Upcoming : RPG Models 1/35 Phalanx CIWS
Back in the early 2000s, I saw the resin Hobby Fan 1/35 Phalanx CIWS at a local model shop. I really wanted to get it but 1) it was resin and 2) it was expensive so I resisted. I’ve always wanted one though. Lo and behold, RPG Model has just announced the imminent release of their version of the Phalanx CIWS.
This looks to be a mix of injection plastic and (a lot) of photoetch details. More importantly, it doesn’t look like it’ll cost an arm and a leg. I’ve never worked much with PE and it looks to be a huge PITA to bend and shape so many of them. But they are definitely safer to deal with than blocks and blocks of resin.
RPG Model is also releasing the CIWS-based SeaRAM weapon system at the same time.
This is coming in June @ USD 26 (as listed on Hobby Easy). More photos at RPG Model.
Upcoming : Great Wall Hobby 1/72 F-14D Tomcat
Who doesn’t want more F-14s anyway? This one is coming from GWH in June 2019 (I think). Parts break down seems to fall between the Hobby Boss and Hasegawa kits. GWH has developed a reputation for highly detailed and yet good fitting kits. Something that Hobby Boss and Hasegawa F-14s aren’t with the latter.
The kit is clearly designed to have multiple variants and has the coveted flaps and slats lowered option. It’s interesting to note however, that none of the ‘Bombcat’ parts are in these pictures. Let’s see if they are added upon release.
Pictures from Fishbone Inc.
Completed : Hobbyboss 1/72 Grumman F-14B Tomcat ‘VF-102 Diamondbacks’
Kit Info
Brand: Hobbyboss
Scale: 1/72
Media: Injection Plastic
Markings: Cam Decals 72-046 Tomcat Alley: Grumman F-14B Tomcat
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.
Fighter Squadron 102 (VF-102) nicknamed Diamondbacks was a fighter squadron in the US Navy. The VF-102 here is the second VF-102 squadron that was established in 1 July 1955. VF-102 would serve with distinction in various operations including: Vietnam War, Operations Attain Document, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Provide Promise, Deny Flight, Restore Hope, Southern Watch, Deliberate Force and Enduring Freedom. VF-102 first flew the F-14A in 1981 and would transition to the F-14B in 1994. in 2002, VF-102 would turn in their F-14, transition to the F/A-18F and changed their designation Strike Fighter Squadron 102 (VFA-102). VF-102 has the distinction of dropping more ordnance and flying more combat hours than any other F-14 unit during OEF in 2001 and 2002.
This build depicts ‘Dback 102’, the squadron leader’s F-14B with colored markings.
Sources:
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
VFA-102
The Kit
While not lacking for choice in the market, this is the newest one that was released in 2011 so the expectation is that it’ll be the most modern and accurate version available. It’s a mixed bag though.
Hobbyboss released this kit along with the A and D variants. Hobbyboss’ wholesale approach to differentiating between the variants (whole nose halves for the B/D variant vs the A) means there is a general lack of cutting or fitting of separate panels. So here, the gun vents are the modern NACA type and are molded in which avoids any fitting issues. Unlike Hasegawa, Hobbyboss has gone with a simplified build. First, the nose gear doors are molded on in the open position which precludes modeling this kit in flight. The MLG doors are kept separate though. The cockpit details are of the decal variety but curiously they left out the side consoles so these are bare. The seats look decent but there are no restraint details and the prominent ejection rings on the head rests. The HUD is not included which the F-14B has. The GPS dome on the newer F-14s is also missing here.
The wings are one piece and are designed to swing in and out but don’t have separate flaps and slats. This is even though they include lowered down the catapult-ready version of the nose gear. Engine and intake fans are included but not the ramps inside the intakes which makes the intakes especially bare. Weapons are included and look good but only consist of Sidewinders, Sparrows and Phoenixes. The LANTIRN pod and rail, bomb racks and bombs are not included. Curiously, the kit does include nicely molded modern BOL launchers for the Sidewinders. Hobbyboss did get some of the minor details correct: there’s a reinforcement plate on the co-pilot’s step, the lumps, bumps and antennas are correct for the B and the glove vanes are not present.
