This
is yet another ARC group build project, and I would not have been able to
complete it without the Tomcat experts on the ARC boards. I used some
Steel Beach intake covers, True Details resin seats, Eduard masks and photo etch
for the cockpit. I have some resin sitting around, but this being my first
Hasegawa Tomcat I figured I would go a little easy. I finished off the big
cat with some superb Figthertown Decals.
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This
kit is actually very big and it is over engineered in many
respects. I have done the Revell kit and the Academy kit, both are
much easier to assemble, but the results are not as accurate or
impressive. There are some steps that seem to be gratuitous but
oh well, you get a nice finished product. I did the landing gear
first, which is a bit unusual. I used Tamiya smoke to give the white
struts some depth and then I moved on to the cockpit. There I used
the basic color Eduard set, and I think that it worked out very well.
I also added a Steel Beach PTID screen to match up with the LANTIRN
pod. I did not like the look of the cloth cowls that cover
the avionix in front of each pilot, so I scratch built some using a torn
corner of a church bulletin (don't worry I listened to the
sermon!). I also scratch built a little detail on the side walls,
though this was somewhat minimal. The assembly was not so straight
forward and there were many mysteries that I had to confront. Large
gaps between the forward fuselage and the main fuselage that needed to be
fixed. There were lots of rethinking required when it came to
building the wheel wells, but I think I have learned some lessons for
future builds. This was also where all of the ARC'er advise came in handy.
Once the build was
done the hard part: the painting. I got the TPS paint scheme wrong because
I looked at the Hasegawa instructions and not the Fightertown instructions.
I got it fixed by airbrushing a grey I mixed up and then pressed on.
There is pre-shading, post-shading, washing, pastel brushing, and patching
that went into the paint scheme. It is a lot of work but I think it turns
out nicely. I kind of stick to the guidelines that I found here on ARC in
the "Tips and Tools" section. There is a lot of experimentation of
course, but that is what this hobby is about. Finally I used the
Figthertown Decals and I must say that these make the model. They are
thorough! Lots of data markings that you don't get with the kit decals and
the colors are spot on! The transfer film is nice and thin, but sturdy as
well, I did not tear a single one. The building is exhausting and it
requires a lot of patience, but you will not get a finer result with any other
kit.
Tyler
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