Scalemates F-14 Tomcat Group build 2020

Michael Phillips
On to my next project! Looking forward to this one, a Tomcat (my favorite aircraft) in my favorite livery (Jolly Rogers)!

This will be my third Hasegawa Tom, and my 6th Tomcat, but my first one that isn't an A model. Should be fun!!!

Spanjaard
Did I hear Michel Philips and Tomcat? I am in!

Holger Kranich
My favorite ac, my favorite squadron, my favorite Version of the Cat... Perfect!

Fear the Bones!😢

Daniel
Best choice ever! 👍 (Ok, 2BH, maybe second best after a super grimy VF-2 Delta 😉 ) Are you going to do the christmas version?

Martin Oostrom
Jolly Rogers F-14 by Michael Phillips. Sounds like a good movie

Nathan Dempsey
I'll get on board for a tour.

Konrad -
Check in here as well👍!

Slavo Hazucha
A little bit late, but count me in of course - so much promise in that box😉 Does it actually provide parts to build the covered exhausts? Or are they just box-art PR?

Augie
Am in, where's me seat?

Patrick Hagelstein
Yesssssss!!!!! Are you going for the box top black and white livery? I think that's even more beautiful than with the yellow. 🙂

Michael Phillips
Welcome Spanjaard, Holger, Daniel, Martin, Nathan, Konrad, Slavo, Augie, and Patrick!!!

Holger, you sound like my clone! I approve! 🙂

Daniel and Patrick, I am doing the standard "Modex 103" black and white markings, circa 1998. These markings were based on the VERY short-lived 1991 VF-84 Desert Storm Homecoming livery of the CAG aircraft with a few minor differences. Those VF-84 markings are my all-time favorite for the F-14. So this is a close second! As the timeframe would suggest, this will still be an all air-to air loadout, as they had not really been used much as Bombcats to that point.

Slavo, I have not looked closely inside the box yet, but I do not believe they are included. I love the look of the GE engines on the F-14B that I think I will not model with covers on, but the FTD sheet I have has "skull and crossbone" decals specifically for FOD covers, so I do think I will do those. We shall see...

Michael Phillips
Oh, and just to get in the mood for this build, here is a super cool video that I am sure will inspire all the turkeyheads like me out there!

Youtube Video

Jos Jansen
Great Balls of Fire...! Iam in Michael, front row mate..👍

Holger Kranich
Cool video! I could watch it again and again! Anytime Baby! 😄

Michael Hickey
Cool, only a blind man would miss this.😢

Stephan Ryll
I also take a seat 🙂

Martin Oostrom
F-18 suck
F-14 cool

Who drew that on his canopy 😄

Maciej Bellos
Missed this one! A tough kit though.

Michael Phillips
Well, I am back! Not much work done, only the cockpit has been completed (mostly) since I started. I have been busy doing final planning and preparation for my wedding that was held a week ago, so I am now married! Now that things have calmed down and we are back home, I should have some time to get back to the workbench more regularly.

But... this project is now on hold. The deadline for my IPMS club theme contest for this quarter is early October, so I need to change builds to fit that theme, which is "I have the Blues". I have already started that project and will update the build here soon. Stay tuned!

Patrick Hagelstein
Congratulations!!! 🙂 👍

Slavo Hazucha
Congratulations & all the best luck to the freshly married couple! 👍

+ Looking forward to see your benchmark-setting creations again more frequently! Of which this is a good sample - I really like the well prepared and painted 3D landscape & buttons & cables 👍

Michael Hickey
Love the pit, well done.👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Patrick, Slavo, and Michael!

Stay tuned on this one, I plan on coming back to this after I finish my Sea Flanker then the TBD Aggressor for the SCM Aggressor GB. 🙂

Stephan Ryll
All the best Michael 🙂

Spanjaard
Congratulations Michael!!! Many many years of love, happiness, health, money and time to enjoy them!

Maciej Bellos
Congrats Michael. All the best my friend!

