Tomcat wip
コメント
30 October 2018, 22:18

I am in here for sure, Sebastijan. I always wanted to have a fine molds Kitty for my stash. How does the kit feel, so far?
31 October 2018, 16:05

Thank you, Holger! Well initially I have very mixed feelings. There's a bunch of little details (look at how good the pit looks OOB) that are really great, but on the other hand, the pin marks are really bothering me. I'll get better feel when I start the main construction I guess. Also, it's quite an expensive kit yet you have to buy weapons and even ejection seat harnesses!!! extra!
31 October 2018, 16:50

Looking good already Sebastijan! To some comfort, the rest of the kit literally falls together! Everything has a very solid location. The only thing I am doing is putting 0,10 mm strips around the separate panels because I feel the panel lines between those are too wide. Takes some effort but is actually very easy. However....you won't be needing that as your panels will be opened up anyway! 😄
31 October 2018, 18:56

FineMolds additional kit | Album by Hagel (1:72)
This gives an idea of the overall fit.
31 October 2018, 18:58

You're welcome! I prefer this kit over the Hasegawa and Fujimi ones but am very curious about the upcoming Great Wall Hobby one. 🙂
1 November 2018, 12:07

Yeah, me too! I have several Hasegawas and Fujimis in the stash; I've seen HobbyBoss ones but there's something off with the shape of the spine with those and I don't like the simplifications of the landing gear area.
1 November 2018, 17:57

VF-41 Black Aces from 1997 cruise. First time I saw Tomcat and visited JFK while on port call to Koper, Slovenia.
4 November 2018, 10:45

Well decals are a slight problem. I've only found those decals in an old Airfix kit. Decals are so so, but I think they will be useable. At least the major ones like tail art, numbers and stuff. I'll probably use stencils from some generic set as Airfix ones are a bit on the thick side. That Airfix release also included VF-14 Tophatters special art tail, with a Tomcat patch on the tail but the cat itself dressed in a tuxedo and a tophat on its head - unfortunately there's a slight offset to the decals and I don't think they would be useable...
5 November 2018, 08:05

scalemates.com/kits/206714-airfix-95013-grumman-f-14a-tomcat
This one by any chance? That box looks cool but if the decals themselves are that bad, that would be a shame. Generic stencils are easy to come by, those VF-41 markings would be something different though...
5 November 2018, 16:41

scalemates.com/kits/1129094-..-2000-vf-21-freelancers-1995
Could these be used?
5 November 2018, 16:44

Yeah, I think that's the boxing... I don't have the kit, just the decal sheet. And yes, that VF-14 option from the boxart suffers the most. I have really a lot of Tomcat decal sheets including those CAM stencil ones for hi and low vis options, so I should be covered with that.
5 November 2018, 18:38

Somebody hacked Sebastijan's account and is posting non Soviet models! 😄
Great start, amazing detail.
7 November 2018, 22:18

Aris, believe it or not, but I think the Tomcat is "guilty" of me, becoming a Soviet/Russian aviation enthusiast. I've become a huge fan of Tomcat after seeing Top Gun sometime in the late '80s and it has been so until 1999, when I saw Anatoly Kvochur perform with his Su-27LL at some airshow in Austria. That was a game changer for me, but if you think of it - There are only 3 aircraft that have a pancake body design - F-14, Su-27 and MiG-29 - it was not hard to fall in love with the Su 🙂
8 November 2018, 07:47

Your Tomcat looks good and seems the Finemolds F-14 has a great details, how's the fittings? Post more pictures please I really like to see your WIP.
8 November 2018, 13:47

Thats absolutely amazing Seb!!
A little late but this I have to watch until the end 👍
23 November 2018, 17:02

Good job! I agree with you about pancakes! I have to buy a tomcat as soon as I finish my flanker.
23 November 2018, 21:03

This is simply fantastic work! Looking forward to seeing the next installment!!!
23 November 2018, 21:40

What instruction bypass did you as mentioned in picture 26?
3 December 2018, 19:54

Thanks guys!
Maciej - it's easy to miss threads on scalemates - not really a forum like format unfortunately.
Patrick - following instructions, you should attach exhausts first then add those side shrouds to them and the fuselage. What I did, was dry attach the exhausts then carefully glued those shrouds only to the fuselage and remove the exhausts. Luckily the fit is perfect so I can paint them separately and install them later in the build.
4 December 2018, 07:01

I came over here from Sven's WIP. Well another impressive built Sebastijan. I'll take a seat to follow.
1 January 2019, 15:55

Chime in Christian! This is a feast to the eyes: the kit AND the craftmanship!
2 January 2019, 04:37

Thanks, guys! I am quite sure Sven will beat me to the finish, but luckily, this isn't a race😉 I am slowly progressing with the build though and I'll probably have something new to show by the end of the week.
3 January 2019, 10:30

After a looong looong while, after hitting the wall when trying to decal this beast, I'm finally back with something to show.
11 February 2019, 08:35

What happened? Did the (original planned) decals act up on you? This current mix looks really nice though! 👍
11 February 2019, 14:36

Hey Sebastijan, I´m at the point of decalling, too, now! Are they that hard to apply? I know from the instrument boards that the FineMolds decals are tricky but I hoped the work better on the outside with much smoother surfaces...
11 February 2019, 16:39

Thank you for your kinds words, guys! What you see here is a combination of Airfix, Microscale and Fujimi decals. Sven, I'm not using kit decals, so I can't comment on their quality, really and I've rather painted up the cockpit than use decals. The most problems I've had was with the Airfix decals, but as I wanted this exact scheme of VF-41 from where I first saw Tomcat in person, they were my only choice. Their biggest problem is that most of the decals are oversize, "NO STEP" stencils being the worst - if anyone's interested I can post a pic where one wing has Airfix and the other Microscale stencils applied.
11 February 2019, 18:27