General details and panel lines are sharp and nicely done with no serious injection marks nor flash. The canopy is very clear with the frame being slightly proud to aid in masking. There is however a seam line that runs down the middle of the main canopy.
All in all, a kit of 2 halves: some simplified design and yet detailed elsewhere. With less parts, it might be a shorter and less finicky build than the Hasegawa.
The Build
Construction was remarkably straightforward due to the number of parts and it’s also general knowledge that any Tomcat kit will usually have some fitting issues with the intakes. While this kit has less parts (hence less details) in this area, the fit is still not great. There are long seamlines running inside both sides of each intake that are hard to fix.
The lack of the ejection handles on the seats was really obvious so I scratchbuilt myself a pair from brass rod. I also added tape to replicate the restraints. The blank side consoles were left as is since they’re aren’t that visible.
The cockpit needed some finessing for the front canopy to fit. I ended up shaving a couple of millimeters off the cockpit tub and inside the front canopy. I also managed to crack a bit of the canopy frame and I spent some time fixing this. Another issue is that the nose gear needs to be installed at the beginning. Obviously, I managed to break this off a few times. I was building an F-14B flying in 2002 so I grabbed a LANTIRN pod, the pylon for it, 2x GBU-12s and 2 bomb racks from the Hasegawa Weapons Set.
Colors & Markings
The kit includes nicely done markings for VF-74, VF-103 and VF-143 but for this build, I wanted to do an OEF VF-102 bird so out came the Cam Decals sheet I have had for maybe a decade. The instructions state that the plane was 1 color overall: FS 36375 but this being a modern US Navy plane during a war footing, it had a very weathered look which I planned to replicate.
While painting other builds, I sprayed leftovers in the paint cup on this kit. I ended up with a base of splotches of black, dark gray, light gray, silver, brown, white and even green. I’m sure that contributed to the somewhat patchy look to the overall color. But more needed to be done.
I detailed how I did the weathered paintjob in a previous post.
Finishing
As usual, finishing took longer than usual. Removing the canopy masking was easy but it tore off some of the red chevron decals so I salvaged what I could, glued them back in place with Future, and touched up the rest with paint. The front canopy tinting turned out to be too light but I can live with it.
I could breathe again when the wings clicked in place without much trouble and without any paint being scratched.
Then it was time for all the tiny details like wingtip lights, wing glove lights, the light and camera face on the chin pod, detailing the landing gear with silver, touching up the formation light decals which tore, antenna bumps and fuel dump pipe (which was optional but I think the red color broke up the monotony). This all took some kid gloves, steady hands and a general lack of coffee.
The biggest headache for me were the tiny AOR sensors on the nose. They are designed to be butt jointed and I managed to ping them off the table (though I found them) multiple times and in the end, I only attached 2 out of the 4 with Vallejo Gloss Varnish to save my sanity. I also managed to drip 2 drops of superglue onto the nose while doing this which required some last minute sanding, priming, painting, weathering and matt coating. The nose color now looks slightly different but it’s OK. The pitot tube was last on.
This kit is actually an easier kit to build than the Hasegawa: there are fewer parts and therefore, fitting is less finicky all round. But the intakes were still a challenge and the lack of details there is a real disappointment. Overall it was a smooth build which is more than I can say with the 2 Hasegawa F-14s on my shelf of doom. If you’re after accuracy, the Hasegawa is still king. But if you want to have a pretty nice F-14 relatively quickly on your display shelf, this one is it.
Number 12 of 2016
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 F-14B Tomcat Pt.3
Time to beat-up the finishing! 😀
First up I added some sponge chipping using Model Color Medium Sea Grey.
I was quite random about this.
This is a much faster way than using salt for chipping but the effect isn’t as fine.
