Drew T. Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 (edited) Hi Everyone, My new build is Tamiya’s excellent 1/48 F-14A, but to make things interesting, I’m adding a metric crap ton of aftermarket goodies. Below is everything I have so far. I have both the Reskit and Katran exhausts, but I haven’t decided which one I’m going with yet. Also below are the Eduard Phoenix missiles, but I found out after I took this photo that these are too short, so I purchased Reskit’s version. I messed up buying the original release of the F-14A since I’m doing a Desert Storm build, as most of the Tomcats by this time had the ECM bumps and tail stiffeners. I sourced the relevant parts trees on Ebay from the Tamiya Late F-14A release to get these parts. I’m still not completely decided on which markings I’m going with. I didn’t show it in the photo above, but I have the Bullseye decal set for Desert Storm Tomcats: https://spruebrothers.com/bma48022-1-48-bullseye-model-aviation-decals-f-14a-tomcat-fleet-tomcats-1-desert-storm/ I’m leaning toward going with the low viz Swordsmen jet. This decal set also includes the Gypsy 201 jet that would normally fly with high viz markings that I really like. However, it flew most of the time in theater with an overcoat of water based gray paint to reduce visibility. However, I have found photos of this jet flying during Desert Shield in late 1990 with full color markings and live missiles, so I might go that route. According to RIO Dave Parsons who flew in VF-32 during this time, the water based gray paint was occasionally removed for corrosion control and the jet was flown for a few days in full color markings for photo ops. I started with the Eduard cockpit, which goes together nicely and fits in the kit much better than a typical Aires cockpit. Like my last couple of builds, I used lots of Anyz and Airscale decals on the instrument panels, consoles, and circuit breakers. These take a lot of time and effort to apply, but add a ton of realism to the cockpit, especially after an oil wash to blend them in. I applied a coat of UV glue over the screens to give them a glossy finish. For the surface of the RIO’s radar scope, I took a piece of thin clear plastic, sprayed the back with transparent green paint, then black paint, and glued it in place. This gives a faint green appearance, but it still looks mostly black in these photos. I had originally planned to use the 3DF ejection seats, but I wasn’t totally satisfied with them. After seeing the Minicraft Collection seats, I had to have them. Once painted up, they look the part. The striping on the pull handles were painted by first spraying them gloss yellow. I then wrapped a thin strip of tape around the handle and sprayed black paint. This provides a thin line that I could widen with a small brush and black acrylic artist ink. If I messed up, the ink could be wiped off the gloss surface with water. The Tamiya kit mounts the cockpit directly over the nose gear wheel well and since it’s a Tamiya kit, the kit has mounting tabs to correctly position the cockpit/gear well assembly. However, since I am using the 3D printed wheel well set from Minicraft Collection and the Eduard cockpit, I had to come up with my own way of correctly positioning the cockpit relative to the MCC nose gear well. Using trial and error and comparing to the Tamiya cockpit and nose gear well assembly, I used styrene shims between the Eduard cockpit and MCC nose gear well and used styrene rod to replace the “ears” provided in the Tamiya kit to correctly position the assembly in the nose. I was able to use the rear section of the Tamiya nose gear well and glued it to the MCC gear well to correctly position everything. Since I wanted to show the boarding ladder extended, I bought the ladder and steps from Model On Details as they are a huge improvement over the kit supplied parts. As the photo shows above, I had to grind away extra material on the left side cockpit sidewalls to get enough clearance to use the 3D printed boarding steps. It was a tight fit, but I was able to get everything to go together correctly. That’s all for now, thanks for looking! Drew Edited May 20 by Drew T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 Nice start so far Drew. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 That's a killer start! Looking forward to seeing the progress on this. Aaron ps. I know that last time I bought the ResKit AIM-54's, they were still multi-part. If you are looking for a one-piece alternate that is accurate and easy to use, I would check out Flight Line Resin (available through Phase Hanger Resin's page). They are amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 Thanks Steve and Aaron! Dang, I just received the Reskit missiles in the mail yesterday and the are still multi-piece. If I had known the Flight Line version was single piece, I would have gone for that one. At least the Reskit ones do match the Tamiya missiles in length. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Great work - those bang seats look incredible! Looking forward to your next installment. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BastianD Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Very nice start, love the nice details in the cockpit and the worn details. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.Happy Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Nicely done on the bang seats and cockpit. Looks as if your starting off to a great endeavor build. I’ m eagerly awaiting your next update. Keep up the great work, Mr. Happy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
