Thanks for the heads-up Littorio! I just scored another lot of 10 kits from e-bay last night, so I've got plenty of 1/144 to mess with. I didn't think I'd care for them too much, but they're actually alot of fun!

progress you can find more pics in the link i provided earlier......



more soon

Damn! Justin, those cockpits are sick!!! I'm always amazed at the builds I see on here and I just hope that with every kit I get just a little bit better... gotta say I think I'm better at WWII prop birds than jets, but it's still fun to try out the stuff I see on here and in the magazines...

Just wondering? How many hours do you put into gathering reference materials? I feel like I'm constantly in a book or online trying to find out info on whatever build I'm currently working on...

Thanks I use mostly aircraft resource center and google.I pull the images up while i am building either on computer or I-pad.

Magnus - like that cockpit detail!

Littorio - nice duo there!

Justin - WOWSERS on those cockpits!


Hope to have some progress pics up myself over the weekend - my Cat is finally out of the bag...or box.

All the best

Justin - way cool cockpits, how do the Hasegawa pits stand up in comparision (mine are buried at the bottom of a large pile)

Dermot - thanks

Ray - airliners.net have some very nice photos of nearly every aircraft to fly, although most are exterior only.

There an alright representation but there not on the level of detail that the aires ones are.

Some progress....

Finally some progress to report on my Tomcat build. And please excuse the quality of the photos - my camera gave up the ghost recently and these are the best I could manage with a replacement..

Cockpit OOB - just paint, wash and highlight



I've always wanted to do something more dynamic (GULP!) with a kit build so big deep breath and here goes...kit wings before..



And after (much sanding and fitting still to go)



And some of the deck crew to accompany my 'Cat..



Best wishes and enjoy your modelling!

Dermot

Holy Moly Dermot! It took some big stones to cut those wings I bet... but it sure does look nice!!!

Finished my 1/144 Cat! Here's some pics...



looks much better in person of course... It's not perfect, but I had a blast with this little kit, and may have found my new favorite scale, can't wait to build a better quality kit this size...

Good work guys! Those wings are going to look way cool

Here is what I will be building for this campaign.


The VF-111 has always been a favorite of mine. The kit is the 1/72 hasegawa offering. I am not sure if I am going to get aftermarket seats yet or not. Time will tell.

This is the Cat I will be building


Not sure if I will do a build Blog or not since I have not built a plane in a Long time. Well finished that is.....

Will post in-progress pics here though.

Herky

OK quick update, the first two VF-101 birds are finished and now two F-14A's (VF-74 and VF-142) have hit the bench running. Photos have been taken but work has got in the way, hoping to post photo's tomorrow.

Good news just read that VFA-101 will be reforming as the first US Navy squadron on the F-35C. Arrrr I can see it now F-35's with shark mouth and black fins with the Grim Reaper smiling at you. I have some spare decals now to find a 1/144 F-35C

sweet i want an f-35 good to have you guys.the sundowners are a nice looking scheme

OK I'm calling these complete, but the base is still to get a name plate which will be on end of next week.





Now these are my part two.
The decals are from the Revell kit and for the VF-74 bird from a Dragon kit while both F-14A's are Revell.




And here is where I'm at.

Now all you need is a 144 AC carrier

Hi all,

well, after my first take on a tank, here is my first take on a plane! Well, actually I have built planes before, but this one will be made using many techniques I have come to learn and appreciate, but far from having mastered them!

I have to apologize to Jeremy, but here is my turkey (I got it very cheap off the bay):



Since this pic was taken I have made some progress (here, only wash of the parts had taken place), but I will post new pics when all major subassemblies will have been completed - hopefully in a few days.

Good to have you Viper cant wait to see your build

I've made more progress found HERE

Don't.... I would never get out of home.

The two
F-14A's I'm hoping to get finished by the end of the week

While I've just ordered two 5 way stands from Airfix so I can do one with VF-33 and one with VF-111 using the FCM decals. Those I'll start on once the two A's are finished but will not be for the campaign.

Ok, here we are with my update:





Main fuselage assembled and cockpit fully done



Bottom of fuselage. My current idea is for a "strategic mission" weapons loadout: 6xPhoenix (A-type). Apparently not used often but in some forums I read it is not entirely unrealistic and crews actually did train with it for the "doomsday" scenario with multiple bombers inbound on the carrier group.



These are the wings, vertical fins and horizontal stabilizer, the latter have already received a coat of final color, rest is only primed, though with so much gray and my poor skills at taking pics one can't tell that much of a difference.
The wings will be in the swept/parking position as I would like to depict a turkey on deck in pre-flight or something like that (more on this later...probably).

I would also like to profit to ask you something as I am about to start messing with the canopy.
First of all: I keep reading about using future/klear to "seal" the canopy and increase its shineness. I do not have access to future/klear around here. Shall I give it a good coat of acrylic gloss (vallejo, gunze...) or leave it as-is?
Second: the real thing is black inside. Do you recommend paint the inside if it will be in the open position?

Thanks for watching!

I don't recommend spraying with a gloss coat.And spray your canopy with black first on the outside and then go with your paint scheme this way the black looks like its on the inside with out actually painting the inside.

Let me first say, what you have done so far looks good...

Second, Future/Klear is sold under different monikers (brands as well as 'names') all around the world. I know there are some 'conversion' lists out there, but unfortunately I do not have a link available now.

I know that the versions supposedly sold over here is sold as a polish for floor tiles (ceramics and/or slate).

Hope this might help a bit.

Just wondering, but why not spray the inside of the canopy first? Or is that merely dependent on scale (and therefore feasibility)?

Cheers,

Harm

For most masking and spraying the inside of the canopy is a real pain in the arse.mearly a suggestion at an easier route.