F-14B, VF-74 Be-Devilers Adversary 1/48

[JohnS]

I APOLOGIZE THAT PHOTOS ARE NO LONGER INCLUDED IN THIS THREAD DUE TO PHOTOBUCKET HOSTING ISSUES.

HOWEVER, I HAVE UPDATED LINKS TO THE PHOTOS OF THE FINISHED MODEL AT THE END OF THIS THREAD, BEGINNING HERE!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.

 

I'm really looking forward to this build, as it will include two firsts for me - my first 1/48 scale model, and my first experience with resin parts (cockpit & wheel wells). Up until now, I've focused on 1/72 and 1/144 scales only. I'll also be able to use many of the tips and tricks posted by the model building pros on this site.

I'm starting with Hasegawa's 1/48 F-14A Tomcat "VF-14 Tophatters CAG" 09786 kit , Aires F-14B resin cockpit and wheel wells, F110-GE-400 engine nozzles (provided by Rhinolover), and Two Bobs VF-74 decals.

The model will a big brother for my 1/144 scale VF-74 Adversary Tomcat. I'm a big fan of the adversary camo paint schemes.

My first reaction after opening the Hasegawa box was - 'Wow, is 1/48 scale ever big!' :woot.gif:/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>

Here's a photo of the 1/48 kit parts next to my 1/144 Tomcat.

.

Although I had planned on starting the build later this year in the fall, the plans changed when I opened the Aires cockpit box. I was disapponted to find many of the cockpit detail parts were broken. Rather than shipping the the cockpit back, I decided to repair the 'pit, now, so it would be ready for the actual Tomcat model build in the fall.

Here's a few photos of the progress to date.

Fixing the broken parts.

Some additions.

The painting begins.

I'll post more photos as the cockpit painting and assembly progresses.

Edited July 28, 2018 by JohnS

[Youngtiger1]

John, the cockpit is coming along nice. I hate when we buy resin bits and only to find parts missing or broken but you made good recovery Keep up the good work.

Mike

[rom]

Very nice painting!

Pictures are also nice!

bye

[GreyGhost]

Nice work with the cockpit, John ...

That's a great scheme too ...

Gregg

[Tomcat27]

nice work so far. I can't wait to see this one done i love the Be-Devilers Adversary jets.

[HOLMES]

Yes very good work and recovery on the damage.

Cockpit is neatly done..Nice progress.

Oooh I love the1:144 scale... TOMCAT

as I said , you cannot get enough of TOMCATS... hoo :wub: hoo

[JohnS]

A little more 'work' done today. Finished detailing the cockpit tubs and added some 'dirt' & scuffs to the cockpit floor.

The tubs are now pretty well complete.

Next up - pilot's & RIO's front control panels and joy sticks

[HOLMES]

[size="3"]John S...

The cockpit is looking mighty FINE and even with the scuff marks on the floor your work is SO neat and tidy...

The pictures are so sharp that you can see the details in the tubs..[/size]

:(

[JohnS]

I've been experimenting with colours for the canvas covers for both the pilot & RIO instrument panels. I'm disappointed with how the 'red' colour turned out. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I mixed that colour. So it looks like I'll be doing some stripping and repainting. I'm going to replace the 'red' with the tan colour already on right side of the RIO cover and then add some darker hi-lites to simulate fading.

Oh well, you win some and you lose some. :)

[JMan]

Very nice job. I love the way the colors turned out so crisp. Cant wait to see more!

[JohnS]

After a little trial and error, I finally got the dirty & grimy look I wanted for the canvas instrument panel covers. I still need to add a flat clear coat, but here's how they look.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with PE parts. Having only made models in 1/144 & 1/72 scale, I was never too concerned about detailing these parts. However, in 1/48 scale they're just big enough to see the detail, but still very small to work with. Here's an example - the Canopy Jettison Handles.