Jos Jansen
Tune in on the GB Michael...great modelers make big cats 😉

Scalemates F-14 Tomcat Group build 2020 (1. Mai jusqu'à 31. Décembre, US)

Holger Kranich
Oh my gosh! Great!

Michael Phillips
Bringing this one back from the dead and joining the GB 🙂

As per my experience with Hasegawa Tomcats, there are ways to build this monster of a kit with very little putty and above average fit.

1 - Attach the forward fuselage to ONLY the upper rear pancake fuselage. Even then the fit is not perfect, but it is much worse if you do it as the instructions would have you do.

2 - Attach the intake trunking to the lower pancake after ramp installation, but without the intake/turbine face sub-assembly attached.

3 - Install the intake/turbine face sub-assembly from the top of the lower pancake into the intake trunking.

4 - Attach top of beaver tail to top pancake.

5 - Attach bottom of beaver tail to bottom pancake.

6 - Join forward fuselage/upper pancake to lower pancake.

Following these steps will give you the best fit opportunity. This is my third Hasegawa Tomcat and they seem to get easier as I go. I was actually afraid of this kit when I started my first one after reading horror stories online. But they aren't so bad once you figure out the tricks.

Nathan Dempsey
Screenshot saved, printed and thrown in the F-14D box...

Slavo Hazucha
Great to see some life flowing back into this project again! With some formidable finishes, the GB needs to be kept alive so that we humble non-participants get nice things to watch😉

I´m looking forward to seeing the Hasegawa-variety kit and particularly your take on it!

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks for that explanation Michael! I might recover my Hasegawa Tomcat from the Shelf of Doom one day now....

Spanjaard
Michael, all those tricks are exclusive of the Hasegawa 1/48 tomcat, or do they all apply to the 1/72 ones (got two on my stash....)

Patrick Hagelstein
Good question Spanjaard! 😄 👍

Michael Phillips
From what I understand, the engineering of the two kits is very similar, if not identical, so I would think perhaps what works on the 1/48 will work on the 1/72 Hasegawa.

So I got her primed last night, and I found a couple of areas that need attention, but overall not too shabby. Will fix those areas tonight and if I have time will do the blackbase pre-shading. It's kinda cool to come back to an already started project, it feels like I have a jump start and moving at lightning pace on this one with the cockpit already done and the subsequent steps moving along quickly. This is the first time I have ever suspended a project and gone back to it.

Treehugger
Is this some kind of metallic primer you are using?

Michael Phillips
It's actually just Mr Surfacer Black 1500. Probably because of harsh lighting and the smooth surface this primer gives that gives it a bit of a metallic look. The intake area is pre-painted so that I don't have to get close to the intake interior demarcation lines with primer and paint going forward.

Jos Jansen
Actually, I like the Mr Surfacer Black 1500 more and more! Normally I used the Alclad II Microfiller Black, but I get the same result with the Mr Surfacer and it smells less strong!

Great job so far Michael...the Cat gets his second live 🙂

Slavo Hazucha
Looks great in her temporary Vandy one livery 👍

I´m actually on the lookout for a new primer, the only MRP product I did not really bond with... So Mr Surfacer Black 1500 is a deal? Spray-can or Airbrush - what would you recommend?

Michael Phillips
Thanks Jos and Slavo! This one is rising like a phoenix AIM-54! LOL

I absolutely love Mr Surfacer, whether it be the black or gray (they have white now too I see), but usually use the black for blackbasing reasons.

Slavo, get the 40mL jar of Mr Surfacer 1500, mix in about 50/50 ratio of Mr Color Levelling Thinner, and it pretty much sprays itself! LOL

Daniel
Back from the chopper world into high speed territory! Nice, looks very smooth and immaculate. 👍
Do you pre-thin your mr.surfacer? Someone told me never to add thinner to paint bottles as it might destroy the paints during storage or something - never tried myself tho ...
looking forward to the tps!

Michael Phillips
Welcome Roland and Daniel, nice to have you back!

Daniel, I don't pre-thin the pot, but I am not afraid to pour unused already thinned paint from my airbrush cup back into the pot, and never have experienced any issues thusly.

