1/72 Hasegawa F-14B Tomcat

Gallery Article by Dan Parsons on July 18 2003

 

VF-103 Jolly Rogers

This is my first contribution to ARC but I have been visiting this site on a daily basis for well over a year now. I can honestly say my skills have drastically improved because of the awesome tips and advice I have received here. I figured it was about time I show off a little of my work. 1/48 WWII aircraft are normally my "bread and butter" but when a friend of mine asked me to build him an F-14, I just couldn't pass it up. I won't get into the history of the aircraft or the Squadron as it has already been well covered here in past posts. I started modeling when I was young but took a long hiatus throughout High School and College and started back up a couple of years ago. This is my 4th Scale model I have completed. So I am still very much a novice.

 

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This model is completely OOB with the exception of the crotch ejection handles and the weapons. The PE parts were included with the model. T

This was my first attempt at panel-shading and I am very pleased with the results. I airbrushed an initial coat of paint (Light Gull Gray on bottom and Dark Gull Gray on top). I then mixed these colors with some flat black and highlighted the panel lines. I then lightly sprayed on a second coat of the above mentioned colors...eyeing it till achieving the intended effect. I coated the entire place in Future and then used a "Pilot Precise Extra Fine Rolling Ball" pen to fill in the panel lines wiping the excess away with a cloth dipped in Turpenoid.

I used Burnt Umber Oils to "dirty-up" the landing gear and wheel wells as I have heard these Birds are starting to show their age.

I had some trouble with silvering of the decals (which did not become evident till after the flat coat was applied, of course!). This is also the first time photographing a model for me so I apologize for the poor lighting and the blurriness.

All in all, it was a fun model to build. Other than some minor flash and ejector pin marks (which were easily cleaned up) I managed to steer clear of any major problems. I highly recommend this kit. Thanks to all who provided the necessary advice that enabled me to complete this model. Would love to hear your comments and feedback. This will hopefully be the first of many more posts to come.

ENJOY! 

Dan Parsons

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Photos and text © by Dan Parsons