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Top Gun 1986 F-14A (Tamiya 1/48 - in-flight twin build))


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14 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said:

Looks like you put the wrong VF-1 decal on the wrong tail, they should be switched ?? Your reference pics show the birds head facing aft.

Steve

 

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Ouch! No biggy,mate - you can fix this simply! Unless you have sealed the decals some micro set will make them pop off unmolested if you don't have spares.

 

Awesome eagle peepers you've got Steve!

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Hi Aigore, good tip about the Microset, thanks!  Had to re-check the instructions... I'm building 160694 so I chose correctly.   That must be 160695 in the reference photo.   Didn't really notice that in the photo, though -- I must be blind haha...good eye, Steve, thanks!   

 

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That said, I still want to correct the decal location as my reptilian brain is playing tantrums  : )    I do have another set I was planning to either use on a future build if I botch this one, or to decorate the base with.   

 

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My only worry is -- even if I'm able to slide the decals over to the new spot, wouldn't it leave a sillhouette on the old spot much like wall stickers do when you remove them?  And this has gone through a good number of Solvaset applications to conform to the panel lines so it might be distorted already but let me give it a try.

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As with other replies, these jets were changed daily and twice a day in some cases between the morning and afternoon launch. The tail decals were vinyl stickers and removable. The only way to be 100% correct is to have a picture of a specific jet on a specific hop on a specific day. Otherwise, it’s open to interpretation. And the way the movie is edited, each shot could be from a different day filmed a week and base away… just like the modexes, names and data on the cockpit fuselage - they repainted that stuff between flights. The original plan was to have a specific jet fly a scene, but it never worked that way and all jets flew all scenes. And then when they edited it, they grabbed whatever shot fit the storyboard. So the aft facing VF-1 marking may have been that way on Monday morning  Dec 3. But at 2pm Dec 3, the sticker was replaced and it faced forward. And on the 4th, it had the VF-213 sticker. 
 

So build it the way you want. And know that tail placement could have been 10 different places over the weeks that they filmed. 
 

brian  

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The dis-colorization in the turkey feathers wasn't from soot, the metal was dis-colorized due to the oil that was applied to them daily (for you old salts out there it was VV-L-800, bet that brings back memories).

 

Part of the daily inspection was to spray that turkey feather with VV-L-800 (Light Weapons Oil or basically, WD-40), along with all the other bare metal areas on the bird (except the oleo struts).

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You guys have probably been doing this forever, but I just discovered it -- sludge wash!  : )    I've always used oils but it's not as good in seeking out crevices as Tamiya Panel line wash.   But the Tamiya panel lines come out too perfect and not very realistic to my eye.  And sometimes it tends to stay at the bottom of the channel resulting to some panel lines that aren't very visible when viewed at certain angles.  Also, there's none of that grittiness to the lines that I see in others' works.  Steve mentioned Flory wash so I searched that up came across some nice videos, including how to make home-made brews.   Already have some Folk Art acrylic craft paint and read that you can use that too.  Mixed up some dark gray shade and added some water and dishwashing liquid and slathered it on.  I still like to control it and keep the stuff onto where I really want it to go.   Started taking it off using some moistened microfibre cloth and really like the results.  I'm loving the stuff : )   Panel lining has suddenly become a quick and enjoyable process : )   

 

I won't use the stuff for checking rescribed lines prior to painting, though, as it may fill up the channels.   Tamiya panel liner is better at that as it's very thin.  

 

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1 hour ago, crackerjazz said:

You guys have probably been doing this forever, but I just discovered it -- sludge wash!  : )    I've always used oils but it's not as good in seeking out crevices as Tamiya Panel line wash.   But the Tamiya panel lines come out too perfect and not very realistic to my eye.  And sometimes it tends to stay at the bottom of the channel resulting to some panel lines that aren't very visible when viewed at certain angles.  Also, there's none of that grittiness to the lines that I see in others' works.  Steve mentioned Flory wash so I searched that up came across some nice videos, including how to make home-made brews.   Already have some Folk Art acrylic craft paint and read that you can use that too.  Mixed up some dark gray shade and added some water and dishwashing liquid and slathered it on.  I still like to control it and keep the stuff onto where I really want it to go.   Started taking it off using some moistened microfibre cloth and really like the results.  I'm loving the stuff : )   Panel lining has suddenly become a quick and enjoyable process : )   

 

I won't use the stuff for checking rescribed lines prior to painting, though, as it may fill up the channels.   Tamiya panel liner is better at that as it's very thin.  

 

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Looks very nice! I will need that in future too, can you share the “recipe” of your sludge wash?

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Look terrific mate!

I also used the home-made panel lines in the past, but resorte to Tamiya Panel lines or Oil when I discovered after some years that in few cases I've a whiteish spot on some models

 

 

Gianni

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Hi Gianni, thanks!   Whitish spots, wow -- will keep an eye out for that, thanks for the info.

 

Hi Bastian, thanks!  The stuff I used is acrylic craft paint called FolkArt as I already have it lying around.  I'm not sure why it works even if it has a binder (as opposed to just pigment powder) -- I'm still able to remove it easily.  I read even Tamiya acrylics can work (will have to test it on a paint mule) but I'm not sure if I'd leave that stuff on the model for too long.  Anyway, I mixed a few drops of FolkArt Medium Gray and Black to create a dark gray color.    I then added a couple drops of water (depends on how much paint you're mixing)  and a drop of dishwashing soap to break the surface tension and make it seep into recesses better.   Too thin and the sludge won't darken the recesses enough.   Too thick and it might dry up quicker on the mixing pallette.    Somewhere in the middle is best.    I let it dry for 10 minutes and wipe off a small section at a time with lightly-moistened microfibre cloth.   I like microfibre because it doesn't smear -- it traps anything it absorbs into the fabric and it's easy on the gloss coat.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that I do have a lacquer gloss coat on there.  So if there's any stubborn staining I can use acrylic thinner to aid in removal and not have the thinner eat into the gloss coat.   Flory is nice because it's just clay powder in water - with no binders or anything so you can use it even on acrylic gloss coats like Future.  And I read you can leave it on the model for months and still be able to wipe it off easily.

