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David Hingtgen

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Everything posted by David Hingtgen

  1. I put the Hase and Fuji "tail to tail" and the Hase's fuselage between the engines is a good 2 or 3mm wider than the Fuji--if the Fuji's fat, then the Hase's "fatter". I haven't tried "overall" width across the rear fuselage yet, but it'd take massively wide fairings to make the Fuji wider than the Hase overall. I'll check tonight, when I take pics of the dry-fits. However, I do know the back end of the Fuji is often considered "off" by people. BTW, my Hase PE set has canopy mirrors, and it's an "A" PE set---there's no PE parts for the B/D's, you just get the A set and use what you can. Which is most of it. As for paint colors: I can't find a Tamiya equivalent. Which blows my mind, for that is the most common color in the entire US Navy from 1950 to 1985 or so, for all aircraft. From what I can find, XF-20 is the closest. But every single other company makes FS16440. (or 36440, depending on how clean the plane is). Anyways--from the pic of the kit box, I can't quite tell if it's white-belly or not. Either way, don't mottle it. However, the presence of white undersides will affect how the intake interiors are painted. If the belly is white, every bit of intake interior is white. If the entire plane is grey, then front end of the interior is grey. Note position of ramps--first 2 are grey, but the 3rd is white, and that's where the white intake paint starts. Separation line is vertical. If you do a low-vis scheme though, it's completely different, with different ramps and intake colors. (And all of the above is "usually"--it'll vary plane-by-plane--but those are general rules for how the intakes are painted with the main 3 F-14 schemes) PS--if it comes with a Block-70 boat-tail, I could sure use one! You won't need it for ANY Jolly Rogers plane, but I bet a high-vis F-14A kit like that would come with one. Overall 16440 scheme typical intake interior paint pattern: (and of course, this is actually a low-vis F-14, which for some reason has intakes painted like a high-vis gloss grey F-14)
  2. capt america--you're John Moscato? I've seen just about everything you've ever posted at ARC. I wish I could weather at all---to the point that I have yet to do a low-vis F-14, only nice and clean high-vis CAG. And you say the 1/48 fit isn't as bad as they say... (I think the 1/72 fits better than the 1/48). I've GOT to get a decent airbrush someday, rather than plod along with my Testors... (hey, I live in Iowa, hard enough to get Tamiya products, much less good airbrush supplies) I also notice the 1/48 has *far* better nozzles than the 1/72. Hase really seems to "drop the ball" on 1/72 GE nozzles--their F-16's aren't any better. newca--thanks very much for the pics. From what I've seen/bought, all Fuji F-14A+/B/D kits include that "new" plastic sprue, but use it ONLY for the "display engines"---all the nozzles, etc are included in the new sprue J, which I think they now include with all their F-14 kits, regardless of type. (But I'm not sure) That PE set has about half the parts that the Hase has, but overall looks quite similar to the Hase set. Only differences I see is the Hase doesn't have the Sidewinder or ejection seat sides, but does include many console/panels for the instruments. wm_cheng: A Hase D is actually their B kit (instructions and all! Says "VF-101 F-14B" right on the pages) with a new sprue R, and one addendum sheet explaining (mostly) how to make a D with the new parts. I presume their B is simply an A with 3 new sprues, and missing the A engine sprues. (And no old-style boattail, which I could really use) 90% of the parts are identical for all versions, it's really only the cockpit, engines, and gunvents which vary. (And they've really got the cockpits down for the A and B, there's variants even I don't recognize--RIO panels that vary by only ONE DIAL for example) ::edit:: Could you clarify your question? There are no Jolly Rogers D's---there's B's though. But AFAIK, Hase has only ever made B/D's to the latest newest tooling---there are no "old-mold" B's and D's.
  3. Shin Densetsu---the Flankers have about a 200-400kt range for doing the Cobra, they can set it up and exit it pretty quickly under many conditions. Unlike an F-18 which needs 30 secs of prep to do the "slow pass" at an airshow, a Flanker can do a Cobra immediately before or after just about any other move.
  4. All Hase 1/72 F-18's come with pilots, but the C/D ones also include new, better pilots as well.
  5. BIG sheet of PE? That must be why it costs more. What all is on it? 99% of Fuji F-14's have only the canopy frame and mirrors as PE. Man, I'd love some Fuji-specific PE parts...
