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1/32 Revell Tomcat “GI Joe Skystriker”


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Been bitten by the GI Joe nostalgia lately and decided to dust off the old Revell Tomcat kit to make it a GI Joe Skystriker XP-14F.    
 

I had the toy back when I was a kid in the 80s, good times.   The price for the old toy has skyrocketed.  There’s even a new Hasbro exclusive but it’s a bit pricey to justify.  So heck, why not finally build something out of my old model stash and make something fun and unique?   I think I picked up the old 1/32 Revell kit secondhand for about $30 a decade ago!

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Build goals are not to be OCD about accuracy or rivet counting.   I want to strike the right balance of a scale model and the fun of the classic toy.

 

As fate would have it, the 1/32 kit dimensions are very close to the toy overall dimensions.

 

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Edited by toadwbg
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I started slapping together the main assemblies of wings, stabilizers and forward fuselage.  For an older kit, this does go together quite well.   I think the simplified kit engineering and lower part count contributes to this and is a welcome change from modern Uber-kits.     Sure there’s a touch less detail or accuracy but for this subject matter it’s perfect!

 

I'm also doing this “wheels up” and cockpit closed, I’ll add some pilots which will be the GI-Joe characters Ace and probably Ripcord in the rear as these were the figures my toy had in them as a kid!

 

The Revell kit again impressed me with its easy fit of the gear doors in the closed position.  Cockpit panel detail is nicely molded and really won’t need much improvement.   I’ll do a little scratch work on the cowls since they are very visable under the canopy.

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Edited by toadwbg
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I got some decal scans from another collector online and plan to print these in clear decal film.   I also have a lot of general Tomcat markings in my spares boxes I’ll use for markings and stencils.   I might paint some items.

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Edited by toadwbg
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I’ll be painting the wings and stabilizers soon.   As there’s a LOT of surface area on a 1/32 Tomcat, I’ll be using a spray can bomb.   

 

What color to paint the fuselage?   I’m not feeling the need to be 100% real life accurate on this build and trying to find the right balance in the spirit of the 80s toy.   Doing a little research I’ve decided to target FS 36440 Gull Grey.

 

I even found an old (maybe 20 years!) can of Testors in the cabinet to do a color test with.  Unfortunately the propellant has leaked out.   So I’ll be buying some new cans of probably Tamiya AS-16.
 

 

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4 hours ago, Kurt H. said:

I did this in 1/48th ... it was a lot of fun!  I went with FS 36222 - On the TV show and the comic the Sky striker looks almost white, and the toy is sorta off white. 

Thanks!  I haven't ordered my paint yet so I will consider this.  I also have another Tamiya off-white in a can, AS-20 Insignia White.   I think it’s a bit whiter than FS36222 but with some weathering might be OK

 

Got any pics of your Skystriker?

Edited by toadwbg
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I tried out the AS-20 insignia white over the molded grey plastic on the horizontal stabilizers, I like it!   With some weathering I think it will be a great color for the Skystriker 

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Edited by toadwbg
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Since you asked, here is mine:

 

I worked with 3 amigos decals to make the decals. I painted the red trim on the intakes, and around the canopy. I also painted the red, white and blue stripes on the trailing edge of the wings. 

 

It was a fun project, I hope you have as much fun as I did. 

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Edited by Kurt H.
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15 hours ago, Kurt H. said:

Since you asked, here is mine:

 

I worked with 3 amigos decals to make the declas. I painted the red trim on the intakes, and around the canopy. I also painted the red, white and blue stripes on the trailing edge of the wings. 

 

It was a fun project, I hope you have as much fun as I did. 

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Love it!   Thanks for posting.

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Progress is moving along.   Forgot how big 1/32 jets are!

 

I did some test fitting of the forward fuselage with the rear upper/lower halves and it looked pretty good.   But because this is such a large beast, it can fight you some.  Got a little seam work to do 

 

 

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Landing gear and their gear doors has always been a thorn of mine.   While the main gear doors fit close extremely well, the multi-peice front is a PITA.   Solution, cut a new “plate” to patch it up out of sheet styrene.   I added some reinforcement ribs underneath Also.   I’ll scribe the door edges back.

 

 

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Yes!! So I'm not the only one who's thought of this! I remember getting the G.I. Joe Tomcat for Christmas years ago when I was 7 or so. Landing gear that retracted, ejection seats with parachutes, what was not to love? I am looking forward to seeing how it looks!

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Bodywork is almost complete, sorta polishing a turd.

