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1/48 Tamiya F-14A VF-142


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Finally decided to give this a try! VF-142 as seen around the '85-'86 timeframe. My goal is to familiarize myself with the kit in preparation for a future TPS build I have in mind. My inspiration is this:

F-14A_VF-142_Ghostriders_Jan_1985.JPEG

 

Image taken from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/my_public_domain_photos/6987508829

 

The starting point for this was here: 

 

 

In addition to the AM shown below, I plan on getting Steel Beach's ECM blisters. I haven't decided yet, but I am leaning toward just using the kit wheels and not the AM ones, even though they will be wrong for the time frame. 

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Started with the cockpit. Most glass panels are acetate films painted from the backside. 

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Tamiya's 2-part epoxy for the IP shroud canvases, and minor additions to the seats. The pilots will be seated, so I plan on no seat straps:

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Edited by Janissary
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Thank you both. For the glasses, I used acetate film (that comes in men's new button-down shirt collars), painted from the backside. Yes, I plan to go with the two-color shrouds. AFAIU, the difference is due to the two sides weathering differently? 

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Solid work on that cockpit. Very nice. Those Wheeliant wheels look good until you build them. The dimensions are off and the tires look giant and squared. There are plenty of other AM good ones out there...

 

people seem all all excited about 2-tone RIO covers. The only time I've ever seen that is on a museum jet. I can't remember ever seeing Fleet jets with different color fabric. But I have seen green, light brown and dark brown covers out there (a few black ones on Test D jets). They did fade but always faded consistently in my exposure. Just thought I'd share that. YMMV. 

 

Cant wait to see the progress. 

Brian 

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Thank you guys. Brian, now I have to reexamine the basis for my conviction that the two-tone canvas exists. I was absolutely certain that it was common, until your comment! Now I question whether I formed that opinion based on models I have seen, or the real thing 🤔 A quick online search, plus a full scan of my own library, and it is still inconclusive.

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Nice looking pit 😄 I Think you have a lot of freedom with the RIO canvas, it was more worn on the port side from handling during ingress/egress.

 

here is an older thread on the canvas issue

 

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/179994-f-14-canvasvinyl-in-the-cockpit-questions/

 

 

Edited by Aigore
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9 hours ago, Janissary said:

For the glasses, I used acetate film (that comes in men's new button-down shirt collars), painted from the backside.

That's a real good idea and it looks very realistic. I gotta try that on my next build. Thanks!

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Two tone RIO IP covers were rare instead of the norm. The reason why there was two tone covers is (as stated) that they were two piece and if one was torn (usually the left side) it would be replaced if it could not be repaired.

 

The reason why the left side was usually the one replaced is because when maintainers got on top of the jet via the boarding ladder with a tool box they would put the tool box on the left side of the IP and if they were careful it would tear the cover. Again, it was rare that this happened (tearing) but it did happen and have seen a few covers replaced.

 

BTW, in that thread linked by Aigore, I'm Reddog.

Edited by GW8345
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Thank you all, all this info makes me even more excited about this build. 

 

I am now getting close to painting the pilots. In the first image I posted, the helmets in yellow are visible. For visual variety though, would it be accurate to have dissimilar helmets, say one yellow, and one white or LGG?

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2 color helmets?  Not if they're from the same squadron. Personal helmets - That's a Top Gun movie myth. The squadron has a standard helmet and everyone wears the same design. Callsigns on the back would be the only personal difference. Where you might have 2 different ones is if you had CAG, or someone from the Wing flying with you. They may have a helmet from a previous squadron... it went so far as shoelaces. A certain RIO friend was still wearing red laces from the previous (and much more Sierra Hotel squadron) a week after checking into the new one. Skipper made it very clear that if he wanted to be part of the squadron, he wouldn't be be seen in old colors the next day. 

Edited by Brian P: Fightertown Decals
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  • 5 weeks later...