  6. Yup, Hase 1/72 Weapons set 6 and 7 are great sources for later F-14 parts. The LAU-138 rail, LANTIRN pylon adaptor for the glove pylon, LANTIRN pods, and bombracks for the Phoenix pallets. (And the bombs to put on them). A lot of those parts also come in the 1994+ Tamiya 1/32 kit. wm_cheng: I'll take photos of the Hase seats and cockpit parts (mostly still on the sprues) so you can see what's there. (The D kit still has all the A parts, except for engines). And the Hase that newca linked to is probably the one you want---1/72 new-mold Hase F-14A, with cartograph High-vis Jolly Rogers decals. And I know it's fairly easy to find, much easier than the equivalent Sundowners kit. I'm sure you'd have a wonderful time weathering all 50,000 panel lines. As an A, the Hase has no competition if you want a single really nice Tomcat to build. Just be prepared to take a long time. I still have the basic fuselages taped together, will photo when I can. (I'll tape on the Hase's forward fuse and nose, too, no reason not too) PS--I think I counted 14 sprues in the Hase, plus the photoetched and clear parts. PPS--I plan on going out of town tomorrow, but should be back by evening. So I might not reply for a while.
  7. Yes, I know it's a B, I was hoping nobody'd notice. There's no physical way to tell in that pic, it's only the paintjob that lets people know. (Darn their way-too-obvious diamond-pattern insignia) PS--you've got the Red/white Fuji F-14 with the different stabs? That is exactly the one I've been talking about. The one I suspect Shin's is modeled off it. (well, add a dual chin-pod). Funky fairings and all. (The new stabs are because the duct area is so short on that variant, the nozzles would get in the way of the stabs) PPS---since you have that variant, what exact sprues does it have? Does it have sprue J? Specifically, does it have a dual chin pod, or the late-style gunvents?
  8. Captain America--by "flat" do you mean the Hase gloves don't have enough dihedral from head on? Because that's the impression I got.
  9. B's have identical back-ends to D's. All the B vs D changes are the cockpit, chin-pod, and the ECM bumps. All in all, the Hase B/D's are pretty darn close, but my feelings are that for the time and effort to build ANY version of a Hase, it's a lot less work to modify a Fujimi, for 99% of the accuracy of the Hase. And a LOT better engines. I could care less that the Hase has a photoetched cockpit and chaff dispensers, if the engine nozzles totally suck. (I like engines, some(most) people like cockpits above all else) (Well, and no intake ducting, but since most jets in 1/72 don't have it, I don't mind much) If you're going to build just 1 or 2 Tomcats, get Hase's and detail the heck out of them. But I have no less than 7 A's, 2 B's, and 3 D's planned. Time/effort (and fragility, I plan to move at least twice in the next few years) is a factor. (If I had all the time and energy in the world, I would build the ENTIRE Iowa class, not just one ship--heck, I'd build every US battleship built from 1930 on) Might as well just edit, than add more replies! wm_cheng--what, you want pics of taped together un-primed dry-fits? I've spent many hours comparing the kits, to decide "how am I going to build my future fleet of Tomcats". It'll be a while before they all actually get bought and built. (Have lots of decals, and a few kits). I still plan to build that Italeri 1/48 I have for practice very soon. (just need to buy some new decals---the kit's are very nice, I just hate the schemes) Might even weather it a little! cambodian tire---Mostof my Fujimi kits are the original kits from a decade ago--the decals haven't seem to deteriorate, and plastic generally doesn't. Build away! And yes the canopy is bubbled too wide (probably why the instrument coaming is wider in the Fuji). Canopy/cockpit area is definitely the area where Hase is better than Fuji, though I still say the nosecone itself is better on the Fujimi (and the cross-section of the forward fuselage). PS--more Fuji/Hase differences. The Hase is noticeably wider between the nacelles at the back end. (I noticed this because the boattail widths are decidedly different between the kits). Hase's Flanker also has this problem. I think Fuji's correct on this issue. So the Fuji's intakes are too far apart up front, the Hase's are too far apart in the back. Fuji gets points for having a cat hold-back on the compressed nose-gear.