eraucubsfan Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 I'm not sure if you will have the same issue, but I tried to use the Eduard cockpit on my kit, and it doesn't fit very well. It sits too tall and pushes the windscreen piece up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 Whoooa this looks nice. +1 on the Gypsy 210. This scheme is just lovelly. Lo-vis but still a bit flashy. And kind of a contrast to most "boring" MiG Killers VF-32 jets (like the one I'm going to build one day 😉 ). Can't wait for some more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 (edited) On 5/2/2025 at 4:37 AM, Drew T. said: Thanks Steve and Aaron! Dang, I just received the Reskit missiles in the mail yesterday and the are still multi-piece. If I had known the Flight Line version was single piece, I would have gone for that one. At least the Reskit ones do match the Tamiya missiles in length. I don't want to sound like a used car salesman or anything, and other than being a 100% satisfied repeat customer, I don't have any affiliation with FLR, but you've got all the best goodies for your build, and you're doing such a good job that I thought I'd plug the FLR Phoenix's again. Here's a photo of what you get. There are 4 in a set, and they come in protective "cages", as shown to the right. The middle is an AIM-54C with the cage and supports removed. As you can see, the radome is separate for easier painting. The left missile is also a Charlie, with decals from the Fightertown Data and Weapons sheet. They fit spot-on perfectly. The AIM-54A's I used from an earlier build were just as good, and the included decals from Tamiya fit them just about perfectly as well. Just food for thought. I'll leave you alone now. 😁 Edited May 6 by strikeeagle801 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 Thanks for the nice words everyone! On 5/5/2025 at 1:44 PM, eraucubsfan said: I'm not sure if you will have the same issue, but I tried to use the Eduard cockpit on my kit, and it doesn't fit very well. It sits too tall and pushes the windscreen piece up. I have not had this issue with the Eduard cockpit. However, I took great pains to make sure I had it located correctly. I think if they had put a little more effort into the design of the set to interface with the Tamiya kit, it would have been much easier to use. On 5/5/2025 at 3:52 PM, Thadeus said: Whoooa this looks nice. +1 on the Gypsy 210. This scheme is just lovelly. Lo-vis but still a bit flashy. And kind of a contrast to most "boring" MiG Killers VF-32 jets (like the one I'm going to build one day 😉 ). Can't wait for some more. Yeah, I'm leaning towards this scheme. The low-viz jets got really grubby during the high tempo of operations during Desert Storm, so this gives me lots of opportunity for weathering. Unfortunately, I won't have any use for the parts I bought from the late F-14A kit, as the low-viz jets were earlier Blocks than the CAG birds and did not have as many upgrades. Gypsy 210 was a TARPS enabled jet, but since I already have the Phoenix missiles, I'm going to stay with that loadout. Since I found a photo of 210 carrying Phoenixes during DS, I know that it used this loadout at some point during the war. On 5/5/2025 at 9:17 PM, strikeeagle801 said: I don't want to sound like a used car salesman or anything, and other than being a 100% satisfied repeat customer, I don't have any affiliation with FLR, but you've got all the best goodies for your build, and you're doing such a good job that I thought I'd plug the FLR Phoenix's again. Here's a photo of what you get. There are 4 in a set, and they come in protective "cages", as shown to the right. The middle is an AIM-54C with the cage and supports removed. As you can see, the radome is separate for easier painting. The left missile is also a Charlie, with decals from the Fightertown Data and Weapons sheet. They fit spot-on perfectly. The AIM-54A's I used from an earlier build were just as good, and the included decals from Tamiya fit them just about perfectly as well. Just food for thought. I'll leave you alone now. 😁 Man, you're tempting me on the FLR Phoenixes! I used their Sidewinders and missile rails on my F-4, which were also single piece, and was very happy with them. If I didn't already have the Reskit Phoenixes, I would have gone with FLR. I don't know why I didn't think of them at the time, but I'm kicking myself for it. At this point, I don't want to buy a third set of these missiles, since Tomcats are the only builds where I can use them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
