CANicoll

Absolutely!! Happy Birthday and MANY happy returns!

It is disappointing that the decal companies have these problems. I think a lot is, as you pointed out, how they were stored. My 'old' decals I've kept in a separate case, air tight and away from humidity. I have quite a few of the Pyn-up decals stored that way. But excellent solution you found - the markings and stencils look terrific on the desert scheme.

Beautifully done! I have 2 in my stash to get to.

Your IP and seat are brilliant. Beautifully done! How did you make the seat pad and what did you use for the string/rope? Dental floss?

Quite the trio!!!! Nice work John

Wish I had thought of this sooner, but found an ACTUAL photograph of this aircraft! Dated 1970. I got a few markings incorrect, but very cool to see a photograph of the actual aircraft!

That rivet work is amazing, Hubert. The patience to do that, and perfectly aligned. Wow.

Beautifully in in 1/48! Nice work on the drybrushing and the camo painting - a chore in any scale but nicely done here. Cool subject.

Perfect F-14 Peter. Your work always shines with the details. Beautifully done. Your display case belongs in a museum.

Thank you, Carl. It was a learning experience, but in the end it was a fun build. Cheers!

Peter, I went to the Imperial War Museum's website and found this video. I figure if anyone knows what is what, it would be the IWM? In the video it looks like the roundels are over the wing walk lines... And this picture from this video.

I did that once!!! After that I stopped building two of the same kit, unless they were almost exactly the same...

HOW DO YOU DO THOSE SPIRAL SPINNERS??? For the life of me I cannot get a good spiral on the spinner. Yours is perfect!!! What is your secret?

I think the amount of resin almost matches the amount of styrene: exhaust burner cans and tubes, intakes, wheels and tires, ejection seats, missiles and ANQ, missile pylons. Whew!

Thank you Martin!! I am very appreciative!

Rob, you are far too kind! There are lots of seams I left (or found later, ugh) and the wingtip attachment has a gap that makes the Grand Canyon look tiny. 😉 But thank you!!

Rob, I like having figures in with the models. It does lend a sense of scale but also adds to the story. Nice work!!

Thank you!

The cockpit pictures are in the build thread, I must have deleted them from my computer. Sorry!

This build is not up to what I expect from myself (so many seams are left, and some unnecessary fitting gaps, and the wing tip joins are terrible), but it represented so many firsts that overall, I am pleased with the build. The scale of a 1/32 Tamiya F-4 with resin and 3D printed bits was mind-blowing. The Quinta cockpit set added enormous detail so thanks to Peter for turning me on to Quinta. The ResKit missiles, pylons and ANQ were a new thing to play with but added some extra detail (and stencils) to the build. All told, I think the decals and stencils came in right at about 200. I left off probably 20-30 stencils on the underside. Here is the build thread. Just keeping everything organized was a job onto itself. Plus, this thing is HUGE. Apologies for the photo quality - it far exceeded the size of my photo booth so I had to try and tack the background against the wall... I'll get back to some more weathering and detail/touch up painting, but I've always wanted a SEA sharks mouth F-4 Phantom and with everyone's help, I have what I think is a beauty. I can't thank Carl, Scott, Martin, Peter and everyone enough for the comments, suggestions and support. I am also grateful to Martin who extended the deadline for the group build, with sincere apologies to everyone who was able to meet the original deadline. Cheers, mates! Little Chris F-4E, Block 37, 68-0322 388th TFW, 469th TFS, Korat AFB Little Chris took its first flight in December 1968 and survived Vietnam. The plane was transferred back to the US where it was refurbished and reallocated to the 3rd TFW and the 51st CW. Sold to Korea as part of the Peace Pheasant program in February 1990.

Folks, There is still some detail painting and some touch-up to do, but I'm calling this bird cooked. Working on the RFI thread now. I am grateful for everyone who took this journey with me. Carl, I owe you big time, thank you! Peter - your inspiration has always carried me my friend. Martin and Scott - I always listen to what you guys say. (Not that I can always DO what you suggest! ). Everyone, thanks for the comments and support. It has been a trying few months and building is a nice escape, with great people. Here is the RFI thread. Cheers!

I should have learned!!!

Scott, beautiful paint and wash work on your F-14. Looks terrific!

Mark, Beautiful work and the in-flight show is excellent! Pilots and all. Stunning work.

Beautiful work, Scott! I tried to build this kit one time, has massive problems with the canopy glass and ended up binning the entire thing, maybe 10 years ago. But this is a visually stunning aircraft. Nicely done!