Clifford Keesler
Looking good Michael.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Clifford!

Got the pre-shading done last night. No issues there, think it took me about an hour to do all of it. Hoepfully I will get the overall gray coat done tonight (this is an easy one, it's not TPS just overall Dark Ghost Gray). I will be out of town all weekend, so my goal is to have it ready to start decaling Sunday night.

Treehugger
I guess the mottling (bringing a lighter color onto the black) helps covering up the black base when airbrushing a lighter gray over it all.

Michael Phillips
In a way yes it is. The biggest benefit of this technique is to introduce organic patterning under the forthcoming basecoat to break up the uniformity. While there are many ways to accomplish this, in my opinion this is the easiest. Not meant to be a standalone effect, when used in conjunction with a wash and post shade weathering it can subtly add to the overall realistic finish on the completed model.

Treehugger
Do you also use oils? Any stuff you can recommend? 🙂 I've been wondering to maybe try out oils some time. I think I've learned that the overall effect is dependend on the density and the size of the dots of oil applied, what this guy on youtube found out. And then you can mix different colors instead of having just one oil color to work with. I guess some type of use might be simply artistic licence if overdoing the various colors.

Spanjaard
Just be careful with the use of turpentine....

Clifford Keesler
Looking fantastic as always Michael.

Michael Phillips
Actually, I have never used oils. I bought some Abteilung Oils in black, gray, brown, and rust awhile back, but never actually used them yet. After seeing some serious results from several mates here, I may give them a try in the near future.

Michael Phillips
Well, got the overall gray coat down and and also painted the tails, ventral fins, canopy, nose gear doors, and anti-glare "skunk stripe" with Tamiya Rubber Black.

Slavo Hazucha
You are going full-burner on this one - one layer hardly dry & here comes the next one 👍 Maybe you´ll even overtake Jos´s Jolly Rogers project at this pace - and it does not go at the cost of quality - all looking rather superb here!

Nathan Dempsey
That skunk stripe makes the F-14 look sinister. Looking great!

Alexander
Looking good, great detailwork in the cockpit!

Treehugger
Ideally the tip of the black pattern should meet the real tip (compared to the project photo), but I don't know if OP wan't to maybe correct this or not. I thought I'd mention this in case this change is desired. Seems like a quick job for the airbrush and some masking.

Jos Jansen
Wow Michael, you've definitely the right mojo currently... what a pace! According to Slavo, he's right...you overtake me because during my summer leave I didn't do much on my F-14. I'll catch you up later my friend! I love the finishing touch of the Abteilung oils, especially for the greasy streakings on the flaps and the bottom of the fuselage. Only the black and raw umber are just good enough for me for the subtle streaks.
In which navy livery are you making this Tomcat, the Hi or Low Viz?

Clifford Keesler
Great progress sir.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Slavo, Roland, Nathan, Alexander, Jos, and Clifford!

Jos, we shall see if I keep up this pace or not. Going from a helo back to a jet just feels more comfortable and in "my zone", so everything moves faster. This will be the original hi-viz markings of VF-103 when they transitioned from Sluggers to Jolly Rogers in 1997 (although there are photos of an odd variation of this scheme from that time as well). These markings were based off of my favorite VF-84 livery, the 1991 CAG Desert Storm homecoming black and white scheme.

Michael Phillips
Treehugger, I actually have been trying really hard to see what you are speaking of with the tip of the antiglare black, I thought I got it right. It doesn't quite come to a point actually at the nose, here is a better pic of that area...

[img1]

Does this clear it up or do you still see an issue? I kinda want to get this right and maybe I mis-read your observation.

Michael Phillips
Looking at the two pics a bit more, I think maybe the anti-glare needs to come to the point slightly lower at the alpha probe opening, particularly on the left side. Maybe that is what you are talking about?

