Peterpools Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 Chris, thanks so much and glad you're on board. The Tomcat is loaded with tons of finely detailed parts which required a steady hand, as I've been fighting a daily battle with the carpet monster. Started on the missiles in the wee hours of the morning while waiting for parts to dry so I can keep moving forward, making up for a lot of wasted bench time on the Songbird. Gear is built and ready for paint - Tamiya went all out and they look great (next update). Flexy 5K CA Black CA Thin is the best CA I've ever used. Slow drying, thin enough to fill cracks and thick enough to fill small gaps and being black, you can see where it has been applied. They also make a series of clear CA as well and both types are so very highly recommended. . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 Thanks Carl, nothing like sinking your teeth into a Tamiya build to get the juices up and running again. Which Tomcat is waiting in the wings? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 She is looking great Peter glad you are back in the saddle. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 Thanks Kev feels good to be back in the saddle and not keep falling off. Absolutely enjoying the ride. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 A few days off the forum and bang, the big cat is half done. Your cockpit looks absolutely fantastic and I´m glad to hear, there are no real issues with the kit. When I read through your log, I had to smile, thinking of my huge AEG powered by only 520 horses and in contrary the huge amount of power, the Tomcat possesses. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 On 3/11/2024 at 8:49 AM, Peterpools said: Thanks Carl, nothing like sinking your teeth into a Tamiya build to get the juices up and running again. Which Tomcat is waiting in the wings? Peter, it's the old Tamiya 1/32 kit. Oddly enough the wings are done which is what made me start the kit originally. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Rob, much appreciated. Combining Tamiya and Quinta cockpit sets and the results are just awesome. Yup, no issues at all ... just loads of finely detailed parts that fit together wonderfully with the toughest part, keeping them away from the carpet monster. Pretty amazing the leap in engine power over a hundred years span - technology keeps marching on. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Thanks Carl, so the kit comes with the wings already built up? I never knew that . But you know me, nothing like a Tamiya kit to grab my attention and bench time. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Peter, I had assembled and painted the wings for another Tomcat when I realized I had painted them with the control surfaces white and I needed them to be Light Gull Grey. Rather than strip them I just grabbed a second pair and threw the incorrect ones in the box for the subsequent build. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Carl Got ya, makes perfect sense now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_t Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Looking great Peter !!!! Quinta set looks fantastic installed !!!! -Scott 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 Thanks Kev, very much appreciated. Just can't go wrong using a Quinta detail set - they are simply awesome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 CONTINUED PROGRESS With bench time being at a premium this past week, I was surprised at the progress made. The nose section was basically completed and glued to the fuselage, with the fit typical Tamiya, nice, tight and almost perfect. Whereas on most kits, access panel meant to be displayed open have some fit issues when closing them up, but on the Big Cat, fit was excellent. The wings have been completed and are being test fitted and ready for priming. The gear has been built up, exceptionally well detailed and care needs to be exercised as the numerous parts require a precise fit and a delicate touch. At this point, they have been primed and painted with Tamiya Gloss White LP2 lacquer, thinned and about six thin coats did the job nicely. The loadouts have been built as well, primed and painted with Tamiya Gloss White LP2 lacquer and applied as with the gear for the base gloss color. Tamiya provides a wonderful assortment of missiles for the F-14A Tomcat: AIM-54A Phoenix (four included) AIM-7E Sparrow (four included) AIM-9G/H Sidewinders (four included) Different versions of the missiles are included in the kit, which I’m assuming are for the F-14D and I haven’t opened up the kit yet. My Eduard mask set had arrived and good few late-night hours were needed to complete the masking. Since I am planning on having the Tomcat’s canopy open, I purchased the set for both the outside and inside framing. A bit tricky to apply but all is well. Wheels and tires were built up, primed and painted with Tamiya Rubber Black LP65. Masking the wheels was a bit finicky but is still the best option for painting. For variation and trying to show different areas of the Tomcat were painted at different times, as well as the missiles and drop tanks coming from other manufactures, whose whites would have been a different hue and color or painted by maintenance on board, I’ve so far used two different Gloss White lacquers, all applied over gray primer and applied with a different number of coats – the whites look so very different. So far whites used: MRP FS 17875 … all intake assemblies and planning on using it for the underside of the aircraft. Tamiya LP2 – loadouts and gear Mr Color 1 Gloss White will be used for the gloss white control surfaces. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Peter, as usual your build threads are full of useful information. Thanks so much for the paint call-outs! Super helpful. The cockpit looks stellar. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Thanks Chris, much appreciated. Glad I'm able to include some useful information and tips in my updates. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Great progress Peter. Like Chris said, thanks for showing the colors used. Will come in handy, when I build my -D. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 17 Author Share Posted March 17 Thanks Rob, even at my tender old age, I'm always learning and try to pass it on in my build threads. I've also been on the learning end 100 times more when following builds on the forum. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Great work on the loadout and gear legs. The fuselage is coming along nicely too. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 Thanks Carl, much appreciated. The past few days of bench time have been devoted to finishing and weathering the landing gear and as well, applying the zillion of Tamiya decals for the loadouts - easily a good weeks' worth of work ahead. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 GEAR AND LOADOUTS - Finished The Gear Tamiya exquisite and wonderfully detailed landing gear is finished and has now been carefully put away until needed after the Big Cat has been painted and decaled. A few placards still need to be added (Tamiya decals), Tamiya Dark Gray Panel Line Wash applied to highlight the details and add a bit of weathering. Care and a delicate touch were needed when working on the gear as the parts are very detailed, finely molded and quite delicate. Wheels and tires were primed, then painted with Tamiya Lacquer Rubber Black LP-65 and given a day to dry. The tires were masked off using the Eduard F-14A set, which were a thin circular strip of finicky Kabuki tape, requiring a good deal of time to apply and then all the exposed real estate was sealed with Micro Liquid Mask. The wheels were air brushed with Tamiya Gloss White Lacquer LP-2 and the final step was a careful application of Tamiya Dark Gray PLW. The Loadouts -Decals, decals and more decals, all 154 of them. Decaling the missiles; a very time consuming process, with 154 individual decals being applied. The gloss white paint finish was super smooth, clear gloss wasn’t needed at all for the kit’s decal stencil data and striping. With the surface finish was so smooth, the decals just kept of sliding around and moving at the slightest touch, requiring a lot of extra time for the Micro Set to help the decals to take hold, remain in place and then a number of layers of Micro Sol to keep them tight to the paint. The eight missiles required a good three full days to complete the decal phase. The kit decals will be sealed with Tamiya Clear Gloss X22 and then a final coat of Alclad Semi Sheen a bit down the road. Over the past few years, I’ve seen a nice jump in the quality of Tamiya decals and at this point for all their newer kits, I would have no reservations on using them for the scheme provided. If I hadn’t already purchased the Furball set, I would be going with the kit decals for the Jolly Rogers. Now back to the Big Cat herself. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Lovely! Ultra clean work. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Really nice work Peter. The missiles look fantastic. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Nice work and great photos Peter!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Thanks Martin very much appreciated. Hard to believe how much time the loadouts and gear consumed but better now then at the end of the build when I'm normally out of stream. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 Thanks Carl, very much appreciated. Lots of time and work and hopefully looking forward to seeing them on the Big Cat in a few weeks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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