I drilled a few dozen small holes around the kit to enhance the details.

Something I’ve started doing for all my HGUC kits is to raise the waist by 1.5mm. I do this by layering on plaplate.

I think I’m more or less done with the modifications.

I thin my Future 50/50 with Isopropynol Alcohol so it will spray easier. 24 hours to dry and I can do the wash tomorrow.

Kit Info
Manufacturer: Bandai
Scale: 1/144
Media: Injection Plastic

This is the kitbash of the HGUC Jesta and the HGUC GM III. I blatantly ripped this off from Hobby Notoriko’s kitbash. Credit where credit’s due .

Hobby Notoriko uses one of the shoulder cannons from the HGUC Loto for his Jesta. I’m still debating if I should do the same thing.

Kit Info
Manufacturer: Bandai
Scale: 1/144
Media: Injection Plastic

This is my version of the RGM-79Q GM Quel operated by the Titans of the Earth Federation. It’s my entry into Plamo’s WOOB 07.

I’m combining the upper body and arms of the HGUC GM Quel with the bottom half of the HGUC GM Custom. Why? I find the lower portion of the HGUC GM Quel to be too blocky and it looks disproportionate. It’s a simple matter of swapping parts.

I’m doing some simple modifications to the kit. First up, I added plastic strips at the base of the torso to extend its height by 1.5mm.

I also added some plastic strips inside the torso to extend the neck by about 1.5mm.

I think I’ll swap out the GM Quel thrusters and use a different weapon too.

This drastically affects the look from the top. If I looked carefully, the gap between the intake and the nose section looks shorter on the left. While I think most people might not notice it without it being pointed out, I know it’s there.

Anyway, another round of primer next. Hopefully this one round of putty is enough.

Kit Info
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Scale: 1/48
Media: Injection Plastic

This one’s been in the backburner for awhile (what else is new?) so it’s time for it to see the light of day again. The plan is OOB with decals from TwoBobs Decals.

Back when the US Navy ran the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School aka ‘TOPGUN’, it operated A-4 Skyhawks in the role of the adversarys, ie. the bad guys. This particular Skyhawk took that role to the extreme by having an actual silhouette of a MiG-17 painted on it.

This project is heavily reliant on the excellent article by David Aungst at Hyperscale, who did all the research required to do up an accurate Top Gun #56. In fact, the TwoBobs decals are also based on this same research. The kit itself is the excellent 1/48 Hasegawa A-4E/F kit.

The cockpit is surprisingly detailed and with the canopy opening being so small, I think it looks more than adequate.

Based on the article, I needed to modify the cone shaped fairings that’s attached all over the airframe. The cone tips need to be cut off first.

Work is actually quite straightforward and I managed to get quite far in assembly. The kit also broke down into very easy subassemblies. The landing gear and landing gear doors were all handbrushed with white and given a wash of black gray.

This is how it looks like right now. I sprayed some primer on the main joints to get an idea how much work will be needed to fix the gaps.

First up is the Bandai HGUC RGM-89De Jegan ECOAS Custom. A nice thing is it can be easily backdated to the normal RGM-89D Jegan D.

Then it’s the Bandai HGUC RGM-96X Jesta. What can I say, this is one of the best RGMs ever designed. It’s right up there with the GM Sniper II and GM Custom in my book. Unfortunately a part on the shield went missing. I’ll figure out what to do about that.

Next up is the Bandai HGUC RGZ-95C ReZel Commander Type. Comes with a BFG that unsurprisingly has a long seamline running down the weapon. Sigh. And while it looks good, it’s kind of fiddly. The joints aren’t loose, but it doesn’t feel solid at all.

And lastly, the Bandai HGUC MSN-06S Sinanju, yet another big ass red mobile suit used by the enemy ace, this time Full Frontal (sounds like a porn actor’s name I know). People really like the Sinanju but I find the design awkward: small feet, white (for some reason) propellant tanks and thruster shrouds and it’s going to a bitch to paint those itty bitty ornamental markings on the chest and arms. Still, it does have a presence although the Sazabi looks more bad ass.

So you see, I’m slacking but not totally…

I’m still waiting for the Liger Zero Panzer (the heavy armed variant). In the meantime, more pictures on Hobby Search here.

