Trumpeter 1/32 F14B Tomcat ‘bomb-cat’

[BarryW]

Touch ups done and I am now preparing to fit the wings.

I have decided to cement them into place in a swept position. While the wing structure is stronger than the Revell Tornado I still have doubts about how strong it will be when you move the wings. This is such a big model I want to keep its footprint down on the shelf, hence the swept position.

here is what it looks like now:




It looks smaller than it is on the bench but rember I have a big bench, the Hobbyzone modules being about 12 inches so that makes the model nearly 2 feet long....

 

[BarryW]

Wings attached...
I decided in the end not to glue them solidly in swept position and to allow some movement, but I will just make sure i dont play around sweeping them back and forth too much...

I had to remove the shoulder pylons (came away easily and in one piece) to enable me to clamp the wing pivot.







Here are the other parts ready to attach at the right time.


And, of course, the stores are in the middle of preparation.

 

[BarryW]

Twin tails on and the fillet over the wing mechanism glued in place.




glad I decided not to fix the wings in the swept position as it enabled me to calm the rear part of the filler for glueing.

 

[boatman]

HI Barry lookin good but do you really need all them clamps to hold the parts togeather is it that bad a fit or are you just clampin so you don't have to hold the parts togeather while its gluein ?
chris

 

[BarryW]

It not bad fit but the parts do need holding down and in position while cement dries

 

[BarryW]

Solid progress being made





I have lightly sanded where needed and touched up. It was easier than expected. This is such a huge chunk of plastic it was a good decision not to leave all painting until last. Moving this model around on the bench takes a lot of care and two hands. i will post pics showing the touched up aircraft later.

I have started decaIing on the stores. I am having to use the awful Trumpeter decals for this as the a.m. set does not include these.

There are 19 decals for each Phoenix.
not a good start , typically twisting and splintering. The first one fell apart so this missile wil ]l be on the inner rear positions where the problem does not show.


looks Ok above but under...


I got there in the end one down 18 each to do...

the Sparrows not so hard, both done. still a few issues.

 

[boatman]

lovely job Barry on this tomcat build an don't get dishearetin due to decalls problem as for me its gonna help me with mine an thanks for tellin me about the fit that the parts need pullin down with clamps again a great help to me as im goin to put your notes about some parts of your build written out in my kit for the future when I try an build my big kits in about 4 yrs time after ive built my tiger hope you don't mind me doin this ?
chris

 

[Jack L]

Just wait for the 60 odd 'NO STEP' decals...

 

[boatman]

Just wait for the 60 odd 'NO STEP' decals...

YEA Jack its a bit tedious as I found out on my 1/48 th tomcat but that's the whole fun of moderling as it requires patience to fit them all but it will happen as Barry is a preimer modeler that's if the decals behave themselves that is
chris

 

[Jim R]

Hi Barry
You have certainly made some excellent progress. Looking superb as always. You work is so very thoughtful, neat and organised.
Jim

 

[BarryW]

A couple of pictures.
more decals applied to the Phoenix but with a lot more still to do



the attrition rate is about 75% with these dreadful Trumpeter decals. I did not apply them to the underside where they won’t be seen. Also there are enough for six Pheonix and I am only building four so it is working out. Note that the sizing is a little off. I decided that they don’t look too bad with the naked eye so I am not adding to the attrition rate by trying to cut them down.

Below the aircraft after the touch up awaiting her decals.


I decided not to so a really dirty mottled appearance as I have seen on many F14 builds. I decided to keep the weathering fairly moderate, hence the more subtle colour modulation. I like to be a bit different and heavily mottled look is a bit too ‘fashionable’ with F14s.

The MRP paint is glossy enough so I am not gloss coat first before decals. I will apply a semi-gloss coat to seal decals a prep for washes.

 

[boatman]

I decided not to so a really dirty mottled appearance as I have seen on many F14 builds. I decided to keep the weathering fairly moderate, hence the more subtle colour modulation. I like to be a bit different and heavily mottled look is a bit too ‘fashionable’ with F14s.
( Barry quote)

YEA good idea Barry to have a fairly clean tomcat as they all were at the start of the lifes but its not to say that I don't like them wheathered an dirty because I do as it makes the plane look used but when I do mine they will be a clean plane as im rubbish at wheatherin an I havnt got a airbrush that's needed in my opinion but your model is comin on great but is your build gonna be in low vis as I see no white areas on her ?
chris

 

[BarryW]

Tell you what Chris. I real;y would recommend saving up and getting an airbrush and compressor. You can get a low cost set up for under £100. Perhaps a few Father’s Day hints! You’ll not regret getting one.

 

[boatman]

Tell you what Chris. I real;y would recommend saving up and getting an airbrush and compressor. You can get a low cost set up for under £100. Perhaps a few Father’s Day hints! You’ll not regret getting one.

HI Barry ( we have no children so no good on farthers day hints lol ) but many thanks for the idea of buyin a airbrush as I can afford to buy one that's no problem but im to old or will be by the time I finish my tiger build as im not doin my big plane kits till that's finished in about 4 yrs time as this tiger will be my last big build as I make it a rule to have only one build on the go at a time as then I can give the build my all then the plane kits as time is my enemy so no point in buyin something i'll hardly ever use is there but im really enjoyin watchin you build your tomcat fantastic build like all your other builds
chris

 

[BarryW]

I have been progressing the decals.

