Eaglecash867

Almost there...FINALLY! Just have to get the canopy done, and the colored epoxy tail beacons. Removing the molding line on the canopy was kind of a pain, because the molding lines were on the outside and inside of the canopy. Thank god for MicroMesh sanding sheets. Still have to do a final polish and sealing, then I can get it painted and put on. Here's the almost complete Tomcat...along with its real-life grandchild that showed up on our ramp this morning.

Heh...a little more progress...so slow, its almost glacial. LOL. REALLY busy at work lately with the new FAA transponder mandate coming up...LOTS of upgrading of avionics going on. https://www.amazon.c...rQkM8coM3xoQaKP

Hi Altin, The 3 links below are for some great striping tape I've been using to mask with. I recently used it for the multiple color Alclad job I did on the burner cans of my F-14A. It didn't lift the Alclad, didn't have any of its adhesive transfer to the model, and its resistant to most solvents. One of the really cool things about this stuff is that its really easy to get it to follow a contoured pattern and still lay completely flat...the stuff is very flexible. I use Scotch 471 tape at work for masking around aircraft antennas on pressurized planes before sealing them, but it only goes down to 1/4" wide, so I went looking for something with the same properties. I found it in the Great Planes striping tape. Try a roll of it and see if it works for you...gives a nice, crisp line between colors too, no bleed-under. Not sure if its been suggested yet, but 70% isopropyl alcohol can safely remove a lot of things with a little, gentle scrubbing with a Q-tip. Had to use that method on my F-14A when I went to put a semi-gloss clearcoat on it and picked up the wrong can...WHITE PRIMER! YIKES! I thought I had killed the whole project, but a little, careful work with alcohol and Q-tips cleaned it right up...even left most of the decals intact (glad I had a spare decal sheet). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NU55G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here's a pic of the burner cans. https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/4UZvZ6wOiYMId4K50AR1qcj9WLi8rET7RWIJdWGSEDp Eagle

Ron, I've been using them on my latest build, and they work really well. They have 2 different formulations, acrylic and enamel, and I have used both. After using both, I'll be sticking with the acrylics. The enamel washes, no matter how much time you give your paint to cure, even with a lacquer clearcoat, will attack the paint underneath if you're using paints like Testor's Model Master. The acrylics can pretty much go on as soon as your paint and clear coat are tack-free, and won't attack the paint or clear coat, no matter how long the wash sits. Eagle

Holy cow, Gil! That was fast! NICE WORK! :smiley20: Eagle

Back to building again after a difficult few months. Got the rest of the decals put on the rear fuselage, weathered it, joined the forward and rear fuselage. I got the wings done enough to paint,finally...after several attempts...the wings on this thing are kind of a PITA. I used the Furball mask set for the flaps. Also got the burner cans mostly done...pretty happy with the effect I got with the wear and weathering on the feathers. https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/wqiNSaU29XnYYYWQBELX9UjtovZGrQkM8coM3xoQaKP

I hadn't seen one of those before either, Dave. Something like that will definitely be needed, since I recently adopted a cat that likes to jump up on the table and "help" me once in a while. Nice to know my feet no longer have to live in fear. Ordering one right now. Thanks for the post, Dave! :smiley16: Eagle

Not that its the same thing, but I'm really liking the Model Master Acrylic washes. They haven't attacked any of the paints I use, and you just use a cotton swab dipped in water to wipe away the excess. Something I wasn't expecting is that they give the paint kind of a streaked, uneven look, which really makes any naval aircraft like the F-14A I'm back to building again look more like its been at sea for a while. Their instructions also lie about time before removing excess. You should do small patches, and start the excess removal as soon as you finish washing a patch. It doesn't attack or soften the original paint layer though, which is a huge plus.

I paint enamel over lacquer on a regular basis. I prefer to use lacquer-based primer to prime bare plastic before painting, and make sure that it goes on a little wet so the solvents in the lacquer paint have time to etch the plastic a little bit to get a strong bond. I've also used clear lacquer as a barrier between color layers of enamel paint that I am brushing on, without any issues. The cheap clear-coats like Krylon and Rustoleum? The only reason I can think of that they might possibly damage decals is that they often contain xylol. Not sure if that's the cause, but that would be my guess. Xylol was one of the things we found when building experimental, composite aircraft, that had a slow evaporation time and was actually capable of softening cured polyester resin. Not many things can do that, so its pretty nasty stuff. Might be why he warns against that.

Gil, Thanks for the heads-up on that. I had been using the Amazon album thing because I didn't know how to post directly...now I know. Thanks! :D Let's see if I did it right. Edit: I ended up getting an error message trying to use the Amazon URL for the image feature. I'll try photobucket and see if I can post some thumbnails. Edit 2: Looks like it worked! :D Eagle

Got the forward fuselage done...did a little preliminary "weight and balance check" with it pushed together with the rear fuselage and wings. I think the tungsten weight I epoxied up front is going to give it just the right amount of forward CG so it doesn't end up being a tail-sitter. https://www.amazon.com/photos/album/Hx68E6ptR1eIXc4xR_Fm1w?pageIndex=0 Eagle

Those look fantastic Gil! VonL, I was thinking the same thing from the description they give on the web-site, but I figured I'd buy the 1/16th stuff first and see if it would work as a masking tape. I had been using 3M 471 tape because I use that at work for masking around antennas that we're sealing on pressurized aircraft, but that only goes down to 1/4" I think, and its expensive stuff. I used the Great Planes 1/16" tape for the preliminary masking of the inside and outside of Blue Thunder's canopy glazing. It turned a really complex masking task into a pretty straightforward process, and comes right back off when its no longer needed...no paint peeling.

