Hasegawa F-14A Adversary - WIP

Michael Phillips
Aaaaaand we're off and running!

Patrick Hagelstein
That's a good start already! 😉 On to the finish line!

Marko
Definitely watching.

Spanjaard
first row please 🙂

Martin Oostrom
Get your popcorn ready!

Michael Phillips
Welcome guys!

Got some cockpit painting done, just need to add a wash and then close up the fuselage. Then it will be on to the intakes! Yay.

Marko
Great start Michael.

Spanjaard
show has begun 🙂 nice start by the way.

Stephan Ryll
Very nice start so far 👍

Maciej Bellos
Just boarded. The pit looks very good.

Michael Phillips
Thanks guys and welcome!

The cockpit is mostly OOB with some Verlinden details (some PE, the seats, and the sticks), so it's not going to be anything super awesome LOL. Aaaaand I really don't like painting cockpits (nor am I particularly good at it). So that is good enough for me LOL

Greg Jones
I'll be following this one closely, got a tomcat coming as one of my next builds! Cockpit looks plenty good to me!

Spanjaard
that is true, your cockpit is not your strongest point.... bla bla bla bla, rubbish Michael😉. Maybe you mean that you do the rest so good that you give a "bit less"attention to the cockpits....? they look quite nice IMHO😉

Michael Phillips
Thanks Greg and Spanjaard for the kind uplifting words! Makes me feel a bit better about my cockpit performance. 🙂

Alistair Graham
Looks great

Holger Kranich
Oh how did i missed this? Where is my seat and my keg of beer?Oh the old Verlinden pit, ya wanna know it, hu?LOL 😄 Ok Michael, hang in there, i watch your six!😢

Martin Oostrom
I wish all my builds were as bad as your pits 👍

Bryn Crandell
Keeping an eye on this one.

Murad ÖZER
ah the mystic art of wall paint and intakes. looking great without any seams 👍

Spanjaard
looking really nice.

Patrick Hagelstein
Whauw! How do you pour that paint in? I have a couple of intakes waiting for my courage and knowlege to grow to do that.

Spanjaard
do you dip them in the paint bucket and let it drip like people do with canopies in Future?
after a lot of sanding, of course 🙂

Dan Cook
Do you fill the intakes with paint leave for how long? Then empty?

Mike Daniels
Looking good. Agree with Spanjaard about the cockpit. Following.

Spanjaard
Dan, it was a question to Michael, not a fact.... I airbrush mine, but they do not look half as good as his 🙂

Dan Cook
Mine was for him too!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Alistair, Holger, Martin, Bryn, Murad, Spanjaard, James, and Mike!

Guys, this method is really easy! Basically, I sand down the shallow sink marks, assemble the intakes, do some minor sanding along the seam, then stick some Blu tac at the circular end of the intake. Then I take the a spoon and spoon up some of the Rust-Oleum Semi-Gloss Enamel paint, and slowly pour it into the intake. It takes a few spoonfuls until it is nearly full. Then I kinda swirl it around at the top to make sure all of the interior is covered. I let it sit a couple of minutes then remove the Blu tac over the paint can. Don't pour it out of the open end as it can make that end not as smooth. You want any anomalies to be at the circular end because it's further back from the front. I then place it in the opening of an empty plastic soda bottle to allow it to flow out slowly and drip dry.

I leave it overnight and check it the next day. Sometimes it will completely cover the seams, but sometimes a faint line is visible. Depends on how thorough I was with sanding. If there is a faint line, just repeat the process and that takes care of it every time for me. Sometimes I just plan on doing it twice because it is less of a pain in the butt than sanding a perfectly smooth surface.

Hope this helps! Any more questions just ask!

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks a lot!!! This was really helpful! Off to the Home Depot for Rust-Oleum!

Spanjaard
thanks a lot Michael, it is a very interesting idea! it certainly looks better than my results 🙂

Dan Cook
Cheers dude. Have you got a pic of them on the soda bottle?

Michael Phillips
Thanks guys! Dan, I just uploaded a pic for you of the soda bottle drip set-up. 🙂

Patrick Hagelstein
Thanks!

Dan Cook
Thanks Micheal.