They are problematical but I am getting there.

some I have had to mask up and paint as they splintered.
where painted they look so much better than decals. I will soon start some that I won’t be able to paint so easily.


the wing tips ones splintered when trying to bend them around the tip.... far better to paint.

 

[Steven000]

Very nice progress Barry! Looks very good goodluck with those decal-fixes
Steven

 

[BarryW]

Decalling is my least favourite part of a build. With 1/32 aircraft a large scale means large decals, large decals, with complex shapes are more of a challenge to get into position, specially around and over detail. Far too many decals tend to splinter and break apart, some are thick and difficult to conform to detail and can even be resistant to solutions, even the strongest.

With WW2 subjects you can usually get masks for the larger markings and as such minimise problems. When a decal does splinter then you can usually touch up with paint. Modern aircraft don’t usually suit masks due to the more complex nature of the markings. Being more detailed often you cannot simply touch them up with paint either. Quite frankly I am not having much luck with modern jets and decals, this aircraft being no exception. Once again I am having to ’make it up’ rather than depict and actual aircraft from an actual unit.

In theory this was to be a ‘Pukin Dog’ but thanks to the decals it’s going to be a Pukin Dog gone wrong.......

The large tail decals have been a nightmare. I deliberate and carefully removed the tails as I could see the problems that would arise and decided it would be easier to work on them off the plane. Having use c.a. they came away quite easily and will go back easily as well.

First the grey on the decals is almost identical to Dark Ghost Grey that they said the side of the aircraft and tails should be painted....

Then the decal application itself...


above shows how the decal broke up when first trying to get it onto the model. The complex shape makes it a nightmare to move around into position. At least it did only break down to two parts. But it just got worse from there...



you can see above that I ended up having to remove it from the model as I just could not get it into position and as I tried it had just got more and more in a mess. I decided to cut away the grey areas and only apply the black which was at least only in two parts. But I ended up with It in more parts and as a result decided to piece it together in a position clear of raised detail.

It really is a long way off the position it should be in but I did not really have any other choice. Hence, we can not really consider this F14 to be representative of that specific aircraft any more.
‘
I just cut away the grey from the decal for the other tail at the start and decided to simply apply it in a matching position. See below.



So there we have it..... Think of it as just a generic F14 somewhat resembling a Pukin Dog

Now, how will the rest of the decals go on? We will see.

The problem with the wing tips gave me a clue that the above would be a challenge but other decals also gave problems.

the top view


see the cracked 103, both wings!

What you cannot see is a grey decal that should be sitting across the aircraft between the wings.... it splintered I to many pieces so it was left off.

The above was at least an easy fix. A spot of black paint and a fine brush...


that is where we are at.

I have just two more modern jets to do then thankfully back to WW2... and masks....

 

[boatman]

OH dear Barry that's not to good I hope I don't have this problem with mine as on my 1/48 tomcat of the pukin dogs the decals went on fine as the decal is a phenix isn't it . But I will still follow your builds but on my decals i'll put on a warning tag sayin decals may splinter when I build mine in the future but to me your build is still great an I enjoyed it so some good came from it. But at the cost of these kits these kits an decals should be the rolls Royce of such as you say tamiya are the same an splinter yet the kits themselves are like the best you can get crazy isn't it. An as for the big decal on the rear fuaselage cant you just mask it up with Tamiya maskin tape an paint the line on as that's what I would do an a modelling friend told me that if I have that problem he said paint the decals over with clear varnish to hold the decals togeather but a I havnt had that problem since my kittyhawk jag an that's when he told me but to late for the jag
chris

 

[BarryW]

Decals done, just about. These were a real problem. Good job I am not an obsessive, it would have driven me mad. It is disappointing that no matter how well the aircraft comes together, how good the paint finish crappy decals screw it up.......

well I have made the best of it.

Here is the starboard nose section

it still needs some decal solution. There were a number of problems with splintering decals, in most cases I managed to pieces them together. The long stripe from the cockpit was a real issue, splintering into three parts.

a bigger problem below. The intake decal split into about six parts and I spent ages trying to piece them together. Still not perfect but it will have to do. I have a lot of work to solve that silvering, repeated coats of solution and pricking the decal will do it. This arose because of the problems I had resulting in trapped air.


The port side had similar problems and the long stripe had to be cut off short.... That really did not want to go down, I made sure it was a neat straight cut.


The stores all done. The attrition rate was about 25% on these decals but I got there in the end. Not perfect but they will do.



I have definitely made up my mind. I will make the best of the F15 and F18 but then no more modern jets. At least with WW2 subjects there are more options, masks instead of decals and you can always find schemes that don’t need big complex decals........

 

[Jakko]

Every time I read about your problems with them splintering, I keep wondering what could be the cause of that. Though I don’t think I’ve made a Tamiya kit with decals as big as these, I also don’t think I ever had any splinter except because I tried to get them from the paper too soon. My experience with Tamiya decals over the past thirty years or so (admittedly, I’ve not built many Tamiya kits in recent years) has been that most take a looooooong time to soak off, and of course they can tear if you try to move them when a little bit is still stuck to the paper. In other words, are you sure they’re completely loose when you apply them?

Could be I’m on completely the wrong track here, of course.