Daniel
great progress michael and again great choice in subject&livery 👍 and I really like the way you add shades to the black parts, fins especially

Clifford Keesler
Agree, it is looking good. Have decided to do another one for the Group build. I broke out my Hasegawa D and all it's goodies. It got a bath today and is currently drying. LOL.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Daniel and Clifford!

Daniel, I try to make black a little more interesting by adding some depth to the black, which can be difficult to do sometimes.

Awesome to hear Clifford, I look forward to seeing you tackle this kit! It is not an easy kit to build, and has lots of quirks but with some tricks can be tamed somewhat. If you have any questions along the way, just give me a shout and I will be glad to offer you tips I have learned after building a couple of them.

Treehugger
@Michael
Ah, so, the paint error I am pointing out is easy to see if you look at your own project picture (background photo uploaded for the project as such), which shows the nose of the tomcat, there you can see that the painted black area, doesn't stop at the start of the probe, but sort of is cut short by the probe at the tip of the nose of the aircraft, so the plack area doesn't have a "black tip" in the project photo of yours.

The project photo of yours is seen just below the gallery photos.

Treehugger
Could it be that I am wrong? I am looking at your photo 28 and it looks like you masked the black area so that the black area ends with a sharp point, just before the probe is attached at the tip.

Michael Phillips
OK, I think I see what you are seeing, and it does LOOK like the stripe comes to a point at the front, but it actually does not. The pics are not very clear in that area, and in a couple of areas there might be an optical illusion against the black background and lighting, particularly noticeable in pics #27 and #30. But It does not actually come to a sharp point, it is just short of a point that will be completed by the alpha probe. I will take a better pic tonight of that area.

Michael Phillips
Got almost all of the decals on, just realized, looking at the pics, that I forgot the black turbine warning stripes. 🙂

Also, I took a close up of the nose to show how the anti-glare stripe ends at the nose clearly.

Nathan Dempsey
Looking great Michael. Things are coming together!

Clifford Keesler
Agree with Nathan, looking very good indeed.

Jos Jansen
Man Michael...can't keep up your pace, so far a really magnificent Tomcat 👍

Slavo Hazucha
The livery looks really classy... like a good suit on a James Bond character... 👍

A few right choices with the finishing touches - which I am sure you'll make with ease - and we are in for a grand unveiling here!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Nathan, Clifford, Jos, and Slavo!

Spent some time assembling and priming the landing gear and weapons over the weekend, so no pics to updated yet. I plan to apply the wash tonight and move on to weathering after. Moving right along!

Clifford Keesler
I am assuming your kit fit better than mine. Mine is now is a complete, but a mass of drying putty. Fwd to aft fuselage joint. Intake trunk joints , Fwd upper intake lips and the boat tail. Is there anything on this kit that fits? LOL. I know it is a pain now, but it will be worth it in the end. While putty work is drying I am re-scribing the first of the Top Gun Tomcats.

Clifford Keesler
P.S. Yours is looking excellent.

Michael Hickey
Great work mate.👍👍👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Clifford and Michael, I appreciate the kind words!

Yeah, this kit can really be a bear, but you can beat it!

Michael Phillips
Well, got the wash on and Blu tacked on the vertical tails and attached the wings temporarily for a few pics lol. These are some really sharp markings!

Jos Jansen
I really like this piece of art...!

Clifford Keesler
Looking most excellent sir. I will spend the day sanding putty. LOL.

Daniel
Already a stunner 👍 really like this design without the yellow parts and the pointy skunk stripe😎

Michael Phillips
Thanks Jos, Clifford, and Daniel!

Started working on the nozzles and wing leading edge metals. I mixed up some paint for the wingtip slime lights as decals never fit there right in my experience. Next up will be weathering. I am going for a mild-moderate weathering as Tomcats in this scheme tended to not be too dirty based on pics I have seen.

Daniel Klink
That is looking more than promising M Phillips..
That cockpit and shadowing is superb 👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Daniel!

Got the weathering and corrosion control done and flat coat added. Starting to really come alive now. I think I will add some darker black to the tails and anti-glare stripe to add some interest in those areas. Also I have started working on the exhaust nozzles and missiles. Coming along nicely!