 

Been thinking a lot how I’m going to display the Skystriker since I’m doing it gear-up/in-flight.   Saw this in a Joe Facebook group and ordered one for my model display 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/263705460745?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nBQ99HP0SAi&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=hJCpufZ9R3W&var=563973071269&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

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Did some test fitting of my wings before I fully commit to zipping up the rear fuselage.  You can see in one of the photos where I slotted the wing pivot to enable this.

 

tight, tricky, and sorta like a puzzle, but they can fit in.

 

 

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I’m going to paint those Red, White and Blue stripes on the wing flaps.   Anyone got a good color recommendation out of the bottle?   Preferably Tamiya paint.

 

I figure they should be US Insignia Blue and Red but I’ll take another opinion.

 

 

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For the red, I would suggest Tamiya XF-7 in the little bottle or TS-8 Italian Red in the spray can, whichever you prefer. I'm not sure what would work for the blue. The only blue from Tamiya that I've used is TS-15 but I think it might be a little too dark compared to the stickers. 

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Thanks for recommendations.   I’m not too particular on being accurate to FS standards colors in this one and something close out of the bottle should be fine.  Heck even matching to toy markings is OK.

 

I have Tamiya X7 red and also a jar of Tru-color Caboose Red which I think is a little closer to Insignia Red. 

 

for Blue I got jars of Tamiya XF8 Flat Blue and X3 Royal Blue.

 

I’ll probably do a test on some scrap plastic

 

if anything, I HATE painting red over a white surface.  Any overspray will be bad and I always manage to get some no matter how careful I am with masking!   

Edited by toadwbg
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I was thinking of this earlier today: the markings on the Skystriker remind me of the decals that Monogram put in their 1/72 and 1/144(?) 1/100(?) Snap Tite B-1 at one point. Looking at what I could find, I think that the Tamiya XF-8 would be the better option. That's just my opinion. So far what you have as a base color nails it from what I remember of it.

 

The other thing I thought of... so are you going to follow this with a SU-47 Berkut modified to look like the Conquest?

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3 hours ago, Chriss7607 said:

I was thinking of this earlier today: the markings on the Skystriker remind me of the decals that Monogram put in their 1/72 and 1/144(?) 1/100(?) Snap Tite B-1 at one point. Looking at what I could find, I think that the Tamiya XF-8 would be the better option. That's just my opinion. So far what you have as a base color nails it from what I remember of it.

 

The other thing I thought of... so are you going to follow this with a SU-47 Berkut modified to look like the Conquest?

 

No but I had considered making a Cobra Rattler out of an A-10 Warthog kit.    After reviewing that idea a bit, I chickened out and said no…

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On 1/18/2023 at 3:38 AM, toadwbg said:

Did some test fitting of my wings before I fully commit to zipping up the rear fuselage.  You can see in one of the photos where I slotted the wing pivot to enable this.

 

tight, tricky, and sorta like a puzzle, but they can fit in.

 

 

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Hello ! Is it normal that your wings are upside-down ?

 

colargol

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On 1/20/2023 at 11:57 AM, colargol said:

 

 

Hello ! Is it normal that your wings are upside-down ?

 

colargol

Yes, this is a GI Joe Skystriker after all!  LOL

 

good catch but it was just an early fit-up and I’ll get hem right before final assembly 

 

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I hand-brushed a coat of Future on the wings prior to masking and painting the Red, White, and Blue stripes.   I also masked for the aluminum leading edge.    Lots of tape but it will mostly get re-used.    Here is a good example of why it’s best to keep the wings separate and treat them as their own sub-assembly.

 

My bottle of Future (Pledge with Future shine) is probably over a decade old!   I can’t find a date on it.  There is some slight yellowing but I’m not going to sweat it on this off-white/grey Skystriker subject.    I looked for a new bottle in local stores and online and it appears this stuff is out of production?   Anyone know of a modern substitute?

 

 

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In my approximately ~40 years of modeling, I’ve only owned 2 bottles of Future in 30 of those years since I first heard about it and have used it hundreds of times!  It has been bulletproof.   I’ve always brushed it on.   Only problems I’ve ever had is with it is when it dries too fast in usually drier winter air in the hobby room.    I forgot about that and will add a touch of Windex to my brushing bottle which helps with that.

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Hi toadwbg, cool build.  My 10+yr old Future also shows signs of yelllowing in the bottle but still works great and the yellow tint doesnt show at all whenever I use it.  Canopies still end up nice and clear.  Future is now called Pledge Floor Care or Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss.

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