Academy F-14A tomcat
Discussion
I thought I’d do a build thread as I haven’t contributed for a while.
I recently built an ancient Airfix tomcat from the new Top Gun movie. Nostalgia aside there wasn’t much positive to say about the kit, although I suppose it looked okay finished.
Edited due to appalling grammatical errors.
To see how far forty years of engineering has bought us I thought I’d try the similarly priced new tool offering from academy.
I recently built an ancient Airfix tomcat from the new Top Gun movie. Nostalgia aside there wasn’t much positive to say about the kit, although I suppose it looked okay finished.
Edited due to appalling grammatical errors.
To see how far forty years of engineering has bought us I thought I’d try the similarly priced new tool offering from academy.
Edited by robemcdonald on Friday 27th November 23:13
Edited by robemcdonald on Friday 27th November 23:14
I shall enjoy this. I built the Airfix Tomcat in the summer of 1976, and I applied the decals at about 06.00 just before we left for Greenham Common and my first International Air Tattoo, where there was.. a Tomcat! My Tomcat is long gone of course but the Air Tattoo very much remains part of my life.
I was at Greenham that year too - the only time I ever saw an F-14 in the air. There were two on display, one flying and one in the static park. They were off the USS America.
I loved the bright colour schemes worn by the F-14s when they first entered service. That's why I prefer "The Final Countdown" to Top Gun" because the Tomcats in the "The Final Countdown" are in those colourful schemes.
I loved the bright colour schemes worn by the F-14s when they first entered service. That's why I prefer "The Final Countdown" to Top Gun" because the Tomcats in the "The Final Countdown" are in those colourful schemes.
No extras on this one, just what comes in the box.
I’m very pleased with the cockpit.
The green is Tamiya Park green. It seems to match the instrument decals quite well.
It’s a great kit, but whilst there are no problems with the fit it seems not quite as nice as Tamiyas latest. Although I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Perhaps it’s that there is the odd tiny bits of flash. You need to be quite careful and dry fit everything, so you don’t miss something.
I did a little more work after my last post.
I’ll post some pics in a while.
I’m very pleased with the cockpit.
The green is Tamiya Park green. It seems to match the instrument decals quite well.
It’s a great kit, but whilst there are no problems with the fit it seems not quite as nice as Tamiyas latest. Although I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Perhaps it’s that there is the odd tiny bits of flash. You need to be quite careful and dry fit everything, so you don’t miss something.
I did a little more work after my last post.
I’ll post some pics in a while.
Next up are the intakes. Pretty simple stuff.
These are then assembled to the fuselage
The instructions say the wings should be added at this point, but it looked like you could fit them at the end to make painting much easier.
Looks like I was right. The choice of airbags for wing sweep is nice too.
Finally the cockpit section is joined to the main fuselage.
I’m enjoying this one and think I might like to try the Tamiya 1/48 scale at some point.
These are then assembled to the fuselage
The instructions say the wings should be added at this point, but it looked like you could fit them at the end to make painting much easier.
Looks like I was right. The choice of airbags for wing sweep is nice too.
Finally the cockpit section is joined to the main fuselage.
I’m enjoying this one and think I might like to try the Tamiya 1/48 scale at some point.
The Tomcat for me is still the best looking aircraft ever made (not just because of Top Gun or Final Countdown), I was never lucky enough to see one fly and had only seen them from a distance when I did a boat trip around a US Carrier that was anchored in the Solent many years ago (I think it was Forrestal). The only time I've been close to one was when I went to Pearl Harbour in 2017 and they have one in the museum there.
Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
Can't wait to see this build progress, like Eric said, the earlier colour schemes were amazing on these compared to the later dulled down tones. VF-84 Jolly Rodgers always had the best scheme, followed closely by VF-111 Sundowners and VF-1 Wolfpack.
Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
Can't wait to see this build progress, like Eric said, the earlier colour schemes were amazing on these compared to the later dulled down tones. VF-84 Jolly Rodgers always had the best scheme, followed closely by VF-111 Sundowners and VF-1 Wolfpack.
Ash_ said:
The Tomcat for me is still the best looking aircraft ever made (not just because of Top Gun or Final Countdown), I was never lucky enough to see one fly and had only seen them from a distance when I did a boat trip around a US Carrier that was anchored in the Solent many years ago (I think it was Forrestal). The only time I've been close to one was when I went to Pearl Harbour in 2017 and they have one in the museum there.
Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
Can't wait to see this build progress, like Eric said, the earlier colour schemes were amazing on these compared to the later dulled down tones. VF-84 Jolly Rodgers always had the best scheme, followed closely by VF-111 Sundowners and VF-1 Wolfpack.
I agree with you and Eric. The later paint schemes are very good for putting your weathering skills to use, but the early schemes are more attractive. I just hope I can pull it off. Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
Can't wait to see this build progress, like Eric said, the earlier colour schemes were amazing on these compared to the later dulled down tones. VF-84 Jolly Rodgers always had the best scheme, followed closely by VF-111 Sundowners and VF-1 Wolfpack.
Ash_ said:
The Tomcat for me is still the best looking aircraft ever made (not just because of Top Gun or Final Countdown), I was never lucky enough to see one fly and had only seen them from a distance when I did a boat trip around a US Carrier that was anchored in the Solent many years ago (I think it was Forrestal). The only time I've been close to one was when I went to Pearl Harbour in 2017 and they have one in the museum there.
Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
I later learned that there was some considerable rivalry at that Air Tattoo between the F14 and the F15, both very new in service at that time, over which would give the best display. IIRC the F14 over-stressed its hydraulics in the process. Eric might correct me but I'm pretty sure that was the A10's first appearance at the Air Tattoo as well. Looking back we didn't know how lucky we were – F104, F14, F15, F111 in that cool 'Spirit of '76' colour scheme. (I could probably get a complete participation list if anyone is interested).Such a shame we're never likely to ever see one fly again, such a beautiful looking piece of kit.
The exhausts are made up of multiple parts.
Usually I just spray them black and do some dry brushing, but since I’m documenting this build I thought I’d put a little effort in,
I test fitted them, but won’t cement them until the end of the build.
A few more bits added to the fuselage
Time to mask the canopy
That’s all for now.
Usually I just spray them black and do some dry brushing, but since I’m documenting this build I thought I’d put a little effort in,
I test fitted them, but won’t cement them until the end of the build.
A few more bits added to the fuselage
Time to mask the canopy
That’s all for now.
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