I built this about 13 years or so ago. It was the first model i built since i was a kid. Thought id post a couple of pics of it. It still looks pretty good after withstanding a couple of moves and a couple of accidents.
its a tamaya 1/32 (actually a couple of kits).
more pics on my web site if anyone is interested plus a model of the Enterprise and my shuttle complex.
very impressive cat friend!! and to be that old…how did you dust the thing off for the pics?!! mine are on the shelf for 2 weeks and look like a dust bomb exploded on them!! i gotta get around to doin’ a cat soon!! nice lookin’ build. later.
the cat is back. but i cant kid myself. the F-35 is going to replace that beautiful bird
She’s a great looking felion, thanks for the peek.
Awesome work!!![tup] What did you use for the flightdeck?
FYI…the F-18E/F are replacing the Tomcat[:D]
Really ??? I didn’t know that, and she’s almost as “old” as the Tomcat !
Very nice “little” plane you’ve got there infi, mine sure don’t look that good anymore at that age.
Great-looking model there, infimurf! The Tomcat is my favorite jet and I just love how you guys give that ferocious feline justice through your models.
But alas, soon we’ll be seeing the last of the Grumman cats as the Super Hornets as well as the C/D Hornets replace her in active service, and will follow the way of the F-4’s and F-104’s, etc. [sigh][:(]
Funny though, when I took my friend – who’s uninitiated and wouldn’t know what a Sopwith Camel or what an F-15 is – to a local modeling event last year and he saw models of an F-14 and an F-18 side-by-side, he thought that the F-18 was the older plane! He said the F-14 was meaner, sexier and more futuristic-looking. Talk about an enduring and advanced airframe! [:D][8D]
oops, you are right, the F-18 is replacing the tomcat [:P] my bad
That is a nice lQQkin 'Cat Infimurf. I too am curious as to what you used for a 1/32 scale flight deck. You don’t see too many of those around[;)]
That cat’s a winner ,man what an oldfavourite it is.
and thumbs up on the flight deck too.
Man that tomcat is slick looking even if it is that old, it looks like you had just built it, i gotta know, how on earth do you keep it dust free like that?
A truly fine job on that fine old kit. It really was a good idea to keep it and repair it after all these years because it is a striking model, and the work looks great from top to bottom.
For those modelers too young to remember, a brief history lesson:
That Tamiya 1/32 F-14 kit has entered the Pantheon of great classic models. Why? Because it was a first. It was the first truly modern, detailed 1/32 scale kit, and in the 20 years since this first Tomcat appeared, Tamiya has completely taken over from Hasigawa as the prime maker of modern 1/32 jets, though it looks like Academy is making inroads, and who knows what Trumpeter has up its sleeve. But, imagine laying out $100 for this kit 20 years ago. And, if you ever get a chance to see one in the box, or a straight OOB build, you’ll notice right away that cockpit detail is pretty scetchy by the standards we’ve become used to in the last ten years. Same thing when Academy released its series of F-111s in 1/48. They are still the only game in town, but they have, in spite of an accurate shape, a shortage of detail, especially in the cockpit. But, what they replaced as the only F-111 in that scale was the Aurora mold reboxed by Monogram. That F-111, which was partly shaped like the canceled Navy F-111B, which was shortened and had a different fuselage shape, does not have the profile of any F-111, and it can’t be repaired without scratchbuilding the entire fuselage. So, getting back to this 1/32 Tamiya Tomcat, it opened the floodgates for fine Tamiya kits in the large scale. Though I’ve always wanted to do one of the Phantoms, $ has kept me from it. When I’ve had the money, I couldn’t bring myself to spend it outside my usual 1/48 scale. Some day… But, a Trumpeter Thud will have to come first, with some of those new markings for birds in the aluminum paint rather than SEA camo scheme (the first Thuds in Vietnam were in aluminum laquer). Maybe even one in Thunderbirds livery, for the one show they flew in the Thud, before realizing it was only a matter of time before a terrible and very public accident occurred, sending them back the the Hun.
Tom
Great looking Tomcat. It’s held up well over the years, both your model and the real aircraft. Shame to see it retired, but all good things end eventually. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Rick
The “Super Bug” (F/A-18E/F) really isn’t that old. They just hit the Fleet about a year or two and have been deployed recently for OIF. Lot of room left to grow in that airframe. Reelly awesome to see them launch off a cat without going to afterburner.[:D]
No burner? I’m still not used to seeing Hornet pilots leaving the bow with their right hand gipping the windscreen frame handle rather than the stick.
Yep…no burner. The Super Bug has the GE F414 in them so they have more thrust. When the bird is going “military power” on a cat or trap, there’s enough thrust without having to kick in the burners. F/A-18As and Cs still go afterburner on cats and traps. If I remember correctly the F-14B/D, with the GE engines, don’t go burners either when at “military”.
excellent build ya got there
i made the deck from /12 plywood topped with a sheet of acrylic. Drilled all the hold downs and there it is. it stayed so clean because i built an acrylic cover for the whole thing. took it off to do the pictures.
I’ll say it again…Awesome work!