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Grumman F-14A Tomcat - dio/ update 06/05/2019


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Hi everyone! Started a new project a few days ago. Finemolds 1:72 Tomcat that will be wearing markings of VF-41 Black Aces of 1997 cruise, when they visited port Koper, Slovenia and I got to see Tomcats for the first time. It will be a heavy maintenance diorama - deck chained aircraft with a number of open panels and crew inspecting them.

 

f14wip-1-XL.jpg

For a so much praised kit, I was surprised to find a huge number of pin marks in visible parts. While I'm not sure, these will actually be seen, buried deep in engine intakes.

 

f14wip-2-XL.jpg

Cockpit sidewalls are bare in the kit. It's true, only the most curious eyes will look that deep in the cockpit, but I just had to add some canvas wiring covers and the prominent circuit breaker boards in the RIO's pit.

 

f14wip-3-XL.jpg

Using just some careful painting, the cockpit is looking more and more alive. No aftermarket parts are available for this kit, so I have to work with what I've got.

Edited by Sebastijan
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Cockpit is more or less finished. Of course the ejection seats are missing but as I am waiting for the figures, I’ll install them later. I might add some piping on the back walls, but I once again have to wait for the seats, to see how much would visible in the first place.

 

f14wip-4-XL.jpg

 

f14wip-5-XL.jpg

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So here we go! It wasn't that huge a step from sauna talk to actually start building it. 😀 Will be following closely since this is definitely one of those kits I'll be getting sooner or later. The Koper connection was a new thing for me.

 

So, the pit we see is all plastics? Looks very sharp. Seems the raised details are quite crisp.

 

What are you going to use as the crew?

 

Edited by janman
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Thank you guys!

 

2 hours ago, janman said:

So here we go! It wasn't that huge a step from sauna talk to actually start building it. 😀 Will be following closely since this is definitely one of those kits I'll be getting sooner or later. The Koper connection was a new thing for me.

 

So, the pit we see is all plastics? Looks very sharp. Seems the raised details are quite crisp.

 

What are you going to use as the crew?

 

Yeah, I came up with the decision only a few days ago when going through my decal stash and it seemed appropriate.

 

Pit is all in-box plastic with the exception of small (canopy?) ejection handles to which Eduard PE RBF tags are attached.

Crew will be Reedoaks 3D printed figures - expensive but they look great and they should enhance the whole scene considerably. 

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f14wip-6-XL.jpg

Intakes painted up; one showing the one piece affair and the other one with rear part insert.

 

f14wip-7-XL.jpg

Front view of the intake insert. Stator at the front with a cone was painted Aluminum while the rear one with darker Magnesium, giving a nice sense of depth. Notice the reflections in the intake.

 

f14wip-8-XL.jpg

Cockpit was finally fitted in the fuselage halves and instrument panel shrouds installed. Turtle back behind the rear seat was bare of details so I added a horizontal beam and rivets per reference photos.

 

f14wip-9-XL.jpg

NeOmega seats arrived yesterday and they proved to be of identical dimensions as FineMolds ones but of course much better detailed. RIO's IP shroud received circular cooling vents at the sides and the wire that runs from the top handle to the side.

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Thank you guys!

 

f14wip-10-XL.jpg

Instructions mistake! Do this only if you're planning on closing the canopy!

 

f14wip-11-XL.jpg

Painting the exhausts... First white then progressively darker thin layers of brownish colours and some dark brown, black and grey pigments at the end.

 

f14wip-12-XL.jpg

Jet intakes finished - the lower rear ramp at the top of the intake is clearly visible including the actuator that opens it.

 

f14wip-13-XL.jpg

Interesting design of the rear fuselage - you have to attach the rear fuselage sides to the jet exhaust piping.

 

f14wip-14-XL.jpg

The whole assembly is then attached to the upper fuselage half.