Konrad -
Yes yes yes!!!!!
I Love It Man! 👍!

Jos Jansen
Nice progress Michael...totally agree for some subtle weathering, how often do you see Navy jets models extremely overdone in weathering...?!! Personally I like your approach and from my side you get two big thumbs up Sir... 😉 👍👍

Sergej I
Oh nice! Love it!!

Slavo Hazucha
Yes that weathering looks great - well met balance for the "reduced hi-viz" decorations😉 The whole thing looks rather excellent, definitely one of my personal favorites in the GB! 👍

James C
Looking fabulous Michael 👍

Nathan Dempsey
That's some eye catching work there Michael.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Konrad, Jos, Sergej, Slavo, James, and Nathan!

I actually had a little LESS weathering in mind when I started, but it is easy to go a little too far once you get into it and see some cool effects emerge. Weathering for this basically consisted of Mig Ammo Deep Gray panel line wash, Tamiya Smoke, and Light Ghost Gray for the corrosion control spot painting (the overall color for this aircraft is Dark Ghost Gray, so there is a nice contrast there).

So while I did indeed weather a bit more than intended, I am actually quite pleased with the result.

Right now I am working on the landing gear and nozzles, Hope to have some updated pics in a day or so.

Jos Jansen
Take your time Michael... 😉

Alexander
The weathering looks very nice, not too overdone in my opinion, and resonates very well with the underlying color - great progress! 👍

Clifford Keesler
It is looking awesome.

Michael Phillips
Haha, I am trying to take my time Jos!

Thanks Alexander and Clifford, I really appreciate the kind words!

Well, got the exhaust nozzles done and attached. The kit nozzles are kind of a pain, so I think I will get aftermarket ones the next time I build a Hasegawa F-14B/D. I also went in with some fresh Tamiya Rubber Black to the black areas to add some visual interest. Kinda torn on whether I like the effect or not.

Next up will be getting her on her feet!

Nathan Dempsey
I like that effect with the rubber black. I'll remember that one.

Alexander
I think the rubber black weathering might be overdone. But I like what you did with the engine nozzles - though I think the color looks a tiiinyy bit too yellowish.

Clifford Keesler
Agree with Nathan and Roland, looks good. They even make a decal sheet for the D model that have those black pieces on the sheet, to add to the Nozzles. You can see it also on most pictures of the D. I finally got my fuselage finished on mine, and have started painting the nozzles, I have been trying to figure out how to do that black.

Slavo Hazucha
I like the progress very much indeed - creating contrasts while staying within a certain de-saturated borders over-all (but not entirely in grey-scale...) - great sense for balance... 👍

I too think the rubber black is well applied there & should you want to add some variety to the shiny nozzles, I´d recommend carefully clouding with highly diluted gunmetal or gunmetal/burned iron mix to a light gradient effect... but not mandatory IMHO - as they stand, there is a plausible story in them, about a poor soul on the carrier having to clean them with his toothbrush as a penalty for some minor mischief...😉

Not new, but still worth mentioning is IMHO the work on the fins - the effect looking slightly different from each angle - very classy!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Nathan, Alexander, Roland, Clifford, and Slavo!

Alexander, so I decided to dial the black back slightly by adding some flat over it, and it made it a bit less loud while still visible, I am happy with the change. As far as the nozzles, I agree, so I went in with some Tamiya smoke to add some gradient.

Clifford, I actually used those decals for the nozzles! They work really well, I highly recommend them. I used them from the Fightertown Decals Stencil sheet listed in my project details.

Slavo, so I agree with you about the nozzles. I went ahead and added some thinned Tamiya Smoke, and it added a very small amount of variation on the nozzles. Not sure if it is enough actually, and may still go in with highly thinned Alclad Jet Exhaust to give it a bit more depth. Thoughts?

Michael Phillips
Anyway, she is on her feet now! Permanently added the Vertical tails and horizontal stabs as well. The missiles are WIP, they are all painted and decaled, so next up for them will be the wash and flat coat. After that is the home stretch, painting and adding the seats, canopy, and all the little probes on the forward fuselage. Then it will be all wrapped up!

