discussion Tamiya 1/48 Tomcat F14-A

[BarryW]

Excellent work. A much better kit than the 1/32 Trumpy and you have done an oustanding job..... Tamiya almost always are the best though and I am starting to think that I should have opted to do modern jets in 1/48 not 1/32.......

 

[Guest]

Very nice build Jack.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jack
That is a really nice result. Superb finish.
Jim

 

[John G Bishop]

Completed. Thoroughly enjoyed every step of this build. Tamiya engineering was the best I have witnessed yet, no confusion or ambiguity about fit. 100% Out of the box, only addition I would have made would be PE seatbelts. The decals looked cartoonish, so I left them off. Painting done with MRP range, all sprayed beautifully. Oil was was my own mix. The large decals were not too bad for Tamiya, although the smaller decals do stand out from the surface a bit.

 

[John G Bishop]

That is stunning.

 

[Jack L]

Thank you Steve, Bob, Barry, John R, Jim and John.

Barry I can only imagine how big your 1/32 actually is. I certainly couldn't store anything bigger than this one, but this Tamiya was an absolute joy. I am in the middle of their 1/32 Spitfire, and not enjoying it quite as much.

 

[BarryW]

Thank you Steve, Bob, Barry, John R, Jim and John.

Barry I can only imagine how big your 1/32 actually is. I certainly couldn't store anything bigger than this one, but this Tamiya was an absolute joy. I am in the middle of their 1/32 Spitfire, and not enjoying it quite as much.

That surprises me about the Spitfire. I have built three of the 1/32 Tamiya Spits and found them an absolute joy. Are there any particular problems you are having? My primary recommendation would be to get masks for the main markings. There are plenty of mask sets available. Painted on markings look so much better in this scale and, besides, the TamIlya decals really are not up to scratch.

 

[Jack L]

That surprises me about the Spitfire. I have built three of the 1/32 Tamiya Spits and found them an absolute joy. Are there any particular problems you are having? My primary recommendation would be to get masks for the main markings. There are plenty of mask sets available. Painted on markings look so much better in this scale and, besides, the TamIlya decals really are not up to scratch.

After the Tomcat, the engineering doesn't quite seem up to that standard. I was a little dubious about the magnet-panel technique for the panels around the engine, but wanted to give it a go. The construction of the engine itself I found quite tricky, and did get confused by the instructions a bit. It may have been 100% my error, and probably was, but the slightest mistake with one part reverberates several stages down the line. I was planning to attempt the magnets, but tuen close it up if needs be, but found myself quite frustrated that the magnets don't seem to really do their job at all. I am going to try and close up all but one of the panels but even that seems quite tricky with the fit around the engine. Have put it aside for a bit.

Saying all that, it's Tamiya...so will undoubtably be my mistakes.

 

[BarryW]

After the Tomcat, the engineering doesn't quite seem up to that standard. I was a little dubious about the magnet-panel technique for the panels around the engine, but wanted to give it a go. The construction of the engine itself I found quite tricky, and did get confused by the instructions a bit. It may have been 100% my error, and probably was, but the slightest mistake with one part reverberates several stages down the line. I was planning to attempt the magnets, but tuen close it up if needs be, but found myself quite frustrated that the magnets don't seem to really do their job at all. I am going to try and close up all but one of the panels but even that seems quite tricky with the fit around the engine. Have put it aside for a bit.

Saying all that, it's Tamiya...so will undoubtably be my mistakes.

I know what you are saying and, yes, with Tamiya it is not a matter of what they did wrong but what we did wrong.

Each of my Spitfires improved over the previous. They were not built directly one after the other but nevertheless over a reasonably close timecale and at each build I learned a lesson. The first one was good and I, from the outset, decided to cement the panels into place (I like the clean look all closed up but like to build, if not paint, the internals that wont be seen). With that one I had to use some filler and sand a fair bit. I decided on a different approach for the second and the panel fit was much better with just a smear of filler and no sanding. The third was simply perfect.

It was too long ago to remember exactly what I did to get the pefect fit third time though it might come back to me if (when) I do another.

The point is every one of those builds, even the first, was a joy start to finish. Tamiya followed the Spit with the 1/32 Mustang, there was a similar pattern to the Spit with those three builds but Tamiya just seemed to up the game that little bit more. The Corsair and then the Mosquito improved even further, showing that you can improve on perfection. Your F14 was a later release than the Mustang and, possibly the Mossie, so perhaps they are still improving on perfection.....