 

f14wip-15-XL.jpg

The join runs by the panel line and is virtually invisible. The only area needing some filler will be right of the airbrake - nothing a swipe of PPP couldn't solve in few seconds.

 

f14wip-17-XL.jpg

Attaching the lower fuselage was a breeze - fit is just perfect and we finally have something resembling a Tomcat fuselage.

 

f14wip-18-XL.jpg

View of the lower fuselage - again no filler needed!

 

f14wip-16-X2.jpg

Oh and for those who didn't know - take a look at Tomcat's fuselage, bring those intakes closer together and voila! A-wing fighter from Star Wars E:VI Return of the Jedi!

Edited by Sebastijan
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7 hours ago, Sebastijan said:

 

f14wip-16-X2.jpg

Oh and for those who didn't know - take a look at Tomcat's fuselage, bring those intakes closer together and voila! A-wing fighter from Star Wars E:VI Return of the Jedi!

 

Wow! I never realised that!  Good catch :thumbsup:

 

 

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Time for weekly update:

 

Last week I received Reedoak 3D printed figures to be used on diorama. Oh boy, I can’t believe how far 3D printing technology has advanced! Layer edges that were in the past really prominent on this kind of prints are almost non existant on these figures. I had to use a magnifying lens to spot it, but even then, it look like a texture to the textile more than layering. Really amazing. These figures aren’t cheap, but they look better than anything I have seen so far.

 

f14wip-19-XL.jpg

 

 

f14wip-20-XL.jpg

 

 

f14wip-21-XL.jpg

 

 

I am no figure painter and it was a first time for me to work with Mr.Paint acrylic paints specially made for figure painting. I have to say I am satisfied with the result – keep in mind that the figure on the screen is several times the real size so everything looks better balanced on 1:1 scale. 

 

f14wip-22-XL.jpg

 

 

Finished painting the “spine” interiors. Had to rivet all the inner edge details.

 

f14wip-23-XL.jpg

 

 

and she’s slowly coming together.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not much time for model building last week as daughter had high fever and ear infection but nevertheless I managed to finish something during the weekend.

 

f14wip-24-XL.jpg

Dryfitted the wings and tailerons and attached the fins - Tomcat, baby!

 

f14wip-25-XL.jpg

Was playing with different shades of metallic colours, picking out single petals, and attacking those with washes. I’ll further putt a matt coat on them as they’re too shiny now and probably add a little more staining.

 

 

f14wip-26-XL.jpg

And dryfit of the nozzles - They look really nice attached to the fuselage. Had to bypass instructions a bit so I can remove and install them later in the build.

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Great work so far, impressive detail for that scale.

Just a FYI, the last pic you posted, showing the Cat from the back. On the starboard side tail, below the position light, there is a small disc antenna. That should be removed, only the D models had them.

 

Steve

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

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Thanks guys!

 

Yeah, she's ok now already. Luckily she only had fever without much or any pain, but on the other hand, we didn't know what's causing it until visiting the doc; antibiotics made a short work out of it.

 

Steve, thanks for pointing that out - haven't checked all the little details before the painting yet, but I might have missed that little detail if you haven't pointed it out.

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  • 3 weeks later...

f14wip-27-XL.jpg

After a coat of AMMO One Shot primer I've put a marbled coat of Lt. Ghost Grey on.

 

f14wip-28-XL.jpg

Marbling was first done coarser and will be made finer later.

 

f14wip-29-XL.jpg

f14wip-30-XL.jpg

Before final painting I added brown marbling on the areas of higher wear and tear.

 

f14wip-31-XL.jpg

f14wip-32-XL.jpg

And the final subtle effect. But the painting is not done yet.

 

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Thank you!

 

Last wip of 2018!

f14wip-33-XL.jpg

Did further weathering of the overpainted panels and added grime and dirt on the most often used panels.

 

f14wip-34-XL.jpg

 

f14wip-35-XL.jpg

Added antiglare panel, over-intake walkways and painted the canvas bags and airbrake interior.

 

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