Nathan Dempsey
Ooh it's getting close. Can't wait to see those weapons mounted.

Jos Jansen
Can't wait for this superb build reveal!

Alexander
Looks much more subtle now! 👍 Can't wait for the weapon config and the final reveal.

Clifford Keesler
Looking good on her legs, there sir. I finally got mine to the point I can prime it. I was going to get a set of those decals. But my hound decided to piss on the decal sheet for the Top Gun F-14 I was building for my son. So I will be buying either kit or decal sheet so I can finish his. I have been working on his A model my D model and a P-51 all at once and I am about to lose my mind, and the dog was just the icing on the cake. LOL.

Clifford Keesler
P.S. what colors did you use on yours. I think the version I am going to do is only in 2 shades of grey.

Jasper Breur
I'm speechless, and it isn't even finished yet! If I ever get to building a Tomcat, I will use this for inspiration. Fear the Bones!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Nathan, Jos, Alexander, Clifford, and Jasper!

LOL Clifford! Sounds like you really have a lot going on. The scheme I did is only one color, it is FS36320 Dark Ghost Gray.

Jasper, Fear the Bones indeed! I would look forward to seeing what you can do with a Tomcat, and am honored you would find inspiration from my work.

Michael Phillips
Missiles and seats are done! Just have some last little attachments to add and she will be wrapped up. Will definitely finish this weekend.

Jos Jansen
Awesome mate....I can't keep you up, I've some setbacks with mine. On the other hand, your build does motivate me. Can't wait for the final pics! 👍👍

Slavo Hazucha
Wow, I see the finish line has some pull-effect on this build, I can hardly manage to keep-up with the updates 🙂

The missile-menu looks great, are the stencils OOB or from the Fightertown sheet?

+ I think you got the nozzles just right now, it's the light fine touch that often does the trick - I pick engines which can be legitimately tormented & discolored, but that's not the case with the GE F110, the petals look just right & well maintained 👍

ZHOU Kun
Nice to see the missiles done! This is a great build.

Alexander
Missiles and Seats look great! I like weathering on the Phoenix's, the slight discoloration on the white seeker heads. Can't wait for the final reveal.

Daniel Klink
fifty shades of grey...👍

Nathan Dempsey
Wow, those weapons have as many decals as the kit. Looking awesome!

Daniel
Ah, I knew those missiles looked strangely familiar 🙂 AMK stuff!
Missed a lot of steps here as it seems, all great improvements! 👍 really like the black-on-black-touchups, something to keep in mind, I always struggle with getting black surfaces more interesting. great stuff michael, this cat is a truly beautiful composition in all aspects 👍

Clifford Keesler
I'm drooling. It's beautiful. Where did you get all those weapons markings. I have all the weapons, but no markings. Sprue Brothers sells a marking sheet, but it is out of stock at the moment.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Jos, Slavo, Zhou, Alexander, Daniel, Nathan, Daniel, and Clifford!

Jos, what happened on yours? I am glad I can motivate you though!

Slavo, actually the kit includes no weapons at all. The decals come with the missiles that I used from the Meng Long Range US Ordnance (Phoenix and Sparrow) and AMK US Ordnance (Sidewinder) sets. The Figthertown sheet does include missile stencils though, but I figure I will save those for OOB missiles some day.

Clifford, the markings are from the Meng and AMK Weapons sets I used.

Michael Phillips
Well, she is all done! Thanks everyone for coming along for the ride, I appreciate all of your feedback, ideas, and encouragement! Pics can be seen here:

Hasegawa F-14B Tomcat - Completed! | Album by Fighting 84 (1:48)

CaptGPF
I agree with you - hard to beat the VF-103 cats! Beautiful build, and thank you for showing us your build process. My complaint with the Hasegawa kits are the lack of ordinance - forcing you to either buy the weapons pack, or pray for leftovers from other kits.