VF-32 F-14A

[falcon20driver]

I'm finally going to build the plane I've wanted to model most, the legendary Tomcat. I flip flopped on which kit I would by, but after getting a deal I couldn't refuse at SuperCon I chose to build the HobbyBoss version. I got home and immediately tore open the box and I can say I'm very happy I went with HobbyBoss, what an awesome looking kit. I have the Aires cockpit set for this build and later I'll pick up some more goodies for the build. I know Steel Beach will be getting some money from me! I'm using the AeroMaster Anytime Babe pt. VIII decal sheet to build "Gypsie 200" from VF-32 as flown during ODS. It has been awhile since I've been this excited to build a kit, and I'm really hoping to do it justice. This build will take quite a long time because all my builds do . I hope anyone who checks in on this build enjoys themselves, and please feel free to comment and correct me!

Hopefully I'll get started and make a little progress later this week!

Thanks for stopping by

[ChippyWho]

Yessir, I'll grab a seat! I have the HB F-14B in the pile, so always keen to see any trail-breaking.

[longmc]

Sweet! I have this kit in the pile ready to start soon too. I plan to use eduard interior and Furball markings for VF-111. I'll be watching your build to get pointers/pitfalls.

cheers,

Mike

[falcon20driver]

Thanks for stopping by ChippyWho and longmc. I couldn't wait anymore to start on this build so I pulled it out this afternoon and got to work. My first goal is to work on the nose section and work on getting the Aires cockpit installed. The detail in the Aires cockpit is outstanding as usual:

I've done some quick fitting and I think ( ) that the tub won't be too miserably difficult to get installed.

I also did some dry fitting of the nose pieces to see how the fit was. Overall, its not bad but there is going to be some work needed to close up the gun access panels. I really wish manufactures wouldn't open all the panels. Here are some photos of a quick fitting of the nose section. I think I'll leave the nose cone open to show off the radar that comes with the kit, it really is neat looking.

You can see the panels for the guns are gonna need some work to clean up, but I've seen worse. All in all, I am very happy with how this kit looks like it'll go together. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Thanks for stopping by

[longmc]

Good start! I agree, I'm not a fan of all the open panels, full engines etc. I'm sure they could cut down on kit cost if they left those out.

I used an aires pit on the hasegawa tomcat I built and it wasn't too bad. I have one for the hobbyboss I got in a trade. I haven't really tried to fit it, but looked like it wouldn't be too hateful.

[falcon20driver]

I spent most of my morning working on the Tomcat. I really love this kit! Most of the work time was spent removing the resin pieces from their casting blocks. I haven't spent time trying to get the pit to fit really well yet and it already fits better than any resin pit I've used to this point. I figure with some work it'll fit real nice:

Then, I just had to pull the main fuselage parts out and see how the fit was and see how big this monster was going to be. All I can say is Hobby Boss for the win! Minus the open panel issues on the nose, the fit of the main fuselage parts is the best of any 1/48 jet I've ever built! The engineering is brilliant. The little seam in the second picture disappeared after I tapped the nose section back after taking the picture. The nose section and fuselage section stay joined together with no tape or glue at all.

Finally, a photo to show the size of this kit comparing it to a 1/48 C-47:

[Manuel J. Armas S.]

Don´t forget to fix the shape of the steps, and erase the panel of the Rio Step.

[ChippyWho]

Don´t forget to fix the shape of the steps, and erase the panel of the Rio Step.

Just had a look at the DACO 'Uncovering...' book; I think I can see the issue with the step aperture, but what's up with the back-seater's step panel? I get lost sometimes! :blink:

Also, there was a very thorough build here by JesniF-16 a while back: this contained some useful info about fitting the AIRES interior to the HB plastic. Unfortunately I can't find it now (of course!)...

Edited September 16, 2014 by ChippyWho

[falcon20driver]

Manuel,

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to dig into my reference material and look for this issue.

ChippyWho,

Thanks for the information on jesnif16' s build. I found it and I'll use it as a nice little road map.

I need to make a hobby store run, but hopefully I can get a little painting done on the seats today. Thats always one of my favorite parts.

Edited September 16, 2014 by falcon20driver

[falcon20driver]

Good afternoon everyone! I just wanted to provide a quick update on the Tomcat. I've been busy this week because we got a new dog from the shelter and I've been working on getting him accustomed to his new house. He does enjoy providing guard duties for the airbase:

As for the F-14, I've finished painting the seats for the most part, there is still some minor touch ups then adding details like seat belts and ejection handles. I'm still thinking of something to use better than the photo-etch for the ejection handles.

Now, I've begin working on installing and cleaning the panels on the nose sections. I've been able to start cleaning and fitting the cannon access panels so that they're not as bad, but there was nothing I could do to make the refueling probe doors fit well. It was clear that they were designed to be built open and not closed. Oh well, it is just a bit more work to clean it up and make it look right.

Hopefully next time I'm home, I'll be able to get the cockpit fitted for the final time then start getting it painted.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look

[A-10 LOADER]

Nice progress and good luck with the newest member of your family.

Steve

[Joel_W]

Falcon20Driver,

Nice start to what looks like another really nice Hobby Boss kit. I've become quite impressed with Hobby Boss after building two of their kits. Your two seats really turned out quite well. I'll be following along on your build, as this kit is on my must have list.

