Modelling took a back seat during December - the Christmas festivities took away my work bench (i.e. the dining room table) and then the death of my Mother following her long and dignified battle with Alzheimer's didn't make me feel like modelling for a while.
I'm finally getting back to the hobby my Mum encouraged me to keep at when I was a kid - I built many a Spitfire and Sherman on the kitchen table.
So here's the first of my year of F-14's for 2014. It's the old Hasegawa issue from the mid 70's (?) and will be finished as a VF-1 aircraft. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm just building F-14's this year.
A one-man, single type group build!
The parts total 95 ('Precision Parts' says the box cover) and for it's time, it raised the bar for F-14 kits and was the standout in this scale for years until the arrival of the Fujimi and newer Hasegawa issue which both had engraved lines, etched parts and a much bigger parts count.
This kit is a mix of raised and engraved details with options for the engine nozzles and a compliment of Phoenix, Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles (which the newer Hasegawa kits don't have!) The original decals with this issue are very basic - the sheet here is from the newer issue by Hasegawa and were sold with the kit by fellow club member Murfv (thanks)
Unfortunately, the cockpit is of the 1970's - very basic ejection seats and no flying controls or cockpit details?! So some scrap card/plastic later and we're at this stage: I'll use the kit cockpit decals for this.
Overall, a dry fit reveals no major issues except for the usual trouble spots on the F-14 build: the nose to fuselage join, the lower intakes fit and the rear fuselage fit (just behind the wing bladders).
I'm also going to follow F-14 expert builder and good guy Andy Mullen's advice on building and finishing the wings (with paint and decals) before inserting in the fuselage - should make like a lot easier.
Thanks for looking and enjoy your modelling.
Dermot
