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1/48 Hasegawa F-14B VF-101 CO's "Tomato"


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Geesh....I've lost a fair bit of mojo to get this one done. I've had paint, then clearcoat "pebbling" issues in the tunnel area. One side of the main landing gear just refuses to stay glued on (with CA glue, at that), and so on. I purchased Aires bang seats after I got to really looking at the (paltry) kit seats, and damn....there's a "u"-shaped relief that I didn't remove before closing up the fuselage halves. It just seems to go on and on and on.....

 

I'm trudging on, though. I'm calling the decals done, and may do a bit more weathering, but not much. I'm working on DIY soft FOD covers - kept it simple, facial tissues with white glue/water mix.

 

(I was experimenting with some acrylic paints I have on the exhaust covers...those are far from done.)

 

 

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Edited by MA Cooke
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17 hours ago, FASTEAGLE107 said:

Hello MAC, your intakes and exhausts covers are very realistic to my taste.

With a solid coat it will rock!

Great build.

 

Thank you, kind words, I was about to give up and just shelve the danged thing. But I'm slogging forward.

 

I stripped the masking from the canopy (after crew name decals were on), there's so much damned tape adhesive and a bit of paint bleed-through (Mr Color lacquers), I decided to re-do a spare canopy and windscreen I have. I apparently missed the lesson from my last build - DON'T USE SCOTCH TAPE TO MASK CANOPIES! I'm not the one who will paint, then the mask comes off soon thereafter. I'm using 3M blue painter's tape this time to do the perimeter, then Maskol for the larger areas. Two coats of Maskol.

Edited by MA Cooke
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Sorry to hear about your masking issue.  It's good you have a spare canopy.    I'm using lacquer too -- hope it didn't seep through the mask.   I really have this urge to peel the mask off to check but I still need to do the basecoat.  I did use Tamiya tape, though, and burnished the edges.   

 

I was thinking -- if you want to save the canopy -- I'm usually able to remove stuck-on adhesive by pressing down on it with another piece of tape and and ripping it off and you just keep doing that until you get all the adhesive out.  As for the paint, Tamiya lacquer thinner is supposed to be mild on styrene, but I'm not sure about clear plastic canopies - it might be worth a try.  This whole modeling thing is quite stressful isn't it.   Hobbies are supposed to relax us.  I see, though, that it gets the heart pumping when you realize you did something wrong so it might be good for the heart that way : (

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1 hour ago, crackerjazz said:

Sorry to hear about your masking issue.  It's good you have a spare canopy.    I'm using lacquer too -- hope it didn't seep through the mask.   I really have this urge to peel the mask off to check but I still need to do the basecoat.  I did use Tamiya tape, though, and burnished the edges.   

 

I was thinking -- if you want to save the canopy -- I'm usually able to remove stuck-on adhesive by pressing down on it with another piece of tape and and ripping it off and you just keep doing that until you get all the adhesive out.  As for the paint, Tamiya lacquer thinner is supposed to be mild on styrene, but I'm not sure about clear plastic canopies - it might be worth a try.  This whole modeling thing is quite stressful isn't it.   Hobbies are supposed to relax us.  I see, though, that it gets the heart pumping when you realize you did something wrong so it might be good for the heart that way : (

 

I totally forgot the "use fresh tape to get old tape adhesive off" lesson. D'oah. I tried using 70% isopropyl alcohol, but it was taking the cleacoat and the red paint off (clear is Mr Color GX112 I believe).

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22 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

  

 

I was thinking -- if you want to save the canopy -- I'm usually able to remove stuck-on adhesive by pressing down on it with another piece of tape and and ripping it off and you just keep doing that until you get all the adhesive out.

 

 

Thanks again for the tip - I was able to save the main canopy, I just need to touch up a couple of spots where the red paint has worn off. I've already masked a spare windscreen, so I'm just going to replace that part.

Slowly inching towards the finish line. I will be done with the "Aces High" Spitfire in the next day or two, THEN I start one of the Tamiya D-model Cats in my stash (building as a B).

