1/72 Academy F-14A Jolly Rogers "The Final Countdown"

[JNordgren42]

I'm 99% complete on my 1/72 Academy F-14A in Jolly Rogers livery Victory 202 as it appeared in The Final Countdown dogfight scene. I added Reedoak pilot and RIO figures, Quinta Studio 3D cockpit decals, Reskit armaments, and VF-84 decals from Wolfpack Design. I've got a couple of minor details to take care of (anti-collision lights and the white patch on the starboard leading edge of the wing glove), but I'm essentially done. I'm very happy with how it came out despite a couple of minor issues. I plan on doing a conversion of a T-6 Texan to a Zero next so I can display them together and then another Tomcat (Victory 203) and Zero at some point down the line. 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by JNordgren42
Added photos

[ElectroSoldier]

Iconic jet 

[Paul Boyer]

Beautiful job and a great kit!

[kellyF15]

Great job on the build!

[Darren Roberts]

NOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't forget to paint the red/green navigation lights on wing gloves. Kudos for recognizing the topside is overall Gull Gray. I had watched that movie dozens of times, and it suddenly struck me that something looked different about the Tomcats. Sure enough, after pausing several frames, it became obvious!

[JNordgren42]

29 minutes ago, Darren Roberts said:

NOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't forget to paint the red/green navigation lights on wing gloves. Kudos for recognizing the topside is overall Gull Gray. I had watched that movie dozens of times, and it suddenly struck me that something looked different about the Tomcats. Sure enough, after pausing several frames, it became obvious!

Yep, I need to pick up some clear red, I didn't like the solid color on the decals. I've been experimenting with the starboard side and I like the results with clear green over black with silver and white blended into the middle, it almost looks luminous. 

 

And I almost missed the overall grey on top myself. Someone on Reddit pointed it out when I posted a WIP pick with it in primer. 

[Ken Cartwright]

Yes, nice build! Looks great, and is a nice reference to one of the F-14's movie roles 🙂

[hemspilot]

Is that the newest F-14 from Academy? Nice kit, and very nice job.

[JNordgren42]

21 minutes ago, hemspilot said:

Is that the newest F-14 from Academy? Nice kit, and very nice job.

 

Yep, it's the "Pukin' Dogs" version. I did some upgrades to it, the biggest being replacing the ordinance, which is the weakest area of an otherwise stellar kit. I went with Reskit from Ukriane, their products are phenomenal, as is their service. Which is especially impressive, given that they're in the middle of a war and all. I also used Quinta Studio 3D decals, and while they're extremely impressive, I probably won't use them when I do Victory 203 since it's almost impossible to see all that wonderful detail once the canopy is on.

[Cool Hand]

Lovely build.

 

How hard was it to close up the gear bays?

[JNordgren42]

9 minutes ago, Cool Hand said:

Lovely build.

 

How hard was it to close up the gear bays?

Thanks!

Closing up the gear bays wasn't too bad, but it definitely wasn't designed for it. Some sheet styrene and careful sanding and trimming are necessary. Here are some progress pics:

[GreyGhost]

Nicely done Victory 202 ...! 

 

-Gregg

[Scott Smith]

Looks great!  I’m building the same thing right now in 1/32 using the old Revell kit.  Yours makes I think the 4th build of this subject I’ve seen on different forums currently going on.  Seems to be a very popular subject right now. 

[Cool Hand]

4 hours ago, JNordgren42 said:

Thanks!

Closing up the gear bays wasn't too bad, but it definitely wasn't designed for it. Some sheet styrene and careful sanding and trimming are necessary. Here are some progress pics:

Cool. That doesn't seem so bad. I might have to get one of these.

[Mr.Happy]

Bravo Zulu!

 

Mr.Happy

[colargol]

On 4/18/2023 at 5:46 AM, JNordgren42 said:

Yep, I need to pick up some clear red, I didn't like the solid color on the decals. I've been experimenting with the starboard side and I like the results with clear green over black with silver and white blended into the middle, it almost looks luminous. 

 

And I almost missed the overall grey on top myself. Someone on Reddit pointed it out when I posted a WIP pick with it in primer. 

Hello,

 

for navigation lights, I am using Vallejo Metal Color as a base (with a fine brush), then clear color (from Gunze) for the color of the light. If the light is included in a structure (like the ones on the wing gloves), I am using the "steel" color. If the the light is at an extrimity of somethink (the ones on the fins, the ones on the wings and the one on the chin pod), I am usign "Dark aluminium" color. Be carreful with the navigation lights in the wing gloves because there are 2 models of shape (which is proposed by Academy with the triangular shape on the inside of the light area)

 

colargol

[vegasken]

Wow that looks great, good job!