Decals are next after a gloss coat. The markings are from Cam Decals’ Tomcat Alley: Grumman F-14B Tomcat 72-046. The VF-102 Diamondbacks F-14 depicted here was one that operated during Operation: Enduring Freedom in 2002. The decal was printed by Microscale. Alas, quality isn’t great: fidelity is not quite there, some looked oversized and some shattered/tore when I tired to re-position them.
One of those that tore was the 3 diamond marking on the wing gloves which had to conform to curves. I ended up removing the torn pieces that also lifted the paint underneath. So I sanded them down, masked (using the remaining good decal as a template) and painted the diamonds. Some touch-up was done by handpainting.
The placement guide was also not very clear as the panel lines shown in the instructions don’t quite match the ones on the kit so I ended up guesstimating some of the locations. Once properly cured though, they do look very good. I decided not to put any of the small stencils.
After another gloss coat to seal in the decals, I proceeded with panel lining with Raw Umber oil paint. The oil paint was quickly brushed onto all the panel lines and wiped away with a turpentine-soaked tissue to leave the panel lines filled.
After that I randomly filtered the panels, paying more attention to the rear fuselage and wings.
I also added streaks on the wings with oil paint.
I was given a tip by my friend Max (from Out There) that streaks can be done with a normal 6B pencil. I gave it a try here by lightly adding squiggles and used a cotton bud streak the graphite. Looks good. But I decided to keep it light and move on.
Next were attaching the ‘things under the wings’ which I worked from inside outwards. The GBU-12s were first, then the drop tanks, then the gear bay doors, then the AIM-7 and LANTIRN, and lastly the AIM-9s. The gear doors’ red trims was done with a red permanent marker.
The wheels were then attached and I’m close to the finish line. I hope when I attach the wings they won’t be scratched up too much.
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 F-14B Tomcat Pt.2
Work (finally) continues on the F-14.
Surprise surprise, the first thing to be tackled is the cockpit. I first sprayed Vallejo Air Dark Sea Gray thinking that it’s a match to FS36231 (the standard interior color for modern US jets) but it was too dark. So I ended up spraying my usual Vallejo Air US Gray over and be done with it.
The ejection seats are given a base of Vallejo Air Black Grey with the details handpainted on. I also added seatbelts made out of 1mm width masking tape.
The instruments are all provided as decals. Some people really have a problem with this. I’m not one of those though. However, the side consoles have no details on them. Nor are there decals provided, which is very strange. With the canopy closed, this isn’t a serious issue. But still, it’s lazy on Hobbyboss’ part.
To ease painting, I cut out a section of the connector on the wing. The wings can now be removed and snapfit back in.
Next I tried to fix the intake gap issue. The seamlines here are quite obvious and I decided to run some Vallejo Plastic Putty into them to remove as much of the very visible gaps as possible. It’s a bigger issue further inside the intakes. For now, these are left as is until I find a better way to fix them. A glaring mistake for most people who knows the F-14 would be the missing air intake ramps. After looking at photos, I noticed that there’s a distinct demarcation line inside the intake that splits the gray and white colors. So I inserted masking tape the best I can and hope for the best.
The canvas covers on the instrument shrouds were painted in Green Brown and the seats were attached. I think the restraints look a bit too thick but I’ll live with it. The canopy had a center seamline which was cleaned up and then had a dip in Future. It was then masked off and cemented onto the fuselage. The front section of the canopy needed some sanding and finessing to fit flush. To add to the patched up effect, I sprayed randomly onto the kit with leftover paint from other projects I was doing concurrently. I also made sure to spray Black Grey onto the canopy frame before main painting begins.
Mig AMMO Light Compass Ghost Gray is used for the main color. Unlike most F-14s of this era, this particular VF-102 Tomcat is conveniently a single color overall. I went light on the trigger this time to make sure the patched up paint underneath will show through.
As for the Mig AMMO paint, it comes in the same bottle style as Vallejo, has a steel BB inside for easy mixing, looks grainier than Vallejo but went on very nicely and easily slightly thinned. It however has a slight smell that’s not pleasant.