In a smaller scale, I'd just paint them yellow and be done with them. However in 1/48, if you look closely, you could see the yellow and black cross hatching on the handles. I tried twice to achieve this, 1st painting them yellow and then painstakingly masking them to paint the black stripes, and 2nd painting them black and then painting the yellow strips. Both times the masking pulled off the paint. So finally, I got the idea to make decals for the handles. The decals were relatively easy to make as I've got a fairly high resolution printer, but they were a PITA to install (on both sides of the handles). Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

[rumbling1]

John,

Beautiful progress so far. If you dont mind sharing....what is your technique for painting/weathering the canvas covers? They look awesome!

Thanks,

Michael

[JohnS]

John,

Beautiful progress so far. If you dont mind sharing....what is your technique for painting/weathering the canvas covers? They look awesome!

Thanks,

Michael

Thanks Michael.

I wanted to try to simulate a realistic faded, oily, grimy, & dirty look for the covers. Luckily, I didn't have to strip the first painting attempt, as it provided a good base color.

Here's the process.

1) Painted the base colors. I tried to match the tan and purply colors included in many of the available reference photos.

2) Once the base colors were dry, I dry brushed black artist oil paint over the base. This not only provided the dark hi-lites, but it gave that grimy, oily look I wanted.

3) With the oil paint still tacky, I dry brushed black pastel powder over the covers to darken the finish. The pastel powder adhered to the tacky oil paint.

4) I then lightly dry brushed crimson red artist oil paint over the Pilot's and RIO's (left) covers to enhance the purply look.

5) Once this dries, I'll spray a light coat of clear matt.

Hope this helps.

Edited May 2, 2010 by JohnS

[Rhinolover]

Awsome looking cockpit you have going there. I'll have to try your technique on my buld as well. I have stuggled with trying to replicate the look you have achieved.

[rumbling1]

Thanks John I will be trying this on my next Tomcat for sure!!

[TomcatFanatic123]

In a smaller scale, I'd just paint them yellow and be done with them. However in 1/48, if you look closely, you could see the yellow and black cross hatching on the handles. I tried twice to achieve this, 1st painting them yellow and then painstakingly masking them to paint the black stripes, and 2nd painting them black and then painting the yellow strips. Both times the masking pulled off the paint. So finally, I got the idea to make decals for the handles. The decals were relatively easy to make as I've got a fairly high resolution printer, but they were a PITA to install (on both sides of the handles). Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

That looks GREAT! I usually just paint the damn things yellow then draw the black crosshatching with a fine tip pen.

[chuck540z3]

Great start. Those canvas covers look very convincing.

[geedubelyer]

Hi John,

Glad you persevered with the canvas, the end result looks spot on

The whole cockpit tub looks beautiful, the paintwork appears flawless on my monitor

{~snip~}......but they were a PITA to install Finally after many tries, here's the end result.

Worth all of the pain and anguish though. The canopy jettison handles turned out superbly

This all looks very promising and I'm eager to see how this build progresses.

Keep up the good work.

:blink:

[JohnS]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. They really mean a lot, knowing the superb builds you have finished or have in progress.

[JohnS]

Well, finally finished painting the tubs. This is my first resin 'pit, so I spent a lot of time becoming familiar with, and detailing, the parts. It's too bad most of that detail will be hidden when its assembled in the fuselage.

Here's some photos after the paint was dry.

A shot of things to come.

I tried to get some close-up shots of the instrument panels, but my photographic skills leave a little to be desired.

[GreyGhost]

Really nice work John ...

Looks like a well used cockpit to me ...

Gregg

[kurnass77]

The cockpit look FANTASTIIIIIIIIC!!!!!!!

Gianni

[jimz66]

Yeah it does. Nice work. Very nice work.

[HOLMES]

John.

The work done on the IP panels and the cockpit is just AMAZING...looks FANTASTIC AND so like the REAL thing.

Love the coloring and the weathering on the Canvas...SO FINE ....

SUPERB...

HOLMES

[JohnS]

Thanks again everyone. It's comments like these that encourage me to always try to do the best I can.

I'm still unhappy with the photo quality, e.g. even though the 'pit is covered in clear matt, the sharp edges reflect the flash and show up white. I'll try to get better shots before I put the sides on.