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Now available from https://zactomodels.com/

Designed to fit the Trumpeter 1/32 F-14 kits.

Though these parts look very similar to the kits parts, if you look carefully, there is a difference:

Pallet_1_zpsldr7mbcv.jpg

 

Rather than replace the whole pallet, which would be expensive, I decided to just replace the most offensive part. While the detail Trumpeter provides on the rear portion isn't the most accurate :rolleyes:, it does look good with paint and a wash and not that difficult for the modeler to improve if so desired.

Pallet2_zpsimr6pf1p.jpg

 

Again, you have to really look close...

Pallet3_zpswpgnr4rq.jpg

 

:cheers:

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It's almost a shame to put those masterfully crafted resin parts on that sorry plastic kit. Trumpeter should at least try to redeem themselves by fixing the port-side forward fuselage. Anyway, I don't want to detract from the topic at hand.

 

For anyone hesitating to purchase--don't! Based on the F-14 intake parts I have, the casting quality is excellent, and I say this as someone who does a lot of molding and casting.

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Thanks for the nice comments! :rolleyes:

 

Taking a suggestion from the pallet thread in the "LSP Discussion" forum, I'm now shipping these in padded envelopes (bubble lined) and have slashed the S&H cost.

International S&H reduced from $14.75 to $7.50 (Canadians can e-mail me for an additional $0.75 discount).

U.S. rate reduced from $4.10 to $1.75.

Combined shipping (of pallets only) is possible using these padded envelopes. I can fit up to 6 sets and S&H only goes up slightly.

 

:cheers:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks guys!
For such seemingly simple parts they were a bit of a challenge. Sculpting/shaping them was fun, but scribing just one of those little panel latches wasn't, and there are 12 of them on the pair!
Happy to hear that you like them and looking forward to seeing them on some builds. :thumbsup2:

 

On 8/7/2019 at 1:29 PM, GunsightOne said:

It's almost a shame to put those masterfully crafted resin parts on that sorry plastic kit.

 

8 hours ago, Chris the cabbie said:

Mine also arrived and couldn't be happier. Well, I would if there was a 1/32 scale kit that was actually worth the money paid.....

 

Yes, the Trumpeter kit does have some issues (I'm doing my best to fix them!), but it actually is an impressive kit in many ways.
I've been fiddling with the Tamiya kit and IMHO the Tamiya kit gets too much praise for being accurate (granted it is an almost 40 year old kit). It does have some shape issues, has mostly raised panel lines so needs to be re-scribed and lacks a lot of detail compared to the Trumpeter kit. To me the canopy is one of the really weak points. It's thick and uneven in thickness which causes distortions where Trumpeters is thin and crystal clear.

 

To someone not familiar with the Tomcat or not caring about accuracy issues, they would likely prefer the Trumpeter kit. With a little aftermarket, even the Tomcat fans might pick the Trumpeter.

 

That said...

 

I mentioned on LSP that my pallet parts might fit on the Tamiya kit with a little work. A "potential" customer asked if I could take pics so I decided to do that little bit of work to confirm the fit.

All that was required was removing a sliver of material from the top of the Tamiya pallets (they have it start to curve up where it should be flat). I also removed just a little bit of material from the outboard edge of my casting as well as on the resin-to-pallet mating surface and voilà:

Tamiya_fit_1_zpstn4zkto3.jpg

(Note that the scribing on the fitted part was just a test piece. I cleaned up and enhanced it for the finished pattern and castings)

Tamiya_fit_2_zps0zh2zkzt.jpg

Tamiya_fit_3_zpsxbkj0upm.jpg

Tamiya_fit_4_zpsfen2yqmh.jpg

 

The Tamiya part is not that bad in shape but does have raised panel lines that need to be re-scribed. Not having to scribe those 12 latches makes it worth replacing them IMHO...

 

:cheers:

Edited by Zactoman
Fixed a pic
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