Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hey everybody,

Here's the first two of the Tomcats for my F-14 group build, both from VF-31. I haven't gotten very far, just the cockpit tubs. They're both 1/72, with a standard fleet defender load for the A and a Bombcat load for the D. The Revell D is on the left, and the Academy A is on the right. Note the difference in the size of the main panels.

Edit: Whoops, I didn't notice that the RIO panel for the A tub was glued at an angle. Time to go fix it!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well now that I've finished the last project I can finally clear the desk to concentrate on the Tomcats. At the moment I'm concentrating on the Academy A since the decal job will take a little more work (they're out of register, but salvageable, all I need to do is correct them). Right now the main fuselage is closed up, and all those little white plastic strips are to reinforce the join so that I'll have a more positive fit when the front end is mated.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I botched it. The canopy for the Academy kit came out too narrow for some reason, so I tried to heat it up and bend it out some, but the stupid thing shrivelled up! :cheers: Don't know why it didn't work this time compared to the last time I successfully reshaped a clear part, but it had probably something to do with the thickness. Now I'll have to hope that MRC will send me a replacement canopy. :cheers:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good thing I had three of these Academy 'Cats. Tried the new canopy on and it's still too narrow. However dry fitting it with the windscreen shows that it's correct, and the windscreen sits on the coaming perfectly, which means that the frame itself is too wide. To correct this, I glued a strip of .020x0.30" plastic on the sides of the canopy, then sanded the "step" off the width of the canopy frame and remounted the canopy.

By the way, Academy/MRC will happily replace any lost/damaged parts as long as you send them a copy of the instruction sheet or the box's UPC code along with a list of missing parts.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A coupla hours and some paint later, we have a gull gray Tomcat. The tail letters were off-register in my sheet so I decided to paint the red on and cut the letters out, so that way I could correct the register problem. More to come.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, decaling (mix of kit decals, MPC and Superscale) is done, as well as the base weathering. I'll be working on the landing gear and weapons next, and the next round of weathering (more off-color paint patches).

Edited by Supertom
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks guys! I got a little more progress done over the past few days, with the landing gear and drop tanks complete. I still have to glosscoat the missiles, paint the radomes and then add the missile markings.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Oh no no no, this is the Academy kit. The Revell kit hasn't been worked on since I had a minor fubar, but that's being rectified as we speak (and this one will blow your shoes off Colin!). The Academy kit comes with 6 AIM-54, 4 AIM-7, 4 AIM-9, 2 drop tanks and 1 TARPS pod.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...