Tamiya 1/48 F-14A; Update: 4/19/24 - DONE AND IN THE BOOKS

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gus, so very much appreciated. I 'm lucky that only about 15 minutes form the house is the Grumman memorial Park and one of the aircraft on display is a F-14A Tomcat. So, whenever the erg arises, I can drive on over and see the Old Gal up close and personal. 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Scott , so glad you liked the build. I have a soft spot for Tomcats, as I was able see the Tomcat on the final assembly line as a visitor at Calverton - impressive doesn't come close. 

Looking forward to enjoying your build thread and seeing your Tomcat cross the finish line as well. 👍

 

[belugawhaleman]

Amazing work Peter! The finished model looks amazing!

370 decals......after 75 or so I would have run out of my house screaming!

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Paul, very appreciated. I found by breaking up the stencil work over a few days' time and having a goal to reach, it made the work go a lot faster and was actually fun. If I tried to do it all in once and from work session to work session, no question, I would easily have run out of steam and most likely still be doing them. 😉

 

[KevinM]

Very Nice example Peter she will look the part in the cabinet.

[CANicoll]

Beautifully done Peter!  The washes really work well to highlight the details and the stencils do bring the bird to life.

[DocRob]

An absolute stunner, Peter, from nose cone to burner cans. Everything looks so real on one hand and on the other, like made to please the eye, fantastic.

Cheers Rob

[mark31]

wonderfull done i love it great job.

not to dirty but used.

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kev. Pure and awesome Tamiya, as I looked forward to each work session at the bench. Getting ready to make room for the Big Cat in the Display case, as I have two more glass shelves on order and then it's full to the brim.

  

[Peterpools]

Thanks Chris, I tip my hat to Tamiya for some tremendous engineering and no shortcuts. I found the panel lines to be of the same depth and size, making the application of the Flory and Ultimate washes easy and results consistent.  And of course, all those stencils went down with no issues whether Tamiya or Furball. I have noticed that Tamiya's decals, even though they look the same from kit to kit, have greatly improved and no longer need to be replaced with the AM variety unless the kit schemes are not of interest. For my way of working, the key is the decal prep work and the smoothest, glossy surface to work on.

 

 

 

  

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob, so greatly appreciated.  A fun and very rewarding build - so worth the cost and then some.

 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark, as it's my preferred way of building and finish, so as to be consistent in appearance with the balance of all the other models in my mini museum display case.

 

[BlrwestSiR]

As I mentioned in the Gallery, great job on the F-14. The hi-vis era really produced some of the best markings for the plane. 

Lightly weathered, not abused is to me the usually way to go as well. 

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl, so very much appreciated and completely agree - the high vis, colorful markings are the way to go with a minimum of weathering to show off the scheme and aircraft to its fullest.

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Spectacular build Peter, wow!!  Amazing work my friend, truly amazing.

[Peterpools]

Mike

Thank you so much for your very kind words - a truly incredible kit and a very satisfying and rewarding build. 

[Martinnfb]

Textbook precision and accuracy ,  exceptional build Peter. Bravo! 

[Peterpools]

Thank you, Martin, so very much appreciated.