strikeeagle801 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 I can certainly understand not wanting to buy a 3rd set. The way your build is going so far, I'm sure you'll be able to get the Reskit missiles to behave and turn out just fine. Aaron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 If you want to do a TARPS Pod and Phoenix all you have to do is leave off the forward right Phoenix (leave the right weapons rail/pallet installed). I'm 99% sure that VF-14 and 32 flew the same loadouts that we (VF-103 and VF-74) did. Our (VF-103) combat TARPS Load was Sparrow and Sidewinder on each wing and one Phoenix on the forward left station with both sets of weapons rails installed (you had to have either weapons rails or ballast tubes loaded on the front stations in order to fly the TARPS Pod). GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 11 hours ago, strikeeagle801 said: I can certainly understand not wanting to buy a 3rd set. The way your build is going so far, I'm sure you'll be able to get the Reskit missiles to behave and turn out just fine. Aaron Thanks Aaron! I'll suck it up make the Reskit ones work, it's easier than trying to sell them for what I paid for them. 10 hours ago, GW8345 said: If you want to do a TARPS Pod and Phoenix all you have to do is leave off the forward right Phoenix (leave the right weapons rail/pallet installed). I'm 99% sure that VF-14 and 32 flew the same loadouts that we (VF-103 and VF-74) did. Our (VF-103) combat TARPS Load was Sparrow and Sidewinder on each wing and one Phoenix on the forward left station with both sets of weapons rails installed (you had to have either weapons rails or ballast tubes loaded on the front stations in order to fly the TARPS Pod). GW Hi GW, that's interesting. What I have read is that at the time, they would fly with the ECA (expanded chaff adapter) on the left front Phoenix rail and the AN/ALQ-167 jammer on the right front Phoenix rail like this image shows of Gypsy 110. https://dstorm.eu/pictures/nose-arts/f-14/161140_1.jpg I was trying to avoid this loadout as I can't find any good photos of the ECA or the rack used to attached the jammer pod to the Phoenix rail. This photo below shows plane 212 from your squadron which was a TARPS enabled jet and carrying a Phoenix on the front left rail. Unfortunately, I can't see if its carrying a TARPS pod. https://dstorm.eu/pictures/nose-arts/f-14/161424_3.jpg I'm thinking about doing Gypsy 204 since one of my Tomcat books mentions that CDR Joe Parsons was flying this jet on the first day of the air campaign of Desert Storm. It should be pretty easy since I can make masks for the plane numbers and VF-32 did not have crew names on the jets during combat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 After the first week of the war we stopped flying the ECA and Bullwinkle Pod on our TARPS missions. We found out the wrong way that ECA, TARPS Pod and Mach runs were a bad combination, it was a messy and expensive lesson. As for the pic you posted, I couldn't tell you if that was TARPS mission but it was early in our cruise (I'd say right after we got on station) since it has a AIM-9L loaded and during the war we flew AIM-9M's. BTW, that is the bird that was shot down (21Jan1991) with Lt. Jones and Lt. Slade crewing it. The white shirt on top is AT1 Todd Woody (now a retired AVCM), can't remember who the green shirt was. GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 "CDR Joe Parsons ", his name is Dave "HEY JOE" Parsons and, he's a friend of mine. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 (edited) 14 hours ago, GW8345 said: After the first week of the war we stopped flying the ECA and Bullwinkle Pod on our TARPS missions. We found out the wrong way that ECA, TARPS Pod and Mach runs were a bad combination, it was a messy and expensive lesson. As for the pic you posted, I couldn't tell you if that was TARPS mission but it was early in our cruise (I'd say right after we got on station) since it has a AIM-9L loaded and during the war we flew AIM-9M's. BTW, that is the bird that was shot down (21Jan1991) with Lt. Jones and Lt. Slade crewing it. The white shirt on top is AT1 Todd Woody (now a retired AVCM), can't remember who the green shirt was. GW Interesting! I've seen an interview of Lt. Slade's POW experience at the hands of the Iraqis and it sounds like he had a pretty horrible experience. I didn't realize plane 212 was the one he and Lt. Jones went down in. 12 hours ago, A-10 LOADER said: "CDR Joe Parsons ", his name is Dave "HEY JOE" Parsons and, he's a friend of mine. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Cool! I knew I would screw up and confuse his call sign with his real name. He's got a great collection of Tomcat photos posted on his Facebook page. VF-32 seems to be the most photographed Tomcat squadron of DS, and that has to be due to Dave Parsons' photo collection. Edited May 9 by Drew T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 (edited) HI Everyone, I’ve got the cockpit installed and finally have the nose section finished. Here’s the overall result. However, before installing the cockpit, I took the opportunity to add some detail in the bay where the boarding ladder is stored since I’m going to have the ladder extended. I’m using the 3D printed ladder and steps from Model On Details. The steps make for a tight fit with the Eduard cockpit since the steps are located right against the cockpit sidewalls, but with some careful griding, I was able to get everything to fit. After getting the cockpit installed, I added some detail to the rear deck behind the RIO’s seat. Tamiya only provides some very faint raised rivets in this area, so I sanded it down and used styrene t replicate the metal sheeting in this area as well as Archer raised rivets to replicate the rivets in this area. I also used stretched sprue to replicate the tubing around the canopy actuator. I used copper wire