F-14A Tomcat diorama; VF-41 Black Aces; Finemolds 1:72

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Sebastijan aka Seb
Hi everyone! Started a new project a few days ago. Finemolds 1:72 Tomcat that will be wearing markings of VF-41 Black Aces of 1997 cruise, when they visited port Koper, Slovenia and I got to see Tomcats for the first time. It will be a heavy maintenance diorama - deck chained aircraft with a number of open panels and crew inspecting them.

f14wip-1-XL.jpg

For a so much praised kit, I was surprised to find a huge number of pin marks in visible parts. While I'm not sure, these will actually be seen, buried deep in engine intakes.

f14wip-2-XL.jpg

Cockpit sidewalls are bare in the kit. It's true, only the most curious eyes will look that deep in the cockpit, but I just had to add some canvas wiring covers and the prominent circuit breaker boards in the RIO's pit.

f14wip-3-XL.jpg

Using just some careful painting, the cockpit is looking more and more alive. No aftermarket parts are available for this kit, so I have to work with what I've got.
 

Steve Jones

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Off to great start Seb. I will pull up a chair if I may and watch you work your magic. Good luck
 

flyjoe180

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Everyone likes the F-14 (except probably those who have encountered one in anger). Nice choice Seb, and a great start
 

colin m

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The heavy maintenance dio sounds like a lot of work. I'm looking forward to seeing this one develop.
 

Fernando N

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Great looking office Sebastijan:thumb2:, as a Tomcat fan looking forward to see how yours comes together.
 

yak face

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Excellent progress seb , looking forward to seeing the airframe come together , cheers tony
 
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Thanks guys. So far this is progressing really nicely

f14wip-6-XL.jpg

Intakes painted up; one showing the one piece affair and the other one with rear part insert.

f14wip-7-XL.jpg

Front view of the intake insert. Stator at the front with a cone was painted Aluminum while the rear one with darker Magnesium, giving a nice sense of depth. Notice the reflections in the intake.

f14wip-8-XL.jpg

Cockpit was finally fitted in the fuselage halves and instrument panel shrouds installed. Turtle back behind the rear seat was bare of details so I added a horizontal beam and rivets per reference photos.

f14wip-9-XL.jpg

NeOmega seats arrived yesterday and they proved to be of identical dimensions as FineMolds ones but of course much better detailed. RIO's IP shroud received circular cooling vents at the sides and the wire that runs from the top handle to the side.
 

rtfoe

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Hi Seb,

The office looks great although I would have added a slight green tint to the optical panels but thats just my preference. I know when switched off they may be black but the ones at museum displays are empty. Very subjective as it can go either way.

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Hi Seb,

The office looks great although I would have added a slight green tint to the optical panels but thats just my preference. I know when switched off they may be black but the ones at museum displays are empty. Very subjective as it can go either way.

Cheers,
Richard

Thanks for your comment, Richard. Actually they are dark green and have a black filter over them. Might not show in the photos though due to shadows.
 
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f14wip-10-XL.jpg

Instructions mistake! Do this only if you're planning on closing the canopy!

f14wip-11-XL.jpg

Painting the exhausts... First white then progressively darker thin layers of brownish colours and some dark brown, black and grey pigments at the end.

f14wip-12-XL.jpg

Jet intakes finished - the lower rear ramp at the top of the intake is clearly visible including the actuator that opens it.

f14wip-13-XL.jpg

Interesting design of the rear fuselage - you have to attach the rear fuselage sides to the jet exhaust piping.

f14wip-14-XL.jpg

The whole assembly is then attached to the upper fuselage half.

f14wip-15-XL.jpg

The join runs by the panel line and is virtually invisible. The only area needing some filler will be right of the airbrake - nothing a swipe of PPP couldn't solve in few seconds.

f14wip-17-XL.jpg

Attaching the lower fuselage was a breeze - fit is just perfect and we finally have something resembling a Tomcat fuselage.

f14wip-18-XL.jpg

View of the lower fuselage - again no filler needed!

f14wip-16-X2.jpg

Oh and for those who didn't know - take a look at Tomcat's fuselage, bring those intakes closer together and voila! A-wing fighter from Star Wars E:VI Return of the Jedi!
 

rtfoe

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Very neat and tidy build Sebastijan and quick eagle eyes on the instruction F up.

I'm not a StarWars fan but now I can tell all my SW friends where the design of the A-Wing comes from.:tongue-out3:

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Thanks guys!

Time for weekly update:

Last week I received Reedoak 3D printed figures to be used on diorama. Oh boy, I can’t believe how far 3D printing technology has advanced! Layer edges that were in the past really prominent on this kind of prints are almost non existant on these figures. I had to use a magnifying lens to spot it, but even then, it look like a texture to the textile more than layering. Really amazing. These figures aren’t cheap, but they look better than anything I have seen so far.

f14wip-19-XL.jpg


f14wip-20-XL.jpg


f14wip-21-XL.jpg


I am no figure painter and it was a first time for me to work with Mr.Paint acrylic paints specially made for figure painting. I have to say I am satisfied with the result – keep in mind that the figure on the screen is several times the real size so everything looks better balanced on 1:1 scale.

f14wip-22-XL.jpg


Finished painting the “spine” interiors. Had to rivet all the inner edge details.

f14wip-23-XL.jpg


and she’s slowly coming together.
 

rtfoe

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Very nice Seb.

A 3D printer friend says nowadays all it needs is to punch in the resolution and a good dose of patience as the longer it prints the finer the detail and therefore the increase in price.

Cheers,
Richard
 
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