Michael Phillips
So I got some more work done the last couple of days on the intake area. This is simply the trickiest area of the entire build of the Hasegawa F-14. So, after learning some lessons from my first build, I put to use some of those lessons here and deviated from the instructions.

First, I glued the intake opening and trunking BEFORE gluing the duct and fan part.this allowed me to get a nearly perfect fit of the intake trunking, as can be seen in the new pics. Only a tiny bit of putty will be need on the insides of the intakes and minor sanding at the seam. WAY better than what they looked like on my previous build. Then, once they were in and dried I installed the duct/turbine and got a great fit by getting a little angle using blu tac. After I installed the gear bays I did a dry test fit and the upper and lower pancake fit almost perfectly. So, if you ever build this kit you definitely want to do it in that order!

Patrick Hagelstein
OK, that's good info Michael! I have one in my stash, so I keep following this with high interest.

Michael Phillips
Thanks guys, I'm glad I can help others tackle this model. I will tell you this, the things I'm doing with this build are working fabulously!
I'm really moving along now and everything is really going together unbelievably well.

Today, I got the fuselage all together. I deviated from the instructions a couple different times again and the fit was again excellent, especially compared to last time. Only going to need minor clean up and minimal putty. Here are my tips for tonight:

1- attach the completed forward fuselage to just the upper rear fuselage. That allows you to get a nice fit on the "hump" join that is normally the second hardest part of the Has Tomcat build. You will notice that I had cut out the rear bulkhead of the forward fuselage, this allows me to easily confirm the contours of the forward and rear to each other. Then, I attached the lower part of the rear fuselage pancake, and was able to again conform the lower part of the forward fuselage to the rear, getting a great alignment.

2- the upper half of the "beavertail" in the rear should also be attached to the upper rear fuselage first. I got a perfect join doing it this way that will require no further attention at all. Then, after I attached the lower fuselage pancake to the upper, I then attached the lower part of the beavertail. Fit was once again quite good, but will require minor attention.

Overall, this is turning into a very pain free build so far, and I have completed all of the hard parts. I am pretty stoked!!!

Once again any questions please feel free to ask.

I hope this helps...

Murad ÖZER
Michael thanks a bunch for the details wrt the build stage.

i am beginning to itch here, eventho the hase tomcat in i have is in 72 (newer mold), it's parts breakdown is similar enough to apply the methods here. i also have the fightertown adversary decals so she'll have a baby sister! 😄

Holger Kranich
Yes, thanks for the info´s! Do you had to sand a lot to make Verlindens pit fit?

Michael Phillips
You know what they say Murad? If you got an itch... Scratch it! I would love to see you do a mini-me build of the NSAWC Blue Flanker scheme!

Holger, the Verlinden set is really just some PE, two seats, and the RIO and pilot's sticks. So nothing really to fit, everything else so far is just OOB.

Holger Kranich
Aha, so it is not the whole pit tub like a Aires one would be? Ok then is not much to fit in!

Michael Phillips
That is correct Holger. I have not yet put an Aires pit in a Tomcat, even though I actually do have a couple in the stash. I think the next Has F-14 I do I will give it a try. They are beautiful, but such a pain in the arse to fit. The one for the Skyhawk almost drove me to the looney bin, but then the one for the F-16 was really not so bad. I think the F-14 one falls somewhere in between those two extremes. LOL

Holger Kranich
I have one in my stash too. They are beautiful, absolutely. But i can hear me cursing and crying when i put it in a cat... The end result will be most rewarding!

Stephan Ryll
Nice progress Michael 👍

Patrick Hagelstein
I'm just stumped and keep thinking of my Cat just collecting dust because I'm too affraid to tackle it. Great info and I will keep your tricks in mind when I'm going to build it! Such a shame my stash and I are separated by half of the CONUS and a little pond called the Atlantic Ocean... 😉

Patrick Hagelstein
Correction! The movers just delivered my stash! I stumbled upon my Hasegawa F-14! So now off to The Home Depot for some Rust-O-Leum!

Michael Phillips
Nice!!!!! Get started on that mofo, I will be sure to follow along to offer support and any advice you might need. 🙂

Patrick Hagelstein
:-D Thanks!

