Okay, my LHS just had an engagement sale (weird, I know), and I picked up a brand-spanking new Badger 250, an F-4 Phantom and a F-14A Tomcat to “practice” with. I’ve just got a few questions:
What are the three colors used on the F-4’s? They’re just listed as green, brown, and light green.
What colors are used on the overall finish of an F-14 A? (VF-51)
Are the inside of the intakes and landing gear bays really gloss white?
Does the Academy 1/72 F-14A need any nose weight? How Much?
As far as the F-14 what time period are you wanting to paint ? Through the 1970’s the upper surfaces were “light gull grey” with white bottoms, gloss white I believe. Here’s a link to that scheme on Don Color:
It will not be easy, unless it is a “snap together”. I’m participating in an F-14 group build, and no one has had an easy time with any of the F-14 kits. The plane’s shape is such that it is complex to mold, and complex to assemble.
Stop over to the group build, there’s about a dozen people participating. There’s also 36 pages worth of stuff, a lot of it junk, but start around page 15 or 16 or so…
VF-51 received their F-14 As in overall Light Gull Gray. In reality the planes were glossy but for scale use FS36440 and a semi-gloss overcoat for a slight sheen. It didn’t take long for the switch over to the TPS so check your references. I assume you are using the kit decals so overall Light Gull Gray will be correct. Also, you will want to put a little bit of weight in the nose of your model.
Forgot about your other question. The gear bays are indeed Gloss White but for a model you can use flat. As for inside the intake trunks they are white starting from the compressor face to a point about 2/3 of the way to the front. From there on, they are painted the aircraft colour.