F-14B question

[Hornet14]

I've got the Tamiya F-14 A and D kit and was wondering which is easiest to build into an early 90s F-14B? Thanks

[tomthegrom]

Hello,

By far the easiest way is to use the D kit and back date it.

I bought a Tamiya A cockpit and seats from a person who put a resin set in their A model. Bought an aftermarket tcs pod and some ECM bumps for the wing gloves. That is all you need. If you got from the A you need gun vent, ecm, wheels, tails and so on. BIG MISSION.

 

I did this exact thing a month ago to build a 1994 VF103 slugger and I will be doing more A+/B models like that too.

 

What jet are you planning on doing?

[Hornet14]

Awesome thanks for the help. Probably either a VF-143 A+ from 91 or a VF-74 B from 92 using the Furball sheet

[Darren Roberts]

tomthegrom is right on the money. The great thing about doing an early Bravo is you don't need any of the PTID screen.

[Hornet14]

Awesome thanks guys. Darren is the Steel Beach Block 125 update set the right thing I'd need to build the base A model kit into one from say late 80s to early 90s?

[Darren Roberts]

34 minutes ago, Hornet14 said:

Awesome thanks guys. Darren is the Steel Beach Block 125 update set the right thing I'd need to build the base A model kit into one from say late 80s to early 90s?

 

Yup. That will get you what you need. The only problem is finding one if you don't have one already. I closed up shop at the end of last year.

[Hornet14]

Saw one on Ebay a while ago but missed out but will keep looking. Thanks for the help

[Darren Roberts]

1 hour ago, Hornet14 said:

Saw one on Ebay a while ago but missed out but will keep looking. Thanks for the help

 

PhaseHangar may come out with a Block 125 set. They have all the parts for it.

[jenshb]

Thinking of a similar conversion for a future project, but wondering which parts would be appropriate so I can order any relevant sprues; K14 and K15 from the F-14A kit, or can I use parts M1 and M2 that come with the F-14D kit?

[Tomcat Trebor]

@jenshb As the parts are for the engine  l would assume it would be the parts for the F-14D as they have the same engine.

 

Regards

Robert

[Sodasorb]

I think the ejection seats are different on the D vice the A and B as well. 

[Swordsman422]

While we're still holding our hats over the closure of Steel Beach, check out Phase Hanger Resin. They have a Late A exterior conversion that will, coincidentally, give you everything you need to externally convert the Tamiya D to a B. A cockpit set for Late A and B are also in the works, including ejection seats and IPs.

 

We still miss you Darren.

[Darren Roberts]

8 hours ago, Swordsman422 said:

While we're still holding our hats over the closure of Steel Beach, check out Phase Hanger Resin. They have a Late A exterior conversion that will, coincidentally, give you everything you need to externally convert the Tamiya D to a B. A cockpit set for Late A and B are also in the works, including ejection seats and IPs.

 

We still miss you Darren.

 Thanks! It was time to move on, though. PHR is an example of why. Everything is going to CAD design with 3D printing of at the very least the masters to be cast. I, with my marginal scratchbuilding skills and NO desire to conquer the learning curve of CAD, realized my time had come. It was a good run, though.

[Swordsman422]

"Marginal." Right. Your work was far better than most of us could do, and the joy of Steel Beach was that once it was in place, it blended so well with the model that you couldn't tell you had ever used resin. The piece wasn't so much more detailed than the rest of the model that it was obvious, and I loved the seamlessness of your stuff.

 

We'll miss it, but we'll adapt.

 

For the curious, here is Phase Hangar's website... https://phasehangarresin.com/

[Sarathi S.]

Speaking of Steel Beach, I've been wondering, do the F-14 non-skid panels they had have texture, or are they just decals?

 

[Darren Roberts]

16 hours ago, Sarathi S. said:

Speaking of Steel Beach, I've been wondering, do the F-14 non-skid panels they had have texture, or are they just decals?

 

They are just colored vinyl with no texture. However, you can use the walkway mask set to good effect by putting the outline in place and dabbing Mr. Surfacer (or any other liquid primer) inside it. As the primer sets up, use a small stiff paint brush to stipple in texture. It works great.

[Swordsman422]

For walkway non-slip, what I do is mask the area, wetbrush with a convenient color of paint, usually black or grey, and sprinkle fine pearl powder into the wet paint. After the paint dries, I airbrush with the walkway color and strip the mask. The effect is pretty convincing.