taiidantomcat
Member
I'm not the first guy to tackle the many 1/48 Tomcats. Darren Roberts put together a handy guide (he even gave them grades!! You can tell he is a teacher 
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http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal10/9301-9400/gal9392-F-14-Roberts/00.shtm
And Paul did a comparison build as well, you can find it here.
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=142212&st=0&p=1276367&hl=tomcat%20project&fromsearch=1&#entry1276367
I have all the 1/48 scale Tomcats (except for the Academy, and new hobbyboss but that can be resolved later) And decided it was time to build them all, If only just to say I did it! So I had to come up with a plan first, how did I want to do this? I am a what-if/sci fi builder primarily, I tend to do models that take a long time and I can't remember the last time I finished an OOB build. Since Darren and Paul covered the comparisons, I really just want this to be a big series of in-progress builds, its not really about A vs B Vs C (they did a great job of that already). So I decided on a set of rules after my gray matter burned out.
^ It should be generally OOB. For speed purposes. trying to fix some of these kits would take way more time than they are worth!
^ The outer lines of the model should be preserved. so no adding new tail fins or anything. If the shadow was projected on a wall it would clearly be a good old fashioned Tomcat. Nothing different about the shape, silhouette will be consistent.
^ "5 minute fixes" are allowed. What is a 5 minute fix? Adding tape seatbelts or shaving down a landing gear tire to make it flat are excellent additions that are not major conversion work like rescribing lines, adding resin, or wiring. (If you can do that in five minutes however-- I salute you)
^ Replacement parts. For badly done parts, poorly shaped Phoenix pallets for example, replacements from another Tomcat kit that will help its shape are allowed. Basically Drop-in replacement.
^The Tomcats should feature modeling skills I need to work on. Masking, adding texture, gloss coats, etc. I have made a to do list and hope to add little things here and there to improve my skills and experience.
^Maintaining the original silhouette, and OOB nature does not mean conventional schemes
So starting with the worst!
The original Revell kit:
Some revell parts that are to be replaced by Revellogram Tomcat parts (tiny phoenix pallets are a no go)
The Revell cat has a weird split style construction with smaller flat parts inside larger parts. I realized I could add some Science Fiction flare by tracing the parts onto patterned styrene and creating a solar panel look.
Will post more soon! Thanks for stopping by!
:drinks
/> http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal10/9301-9400/gal9392-F-14-Roberts/00.shtm
And Paul did a comparison build as well, you can find it here.
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=142212&st=0&p=1276367&hl=tomcat%20project&fromsearch=1&#entry1276367
I have all the 1/48 scale Tomcats (except for the Academy, and new hobbyboss but that can be resolved later) And decided it was time to build them all, If only just to say I did it! So I had to come up with a plan first, how did I want to do this? I am a what-if/sci fi builder primarily, I tend to do models that take a long time and I can't remember the last time I finished an OOB build. Since Darren and Paul covered the comparisons, I really just want this to be a big series of in-progress builds, its not really about A vs B Vs C (they did a great job of that already). So I decided on a set of rules after my gray matter burned out.
^ It should be generally OOB. For speed purposes. trying to fix some of these kits would take way more time than they are worth!
^ The outer lines of the model should be preserved. so no adding new tail fins or anything. If the shadow was projected on a wall it would clearly be a good old fashioned Tomcat. Nothing different about the shape, silhouette will be consistent.
^ "5 minute fixes" are allowed. What is a 5 minute fix? Adding tape seatbelts or shaving down a landing gear tire to make it flat are excellent additions that are not major conversion work like rescribing lines, adding resin, or wiring. (If you can do that in five minutes however-- I salute you)
^ Replacement parts. For badly done parts, poorly shaped Phoenix pallets for example, replacements from another Tomcat kit that will help its shape are allowed. Basically Drop-in replacement.
^The Tomcats should feature modeling skills I need to work on. Masking, adding texture, gloss coats, etc. I have made a to do list and hope to add little things here and there to improve my skills and experience.
^Maintaining the original silhouette, and OOB nature does not mean conventional schemes
So starting with the worst!
The original Revell kit:
Some revell parts that are to be replaced by Revellogram Tomcat parts (tiny phoenix pallets are a no go)
The Revell cat has a weird split style construction with smaller flat parts inside larger parts. I realized I could add some Science Fiction flare by tracing the parts onto patterned styrene and creating a solar panel look.
Will post more soon! Thanks for stopping by!
:drinks
God Love the Boy, he built a Tomcat from every Squadron for the Nat's in Omaha. My cover is off to him. AND he's a genuine and affable guy to boot. 
So I grabbed a set from the Revellogram kit and took a look at how close I could get it. 