Joel

[crackerjazz]

Following this too! : ) And nice dog -- Tintin sprang to mind :)

[Jinxter13]

Superb, absolutely fantastic work on the git'em out seats, you've brought out the detail very nicely. I'll be watching this one closely, I've got two HB 'cats in da stash an "B" and a "D" ; taking notes and admiring the progress.

[falcon20driver]

Steve, Joel, Clif, and crackerjazz thanks for the kind comments. I hope to be able to build this Tomcat up nicely and answer any questions about its construction from my own mistakes. I've been busy studying (looks like I'm going to be flying a Falcon 50 now) so I haven't got to much progress to report, but I have gotten some work done. I've been slowly working on cleaning the Aires pit and dry fitting it little by little. Most of my time has been spent cleaning up the left side of the nose by working on the gun access panels. I was really worried that they might be quite the problem but after a little work they clean up nicely. I just took my time dry fitting, then I used some CA, my scriber, and a little wash to get them taken care of. First was initial installation, and you can see the fit really wasn't too bad.

Then I got down to filling in the seams I didn't like with CA, and I also removed the raised section around the back seater's step:

After some more filling and plenty of sanding I rescibed and used a wash to check my work.

I still have some work to do around the front gun panel and also some of the rivets need attending too. I'll work on that and in the next update I should have some better photos of the nose work. I'll also have a photo of all the goodies I ordered from Sprue Brothers today!

Thanks for checking in

[Joel_W]

Falcon20Driver,

Excellent work. It's perfect.

Joel

[A-10 LOADER]

Nice job, very well done. She's looking good so far, keep chugging along.

Steve

"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY !"

[TaiidanTomcat]

this is looking really good! And what a happy looking dog! Its interesting on that Aires cockpit that you don't need to remove the big tab aft of the RIO seat under the "turtle deck" to make the 'pit fit in the model. Thats a sweet deal

[falcon20driver]

Joel and Steve, thanks for the kind comments guys. I've certainly been itching to build a Tomcat since I started in this hobby, and now I'm afraid I've unleashed a monster. I'm enjoying this build more than any I remember, and I have a sneaking suspicion there will be more following. T.T., thanks for checking in. Dooley has become a great dog for us. He was a rescue and had unfortunately been treated poorly at his previous home. However, he's spoiled now and living the good life. As for the extra resin on the back of the pit, I did end up removing it but I really dont think you need to. That being said, I haven't built up the nose wheel well yet to see how that fits along with the cockpit. It'll be a little while before the next update, I'm back on the road and working some extra days to get acclimated to the new jet. I will make a lot of progress next time I'm home though!

[falcon20driver]

I'm back home after a longer than normal time out, but I'm flying the Falcon 50 now and happy about that. I had some goodies waiting for me when I got home too!

This is the last bit of stuff I needed to complete the build. I have the Aires exhaust, the Steel Beach mid life upgrade set, Quickboost intake plugs, canopy masks, Hobby decal pitot tube/AOA vane, and Eduard FABRIC seat belts.

I started out today working with the seat belts. I only completed one seat because those darn things are tricky to work with. I'm happy with the way they look, but I don't know if I would use them again.

I also started cleaning up the exhaust to see how they would look. I'm really happy I got them after comparing them to the kit parts.

Finally I spent the rest of the afternoon working on building a wing. Most of the wing went together easily:

but the slat refused to fit properly in the closed position properly. I tried a lot of dry fitting but couldn't get it to sit as snug as I would like. Since I'm going to clean up the extensive rivets on the wing I wasn't to worried about losing detail, and grabbed the sanding sticks and got to work. I was able to get the top of the slat cleaned up and the step removed, but I'm still thinking about how to get rid of the small gap on the bottom.

That's it for the night, I should have quite a few more updates this week. Hopefully I can get some paint on the cockpit tub soon!

[Joel_W]

Falcon20Driver,

those seats really turned out quite well, especially those harnesses.

Nice package of goodies, should make the build all that much better.

Hard to offer any suggestions about the small gap on the bottom of the slat without seeing a few pictures of it. But there is always the option of using a small sheet plastic shim to extend the slat, and close the gap.

Joel

[crackerjazz]

Looking good, falcon "50" driver. Is the gap big?

[falcon20driver]

Looking good, falcon "50" driver. Is the gap big?

It is 10,000lbs heavier and it has a third engine, but it is a more refined aircraft. The 20 was Dassault's first bizjet, and it was an amazing piece of engineering but it could be convoluted at times. The 50 was their third design and by then they had learnt a lot of valuable lessons about system designs. It is an extremely well behaved aircraft that has crisp but smooth controls and excellent handling characteristics. The bad thing is my butt gets sore because we have a lot more range now (6.5 hours more or less).

Joel, I'll try and get a photo of the slat underside tomorrow. I test fit the other slat and it has the exact same issue, so either I messed up both wings or HobbyBoss didn't intend to have these built in the closed position.

[dnl42]

How did I miss this? Looks like some outstanding progress to date. Love the seats!

Will be a good reference for when I get around to this one in my stash.

[Joel_W]

....Joel, I'll try and get a photo of the slat underside tomorrow. I test fit the other slat and it has the exact same issue, so either I messed up both wings or HobbyBoss didn't intend to have these built in the closed position.

Falcon20Driver,

The slats on the A-6E were designed to be in the open position. To close them required that all the mounting tabs be cut off, so I suspected that there would be a fit issue. Even in the open position, they aren't exactly perfectly aligned to the main body of the wing.

Joel