Michael Phillips
Got 'er primed last night! Looks like I do have to go back in and fix a couple of things though. My hope is to have the pre-shading and paintwork done by the end of this weekend. That might be a bit ambitious, as this scheme will not be quick and easy to mask...

Stay tuned!

Patrick Hagelstein
We will! Good luck!

Michael Phillips
Pres-shading done! Now hopefully for the fun part tomorrow... Camo time!

Michael Phillips
Underside light gray done!

Donald Dickson II
Wow, wish I had seen this before I did my 1/72 F-14. As Murad said, the parts break down is pretty much the same. Next one I do I will have to remember your cheats.

And THANK YOU for sharing that method for the intakes. I an definitely going to try that next build I can.

Michael Phillips
You're welcome Donald! There will always be a next time, one can never build enough Tomcats! Lol

Michael Phillips
Topside darker gray applied! Tomorrow will be masking and the lighter blue. If I have time, then more masking then the darker blue. 🙂

David Thor
Good progress, keep it up!

Patrick Hagelstein
I love the paint stand for the canopy!

Patrick Hagelstein
I hate to be the party spoiler...... but there's a step in the forward Sparrow recesses.

Michael Phillips
Yeah, I actually noticed that in the pics after I painted the light gray underside. I actually did not notice it in person... Sometimes I get to moving so quick I miss stuff like that. I have been contemplating whether to go back in and correct it or not. I most likely will, as it is noticeable in pics.. Good eye Patrick!

Donald Dickson II
I have that happen all the time. Something I don't see until I am cropping pics. Then the cursing ensues.

Michael Phillips
I hear ya Donald! That is the consequences of working quickly as I do. I have decided I will fix it now that I am done with the camo mostly.
Speaking of which, camo is done! Just gotta do the white areas and fix a couple overspray issues I have. Mostly happy, but I did hit a couple of snags. First, the MRP Air Superiority Blue seems a bit light and bright for this scheme. I am hoping with a wash it will be a bit better match. Also, the Dark Blue I originally started with MRP International Blue, but I spilled a whole bottle and didn't have enough to finish. Luckily, I had some ModelMaster International Blue that I ended up using, and I actually like the color of that better than the MRP. It is a bit bluer and richer, so that is a happy accident. Lol

Maciej Bellos
Ok, you are fast! It would take me months to do the masking alone. Looking great!

Christian Bruer
Excellent and fast modelmaking 👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Maciej and Christian! I actually masked and painted the colors over the weekend. For some reason I am pretty adept at masking splinter schemes, this is my second one (first was an Su-37). The hardest part is translating the paint guide to masks on the model, and cutting and placing the pieces of tape. I swear I had little slivers of yellow Tamiya tape all over my work area (and myself! LOL).

My next build will be a splinter scheme too, on a MiG-29SMT. 🙂

Stephan Ryll
Good lookin cat 👍

Donald Dickson II
Great masking job sir! Looking very good indeed.

Michael Phillips
Thanks Stephan, Donald, and James!

Got the nose and fin caps painted white tonight. Used MRP Insignia White for the first time... Wow. Soooo much better than the Gunze insignia white. I love Gunze Aqueous paints, but for some reason the white always gives me trouble. So I will be using MRP White from now on. 🙂

Michael Phillips
Got the decals on tonight. The best part of this scheme? No stencils! Nothing on the topside or underside at all, except an underside national insignia on the wing. 🙂

Michael Phillips
Thanks James! She is starting to come alive now!

Got the wash on this afternoon. Pretty subtle, which is what I was going for. This is a mostly clean bird, but there are some subtle fading opportunities, hopefully I don't go too far with that in my post shading. Lol

Oh, and don't mind the wrinkled walkways, I realized I forgot to add those last night so I just applied them and put the Solvaset on them. Should be fine in a few hours... I hope. Always makes me nervous when I do this, even though it always seems to work out fine.

Donald Dickson II
Excellent!

Stephan Ryll
Very nice so far 👍

Christian Bruer
That comes out really nice 👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Donald, Stephan, and Christian!

Tonight I did some post shading and sprayed the flat coat. Pretty happy with how it came out!

Patrick Hagelstein
It definitively looks nice!

Soeren R.
The paint jpb looks amazing!

