Small Scale Military Headquarters

rschaap wrote:My bad, I saw that back in July of 2012 you were talking about your plans to work on your Spot Cat and hadn’t actually started the hands on part yet, you were just in the planning stages. I really can’t wait to see the finished bird, it’s been exciting watching it progress.

Thanks so much, she's getting closer everyday. It's kinda bittersweet at this point. I want to get her finished but, on the other hand, I'll miss working on her too.
Plus, after working on this scale, for so long, it's gonna be really tough to go back to my normal scale of 1/48th.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Greetings all,
Just a quick note to let you all know that my Tomcat was completed on Tuesday the 14th, how ironic eh and, pics will follow shortly.
Thanks to all who followed along.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Great news Steve, looking forward to seeing it!

normandy wrote:Great news Steve, looking forward to seeing it!

Thanks Normandy, I'm hoping tomorrow is a better weather day. I want to shoot outside, some pics I've taken indoors don't do her justice.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Still waiting on the weather folks, sorry.
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and remember our troops deployed who can't be home.
Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

God Bless our Troops and Allies on this Thanksgiving!
Hopefully you'll get some decent weather tomorrow Steve.

As of now, tomorrow looks like a good day, fingers crossed.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Can't wait anymore to get a look on this fantastic and finished work!

Looking forward to pics as well !!

Greetings all,
Some "detail" shots to share with you and the final pics will be posted later on today. Thanks everyone for sticking around.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Yaw string added using 34 gauge wire painted white.


The "pointy" Angle of Attack sensor probe replaced with the tip of an old sewing needle.


Probes added to the port side of the jet.


Probes added to the starboard side of the jet including the scratch-built Temperature probe (top left).


The RIO in his office.


The pilot in his office. Notice the scratch-built "SPARROWHAWK" HUD.






















Heat exchangers painted.


The leading edge details really show up nicely after being painted.

Greetings all,
This has been quite the project and would not have been possible without the following people for all their help, suggestions and, ideas. Without their support, this would not have been possible.
*To JSI for creating the 1/18th scale Tomcat even with it's spots and all.
*To Marek, may he rest in peace. His amazing talents inspired me to take on this project. His craftsmanship was second to none. Hopefully you approve Marek.
*To Brian Plesica, of "FIGHTERTOWN DECALS", for upscaling the markings for a custom sheet. Without the markings there would have been no point in going ahead with this project.
*To Dan Teker for reaching out to Brian Plesica and getting he and I together.
*To Janos Carpenter for generously donating the necessary parts that I needed to create a "BOMBCAT." He's a super person and, an even better friend.
*To my buddy Ted Dyer for his hard work in casting me the resin rear Phoenix pallets, four bomb racks and, the four MK-83' s to make this Tomcat unique in this scale. Thanks also to Ted for reaching out to his friend Pete Nuskey, a very talented machinist, who drilled the holes at the proper angels for the two inch acrylic rods.
*To Nathan Horchem (PizzaGuy) for the resin GE F110 engine nozzles.
*To Nick Williamson, of FOXThre3Customs, for our long phone talks and his encouragement, thanks brother.
*To Brian "OOMPA" Marbrey for supplying me with reference pics of my jet, answering MANY questions, sharing his modeling expertise and, his vast knowledge of the Tomcat, thanks bud !
*To Chuck Sawyer and Marcell for their tip on the walkways. The Rust-Oleum textured spray worked awesome and looks the part for this scale.
*And last but not least, my two long time good friends and modellers, Duane "BUZZ" Lockwood and Ed "Gunny" Miranda. BUZZ made me my aluminum Alpha probe for the nose and helped out with the aft end fuselage shape for the B/D model. Their friendship, countless hours of support and suggestions helped me see this project thru to completion, thanks guys !!
*And finally, to ALL the members of Small Scale Military Headquarters who followed this never ending re-build. There are so many very talented builders on this forum who do amazing things with plastic. Thank you for all your encouraging words and support which helped me to see this thru to completion. I am humbled that you showed interest in my work.
There were a lot of good days and bad days with this project. More time away from the bench than at it but, I was determined to stick with it and get her finished. It was definitely a labor of love and just my little part to help keep the Big Fighter's spirit alive. I'm very proud to have created such a unique piece and tried to do the 'ole girl justice.
Thanks to everyone, enjoy the pics.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

I'm speechless Steve....just gonna look at the pictures fore a while.

A master piece. This is the 1/18 F14 holy grail

Thanks very much guys, I really appreciate that. Thanks for sticking around until the end.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

rschaap wrote:Your Tomcat is a perfect example of the highest level a JSI spotcat can be brought to with some research, patients and skill. Your model exemplifies what others should be inspired to do to make their plane representative of a truly great fighter. Granted most members would not attain the level you have reached but the Tomcat does deserve a few tweaks. It’s been an awesome ride, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the very kind words, much appreciated.
Your 100% correct, with a little TLC this is what you can do with one of these jets.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

For the last week I've been looking over the your pictures Steve and the Tomcat is amazing!!
Other than something in the background, the plane looks 1:1 scale. There is nothing that gives
any indication of this being 1:18. The details you've added make this museum quality!!
Thanks for the show
John.

Hey, whats next?

Steve, really amazing. When I look at your Cat with just the sky in the background, I can't believe it's not real.
A long time ago, I had the Elite Force F-16 and hanged it with fishing lines under a tree to make pics with no underground reference, so it was like really flying. Just had to remove pixel after pixel the wires off the pic. But I wouldn't dare to do that with your model, after so many hours work!
Chris

normandy wrote:For the last week I've been looking over the your pictures Steve and the Tomcat is amazing!!
Other than something in the background, the plane looks 1:1 scale. There is nothing that gives
any indication of this being 1:18. The details you've added make this museum quality!!
Thanks for the show
John.

Hey, whats next?

Thanks for the very kind words normandy, I appreciate that.
Up next, is to finish my half started 1/48th scale A-6E TRAM jet. She was shelved more than 15 years ago, when life got in the way.
I am still on the lookout for another JSI Cat. I would like to find someone who took theirs apart and realized they are in over their head. I want to do a D model and complete my set of Big Cats.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

granch wrote:Steve, really amazing. When I look at your Cat with just the sky in the background, I can't believe it's not real.
A long time ago, I had the Elite Force F-16 and hanged it with fishing lines under a tree to make pics with no underground reference, so it was like really flying. Just had to remove pixel after pixel the wires off the pic. But I wouldn't dare to do that with your model, after so many hours work!
Chris

Thank you very much Chris for your kind compliments.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"

Absolutely amazing! Superb work. That would be museum quality work. Happy I could make a small contribution. Now it's time to tear it down and add LEDs and fiber optics. Nothing is ever completely done.

pizzaguy wrote:Absolutely amazing! Superb work. That would be museum quality work. Happy I could make a small contribution. Now it's time to tear it down and add LEDs and fiber optics. Nothing is ever completely done.

Thanks very much Nathan, I appreciate that and your help.
That's exactly what I wanted to do from the beginning, add the lighting but, I didn't have the guts to totally tear her apart. I was so afraid I would break something that I couldn't fix.

Steve
"TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"