phantom Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 I have been looking for the right scheme for my Tamiya F-14A. I have built MANY block 95s as portrayed by the Tamiya kit OOB. Don't need another VF-84 or VF-41 in bright markings. But everything I want to make is either very late in service or a prototype. In 1977 Grumman flew a couple Tomcats to Cold Lake with Canadian flags for evaluation on our replacement for the Voodoo , Starfighter and CF-5. As history shows we went for the Hornet. Which of course we are STILL using 40 years on. This model will be show-room clean with next to zero weathering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 11, 2021 Author Share Posted April 11, 2021 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 Curious to see this one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 My gosh!! This Tamiya IS indeed nicer then the Hasegawa. Mind you I still have 6 of the Has kits in the stash, and these Tamiya kits are very expensive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 14, 2021 Author Share Posted April 14, 2021 Front end is more or less together. MUCh better fit then Hasegawa. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 8 hours ago, phantom said: My gosh!! This Tamiya IS indeed nicer then the Hasegawa. Mind you I still have 6 of the Has kits in the stash, and these Tamiya kits are very expensive. This is exactly the same reaction I had a week ago, building my first Tamiya Cat. Your work on the cockpit looks good! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 Everything slides into place, no muss, no fuss : ) Wait till you fit that forward fuselage to the main fuse - your jaw will probably just drop. And the canted tailfins and stabilizers fit to exact angles -- how cool is that? Difficult F-14 builds are a thing of the past with these Tamiya kits. You only run into trouble when you're trying to build a B : ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 I have seldom had a build SO EASY!!! Not on dab of putty!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 Like you guys said, the parts just slide in together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 Most of the parts are on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 Dang, you're zooming through this one! I started mine 11 days ago, and got the forward fuselage halves together last night. There is a small bit of a gap/ledge - d'oah. Stupid me, I forgot to sand the paint off the edge that gets welded together. I'm certain a bit of Mr Surfacer 500 will take care of it. A tiny bit of it was also applied to the beavertail, too. There are so many aspects making this kit a dream to build - one of them being the intake ducts, ingenious planning to hide (or minimize) the seam. I have two more Tamiya D's in my stash, I may add a fourth. I can't see myself building another Hasegawa Cat (unless I get REALLY bored), but 4 or 5 more of these - absolutely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 20, 2021 Author Share Posted April 20, 2021 If it was not for having to go to work, this guy would have been done already. Should be able to get some paint on later today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
FASTEAGLE107 Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 On 4/20/2021 at 11:55 AM, MA Cooke said: Dang, you're zooming through this one! I started mine 11 days ago, and got the forward fuselage halves together last night. There is a small bit of a gap/ledge - d'oah. Stupid me, I forgot to sand the paint off the edge that gets welded together. I'm certain a bit of Mr Surfacer 500 will take care of it. A tiny bit of it was also applied to the beavertail, too. There are so many aspects making this kit a dream to build - one of them being the intake ducts, ingenious planning to hide (or minimize) the seam. I have two more Tamiya D's in my stash, I may add a fourth. I can't see myself building another Hasegawa Cat (unless I get REALLY bored), but 4 or 5 more of these - absolutely. That's a nice fit ! Tamiya rules 💪 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 The early Tomcat paint is on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 Question - for Phantom and everyone else... (Phantom, I took a snip of one of your pics for reference - I hope this is OK...) The engine shroud (heat shield?), I'm curious about the sequence for painting. Since I'm building a B (D kit), I plan to paint it gloss black (forgo the decals, I've read about some headaches). Do I get these painted black then gloss before painting the greys, or paint the greys then the black? I'm having "RT-AMS" (returning to advanced modeler syndrome). Argh! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 Oh, nice one. Interesting scheme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 7 hours ago, MA Cooke said: Question - for Phantom and everyone else... (Phantom, I took a snip of one of your pics for reference - I hope this is OK...) The engine shroud (heat shield?), I'm curious about the sequence for painting. Since I'm building a B (D kit), I plan to paint it gloss black (forgo the decals, I've read about some headaches). Do I get these painted black then gloss before painting the greys, or paint the greys then the black? I'm having "RT-AMS" (returning to advanced modeler syndrome). Argh! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 (edited) Gee.....I just worried about the silver lifting off with tape. I don't know. What ever works for you I guess. This time I did the opposite to what I usually do. Normally do the main colours then the engine stuff. This time as its a Tamiya model I used mostly Tamiya paint. The silver stayed on the plane with zero trouble. Then as you can see I did the main body colour of gull grey. As Tamiya does not do 36440 out of the bottle, so I used model master. Going to have to find a new source as I run low on my favorite paint. Edited April 24, 2021 by phantom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/14/2021 at 7:42 AM, crackerjazz said: ....Difficult F-14 builds are a thing of the past with these Tamiya kits. You only run into trouble when you're trying to build a B : ) Or trying to arrange funding to PURCHASE one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 12 hours ago, phantom said: Gee.....I just worried about the silver lifting off with tape. I don't know. What ever works for you I guess. This time I did the opposite to what I usually do. Normally do the main colours then the engine stuff. This time as its a Tamiya model I used mostly Tamiya paint. The silver stayed on the plane with zero trouble. Then as you can see I did the main body colour of gull grey. As Tamiya does not do 36440 out of the bottle, so I used model master. Going to have to find a new source as I run low on my favorite paint. As I basically started from scratch in November (paints, glues, airbrush, etc.) I was really drawn to Tamiya acrylics, but I did have issues decades ago airbrushing them. I then thought of Mr Hobby Aqueus, I really wanted to avoid the noxious solvents of enamels. That, plus the fact that MM enamels are no more....but then I learned the Aqueous line was tricky to source. So I'm using Mr Hobby lacquers.....very forgiving. My issue last night - I started the Mr Surfacer black - was coverage, and what seemed like the paint was drying out in the airbrush. (Iwata Eclipse HP side feed....one part paint plus two parts MLT, at 15 psi dynamic, 0.5mm.) I had to pull the needle back all the way every 5 or 6 seconds.....I must have cleaned the nozzle, needle, and air cap 4 or 5 times in an hour, and used 5 mL of the Mr Surfacer for a 15 mL overall mix. I barely got the bottom of the rear fuselage and both wings done. Am I spraying too much? I wouldn't spray consistently if I didn't thin it way down. (Another note - we've been trying to keep mold at bay in the basement, it's almost a constant 35% relative humidity; wondering if it's too dry?) Argh. Frustration...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 Sorry....all.....I think I'll paint the greys, do gloss clearcoat, then mask and do the black ares. Sorry to have so many danged questions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 No worries. I tend NOT to thin the paints too much. Just a little.But clean the airbrush IMMEDIATELY after any use. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 A little more work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MA Cooke Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 3 minutes ago, phantom said: A little more work. Looking fantastic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gary F Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 That looks nice even without any markings at all! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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