Small Scale Military Headquarters

teebird wrote:I love Tomcats. Just don't slow down or fail to finish, this cat is the ultimate inspiration for 1/18 cats!!! You've kept me dabbling on my Iranian repaint every time u post! It reminds me to keep pecking away on mine!!! Your work is inspiring and amazing!! Go Steve Go!!!!

Thanks teebird for the support. Rest assured I WILL FINISH this project and hopefully sooner than later.

Steve

Brief update,

The sanding of the primer continues, I'm also addressing the areas that required additional attention after the primer was applied making them more obvious.
Hopefully for my next update I will have something worth showing. Thanks for hanging in there with me and this project.

Steve

Greeting's all,

Status update as of today, 95% of the airframe is sanded. There are still a few areas that need attention, STILL !! It's hard to believe that after all this time of looking over the jet for issues, before priming, I still missed things. The most obvious area being the radome. There is a seam that should not be there and I didn't catch it until after the primer was on so, I had to go back and fill and sand the area, that's why I prime. Better to catch it now than after the color is applied. Hopefully not too much longer and I can work on de-canting the Tamiya colors for the body and start bringing this jet to life.

Thanks to everyone who is still following this project, til next time ....

Steve

Greetings everyone,

I just wanted to keep all of you, who are still interested, updated. I really haven't had much time to work on the Big Cat lately but, I have sanded the entire air frame and I am currently working on fixing some areas that still require attention. After all this time and effort I don't want to skimp on the details at this point just to get her finished, I want her done right.

Thanks for checking in.

Steve

Greetings everyone,

Small update for those who are still interested. The entire airframe is sanded and now I've been going back and addressing the "problem areas." The automotive primer that I used is very thick so, I've been using that as filler for these areas. I've been using a paint brush and have been laying on thick coats. Once they dry and settle, I go back and block sand them and re-apply the primer if necessary. Since the jet will be displayed going vertical, you will see every square inch of her. Of course the biggest problem areas are at eye level so, I've been really trying to get these right. This picture here shows one of the trouble spots. The fingers point to the very bad gap between the panels in this area. I also have some very lumpy spots where the front windscreen meets the body because the clear glue did not flow out flat like I thought it would.



The other area is around the nose gear doors. The panel lines are not consistent because of the super glue I used to glue the doors shut. There was also a huge gap between the panels at the rear of the gear doors.



Another area is where the port side intake meets the body. A large gap that I tried to fill with super glue left some lumpy areas and some gaps. I might try some water-based putty here so I can smooth it out and not have to do any sanding.



I wish I had a better update for you all but, progress has been slow and finding time at the bench has been tough to come by. Thanks for stopping by and having a look.

Steve

I've been up close to many F-14's. I don't think I have ever seen a REAL tomcat as smooth and with as much gap control and straightness as your MODEL dude!!!! Very impressive. Carry on sir!!

)

teebird wrote:I've been up close to many F-14's. I don't think I have ever seen a REAL tomcat as smooth and with as much gap control and straightness as your MODEL dude!!!! Very impressive. Carry on sir!!

)

Thanks teebird for the support.

Steve

Greetings all,

I forgot to included this small update yesterday. I had to redo the TCS antenna because I have broken it off twice now. When I originally did it the first time I just cut a very small slot into the pod and super glued the scratch-built antenna in the slot. It wasn't very secure and was very fragile. This time I took some .020'' sheet plastic and scribed a groove into it with my scriber. Then I centered the slot in my punch set a punched out a small disk. I then fabricated a new antenna from some old photo etch sprue and glued it into the slot with some CA glue. I drilled a small hole into the TCS pod with a slightly larger bit than the disk and now it looks much better and it much more secure. Now it will be just a matter of gluing it in place when the time comes, spray a light coat of paint and a littel weathering and, it all should blend right in.

Thanks for checking in and until the next update ...

Steve

Greetings everyone,
I'm gonna have to put this project on the back burner for a little while. I'm starting a redo on my younger son's room.

Steve

Rats!!! Following your build Closely bud!!

teebird wrote:Rats!!! Following your build Closely bud!!

Thanks teebird, I'm hoping to not be away too long.

