals (also reissued by Revell of Germany) is the better issue to get. But, if you know you are going to replace the cockpit ejection seats anyway, the original VF-1 Wolfpack issue is okay as well. The later pressing gives you seats that are scaleups from the Monogram kit. They are good, but resin is better in that area.

If you want to do a B or D from the Revell kit, I found the Wolfpack conversion for the Tamiya turkey fit well on the Revell turkey. Found it fit poorly on the Tamiya kit. The different chin pods could be sourced from spares from the Tamiya/Trumpeter kits.

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Thanks for all the replies so far. I think I'm leaning toward getting the Trumpeter F-14D model, The reason I asked in the first place is the missus gave me some money for our anniversary to buy a "Model"(she got a sparkly girly thing in case you are wondering), and I fancied getting a 1/32nd Tomcat, maybe I just need to wait until I'm sure which one to go for before spend the cash

Geedubelyer, what you've done with Tamiya version is nothing short of outstanding :worship:

Thanks again for the replies

Mike

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For me, without an intake correction for the Trump kit, I'd recommend the Tamiya kit.

Fortunately the intake correction is coming along nicely: See posts 29 & 38

The Tamiya kit does have raised panel lines and requires an aftermarket pit but is the most accurate shape-wise. It is older tooling though and can really use some extra work to make it into a great model.

The Revell kit has very soft, simplified detail, big, soft panel lines and some questionable shapes. It would really take a lot to make it great.

The Trump kit does have some shape issues but is modern tooling with lots of nice detail. With the intake correction and some Mr. Surfacer to fill some of the unwanted rivets, it could really be a spectacular model.

:cheers:

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I've just recently finished the Trumpeter kit. Having not built any F-14 of any scale in many years, I can't really comment on the others. But I can say, if you do a little work to correct the intake shape then it builds up into a nice Tomcat. Even the OOB cockpit is nice (granted I say that but still used the Aries one).

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