Subject: Re: F14 " splinter " model article
From: "Steve Bamford" <[email-masked]>
To: "Patrick SPITAELS" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 02:20:49 -0700

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Patrick SPITAELS 
  To: Steve Bamford 
  Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2001 2:03 AM
  Subject: F14 " splinter " model article

  dear steve
  here is the article about the " splinter " version of the Tomcat, hope you enjoy to see it !
  Intro: During the IPMS USA NATCON at Chicago i fall in love with the TOMCAT which was on display at the TWOBOBS stand ! It was build by David AUNGST,this was a wonderfull bird, what a scheme ! and as soon i was back from vacations i started the project....as i'm a Tomcat fan i'll have to have this bird in my collection!
  The model:  The HASEGAWA 1/48,you need an A+ version.
  The decals: TWOBOBS   sheet n° 48-007.
  Resin add : the cockpit from Balck Box.
  Construction:
  cockpit:
  Well, we start with the cockpit, as usual with resin cockpit you got to separate the pieces from this huge block of resin ! then begin the " blank" try, and the first problems....on the left side of the cockpit you found the " steps " with the ladder, you have to sand inside the cockpit because the resin cockpit didn't have the print of those steps ! i also made a " big " hole in the resin cockpit , left side, so i can still save the bottom of the steps, and so they still have some depth !. an other problem is the position of the front and rear cockpit panel, you have to thin the plastic border of the kit, but have to leave some material. You have to do the sema job on the front area with the instrument cover, take a look at the picture and see that i sand it too much, so i have a too big gap on the front !, so i have to put a plastic card to close the gap.The rest of the job on the cockpit ask no comments, a carefull paint job an it's done, hoops....i forgot to say that i've added the levers ( flaps, gears...)
  Air intakes:
  some work inside the air intakes, Pieces F10 trough F13 have to be in the near " close " position, the model manual show them as in flight !
  Wings:
  i've added some plastic around the flaps, to simulate the hinges that HASEGAWA forget.
  Fuselage:
  no real problems, just be carefull when adjusting the pieces for gluing ! Don't forget that the gun gas vent is from an A+ model !
  Engine: as usual for a Tomcat, one open and one close ! 
  The paint process:
  I was looking at the article found in the Fine Scale modeler march 2001 issue, as it was the first time i started such project ! I send mails at david to have some informations about his way to do it and about the paint. David was kind enough to give some " light " at my problem !
  and so i decided to give life at the model. starting with the bottom colour; FS 36375 ( TESTOR  1728) with the usual paint technique of making shadows on each panels. i masked all the bottom and apply the first top coat ! i started with the light blue, kind of Air Superiority blue. The mix is made with Flanker Medium Blue ( TESTOR 2131) Bright Blue (TESTOR 2032) and Blue ( TESTOR 2033), with a ratio of  5: 2 : 1.
  After that, i carefully " taped ' the model and draw the edge of the second blue colour, which is Aggressor Blue; FS 35109 ( TESTOR 2031). When this job was made, i " taped " for the second time and ad the Dark Ghost gray color ( FS 36320 ) TESTOR 1741. When talking about the " taping " this mean i cover all the area, draw on the tape the edges and cut it with a sharp blade ! 
  Weathering:
  As usual, with a mix of black and thinner, in each panel lines. Some dry brush with light colour on the relief of the fuselage and then decaling.
  decaling:
  decaling is the fastest job, as there is not a lot of stencil on this bird ! The TWOBOBS decals come very nice, i forget to mention that i apply a coat of FUTURE before decaling and another coat after !. To finish the project i add a coat of mix Matt / Clear coat of varnish, from TESTOR.
  Conclusion:
  Well, everybody in my model club was impressed to see such camo ! we are not used to see such colour on a Tomcat and i thanks TWOBOBS to offer us something different than grey planes !
  this is a very interesting piece in the collection , and it attracted lots of looks during models shows !
  I also thanks David for his time in answering at all my questions !
  Patrick SPITAELS
  ANS MODELISME
  IPMS BELGIUM
  http://club.ansmodelisme.com