The 1/48th Hasegawa F-14A Tomcats weren't introduced until the late 1980s and were quickly hailed as the best detailed Tomcat kit. The option to drop slats and flaps was a first for a 1/48th F-14 kit however (as with most F-14 model kits) it was going to prove to be a bit of a challenge to build.
Notable Kit Features:
Parts count is reported at 285+
Finely engraved panel lines and raised details throughout
Highly detailed cockpit and ejection seats
Seated crew figures are included
Full engine intake ducting and engine faces
Open access doors with a representation of the 20mm Vulcan cannon
Detailed wheel wells with excellent gear representations
Vinyl tires with white metal wheel hubs
Tail hook is functional and can be raised and lowered
Wings can be positioned full-forward or aft
Flaps and slats can be positioned up or down
Speed brakes can be positioned open or closed
Open and closed engine nozzles provided
Nice boarding ladder, canopy latching and rear-view mirrors detail provided in PE parts
Pallets for Phoenix missiles as well as pylons for Sparrows and Sidewinders
Fuel tanks and TARPS pod provided
Build Inspiration:
The Tomcat has a reputation for being one of the most admired airframes around. Admittedly there is something about this Cat's swing-wing lines that makes it a "must have" in many military aircraft collections. This is my forth Tomcat build and my first Hasegawa. I picked up this 1/48th Hasegawa F-14A+ Tomcat at a local hobby shop as I spotted it on the shelf at the reasonable price point of $50 (which is a third of the cost of a 1/48th Tamiya kit)... so, I pretty much had to buy it :) I have a Hasegawa F-14A and F-14D (this kit is a B) in the stash as well. I acquired them all while perusing the shelves of local model shops and coming across deals like this, so decided I better build one of these beasts soon to see whether I could handle it or not! (I was aware of the challenging reputation of this kit, although all F-14 Tomcat kits are libel to be tricky due to the more complex design features of the aircraft alone.) I selected the VF-74 Be-Devilers markings, as I always liked this USN squadron and didn't have it represented in my collection as yet. Once I saw a reference shot of VF-74's Aggressor scheme, I was hooked on that and set about trying to acquire the markings to do this version. I couldn't find any third-party decals, so ended up with something close, by merging a few regular VF-74 versions and adding some spare decals. (Sometimes, close enough counts in my model making.)
Heads-Up Report:
The level of detail combined with the complexity of the F-14 airframe classify this type as a complex build to begin with. Add in Hasegawa's "Almost-but-not-quite" fit plus detail issues and, true to the rumours, you are going to have your challenges with this build.
Hasegawa's plastic tends to be brittle - which can cause parts to break removing them from the trees or during the build / handling process (Careful)
I waited to join-up the front cockpit area fuselage halves until the rear section fuselage was built-up as I wanted maneuvering room in case a shim or such was required merging front to back sections
My main instrument panel required some trimming to get it to fit into the cockpit
Added nose weight in the form of BBs glued into the nose cone
I deviated from the instructions and did not glue my rear fuselage upper and lower halves together until after I had set in all the intake components
I used a plastic card shim on the engine intake trunk part to slightly spread the fuselage intake part to improve the fit with the main rear body
I deviated from the instructions and built the intakes ramps before gluing the intakes (The forward-most ramp parts E1 & E4 are probably the worst fitting parts of he entire kit)
I cut down the ramp actuators and thinned the forward edge of the rear most ramp part to achieve a ramp configuration closer to my static ground photo references
Intakes were glued in stages starting with the rear join and working my way forward (all of this will require careful positioning, clamping and still some filler and a bit of sanding)
Wheel well detail parts C15 & 16 did not look as depicted and didn't seem to fit well
I deviated from the instructions and glued the rear speed-brake tail pieces separately to the upper and lower rear fuselage prior to bringing these components together
Fuel dump part was improved by incorporating a better end tube
Ejector pin marks on gear doors
Tomcat gear is complex and instructions are a bit vague as far as placement of parts (I found getting the main gear in place a challenge and am pretty sure I did something incorrect here and the parts didn't seem to fit well)
The gear parts are probably the easiest to break removing or working with the parts during assembly - Good luck (I waited until much later in the build to add the gear)
Get your forward and rear fuselage assembly surfaces cleaned up as much as you can before mating them as some areas are easier to work on when these parts are separate
I ended up using a very slight spreader on forward and rear fuselage in order to improve the fit of the forward and rear fuselage assemblies
Added heavy plastic locater tabs to rear fuselage mating surface to improve alignment
Despite all my tweaking of forward/rear assemblies I still ended up with a bit of a step in the join which required sanding, filling re-scribing detail etc.
