F-14A Tomcat VF-84 Jolly
Rogers
Phew! I
finally finished this project. It didn't take that long, but with the
amount of effort that I had put into this building this kit, it felt like
a very long time. I built this kit strictly OOB.
If you're
interested, the build thread can be found here:
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=267564
I have always
wanted to build a Jolly Rogers bird, especially a Tomcat. But being a
somewhat lazy and stingy modeler, I waited until Academy released their
special edition Jolly Rogers boxing a few years ago, with the fantastic
Cartograf decals. Although all the reviews I've read of the kit all said
it was pretty bad, I still bought it anyway because of the price. Was it
worth it? I think so. Sure it's got lots of issues, but they can be
overcome with a bit of patience (and tons of putty and elbow grease!!!).
I'm quite happy with the end result.
Will
I build another Academy F-14? Depends. Yes for in-flight, but No for
wheels down.
I initially wanted to build this wheels down, but since Academy completely
stuffed up the wheel bay (there was probably literally a dozen ejection
pin marks - see my WIP thread), I decided to build this bird in-flight.
But, I can't be bothered with putting pilot figures in the cockpit.
I
made a few "boo boos", but hey... it's a constant learning
process, isn't it? ;)
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Overall
coat: Gunze Aqueous H315 (FS16440) - this paint is very glossy, and
quite a bit more translucent than Gunze's semi-gloss greys
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Pre-shading:
Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey
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Wing
bladder seal: Gunze Aqueous FS36118
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Tamiya
X-18 Semi-Gloss Black
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Missiles'
body: Gunze Aqueous Gloss White
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Burner
cans: 3 different metallics from Mr Metal Color range. Dark Iron,
Iron, and mixture of Dark Iron + Aluminium (which ended up the same
colour as Stainless!!)
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Leading
edge of the vertical stabs: Gunze Aqueous H311 FS36622
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Gloss
coat: Gunze Aqueous gloss clear
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Weathering:
oil wash and a bit of Tamiya Smoke
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Finishing
coat: Tamiya Semi Gloss Clear
BTW, the stand
is Academy's Display Stand.
Hope you like
it!
Michael "Chewie" Choo
Click on
images below to see larger images
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