Introduction

This is Hasegawa’s 1/48 Tomcat (VF-154 USS Kittyhawk Version, PT120).  I updated it to a late B standard as used by VF-103 Jolly Rogers by using extra parts I received from Hasegawa.  I also configured it as a Bombcat using Eagle Design’s Set.  Throughout this project, I referred heavily on David Aungst’s multiple articles written about Hasegawa’s F-14 and Black Box’s replacement cockpit for this model posted on Hyperscale.  I would greatly recommend it to anyone setting out to build this model.  Some techniques I used on this model to make it more accurate were left out, since they have been mentioned many times in previous Tomcat articles posted on ARC and Hyperscale.

Cockpit

I decided to use Black Box’s cockpit instead of the kit’s cockpit.  It looks very accurate, but it did require a small amount of tweaking to fit correctly in the fuselage.  Instead of cutting out the insides of the two compartments for the steps above the boarding ladder (located on the left side of the fuselage, below the cockpit) as Black Box instructs you to do, I used my trusty Dremel tool to sand away some of the left side of the cockpit tub so that it will fit without removing the insides of the step compartments.  A control stick was added to the left side of the RIO’s console, which is used to control the LANTIRN pod.  A PTIDS screen was also added to the RIO’s instrument panel, which replaced the “fish-bowl” radar screen.  Both of these items were provided in the Eagle Designs set.  Otherwise, I installed the cockpit per instructions, leaving off the ejection seats until completion.

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Construction

The Tomcat’s wheel wells are very complex and the kit’s wells do not do them justice.  Instead of detailing them myself, I purchased Aires’ wheel well replacements.  They are very accurate and look great with a wash to bring out the details.  Unfortunately, they are very difficult to install.  The nose gear well was fairly easily installed, but it seemed to take forever to get the main gear wells to fit in the fuselage correctly.  They would conflict with the fit of the engine intakes, so much grinding was necessary to squeeze them into the fuselage.  Again, my Dremel tool proved invaluable.  I ended up thinning the sides of both the wheel wells and the intake trunks.

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As other people know who have built this model, the intakes are a real challenge.  I tackled them by filling the hard-to-reach seams with white-out, then sanding the seam smooth with sandpaper wrapped around a narrow paintbrush handle.   I decided to use white-out, since it is much easier to sand than CA and it doesn’t seem to craze plastic or have a coarse grain like most modeling putties.  Perfection is not necessary, as the intakes are hard to see when the model is completed, and by spraying on a thick coat of gloss white, I was able to hide virtually all imperfections.  Hasegawa instructs you to assemble the variable geometry ramps (kit parts F10, F11, F12, and F13) in the configuration they are in when in supersonic flight.  If you are displaying the model with the gear down, these ramps must be installed in the retracted position.  To do this, I followed David Aungst’s instructions on Hyperscale (part three of his F-14 articles).  The intakes gave me another headache when trying to join them to the fuselage.  This was partly due to the fact that the parts aren’t designed well enough to come together like many Tamiya kits, and because of the fit of the Aires landing gear wells.  I had to sand the outside edges of the intakes where they meet the edge of the wheel wells and I filled in the gaps between the fuselage and intake with super glue.  The rest of the construction continued without major problems, just some minor filling here and there.   

I detailed the landing gears with wire to represent the brake lines.  I decided to use Cutting Edge’s wheels, since I’ve heard that the vinyl tires that Hasegawa provides start to deteriorate over time.  It looks as if Cutting Edge simply made a cast of Hasegawa’s wheels in gray resin, as they are no more detailed, but they should hold up much better over time.  I took the sidewinder missiles from a Revell F-14D kit, and the Phoenix missile, LANTIRN pod, and LGB bombs from Hasegawa’s weapon set.  I found out later that the four small square plates situated around the outside diameter of the Phoenix body are absent from the AIM-84C model, but by this time, it was too late to sand them off.  

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I added the small dome shaped GPS antenna to the spine of the plane behind the cockpit, which was made from a pinhead.  I also added the oval shaped dome ECM antenna located on the left nose gear door.  This was placed over the oval shaped vent that was already there.  Aires provided a photo-etch vent, which I used to relocate the vent to the back end of the door.  Aires also provided the gear doors, but I did not use the ones for the nose gear, since they had many small air bubbles and they weren’t much more detailed than the kit doors.

Painting and Decaling

The model was finished with the standard three-gray camouflage, but considerably lightened with white to simulate sun fading and scale effect.  To simulate the patchwork effect common on modern US naval aircraft, I randomly sprayed an even lighter shade of the top side gray, and a bluish gray, around the top of the fuselage.

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The aluminum trim found on the leading edges of the wings and the bottom edge of the intakes was simulated with aluminum bare metal foil.  I sprayed a coat of Future polish to seal everything, and set out to apply the decals.  I wanted to model the Jolly Rogers’ GAG bird as it appeared during their cruise in Afghanistan in 2002.  The closest sheet I could find was Yellowhammer’s F-14B San Antonio Rose (# YHD48025).  However, when seeing pictures of this aircraft in Afghanistan, it had black tails.  Here’s and example: http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/f14onwatchdp_1.htm.  To finish my model with black tails, I would have to have white versions of the markings on the tail.  I obtained all but the phoenix silhouette from Yellowhammer’s sheet F-14 Tomcat Nose Art (#YHD 48023).  To make the phoenix silhouette, I scanned the yellow one from the decal sheet YHD 48023, and changed the colors so that the phoenix was white and the background was the same shade of black as the tails.  I then printed the design on decal paper using my inkjet printer, and painted the area that the decal would be placed white.  I then sprayed Future over the white paint on the tails.  I cut out the phoenix decals, leaving much of the black background, and applied them.  After drying, I coated the decals in future and masked only over the phoenix outline.  Then, I sprayed the rest of the tail black.  Viola!  I had the white phoenix silhouette, without having to use a white decal.  The only downside is that the white paint has very slightly yellowed, and is not as bright as the white decals.  

The phoenix at the top rear corner of the tail was homemade.  The rest of the white tail markings were obtained from the second Yellowhammer sheet mentioned.

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After finishing the decals, I simulated oil streaking in several areas by placing a dot of ink from a pen and smearing in the direction of air flow.  To seal the decals, I sprayed a coat of Polly S flat clear.  I then applied a pastel and water mixture to simulate the grime found on many naval aircraft.  The excess was removed with wet paper towels and cotton swabs.  Another coat of clear flat sealed the pastels and all that was left was to glue on the landing gear and weapons stores.

I also had to replace the VF-103 designation located on the stabilizers under the engines and the bureau numbers with homemade versions, since the ones on the decal sheet are too small and were not of the correct font.

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Conclusion

Hasegawa’s Tomcat is far from being a fall-together type kit, but it looks great when finished, and anyone with some persistence can complete it.  Many of its shortcomings require nothing more than putty and sandpaper to fix, and in building it, I greatly improved my modeling skills.  Remember, its not the easy builds that make you a better modeler, it’s the hard ones.  I’d like to send a huge THANK YOU to everyone at the ARC discussion board for helping me along with this project, and especially to Steve Bamford for posting this article.  

Drew

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