The forward Sparrow bay part B4 was glued in stages to get the best fit and still required some sanding, filling re-scribing detail etc.
I fixed my slats up but left my flaps able to droop so I could show the wing either forward or swept (although I found my wing fit didn't really allow for this to work well)
I could not properly fit the flap floater part C1 & C8 to my satisfaction so ended up leaving this part out
No Air-to-Air weapons provided
Kit Additions / Modifications:
Broke and replaced rear ejection seat back-plate
My kit was missing the proper rear engine fairing on one side for the reengined B/D Cats so I had to use an "A" fairing (and a Tomcat aficionado actually did notice this :) The fairing change resulted when the original TF30 engines were replaced with General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofans
Added brass tube to serve as fuel-dump
Cobbled together the VF-74 Aggressor decals to represent a close enough for me Be-Deviler ("What-if aircraft #100")
Finishing:
The camouflage of this "Cat" was to be a key part of the attention grabbing aspect of this build. I started with a base coat of near-white for the gear areas and then masked them with BluTac and tape before moving to the lighter gray coat of FS 36375. I gave this a bit of variance in tone, during the colour spray, to give it a slightly worn look. After that cured, I masked off and applied the camouflage colour in FS 35237. The wing air-bladder areas were done in FS 36320 and black tailfin tips were masked and painted after that (using Vallejo Air paints). During this process, I also began work on the metal exhaust areas, utilizing about four different shades of metal to get the proper effect of afterburner use exhausts. I typically do this by adding a selection of black, brown or red to the steel shade base to get the various tones of metal I am seeking. A sealer coat of matte clear aids in separating the coats of metal. After I was relatively satisfied with the finish a Pledge gloss coat was added in preparation for the decal and washes stage.
The decals ended up being a mix of VF-74 markings that I had from a couple of Tomcat kits, adding in the stars and stencils as close to a Be-Deviler as I could get. These VF-74 Cats were kept pretty clean so I took it easy on the post paint wash weathering as well. A final topcoat of (Model Master) near-matte clear was applied to seal everything in and provide the final finish. The wing walk areas were finished in matte.
I always seem to feel that "we are almost there" point in the build after taking off the canopy masking, post paint, so see how the paint finish turned out. In reality, there is still a load of work to do here, getting all the gear components prepared, painted and installed as well as the arrestor hook, antennas and clear lights to go. When the final touch-ups were applied, it was time to contact The Hangar crew and advise them of the pending "New Arrival", so they could begin preparations for the photo shoot as soon as this newest Cat arrived on location.
The After-Build Report:
The 1/48th Hasegawa F-14 Tomcat is definitely an Intermediate skill (or more) kit build. This is a combination of the complexity of the actual Tomcat with the different angles of the twin intakes, swing-wing, and tails, plus Hasegawa's less than perfect execution of the engineering and fit. Having said that, the Hasegawa kit does present a superior looking kit to either the Academy or Monogram 1/48th scale products. As a model maker you will have to decide which kit suits you best. The Monogram kit is a good looking budget kit, the Academy is an intermediately priced kit that has nicely recessed panel lines and detail but no slats nor flaps (which is fine if you are building a swept wing or parked model) but the forward nose fit and shape is going to need some work. The Hasegawa kit gives you added overall details including the slats and flaps (with a somewhat higher price and time commitment to fix their kit issues). The best 1/48th scale Tomcat kit build now goes to Tamiya, however that kit comes with a hefty price tag that may or may not work for you (especially if you'd like a few Tomcats in your collection). I have two more of these Hasegawa kits to build and am not dreading going through the process again... nor am I exactly looking forward to it. This 1/48th Hasegawa F-14A+ Tomcat does indeed net an impressive looking model for your shelf display if you can navigate your way through the challenging points.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers
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