When Tweety Bird of
Looney Tunes fame said "I tot I taw a puddy tat" it must have ment
puttying the Hasegawa 1/48 F-14. The problems of the 1/48 Hase kit were addressed
using online sources and primary from a Model Graphix magazine featuring
the Tomcat. This kit was build for the Tomcat Farewell in Kuala Lumpur organized
by f-4dablemodels and E-Hobby Hq. I added a few aftermarket additions, TwoBobs'
"Last Pac Cat" decal sheet ,Eduard's F-14D Zoom set and Finemolds
F-14 Pitot set . The refueling probe was scratched built from solder and
plasticard for the housing. The pylons for the GBU-16s were scratched built also
and bombs and pods were from Hase's 1/48 weapon sets. Pilots were robbed from a
Hase F-4 kit as the F-14's pilots were distorted, helmets had to be modified of
course.
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The kit was designed
to be built canopy open, as I wanted to close it, I had to do a few
modifications. The inner canopy frame part was modified, the actuator behind the
rear seat was cut down, the rear end of the canopy itself had to be sanded down
to reduce the step between it and the body. I had a blast building this bird,
although it has its fair share of problems, with a little patience and care, it
pays off well.
It was painted using
Gunze MrColor. I had to blend and tone down the paint to create the color
variation seen on the kit. Weathering was done using pre-shading, post shading
watercolors and pastels. The swing marks were made using a cotton
bud (Q-tip)
soaked in watercolor Burnt Umber. One end was hooked the wing to fuselage notch
and the other wiped in a circular motion with the center of the circle being the
notch.
Many thanks to friends who helped
with advice and support for this projec t.
Also a big "Thank You!" Steve
Bamford for this fantastic site and hosting this article.
Tomcatters
are Go!!!
Chew
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