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Now
I’m again back at modelling aircraft after some 1/700 US Ships including
Trumpeter’s
Blue
Ridge
and Tamiya’s Indianapolis.
Recently I cleared some of my older 1/32 jets of dust and again took the plan to
purchase and build another big scale fighter jet. Having already done
Academy’s F/A-18C and Tamiya’s F-15E and F-16CJ I decided to try my skills
on a Tomcat I found at a local hobby store. The Tamiya kit is very easy to build
altough I had to fill some “leaks” on the fuselage, especially the bow/main
body joint. I didn’t use any aftermarket set, in Switzerland
they aren’t as easy to purchase and in my opinion, only the bad cockpit
armatures could be improved.
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My
Tomcat carries a standard OEF/OIF loadout, comprising two AIM-9L Sidewinders, a
Phoenix, a LANTIRN, two GBU-24 LGBs and two drop tanks. I added also two
JDAM which I took from the F-16CJ, although I don’t know if there were any
F-14As which could drop these munitions. I decided to build the nose section in
open position to show the radar which I improved a little bit using some wire.
Next I changed the position of the pilot, showing him now climbing into the
canopy. The GBU-24 and JDAM were also improved by a coat of fire-resistant paint
which I mixed of some “Decoupaste” providing a coarse, relief style surface
and Tamiya grey.
After
sanding and rescribing some destroyed details I painted the whole thing in my
own light grey I mixed of Tamyia colors. Then I did a weathering I’ve never
done before; having read Kaan Göks very useful article in the ARC
Tools’n’ Tips section, I used some oil pastels and mixed Tamiya “Smoke”
to do the most weathered details. In applying some darker or lighter spots and
finally spraying the whole thing with a layer of the much thinned basic color I
finished it. After a layer of Revell “clear” I applied the nice kit decals
of VF-14 “Tophatters” stationed at the “Enterprise”.
In the end, a layer of Revell “Flat Base” was applied to produce a common
surface.
Daniel
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