for the handlebar on the front windscreen as well as the wiring for the instrumentation to the side of the HUD. Again, I used Archer raised rivets to replicate the rivets on the inside of the windscreen. The kit parts located at the rear of the canopy needed attention so I added detail using stretched spue for the vertical support bars on the rear and sheet styrene for the panels. I also cut off and rebuilt the piece that the canopy arm attaches to as the kit part was oversimplified. Archer rivets were used here as well. The piping at the front is from the canopy frame set from Model On Details. The canopy details from Model On Details look fantastic, but are very delicate. Here’s the rear canopy section painted up. Here’s the decking behind the RIO’s set painted up. I used a light gray wash and drybrush over Mr Surfacer black to highlight the rivet detail. I love how Tamiya integrated the windscreen into the fuselage. The fit was less than perfect due to the Eduard cockpit, but I got everything to fit with some “persuasion”. I tinted the center section of the windscreen by rubbing a green and blue permanent marker on the inside of the windscreen and rubbed the ink into the plastic with a cotton swab. By lightly buffing, the ink left a light tint to the plastic. I also used the Mr Surfacer black and light gray oil wash/drybrush on the cockpit. Thanks for looking! Drew Edited May 20 by Drew T. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Very nice work Drew !! Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
amato1969 Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 Loving the detail work here!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 The only detail that is missing is the JO's greasy foot print on the seat cushion on the back seat and the MO's NVG batteries up under the foot pedals in the front seat. 😄 Great job, looks like the real thing.👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Drew T. Posted June 10 Author Share Posted June 10 Thanks for the kind words everyone! I’ve made some more progress on this. With the cockpit complete, I moved on to construction of the air intakes. Tamiya has a decent amount of detail in this area, but I’m following the build in Kris Sieber’s excellent book where he documents his build of this kit. I basically copied what he did to improve this area. I also used Reskit’s single-piece intakes, which eliminates the need to remove the longitudinal seam from the two halves in the Tamiya kit. I painted the intake parts with Mr. Color C69 off-white. I like to use this for white intakes and landing gear, as it’s less stark than using pure white. I then followed up with an oil wash of Abteilung 502 starship filth for general grime. I painted the fans Aclad steel and followed with an oil wash. These fans are 3D printed and are probably the most realistic looking fans I have ever used. Here’s what the intakes look like when in installed. The top section of the bleed air ramp is visible from the top of the plane through the doors on the top of the fuselage, so the extra detail added here will be (barely) visible on the completed model. Here’s the completed intake. The air ramp is a little crooked when I took this photo, but I was able to straighten it with tweezers. I am included all the 3D printed parts Wolf’s 3D parts (designed by Scale Navy Stuff) offers for the F-14. For the air conditioning fans, I left off the grill until I paint the fans and because the grill is extremely fragile. They all fit great, but I did have to remove a couple of teeth on the wing gears that were hitting the ECS exhausts. I have also installed the Quickboost position lights. I highly recommend them since the Tamiya kit does not even have clear parts for these lights. I’ll paint the chaff and flare cartridges separately before installing in the bins. I bought both the Katran and Reskit exhausts and had planned to use the Katran exhausts since they provide a more detailed fairing around the exhaust that the other exhaust sets don’t have. However, the Katran set had some casting defects around the open exhaust nozzle due to the material being so thin, so I decided to go with the Reskit exhausts. They are designed specifically for the Tamiya kit and fit perfectly. The plug that fits on the top of the spine has a seam when installed that should be filled, as the photos I could find do not show a separate panel here. I used sheet styrene for the two small plates that are located at the front of the first intake ramp. I think the AMK kit actually has these, but not the Tamiya kit. I removed the kit tow hooks at the back of the vertical strakes and made more detailed ones from styrene. I also hollowed out the rear of the strakes. These aren’t glued in place yet, as they would probably get damaged during assembly and painting. Using my set of Madworks chisels, I opened up the vent on the vertical strakes. That’s all I have for now. Thanks for looking! Drew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 oooh that is nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GW8345 Posted June 12 Share Posted June 12 The level of detail is giving me flash backs of the real thing, makes me want to go dive the ducts (ie fod check the intakes) again. Very impressive build! GW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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