Steve

A10-Loader, take your time. 25 years ago, I started a 1/22 live steam boat, have been stopped by technical problems, bad calculating and low skills. Could never throw the finished hull into fire. 5 years ago, I started to modify it to make an 1/18 patrol boat as inbetween I came to 1/18th stuff. Still not finished. Your patience give me the courage to go forward. Just hope that I'll see your Cat finished and my RC boat at sea before I'm dead...

here is my advice : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgLj3Jc8GfA

Have an other trick: throw a grenade into a paint bucket. Don't forget to take the pin of and to leave the room quicly, or you'll have your unpainted figure on a wall. It takes 1/100 a second to have your room finished.

Life has a funny way of throwing a wrench in the works, every time I think I can get some bench time in, BANG, something else comes up !! Hopefully not too much longer.



Steve

Greetings all,
My son's room is almost finished and I am finding some small chances here and there to sand some spots, add more primer, sand some spots, etc. Hoping to have something worth posting soon, fingers crossed.

Steve

Greetings everyone,

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there.

I finally had some "bench time" this weekend and an update that's worth posting.

Today's update focuses on addressing all the minor problem areas that came to the forefront after priming. I managed to get all those areas re-sanded and some re-scribing put back in some areas.

First up was the area just in front of the windscreen,



Before, very bad gaps and lumpy areas around the forward windscreen.



and after, much better IMO.



Another area is where the port side intake meets the body. A large gap that I tried to fill with super glue left some lumpy areas and some gaps. The starboard side needed attention as well.



I decided to try some Vallejo Plastic putty for these areas. It was my first time using this product and I am very happy with the results. We'll see how it looks when primed.







Another area that I think I'll use the Vallejo Putty on is when I attach the TCS pod back onto the nose. When I removed it with my saw I took a little too much off and I'm left with a nasty gap. I made a shim out of .010" plastic and it helps bridge the gap.



The plan is to re-prime the areas that are sanded thru to plastic and get the airframe in one uniform coat. Then I can spray a little Light Ghost Gray around the TCS attachment point, re-mask the TCS pod and get it glued in place. Once the glue dries then I plan on using the Vallejo putty to blend the pod to the nose, that's the plan anyway, we'll see.



Thanks to those who are still following along,

Steve

Good evening all,
Minor update for tonight,
I needed to add the windscreen rain removal vent to the front of the Tomcat. I've looked at this picture in my DACO book probably a hundred times but, I just couldn't figure out how to go about reproducing this.



I decided to try using some Evergreen strip stock, size .060" x .080". After my second try I came up with a pretty good copy, if I do say so myself. I wanted the area that contacts the nose to sit nice and flush so I didn't have to use any filler or sanding that would ruin the panel fastener detail already completed. For the scale it might be a little heavy but, I couldn't work with anything smaller because of my hands. Hopefully with a coat of primer it will blend in better.







Steve

Nice to see new work on your masterpiece, A-10 Loader.
When I saw the original windshield rain remover, I thougt it could have been with a small and thin brass plate, curved on its both sides. But the resin piece you made is nearly perfect.

granch wrote:Nice to see new work on your masterpiece, A-10 Loader.
When I saw the original windshield rain remover, I thougt it could have been with a small and thin brass plate, curved on its both sides. But the resin piece you made is nearly perfect.

Thanks very much Granch.

Steve

rschaap wrote:This has been quite the labor of love. Amazing job "A-10LOADER" this will be quite a piece when it's finally done.

Thanks for the kind words rschaap, I really appreciate it. I am very much looking forward to seeing this project completed as well.

Steve

Greetings all,

Today's update has to do with the Tomcat's tails. The tails were done long ago but, looking at my DACO book along with other reference material and, the rest of the airframe, I needed to add the "panel fastener" detail to the base of the tails. This was a little more stressful considering the tails are pretty much finished with the exception of some more weathering. I'm very happy with the results and looking at them side by side on the jet, the before and after, it was much needed. Now I just need to make the other tail match.

Thanks to everyone who is still following along.

Steve

Just fantastic work on this project! I look in often and I'm amazed at the detailing and the quality of
your work Steve. Your time and effort on this shows!!!

normandy wrote:Just fantastic work on this project! I look in often and I'm amazed at the detailing and the quality of
your work Steve. Your time and effort on this shows!!!

Thanks normandy, your very kind words are greatly appreciated. Thanks for hanging in there and following along.

Steve