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F-14B TOMCAT - 1/18TH JSI - REBUILD & UPDATE


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Hi guys!

Wanting to share with you a bit of the Odyssey i threw myself into...unbuilding and rebuilding (and detailing) JSI 1/18 F-14...
It will be my personnal comeback to modelling after a 20 year hiatus...
Been motivated by Steve Czerviski and Dean G. Kleines superdetailed rebuild of that beast.
Don't be too hard on me as it is just like starting again... I will appreciate any hint and tips about the build... it won't be a over-hyper-supa-detailed rebuild, so if you are a rivet counter, you won't be happy here...
It will be rebuilt as NF-14B 163223, either when it was used in NAWC (for weapons trial) or VX-23 (for LANTIRN trial at patuxent River).

Thanks for watching!

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So....

Here it is disassembled, with the cockpit to go...

The whole fuselage is going to be sanded, and checked for "fancy" panelling... (which are many)

And the decals set done by Fightertown Decals, top notch as usual.

Only the servicing marking will be used.

Fortunately, the bird I want to depict, is modexed "210".... note the "201" from the Jolly Rogers release...

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Left cockpit side:

Sanded, then additional riveting done (which was just about missing everywhere!).

Reinforcement plate added around the NFO step.

Reinforcement plate added around the pitot probe.

Cooling system inlet discarded and redone with Evergreen sheet.

Inlet below the gun muzzle opened, and reinforcement plate added around both, and riveted.

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Left side cockpit/

Gun muzzle thinned, and NACA vent opened, reshaped and thinned.

Plasticard added to the gun muzzle to look more as in reality.

Gun mouth pushed backward and rotated on the right axis.

 

Right side cockpit/

Riveting and sanding of the refueling probe cover which is recessed(???!!! Why?), to make it flush with the surrounding aerea.

Reinforcement plate added around the pitot probe.

 

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Well now, it seems I have some competition here.

Nice progress so far. Like I told you before your a braver man than me for tearing this entire thing apart. I wish I would have had the guts to do it. Did it come apart easily ??

The ECS heat exchanger exhaust looks great as well. I'm locked in for the ride. Looking forward to the next update.

 

Steve

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Hi Steve!

It came apart quite easily, and I had help from Dean G. Kleines who told me where to look for hidden screws.

I think that, as those kit are quite old now, the glue used then start to loose its power.

To be honest, if I hadn't the opportunity to get my hands on another copy, I may have not thrown myself into such an endeavour....

Next update soon.

By the way, if you still have your tail stiffener template and willing to share them, I would really appreciate it...

regards,

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2 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said:

You need to make your pictures bigger so we can see the details better. I sent you a email as well.

 

Steve

 Steve, I wish I could but when I post it is said to me that my file cannot be bigger than 104kb.... any hint to overcome this?

thanks!

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I upload on postimage.org and copy/paste the links only, for example.

 

... Holly Molly! Now I realize there is a ready assembled more like a toy kit of the Tomcat in this scale... And then dismantling..., etc. I thought that it is 100% started from scratch. This is so huge! If I build something like that one day, I'll put in real EDF engines, batteries and other components to make it RC. Looks like it certainly could fly with these dimensions...

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7 hours ago, my favs are F`s said:

I upload on postimage.org and copy/paste the links only, for example.

 

... Holly Molly! Now I realize there is a ready assembled more like a toy kit of the Tomcat in this scale... And then dismantling..., etc. I thought that it is 100% started from scratch. This is so huge! If I build something like that one day, I'll put in real EDF engines, batteries and other components to make it RC. Looks like it certainly could fly with these dimensions...

 

Hi!

Thank for the tip! I will try it later today...

No way I ever have the skills/time/patience to make it from scratch ! 

Some guys here have... but not me!

And yes, it is HUGE !!!   :-)

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Hi !

I have tried to get better images through postimage as myfav kindly explained...

The "fancy" panel lines on the spine were filed with CA glue and sanded, sanded, sanded.... to finally have a flush side panel. The primer will tell if it's fine...

Some riveting has also been added on the spine. 

The chaff/flare bucket has been drilled.

The tailboat has also seen some riveting and panel scribing done. 

As it is going to be a -B, the panel lines around the engine have also been filed with CA, and sanded, sanded, sanded... again!!!

The air intake have been thinned, and the inlet on the engine opened.

The whole aircraft has been sanded to the bare plastic.

Thanks for watching !

 

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image gratuite

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Steve,

i have been slowly but surely moving with this project...

I am posting on a french site as it is more convenient for me... (bad French people I am)

i will post a thorough update here this weekend, I swear!

Thank you for your interest!

 

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Hi Guys! 

As promised, a little update about that baby...

The whole upper and lower part of the fuselage have been riveted...

Which is...excruciating and time consuming! (I stopped counting at 1500...).

The wings are next for this treatment.

As boring it may be, it gives this kit a totally new and more "real" look and is worth the work.

I have compared it to the other one I have inbox, and it is not the same kit!

The airbrakes have been glued closed, on both the upper and lower part.

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Hi guys,

Next is the TCS chin pod.

Sanded to bare, panel lined and riveted.

The magnificent red lens from the kit fly down straight to the trash.

The tube from the lens is drilled, then sanded smooth.

A round shaped piece of plasticard is cut, then placed and glued inside the tube.

The whole inside is then painted black.

An evergreen tube is cut to simulate the telephoto inside the TCS.

Its outside is painted black, its inside chrome ad the polished, to mimic the telephoto lens.

A clear lens is cut through a clear plastic sheet, then glued to the telephoto mouth.

Another one, larger, will be done to close the TCS main optic.

A new position light must be done.... but carving tooth brush.... seem a bit far for my skills...

We'll see!

Next step will be the tails reinforcement plates, with the kind help of Steve template!

Regards,

 

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