by Alan Purusram

This is the Revell F-14A in 1/32 scale. It’s not as detailed or accurate as the Tamiya version, but is molded in very tough plastic and feels pretty robust when assembled. I built this as a practice run before I have a go at Tamiya’s using the Tekniks aftermarket Bombcat conversion. I remodeled some of the front fuselage (gun vents, cockpit interior and glareshield) and the pilot figures using components from the Tamiya kit. The kit cockpit is much better than Tamiya’s. I also remodeled the flaps and slats and the nose gear oleo to simulate a “ready for cat launch” pose (like everybody else seems to do since Masa Narita’s inspirational example at www.naritafamily.com ) The Revell kit is probably the worst fitting one I have ever made and required about a pound of model putty and Milliput to fill all the gaps and overlaps. To be fair I also made a few mistakes as you can see, but I was more interested in practicing weathering techniques and getting the finish to look right. I added some details like hydraulic pipes in the wheel bays and in the cockpit, but my biggest headache was primer leakage through the masks on the canopy, which I couldn’t rectify without damage. That really spoils the overall effect and obscures the view of the cockpit which otherwise was my best to date!

The colors are Tamiya and Mr Color Lacquer, with the weathering in Humbrol enamels and pastel chalks. I also did the rubbing marks from the wing sleeves backwards (duh!) but I thought this wasn’t bad for a first-time effort at weathering. The decal sheet is from Aeromaster and shows a VF-21 Freelancers CAG bird from USS Independence in 1996 with low-vis national insignia. I had a near disaster when the matte varnish dried solid WHITE (must check the “use by” date in future) but the lacquer paint was robust enough to take the repair/rescue work. The finishing touches were anti-ice, missile details and gun port in Bare-Metal aluminium, and some MV railroad lenses for the nose gear and TV camera optics. I am pretty pleased with the result and it is a great big eyecatcher on my desk – I can’t wait to get stuck into the Tamiya 1994 version and do the job properly next time!

Alan