1/32 Trumpeter F-14D Super Tomcat

Gallery Article by David Porter on Mar 29 2012

 

 

The F-14 is a big aircraft and in 1/32 scale it takes up a lot of space as a model. Nevertheless it is one of those aircraft that I consider to be an essential element to my collection. Given its size however I figured that I am not likely to ever build another one and invariably this affected some decisions that I made as I built it. One of those decisions was to add Phoenix missiles to the aircraft long after the AIM-54 had been retired from the fleet (at least compared with the markings that I selected). So artistic licence for this one. 

The kit is the Trumpeter F-14D which comes in this jolly great box with enticing box art and it is really quite a nice kit. It does have a few areas that require a bit of work though, namely plumbing the undercarriage bays, securing the upper fuselage to the bottom and rescribing, modifying the hand hold wells to be properly rectangular, adding hydraulic jacks for the speed brakes on the bottom, and getting the spoilers to sit flush if you decide to pull the wings back. Another intriguing little problem that appears is with the intakes. The kit has them so that the shock inlets are in the down, i.e. the supersonic position. Walkaround photos show that this is sometimes the case however I wanted to show them in the subsonic position so I constructed some fake walls for the intake trunking with plastic card to fill the gaps and this worked well enough.

During the course of construction I also encountered a number of other problems that where not a part of the kits design. Firstly the Alclad primer did not properly adhere to the surface of the plastic. This meant that later on the paint would lift when masking and was a constant problem for me over the course of this project. I often found myself masking with post-it notes and similar materials to help stop the paint lifting. I also conducted a salt wash during the respective layers of Mr Color (my preferred type of paint) and while this technique was extremely effective because of the size of the model I however found it quite a challenge to remove the salt. This required a number of attempts and constant diligence when I kept on discovering more. The last major problem that I had was with the future floor wax which went white when it went on the model. I have no idea why it did this. Initially I had mixed it with some Tamiya Acrylic clear, a solution that has worked for me in the past. After some thoughts of despair that all was lost, I discovered that shooting lacquer thinner through the airbrush eliminated the white residue and I was able to resume.

 

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I decaled the model as the CAG aircraft after cleaning the airbrush out and shooting pure future, this time and with a few other little additions she was complete after a finishing coat of Testor's dull cote. Because of its size it’s a pretty imposing model but one that I am happy to take up a huge slab of the display case even if the Phoenix's don't really belong there. Hope you enjoy the pictures and if you are a fan of the Tomcat then I can say that the Trumpeter F-14D is definitely worth it.

If you want more pictures then there are more available at the IPMS website at www.ipmsnsw.org\pcnov11.html.

Products Used:

  • 1/32 Scale Trumpeter F-14D Super Tomcat 03203

  • Wolfpack F-14 Tomcat TARPS Pod set WP32019

  • Aires F-14D Tomcat Exhaust Nozzles for Trumpeter kit 2117

  • Avionix F-14D Tomcat Cockpit Set, Resin cockpit for Tamiya kit BLC32038

  • Aires Aerobonus AIM 9 L/M/N Seeker Head Cover with R.B.F. Flags 320 001

  • Aires Wheeliant F-14D Super Tomcat Weighted Wheels 132 001

  • Wolfpack-Design SJU-17/A NACES Ejection Seat set WP32029

  • Wolfpack AN/ALQ-167 ECM Pod set WP32018

  • Crossdelta F-14 Step Area & Stiffeners CD32002

  • Eduard 1/32 F-14D Mask JX107

  • Hobbydecal F-14 Alpha Probe/AOA Probe set 32003M1

  • Eduard 1/32 F-14A Interior for Tamiya kit 32529

References:

  • Drendel, L. (1995). F-14 Tomcat Walkaround. Carrollton: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc.

  • Drendel, L. (2007). F-14 Tomcat (Vol. In Action No. 206 All Color Series). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications.

  • Drendel, L. (2007). Tomcat - The Grumman F-14. Carrollton: Squadron/Signal Publications.

  • Gilchrist, P. T. (1994). Tomcat! The Grumman F-14 Story. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

  • Hildebrandt, E. (2006). Anytime, Baby! Stillwater: Cleared Hot Media Inc.

  • Jezewski, D., & Zmuda, T. (2006). F-14 Tomcat. Lublin: Kagero.

  • Salcedo, D., Hall, G., Lawson, B., & Lawson, S. (Eds.). (2006). Grumman F-14 Tomcat. St Paul: Zenith Press.

David Porter

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Photos and text © by David Porter