Thank you very much Brian, Viper, Steve. A small update. 

 

Intake tunnels painted with a mix of gloss and flat white. To simulate discoloration and dirt, I sprayed a thin layer of flat earth from the backside. The compressor faces painted in XF-20 and Mr. Hobby super metallic steel, washed with Tamiya smoke diluted with water. Added a light layer of fictitious sponge chipping to the tip of the compressor cones. 

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I can't believe I am saying this, but I decided to fully deepen all the panel lines and rivets! So the work begins... This began with the goal of making some of the panel lines around the front fuselage consistent, which I am now doing everywhere on the kit. L-braces from Steel Beach. Comes off from the backing paper really easily and sticks great to the kit. 

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Painted the seats, just began the pilots. The seats took quite a while.The only notable modifications to the seats were: (1) Adding the parachute pack and the straps and (2) Thinning the over head and crotch pull handles with a round file (the originals are too thick).  I have decided not to invest anymore time, given that the pilots will be seated. 

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Rescribed panel lines visible. The gaps around the closed steps will need some putty. AoA probe made from a sewing needle's tip, sharpened to a straight taper. Chipping around and behind the cockpit sills inspired by this, but I exaggerated further. Paint order was primer > super metallic > hair spray > XF-4 > chipping > hair spray > nato black > chipping > blending everything with highly thinned nato black airbrushed.

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Edited by Janissary
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  • 1 month later...

A small update. As I mentioned before, I have decided to fully deepen the panel lines and rivets. This takes a lot of time, but I find it curiously relaxing. The original lines are in fact pretty good and in most of the builds I have seen, the wash seems to stay well. But, still, just in case...

 

UMM-scriber #2 for the long straight lines, and a sewing pin for everything else. In this pic, you see the lines and rivets deepened, and the whole thing cleaned under water using a worn out MicroMesh 1500 and 1800: IMG_7257.JPG

 

The black lines are for me to mark the lines that are already done: IMG_7258.JPG

 

Rear half done, front half still WIP: 

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Close up of how it looks before sanding: 

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Now working on the details of the intakes and the lower fuselage half. Luckily the vertical and horizontal stabs, the wings, the front fuselage and the upper fuselage are now all done. 

Edited by Janissary
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  • 6 months later...

Hello all, an update after a long break. All the panels and rivets are deepened, cleaned, glued together, sanded, rescribed (where necessary). So this is the permanent assembly (everything glued). I wanted to share these pics to document the places that I ended up using putty (Bondo). Some of this putty was used to fix places the scriber slipped, so not all the red that is seen is a seam line. 

 

Just to see if my line/rivet deepening has been utterly unnecessary, I am leaving some of the panels/rivets untouched, specifically those on the Phoenix pallets and the wing pylons. I am curious to see how the rescribed vs the original parts look like after the oil wash. All in all, I've made this build somewhat challenging for myself rather than going with a quick assembly.

 

Overall it's a great kit, but I've had some problems with the vertical stabs. They wouldn't sit flush with the fuselage and had to do a major surgery by cutting off the alignment tabs on the fuselage as well as sanding/enlarging the slots in vertical stab. It was definitely something I've never seen brought up by others, so it was probably something I did wrong. 

 

I like the Quickboost chin pod, it is extremely nicely done. I rescribed that one too though 🙂 I also got the Steel Beach tail braces (really nice) and the ECM blisters under the glove vanes. I think the blisters may have been 'sided' and perhaps I attached them wrong. The aft ones seem to be sticking sideways a little too much. I CAed them, so don't want to mess with them any further.

 

I wish somebody could paint the pilots for me. That's something I am so bad at. I will be starting my third attempt with them soon!

 

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Interesting approach Janissary as I don't think I've ever heard of anyone discussing a describe job on the Tamiya Tomcat. I can't really tell the difference at the moment but I'm sure it'll show up once the paintworks begin. Still looks fantastic so far.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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