Series 6 includes: Skater Girl, Leprechaun, Sleepy Child, Flamenco Dancer, Space Woman, Bandit, Roman Warrior, Statue of Liberty, Mechanic, Robot, Minotaur, Highlander, Surgeon, Butcher, Alien and Genie.

Series 7 includes: Geek, Female Rock Star, Bride, Aztec Warrior, Daredevil, Scottish Bagpipe Player, Female Viking, Sci-Fi Warrior, Jungle Boy, Hippie, Bunny Suit Guy, Dark Knight, Olympian Swimmer, Red Riding Hood, Male Tennis Player and Merman.

Kit Info
Manufacturer: Hobby Boss
Scale: 1/48
Media: Injection
Parts: 490+

The Subject
In 1987, the Grumman F-14A received its first major upgrade in the form of the F-14A+. The original TF30 engines were replaced with the F110, which provided a significant increase in performance, range and reliability. With these new engines, the F-14A+ could take off from the carrier deck without afterburner. The other major upgrade was internal, with the installation of the ALR-67 Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) system.

38 new aircraft were manufactured and 48 F-14A’s were upgraded into the B variant. The F-14A+ was officially redesignated F-14B in 1991. F-14Bs will serve with distinction (with further upgrades) into 2005 with VF-11 Red Rippers and VF-32 Swordsmen being the last 2 US Navy squadrons operating the variant.

The Kit
Since the 1980s, the best 1/48 scale F-14 you can get is from Hasegawa. The Academy and Revell offerings cannot begin to compare with it. It’s detailed, the shape is accurate and once completed, it simply catches attention on any display case. Now there’s a new entry that’s trying to dethrone it, and it’s Hobby Boss, a Chinese company.

Variants of the F-14 were a simple reboxing of parts by Hasegawa with some added parts. The effort, to me, is half-hearted as Hasegawa doesn’t include all the tiny details that make the variants different from the F-14A. Now Hobby Boss has released the F-14B. Since the base kit is the same as the first release, this preview will only look at whether they have captured all the minor detail changes from the F-14A.

The biggest and most obvious difference between the A and B variants are the engines and Hobby Boss obviously has gotten this right. I’m not sold on the complete engines though. While it’s nice that you can display the engines separately, how many modelers would really actually do that?

Here’s a list of items they got it right for the F-14B:

1. The GPS dome on the spine
2. A reinforcement plate surrounding the step of the rear cockpit (this surprised me)
3. Correct beavertail with sensor blister
4. Correct NACA gun vent doors
5. Correct nose gear doors with sensor blister

In addition to the above, Hobby Boss has included all the weapons that an F-14B can carry and various others that it won’t. Also included are:

1. The AN/AAQ-14 LANTIRN pod that hangs off the starboard pylon
2. The new BOL AIM-9 sidewinder pylons
3. The bomb racks attached to the belly AIM-54 Phoenix pallettes.

In order to replicate these on the Hasegawa, you’ll need at least 3 boxes of their weapons sets.

The parts breakdown is very similar to the Hasegawa offering. There are however some differences. One, the wings can sweep in the Hobby Boss. Unlike Hasegawa however, they don’t include the parts to lower the flaps and slats. They also do not include the wing glove vanes as separate parts. Hobby Boss however, does give you the option to have the inflight refueling probe open and extended.

From what I’ve read so far on the Internet, the Hobby Boss kit fits quite decently. Frankly, this is more than I can say about Hasegawa’s F-14 which has fitting issues in the cockpit, front to rear fuselage and intakes.

Now the general consensus of the Hobby Boss F-14 is that even though it’s right up there, the Hasegawa F-14 is still slightly more accurate shape-wise, especially around the intake area. For me though, ease of build trumps the minor (for me anyway) issues with the intake.

The kit comes with 2 marking options:

1. F-14B, BuNo 161435, VF-103, 2000
2. F-14B, BuNo 162919, VF-74, 1992

There is also 2 sheets of stencils.

Conclusions
While the Hobby Boss does have a high MSRP, on the streets it’s quite competitive compared to the Hasegawa offering. And we haven’t included the cost of the minor scratchbuilding involved and the weapon sets you need to get to arm the F-14. Being a mold that has been redone over and over again, the latest Hasegawa F-14s also suffer from flash of some form on the parts.

If it turns out the Hobbyboss F-14 is really an easier build, I think the only conclusion is: if you want the best 1/48 F-14 Tomcat, get the Hobby Boss.