Spanjaard
it looks really good!, looking forward final assembly 🙂

Michael Phillips
Thanks Patrick, Sure, and Spanjaard! She is getting very close to final assembly. Just gotta paint and install the exhausts and it will be time to put everything together!

Murad ÖZER
getting beautiful and beautiful, knocking on wood 🙂

Es-haq Khosravi
Well done!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Murad, James, and Es-haq! I appreciate the kind words!

Got her on her feet tonight... One step closer! I think I will finish in a couple more days. Still got the exhaust to paint and install and the training missile and pod to finish. Then final assembly!

Andy W.
Really nice Cat, Michael. Outstanding Paintjob.

Patrick Hagelstein
She realy comes to life now.

Adam Gudynowski
One of my favourites of all your builds 🙂

Michael Phillips
Thanks Andy, Patrick,and Adam!

Almost done, just gotta paint and install the seats then canopy, and fix some alignment issues with the landing gear. These will be my last WIP pics!

David Barclay
Looks great Michael!

Michael Phillips
Thanks David! So when are you going to get back to the bench?

Choppa Nutta
looking good so far ! 🙂

Maciej Bellos
Mean looking kitty! Well done mate!

David Barclay
Hopefully this weekend

ice
It's easy to see that it's not your first Tomcat and it's great to watch you building it with great experience. What a beautyful model!

Michael Phillips
Thanks Choppa, Maciej, and Ice! I really appreciate the wonderful comments.

Ice, having built this kit before is a huge help. Definitely learned what to do and what not to do. When I build my third one eventually, I learned even more from this one for my next. The landing gear in the Hasegawa Tomcat is really a pain. I had trouble both times.

David, I'm starting my Fulcrum this weekend, we should try to catch up!

Michael Phillips
Oh, and I did add one more pic. I didn't finish tonight, but I did finish the bang seats. Turned out pretty good. They are Verlinden and are quite nice.

Soeren R.
I really love the paint job Michael.
Great work here!

After you've build now two Hasegawa F-14s, can you say something about the downsides of this kit or what steps need extra care?

Ed Froix
Looks super!

Spanjaard
beautiful seats 🙂

Holger Kranich
Great bang seats!

Taarna Eckart
Awesome work as usual, Michael! 👍

Michael Phillips
Thanks Sören, Ed, Spanjaard, Holger, and Taarna! I always appreciate the kind words.

Sören, the main downside of the kit is that if you follow the order of the directions, you will have fitment issues. The areas to deviate are the intakes, fuselage join, and beaver tail assembly. Those are also the steps that require the most care and attention. Everything else, other than the landing gear, are pretty straight forward. I don't know why the landing gear give me such trouble on this kit, it doesn't seem to be a particularly difficult task, but for some reason I never quite get the alignment right. Sigh. OH! That reminds me I never mentioned the three modifications that you need to make to certain parts of the kit to either make them fit or to make them correct:

1. The tailhook is too long. It needs to end even with the beaver tail. As OOB, it sticks out a little bit. So cut it somewhere on the opposite side of the hook and take a little bit off and glue back together.

2. The Vertical tails front part of the "pedestals" go a little bit too far forward into the glove area. They should stop just short. I always forget to do this one...

3. This one is a must do just to get it to fit.... the main landing gear strut that attaches to the fuselage is too long. If you attach it as is oob, the main gear will be angled backwards, but it should be straight vertical. so again you must cut a portion of the strut and shorten a bit. It is a bit of trial and error, and I think I ended up cutting slightly too much off, as they are not perfectly vertical. But I am not gonna sweat it! LOL

Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions just ask!

Marko
The seats look fantastic

Patrick Hagelstein
OK! Thank you very much for those 3 issues. Especially the Landing Gear Strut, that one I never would have thought of before commencing to glue...

Michael Phillips
Thanks Marko!

Patrick, I should be more specific, it's the strut support that needs shortened. The support that connects the strut to the fuselage to be exact.

Anyway, I finished the model! I took some pics, they turned out ok. I will take more tomorrow... But I will post a few from tonight shortly...

Michael Gordy
Wow. That's just stunning!

Jens
The F 14 is in itself a fascinating aircraft, the implementation in the model, as you show it fascinates even more and it itching right violently even a take on the workbench

Stephan Ryll
very good work Michael, very impressive 👍