I'm definitely no expert on filling seams, but I've recently pretty much perfected my technique. I'm trying the Mr. Surfacer 500, 1000, and 1200 for the first time on my F-14A and I love the stuff. For my primer, I like to use the Model Master automotive lacquers...the grey primer is working really well. The thing I like about the lacquers is that they attack the plastic a little bit, so the primer gets a good "bite" on the plastic. Something that's critical to completely invisible seams, which has already been mentioned, is the sanding step. Get yourself a few good sets of sanding sticks and use progressively finer grits to smooth the filler. I've been using the Squadron sanding stick set, and the final polishing with the "extra fine" stick gives everything a little bit of a shine. What I've found is that if you get the seam to have an even shine on it, you'll have no low or high spots, and the surface of the left-over putty will be "sealed" so it won't absorb paint. You just basically follow the fill, sand, polish, prime steps over and over again until the seams disappear. Once they no longer show through the primer, you can go about re-scribing the area to replace any panel line segments that might have gotten erased. Prime again to check your scribing...and once you're happy with it...then paint, clearcoat, decal, clearcoat, weather, clearcoat, then...WHEW...you're done. The F-14A I'm building is mostly of excellent fit, but the large panel on the underside of the fuselage was TERRIBLE...had to cement and clamp in stages, and work and work on the seams, but its almost done and looks awesome. Did all that using the techniques laid out in this thread. Just takes a whole lotta patience...I've just been working one seam at a time...seems to make the entirety of the project a little less intimidating to just take it in small chunks. Eagle

A little more progress...been taking care of a sick cat. Got the vertical stabs painted and decaled. I cut out the molded-in tail beacons...planning on using some red-tinted epoxy to build new lenses. I just didn't think red paint was gonna cut it for beacons. I'll be spraying the Alclad Aluminum on the leading edges when I get the horizontal stabs and wings painted and decaled...want to do the plating all at once. https://www.amazon.c...RZ07zjUSbFcC9CK Eagle

Lookin good Gil! Not sure if you've tried any of this stuff, but its fantastic. It has a paper backing you have to separate, which is a bit of a pain, but its very flexible and has just the right amount of tack. Stays in place really well while you're stretching and bending it for the irregular separation lines between the grey and white, and comes off without damaging the paint. Nice crisp edges too. Goes all the way down to 1/16th of an inch...so no need to cut thinner strips from wider tape. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NU55G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015NZMFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Very nice work, Gil! :smiley20:

There's no right way to build a model. There are plenty of wrong ways to do it though. The only way to know is to jump right in with both feet and remember that your first one probably isn't going to be a masterpiece. You're going to make mistakes...you're going to get frustrated at times and want to give up. Don't give up though. Press on...figure out what you did wrong...pursue that model to completion, and then apply what you learned to the next one. You're going to find what works for you and what doesn't along the way, and your models will get better and better. That's what makes this hobby so much fun. You're constantly tweaking techniques, trying new ones, trying new tools and new products. It never gets old, and there's no right way to do it. Eagle

I've had good luck using clear epoxy. It doesn't fog things during its curing process.

So far its been a great build. I guess you really can't go wrong with Tamiya kits. The intake tunnels were a little problematic getting clamped so the cement would do its job properly. I finally found the solution with two really heavy, hard cover books on the B-1B and the A-10. Stacked those right on top of the tunnels with the bottom part of the fuselage upside-down...worked like a champ. I slowly lowered the books onto it, listening for creaking and groaning...didn't want to smash it. The bright green markings are all kit decals. The radar indicator in the RIO position was a transparent decal to go on the clear lens. I painted that with transparent green, and backed it with aluminum foil. Thanks for the welcome and the comments! Eagle

Hey everybody, In the middle of the new Tamiya 1/48 F-14A right now. Its coming together a lot quicker than Blue Thunder did. Here are some WIP shots. https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/Qsu0VGeXovvsvPi5MwhSuh9AgPFoRZ07zjUSbFcC9CK Eagle

Hi everybody, I just got back into building models a couple of years ago after a really long break (over 20 years). Just finished a Blue Thunder build, which took me about a year to get right...my skills were a little rusty, and I had to build my tool collection as I went along. Right now, I'm in the middle of the new Tamiya 1/48 scale F-14A. Here's a link to my Prime Photos album with a few pics from my completed Blue Thunder build. https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/DsrU7MwthM9S7iwMzcqPAcRRmLf7qsYZncKcrHl8tZe I look forward to sharing ideas with everybody. Eagle

I've been pretty happy with this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ACB6D2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Nice and quiet...and no pulsing.

I'm a lacquer thinner guy myself. I'd say try a few different methods, and find which one works best for you. :smiley16:

Schooner, I use all different kinds of paint when airbrushing, but I prefer to stay with enamels as much as possible. I live in Colorado, which is a high-altitude, dry climate, and acrylics give me a lot more problems with drying in the airbrush needle if I'm doing complex, precise work that requires frequent, long pauses to make sure I'm placing paint in the right locations. Lately I've switched from using mineral spirit-based thinners to using lacquer thinner, and I add a drop of Valspar enamel hardener. That combo has given me really good results, quick dry time (but not so quick that it constantly clogs my needle), and the hardener makes it so I don't "burn in" to the paint when I have to really grip a painted part. The "burn in" was really frustrating, because the heat from my fingers would soften the paint just enough to leave fingerprints. Using the hardener seems to have fixed that. The only drawback to using the hardener is you have to pitch the unused paint left in your airbrush. Merry Christmas! (Heh...on-call today. Always gotta keep the planes flying.)