Noyhauser

Kakizakiiiii!!!!!!! Very nice build Jefumon. Your weathering is in the goldilocks spot; just right. I too like the promodelers wash because its easy to use but I've stayed with oils because I can mix my own colors for a particular need (oil vs hydrolics vs fuel leaks and for Gloss sea blue)

Hey Zombie Very nice work. HAve you thought of using woodglue to put the panels into place? (in addition to the future) Given the material and the shape it might work out well. Nice work though... that's scratchbuilding beyond my level.

Could it be from Digital Mission VFX? Most of their units were of the boxy type.

Yeah... apparently there were a few that were operational and could be deployed onto carriers but never were. I'm actually slowly building all of the aircraft from the US Navy's early composite Fighter Squadrons VC-3 and VC-4. Their main task was to deploy night fighter detachments, but they provided nuclear weapon delivery aircraft as well. The first photo is a bit crappy... sorry.

They have two drop tanks... pretty lame, I know.

Nice scratchbuilding Zombie. I look forward to it. Before I start on the corsair, I thought I might clear some stuff off my bench. In particular an aircraft that it served along side.

Hey thanks guys! I appreciate the compliments. I've got a couple of builds on the go right now... this will be one of them:

Thought I'd post a photo of my recent builds:

Not quite the same, but I really like to build models of significant historical subjects. I've been slowly building the aircraft from the Suez Crisis. I also did some work, once upon a time, on a certain multinational intervention in Africa in the mid 1990s. This Canberra played an important part of it. Next up I think I'm building a small diorama of the Akagi on December 7th 1941.

As David said, the kit gives you the option of wings extended of swept. Even the Fujimi kit, with a geared system and a single rotational point, can't actually be moved once set (due to the air bladders). In addition, it is rare for the F-14 to have its wings extended and flaps out in any situation but during take off and landing (IIRC). That's why my F-14A is crewed and ready for launch. Usually the wings are swept, so to save space. BTW these things seem to be multiplying like rabbits.

Excellent purchase! I just built one, if you look back a page. If you've built a 1/32 aircraft, this one should not be too much a challenge... the only suggestion I'd make is to consider buying an Aires exhaust for the kit as the OOB one isn't the best. I hope you enjoy it, its a great kit. Sweet... I was worried that I overdid the nose with weathering, but your comment put me at ease. Thanks again.

Thanks guys... I feel that I made a couple of mistakes, near the end too, that just kinda marred it a bit. Most of my builds are generally a little bit smaller. Its odd to think how large the F-14 actually is compared to the hornet, the F-16 or other fighters... which caused some complications when I reached the final phase of the build. On that note I've been working on this lately... and will be starting on this soon too....

Thought I should post some more photos, even if they are not in great lighting. These two tomcats are basically done... (there are some bits I need to add, like 101's TARPS loadout and paint a few things) though I'm not really happy with how 200 turned out. which is supposed to look like this (image courtesy of Andy's models.) I also finished one of my F-16s and nearly finished a P-51.

I've got the book... I use it from time to time. If you notice the photo I tried testing out my painting method on the top right of the deck. Apparently the deck used hinoki cypress which grays as it ages. I'll try to fill in the scribe lines with an oil wash.

Its not a bad idea about the deck. I chose a different, more time consuming route.... I am rescribing all the deck panels (as best I can), painting them individually, oil washing, then flatcoating it. (Hopefully) it will look like how the deck was in 1944.

Its in my top 3 too. While Nausicaa had a tighter story, I think the visuals in Laputa are just awesome. I've been building a bit lately too. I started out with a Hasegawa 1/72 F-16A Block 15 and a F-16C Block 30, as well as a Fujimi F-16D. In addition I've been working on a post war P-51 that served with the Occupational Forces in Germany.

Oh my GOD! Sweetest model ever of what is my favorite Miyazaki movie. Of all his movies Laputa had the coolest mechanical designs, from this, to the Zeppelin Battleship and the robots. This model is really wicked... is it in the same scale as the tree robots?

I wonder too. The scale issue might have been a real killer (as well as the transformable aspects of the model): given how alot of Japanese modelers are obsessed with accuracy, it might have not had the sales among "serious modelers" to make it stupidly popular. The price point (over 5000 yen) also likely discouraged casual modelers.

I have the 1/200 Nichimo... which I start and stop from time to time. To give a sense of scale... I can almost fit my fist through one of those turret barbettes. While the kit itself was a gift... I spent more on the photo etch alone than on any model I have ever purchased.

As seats go, the kit's is actually very good and probably doesn't need any enhancements. I would suggest keeping it and adding some e seat belts from tape. I'd go with the F-15. The F-16's is at an angle which might prevent it from fitting.

I'm not sure if this is the right kit, but people have done kitbashes using a gerwalk kit's mechanism on a Hase kit to give it that poseability. Its a suggestion.. that's all.

Kelly never ran Lockheed, and part of me thinks he would have never agreed to take the F-35 on in the first place. He avoided programs with excessive government oversight, and his success in building general purpose fighters was mixed. However ask him to make something that had to operate in one or two specific performance areas and he could create magic. The F-35 is really three programs operating at the same time, that had to excel in a number of different performance areas and meet stringent government oversight. (sorry for the digression) Well unless you count the U-2 and the C-130, they haven't. However they did have a certain manufacturing partner that basically made 1/2 of the navy's fighters in the past 60 years... Another wrinkle to this story was that NAVAIR signed off on this design. Apparently their earliest problems was wheel barrowing, which resulted in this configuration. Quite possible. Of all the issues raised by the Ahern Report, this one was probably the worst (because there is a classified annex that some believe relate to its stealthiness and the high AoA buffeting has not been fully explored.)

The problem with the -22 is that its avionics are a disaster. They are basically unable to be upgraded due to what seems to be an extreme case of vendor lock in. Even small incremental updates are cost prohibitive. Plans to replace it with the F-35's avionics suite scrapped because of cost and technical challenges. Then they looked at adding a second, more upgradable system along side the core avionics. IT seems they have scrapped that plan and commissioned LM to look for a new solution. Not good. Then there are other problems. Its got some serious corrosion problems due to galvanic corrosion. The RAM skin problems are well known as well (though its apparently been resolved by reskinning with a variant of the F-35's carbon fiber system). Then there is the Oxygen generator issue which apparently still is unresolved. Given these issues and the small size of the actual fleet... we might only get 20 years out of them.

Funny you should say that, because I'm also doing this: (its the Fujimi 1/72 F-14A bounty hunters boxing with aires cans)

Thanks! Its the Hasegawa 1/72 25th anniversary boxing... VF-2.