1/32 Revell F-14A Tomcat

by Alan Purusram

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This is the Revell F-14A in 1/32 scale. It’s not as detailed or accurate as the Tamiya version, but is molded in very tough plastic and feels pretty robust when assembled. I built this as a practice run before I have a go at Tamiya’s using the Tekniks aftermarket Bombcat conversion. I remodeled some of the front fuselage (gun vents, cockpit interior and glareshield) and the pilot figures using components from the Tamiya kit. The kit cockpit is much better than Tamiya’s. I also remodeled the flaps and slats and the nose gear oleo to simulate a “ready for cat launch” pose (like everybody else seems to do since Masa Narita’s inspirational example at www.naritafamily.com ) The Revell kit is probably the worst fitting one I have ever made and required about a pound of model putty and Milliput to fill all the gaps and overlaps. To be fair I also made a few mistakes as you can see, but I was more interested in practicing weathering techniques and getting the finish to look right. I added some details like hydraulic pipes in the wheel bays and in the cockpit, but my biggest headache was primer leakage through the masks on the canopy, which I couldn’t rectify without damage. That really spoils the overall effect and obscures the view of the cockpit which otherwise was my best to date!

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The colors are Tamiya and Mr Color Lacquer, with the weathering in Humbrol enamels and pastel chalks. I also did the rubbing marks from the wing sleeves backwards (duh!) but I thought this wasn’t bad for a first-time effort at weathering. The decal sheet is from Aeromaster and shows a VF-21 Freelancers CAG bird from USS Independence in 1996 with low-vis national insignia. I had a near disaster when the matte varnish dried solid WHITE (must check the “use by” date in future) but the lacquer paint was robust enough to take the repair/rescue work. The finishing touches were anti-ice, missile details and gun port in Bare-Metal aluminium, and some MV railroad lenses for the nose gear and TV camera optics. I am pretty pleased with the result and it is a great big eyecatcher on my desk – I can’t wait to get stuck into the Tamiya 1994 version and do the job properly next time!

Alan

Photos and text © by Alan Purusram