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No worries.  Is it going to be your very first Tamiya build?  After building a Hasegawa prepare to be amazed. It's just a joy to build. The things I appreciate most about it are the forward fuselage join, the intakes, the shoulders or glove vane area (too thick in the Hase), the absence of a join between the vertical tail fins, and the shape and detail of that area on top between the wings, especially those shim-like wing seals. And parts just fit so well it's almost like a Bandai kit : )

Edited by crackerjazz
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14 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

No worries.  Is it going to be your very first Tamiya build?  After building a Hasegawa prepare to be amazed. It's just a joy to build. The things I appreciate most about it are the forward fuselage join, the intakes, the shoulders or glove vane area (too thick in the Hase), the absence of a join between the vertical tail fins, and the shape and detail of that area on top between the wings, especially those shim-like wing seals. And parts just fit so well it's almost like a Bandai kit : )

 

Yes - as of now, I have not built a Tamiya Cat. I have built one Tamiya kit previously, a P-51D, back in 2005. (I'd started an F4U-1A, but it didn't survive m light fixture collapse.) So this P-51 was my first Tamiya completion, AND my first (and so far only) build in NMF using Alclad II.

 

I have two D-Cats in the stash, as well as two Tamiya Corsairs and two P-47M's. (I'm about to add another D-Cat....)

 

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Hello MAC, glad to hear you found a solution to fix it.

Like you i've already experienced trouble with Maskol products (bad reaction with clear stryrene?)

My worst memories in the hobby are about the jet canopies (glue or paint whatever). Can be a nightmare.

I arrive with apprehension at this stage...

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2 hours ago, FASTEAGLE107 said:

Hello MAC, glad to hear you found a solution to fix it.

Like you i've already experienced trouble with Maskol products (bad reaction with clear stryrene?)

My worst memories in the hobby are about the jet canopies (glue or paint whatever). Can be a nightmare.

I arrive with apprehension at this stage...

 

Nah, the Maskol was not the problem - it was the clear Scotch tape ("Magic" tape....acetate). I have to remember to NOT use that stuff again.

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So the canopy problem is (mostly) resolved - not sure how the inner frame fits to the outer...prolly just have to hold it whilst the glue sets.

I am pleased with the better masking method on the new windscreen, and the residue issue on the main canopy.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 minutes ago, Red Dog said:

Comon, this can't be shelved as I read on the other post, you're too close to the end to abandon this one.

🙂

 

(sighs heavily) I know....

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3 hours ago, Red Dog said:

Comon, this can't be shelved as I read on the other post, you're too close to the end to abandon this one.

🙂

He found someone new, that's why.   It's now Tamiya or nothing : )   Try to understand how she feels, Mac.  She made you happy before Tamiya came.   She must be in tears over the breakup.   I'd take a side-by-side comparison photo of mine but I can't --  I tossed my 2 Hasegawa F-14s, nearly built, and I regret it.

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57 minutes ago, crackerjazz said:

He found someone new, that's why.   It's now Tamiya or nothing : )   Try to understand how she feels, Mac.  She made you happy before Tamiya came.   She must be in tears over the breakup.   I'd take a side-by-side comparison photo of mine but I can't --  I tossed my 2 Hasegawa F-14s, nearly built, and I regret it.

 

This is quite true. I had a 14 year pause, finally got my workbench re-established, then jumped into two involved builds: the RoG 1/32 Spitfire, a commission build that I'd normally not build, and the Hasegawa Tomcat. And I'm slowly building a Hasegawa F4U-4, it's going to be  "mule" for testing paint and weathering on Navy/Marine birds during that era.

 

The Tomato is not cancelled - it's just set aside for a bit. Between the Spitfire and the Cat, I was seriously doubting my most basic model-building skills. These two kits have definitely helped shake the rust off.

 

I'm prolly going to jump into one of the Hobby Boss "Easy Assembly" kits I have (P-51 and P-47)...I have a few NMF birds I hope to build. I need to hone up those skills.

 

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