Finished this bird last night for the Military Veterans Build. Posting in her also to get some feedback also.
Ok. After what seemed like forever to get my decals, here is my finished F-14A from VF-111. After i took the pics i noticed that the left side seam by the wing broke open so that’s why you don’t see the left side of her much. SUPER GLUE TO THE RESCUE!!! Anyway the only aftermarket on this baby is the decals and the TARPS pod. Other than those strickly OOB. As always, Tamiya paint, model master Dullcoat and Grimy Black Chalk powder for the weathering. Let me know what y’all think.
I really like your weathering, some folks really go for that “end of cruise” grimy look, but yours is a nice restrained (for a navy aircraft) weathering job.
As for criticisms, a few things jump out at me:
1: the national insignia on the wings are both on the top sides of the wings with the wing undersides blank. If I’m not mistaken, one insignia goes on the topside of the left wing and tthe other goes on the underside of the right wing.
2: from what I’ve read and seen in books, when Tomcats carried the TARPS pod, they were clean otherwise. Actually I think thats standard for any photo recon bird, to minimise drag. So the AAMs and long range tanks really don’t work accurately with a TARPS in place.
3: The extendable vanes on the leading edge of the wing glove. I’ve heard these were only on very early block Tomcats and were deleted to save weight. Additionally, they were only extended when the wings were at full sweep.
Don’t get too down about my criticisms; I do like your build, I mean really, how can you not like a Tomcat in VF-111 markings from the high-vis era?[tup]
Not a jet guy so I will nly comments on the afct that i really like the way it looks. Nicely done. I really like the teeth on the tanks matching the nose.
ho miss molly i here it is very unusual for a navy airplane since regulations prohibited personal markings of any kind. i know it was the commander,s airplane aboard the USS Carl Vinson in 1989. Miss Molly was nomed after Molly Snead, a lifelong friend and nurse to Congressman and Mrs. Carl Vinson. Snead, a world war II navy nurse, christened the carrier in 1980. i like this airplane and you have did a great job on it very nice work
Firstly, I want to tell you what a pleasure it is to look at your Tomcat. VF-111 is my favourite USN squadron, so I always like to see a Tomcat in those markings. I cannot add any criticisms to what has already been said, I think its a good build and I like the way you have painted and weathered your F-14.[tup]
