A while back I posted some progress shots of my build for the F-14 Group Build 2005. Well, I finished it tonight and I thought I’d share some pics with you. The kit is Academy’s 1/72 scale version and the decals are by Superscale.
I weathered the model by first cutting my basecoat of FS36440 Gull Gray with about 20% white. Then I oversprayed straight Gull Gray in various places to simulate all the spot priming that gets done. Next came the wash and finally I ground up a pencil on sandpaper and randomlly brushed it on for a little bit of extra dirtiness. More in progress pics are here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v479/bstrump/HPIM0032.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v479/bstrump/HPIM0034.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/v479/bstrump/HPIM0046.jpg
Constructive criticism is welcome.
wow, you sure stayed up late to do this one ! it looks fantastic ! ther aint nothing better than a black tailed cat !
Beautiful job.
Stunning cat Sir !
Outstanding cat!!! and at such a small scale makes it more impressive to me.
Paul
Yes…Top marks… Looks great!
Chris in Japan
Hey - that looks great - fantastic color combination on the tails and the weathering looks very realistic. Thanks for sharing.
I love the subtlety of your panel lines and weathering. Modern USN aircraft are like WWII Japanese aircraft, people tend to overdo the weathering to a point that the model doesn’t look “used” but outright derelict.
Great Hi-vis cat, thanks for sharing.
[#ditto]
The overall finish is very moderate and trully completes the model. Nicely done!
That’s a great looking Cat! Thanks for sharing the photos.
Regards,
That looks AWESOME! Great job.
Leon
Very nicely done indeed. Grat job on the finish. Thanks for sharing.
Nice work on the Cat. Great looking model.
Regards, Rick
Very impresive. Thanks for sharing the pics!
I agree with upnorth. The subltety of the finish on the panels was immaculate. It’s a beautiful build anyone would be proud to claim.
TOM
Bstrump,
Very nice - the finish is mighty fine !
Chris
As one that builds many Navy aircraft models, it’s really hard to overdo the weathering unless you finish the panel lines with the old Verlinden style black wash. Most Navy planes do look derelict when they come off the boat from cruise. They are a complete, nasty, mess. One thing that I’ve noticed is that people reverse the weathering. The areas around the panel lines should actually be LIGHTER, not darker, than the base color. The TPS paint holds grime and gunk like a trap, so when the spot priming is done, the paint (if if’s even the same color) will be cleaner than the surrounding area. That’s why I love to weather Navy models…they have character!
You did a great job on the Academy kit. As said before, you can’t go wrong with black tails!
Great looking Tomcat!
That’s a fantastic job you’ve done there-thanks for sharing.
Regards,
Darren.
She’s a slick looking bird, thanks for the pics…
Wow!! This is quite a response to the model! I thank everyone for your comments, especially regarding the weathering. I’m glad you all enjoyed it. I was worried that I may have overdone it considering the scale. Darren Roberts, I agree with you thoughts on weathering Navy planes for the most part. That’s why I don’t do the preshade thang. also, I believe in “scale effect” so I tone down the weathering as well as the paint. The reference I used for the model was the Spring '91 issue of “The Hook” and was amazed that even a CAG bird painted in Gloss Gull Grey could be so dirty. And the TPS can look downright grungy. I’ve seen photos where the original topside colour is FS35237 but the spoy priming eas done in a lighter color (FS36375?) and it definitely adds character. I do though like subtlty in my 1/72 scale models. Thanks everyone!