1/32 Tamiya F-14A Project

[crackerjazz]

I've been away from modeling for a good year I think.  I feel quite out of touch and wanted to work on stuff again. I found a good deal on the local ads for a Tamiya 1/32 F-14 that's been started which I thought I might breathe some life into.   

 

I remember staring longingly at one of these kits at the hobby shop as a kid.  The only 1/32 Tomcat I could save up enough money for was the Revell one.

 

 

The guy I bought it from said he started this back in the 80s so that's 40-year-old paint and tamiya tape : ) 

 

He already did the cockpit tub.  I wanted break the forward fuselage halves open but they're welded tight.

 

 

 

 

I'm trying to decide whether to leave the panels as they are or replace them with these Kits-World 3D printed ones.  We'll see..

 

 

The previous owner handbrushed the wheel wells but this'll be an in-flight bird so that's ok.

 

 I began working on it by gluing on the radome.  This still had the traditional separate nose which I like.

 

 

 

Test-fitted the forward fuselage onto the body.   

 

 

 

Closing up the gear doors..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kit includes this one-piece nose gear door.  Had to remove the lip edges as the wheel wells are already on.

 

 

The intake interiors have been fully painted sky grey and I know I'll have trouble painting the insides white so I had to open up the tops.

 

 

 

 

 

Next up I have a little bit of scribing to do. There's a good deal of raised panel lines on the main body.    I'm just thankful the wing panel lines are recessed - I wouldn't want to be scribing those piano hinges on the wing undersides : )

 

Edited August 15, 2024 by crackerjazz

[JackMan]

Will be watching this one. I've often been curious about the old 1/32 Tamiya kit.  Looking forward to seeing more in-progress pics, esp of the rescribing work. 

Good luck!

[BastianD]

It’ll be a big Cat, will follow your build!

[A-10 LOADER]

Best of luck with this one CJ, it's tough picking up where someone else left off. What squadron will you be doing ?

 

Steve

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

[crackerjazz]

Hi Bastian, thanks!    Steve, thanks,  I haven't decided on the squadron yet.  I was kind of thinking scruffy grey... again : )      JackMan, yeah, not sure what Tamiya had in mind doing a mix of raised and recessed panel lines.    It's hard to believe that somebody presented the plan in a boardroom before production and everyone agreed : )   I was worried about the piano hinges on the engine bay doors, some forward fuselage doors and wing undersides as they're the hardest to rescribe but thankfully they're well represented.

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing to worry about as far as wings, fins and forward fuselage.  I may have just have to sand down those panels that stick out too proud from the surface on either side.   And maybe patch up the recessed refuelling probe door.

 

 

 

 

Where it meets the main body the panel lines jump from recessed to raised.   

 

 

 

 

 

The top airbrake needs some tweaking to close right.  

 

[JackMan]

 

Thanks for the close-up shots. I heard a lot about this kit being a mixed bag of raised & recessed panel lines but I've never actually seen it until now.

 

Quote

Where it meets the main body the panel lines jump from recessed to raised. 

 

Wow! Hard to believe Tamiya would actually do something like this. Even the old ESCI Skyhawks had the wings with raised panels and entire fuselage with recessed ones. But this is the first time that I've seen a kit with forward fuselage recessed and the main fuselage raised. So odd.

 

Still, I guess Tamiya made up for this goof with their fantastic 1/48 Tomcats.

 

[crackerjazz]

Worked on removing those thicker panels on the sides of the fuse.   I'd been wondering about how to go about it.  I started with a file then I remembered I had a sanding tool..

 

 

 

 

 

What it looked like before:

 

Also did the other side:

 

 

Will just scratchbuild those pitot tube base plates (?) that got sanded off in the process.

 

And here's what it looked like before:

 

[A-10 LOADER]

Very nice work in removing those raised panels CJ.

I"ve been told in the past that the 1/18th scale JSI Tomcats were based off the Tamiya kit and, now I see a lot of similarities.

 

Steve

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

[Mr.Happy]

A build I will bookmarking.

 

Great step by step tutorial that will be very useful for those of us that have this early boxing of the Tamiya kit.

 

Great progress,

 

Mr. Happy

[crackerjazz]

Thanks Steve and Mr. Happy!  : )    Glad to document my adventures and misadventures, Mr Happy : )

 

I wanted to modify the wings to make them detachable like those on the 1/48.   It will aid a lot in painting and transportation.   I stared at the wing mechanism for the longest time trying to figure out how to go about it.

 

I figured the arc-shaped gear and the pivot have to be a single part.

 

So I covered the back and filled the gap with layers of CA+baking soda which cures instantly and is super strong.

 

I then opened this up to detach the pivot.

 

Pivot and arc gear now a single part.

 

 

Was scrounging for a part to create a little extension that would go into the wing and found this lying around. 

 

Used CA + baking soda on the join.   This is like a power filler combo.   Very difficult to sand so you have keep your work tidy.  Although this a hidden part so I wasn't too worried about looks.

 

 

The wing tab friction-fits into here and holds it snug.

 

 

Thickened the leading edge of the extension bar so it fits snugly into the wing opening as well.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phantom]

Good recovery Mav! Nice job on those panels.

[A-10 LOADER]

Very clever CJ. I may steal this for my 1/18th scale JSI F-14D conversion. When I did my F-14B conversion, the wings were always in the way, I always said to myself "I wish the wings were like the 1/48th Tamiya kit." Would have made things a lot easier.

 

Steve

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

[Youngtiger1]

Nice work. I think as far back as I can  remember I don’t think you ever tackled a 1/32 jet. So, I’ll sure to follow along and see what you will do. Good luck!!

Edited August 26, 2024 by Youngtiger1

[crackerjazz]

Thanks, phamtom.  No worries, Steve, you should do the same.  The 1/32 is unwieldy enough for me I can only imagine what the 1/18 is like.  Thanks, Youngtiger, I'll need all the luck I can get : )  I did work on some 1/32 models but I'm notorious for abandoning builds when I'm overwhelmed.  If I manage to pull off the rescribing work it will be a good sign that I'll pull through : )

[Mr.Happy]

Crackerjazz,

 

That’s very cool how you MacGyver’ed that wing!

 

Mr. Happy