 

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22 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

Hi Gianni, thanks!   Whitish spots, wow -- will keep an eye out for that, thanks for the info.

 

Hi Bastian, thanks!  The stuff I used is acrylic craft paint called FolkArt as I already have it lying around.  I'm not sure why it works even if it has a binder (as opposed to just pigment powder) -- I'm still able to remove it easily.  I read even Tamiya acrylics can work (will have to test it on a paint mule) but I'm not sure if I'd leave that stuff on the model for too long.  Anyway, I mixed a few drops of FolkArt Medium Gray and Black to create a dark gray color.    I then added a couple drops of water (depends on how much paint you're mixing)  and a drop of dishwashing soap to break the surface tension and make it seep into recesses better.   Too thin and the sludge won't darken the recesses enough.   Too thick and it might dry up quicker on the mixing pallette.    Somewhere in the middle is best.    I let it dry for 10 minutes and wipe off a small section at a time with lightly-moistened microfibre cloth.   I like microfibre because it doesn't smear -- it traps anything it absorbs into the fabric and it's easy on the gloss coat.

 

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that I do have a lacquer gloss coat on there.  So if there's any stubborn staining I can use acrylic thinner to aid in removal and not have the thinner eat into the gloss coat.   Flory is nice because it's just clay powder in water - with no binders or anything so you can use it even on acrylic gloss coats like Future.  And I read you can leave it on the model for months and still be able to wipe it off easily.

 

Thanks!

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No worries, Bastian.   I placed an order for some Flory wash, too, so I can compare.

 

Started weathering the underside of Iceman's Tomcat.    Come to think of it, they never referred to the plane as a Tomcat anywhere in the movie.

 

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Will be weathering around the landing gear doors next.   Especially around the nose gear doors --  they look really filthy in the movie stills.

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Thanks, Tom and Aigore!  : )    

 

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I've been trying to replicate the wing bladder color.   Tried the sea gray first and weathered with a tan color like in the stills but it just wouldn't come out right.   Tried out different grays and same thing -- just can't bring out that color -- it's just not gray and it reminds me of Timberland boots.

 

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I figured it might be better to start with some brown color and fade it after:

 

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So I started with some sand brown on one of the Tomcats.  Didn't have any wash of the right color so I melted some instant coffee granules to weather it with, let it dry and sealed with a matte coat.  Will try to kill the color with some gray oils later.

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  • 2 weeks later...

With Iceman's Tomcat fully flatted, and since all other weathering will now be done by hand, I figured it was time to check on the canopy and see if the masks did their job well and also so I could start working on the lightning strips and rear-view mirrors.   Masks have a nasty way of throwing curve balls and I'm quite sure some paint would manage to seep underneath no matter how careful you are.

 

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I first pried the canopy open and cleaned up the blue-tack rolls with blue-tack.

 

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Just as I suspected, some paint managed to seep in along the B pillar, if I can call it that : )   I wouldn't dare correct it anymore.   Things kind of take a turn for the worse whenever I do that.  It's not too noticeable anyway with the canopy in place.

 

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Hey, guys, thanks!  Hi Alexander, glad you find the build useful : )

 

I shifted my focus this weekend on how to shoot properly.  The cellphone camera is just so easy to use but I just know that there's so much a real camera will show.   One thing I do like about the phone camera is the depth of field.   Everything's just in focus straight out of the box.   But the dynamic range of the phone camera isn't that great and there are tonal variations on the model that don't show up using the phone but are visible using the real camera.   Another thing is the wide angle view of the phone camera somehow distorts the F-14 and it's hard to show the real shape.   When shooting with the phone from the back the F-14's nose looks too small and the tail fins huge and when taking pics from the front the nose looks too long and pointed.

 

So now I'm practicing on the real camera.  I'm using separate prime lenses.   I could've used the kit zoom lens but I hated the colors and the sharpness was so bad that I sold it : )   Someday when I strike gold I'll get a proper zoom lens -- why do they cost more than the camera body?  : )    For now I'll try to make the most of these prime lenses.

 

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This one's using a 58mm lens.   Not too happy -- the F-14s look toyish in terms of perspective but way better compared to the phone.   But the tonal variations really pop out.

 

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And this is using a 50mm.  I read that this is the focal length that's closest to what the eye can see in terms of perspective.   I guess that means you're seeing the model as I see it.  Excuse the poor focus, though -- I'm still practicing, lol.   I will get this right, too, somehow -- just need some time to really learn how to learn how to shoot right.  Photography isn't my strongest suit -- but I will make it a point to get better at it this year.

 

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I think I'll be defaulting to this 50mm.   Just need more practice  : )

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Thanks Steve, Da SWO! : )

 

Time to pop the other canopy : )

 

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Who says you don't get a workout from modeling.  You can feel your heart beat everytime you peel masks off. 

 

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This one's a lot cleaner, whew! : )  

 

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Edited by crackerjazz
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