  10. I will have to take a look at that on the 1/72 Hase and see if it's the same (haven't put that part together yet! ). So the GE nozzle's new parts are carbon fibre? Yeesh, I have almost every F-14 book you can buy and none ever said that. Makes perfect sense though, being all black and smooth. I'm going book-shopping tomorrow, and plan to buy any Tomcat book I find. Anyways--I was actually talking about the Teknics conversion, which is much better than the Cutting Edge one (from pics, I don't own a set). Grey resin is almost always better than yellow, from my experience. They mold the fairings with the carbon-fiber area together. http://greatmodels.com/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=tk32011 http://www.internetmodeler.com/2001/octobe...s/tk_detail.htm I personally hate puttying, and hate sculpting with putty even more, so I will gladly slice the heck out of a kit and add a new resin part, as opposed to modify what's there. But if you can sculpt putty well, probably the way to ge to ensure nice a square fairings. (I don't recall hearing the term alligator plates before, but it makes sense--there's SO many Tomcat back-end terms. Rear deckincg/boattail/beavertail just for starters) IMHO, the burner cans themselves are nigh-identical internally (for I have stuck my head up both types--they may have differnet dimensions, but the proportions and look are awfully similar--many circumferential rings in a row). But the flamer-holders/exhaust bullet etc are of course very very different. (and a point of contention in the Fuji kit, they appear too small, but being a full inch inside the nozzle, it's not obvious unless you do a side-by-side compaison--hase's are definitely better and bigger) Any 1/32 F-16C GE burners out there? PS--that brings up another point. Fujimi burner interior is much nicer than Hase. Hase has very visible pins to hold it together, and the "rings" inside don't line up at all. PPS--I have looked at the local shops' Tamiya F-14 many times. They must have just sold it, gone last time I was there. (I was close to buying it--I came into some cash). I would make it a Sundowners CAG though, my fave F-14 by far. (but NOT Miss Molly, which is the most overdone F-14 after Jolly Rogers high-vis)
  11. Well, asides from the seats, the easiest way to tell a D cockpit is "the little box on top of the RIO's console". Only D's have it. It's in the "they won't say what it is" category. It has lights and buttons, and that's about all anybody knows.
  12. My PC hates me tonight, I've tried to reply 3 times. Short, minimal word version of reply: 1. Thanks so much. 2. Worldlingo seems to translate those pages well. http://www.worldlingo.com/products_service...translator.html 3. Many Flanker moves are un-named, that pic sequence is like a version of a Herbst turn, or even a Hook (I have never seen even a video of a Hook, only often read it as "the horiztonal version of the Cobra". It's too "stall+fall" for a Herbst, which is more of a "swing around with vectoring after a Cobra"---this is more like "turn really hard while coming out of a Kulbit" (Those are about the only named "ultra-high-alpha post-stall manuevering" moves there are) PS-do you have the direct link to that vid? I'd like to see it to analyze better. (Most of the translations are simply "demo" "airshow" "manuevers" etc--and I effectively get about 33Kb connection, since the lines here are so bad)
  13. Tamiya 1/32 F-14: Old release is an early F-14A. Decals for cockpit displays! And the plane is 50/50 raised/recessed panel lines. Weird. 1994+ releases are for late F-14A's (new gunvents, but you can't make an earlier one, they changed the mold) , and include bombs, and more detailed nozzles. You're pretty much stuck with making the Black Knights with this. There is a nice ($30) resin conversion kit to make a B/D, and since it flat-out has you slice off the entire back end, and has new nozzles, ducts, burners, and fairings, it's probably the only way to get a truly accurate F-14B/D in any scale. With raised panel lines and cockpit detail from the 70's. Of course, for another 30 bucks, you can get a nice resin cockpit for any version you want. And you'll need some non-sucky ejection seats, more cash. Decals! (unless you want a low-vis Black Knights one) 1/32 ones cost a lot more than 1/72 or 48. At which point, you've got a $300 F-14 model.
  14. I thought it did explain it--that plane, and the kit of that plane, has an A cockpit. If they just looked for a good, close-up photo of "whatever style cockpit matches our reference plane" they would have noticed that F-14A cockpits looked a heck of a lot closer than D cockpits. Also, every F-14 ever stationed in Japan has been an A, so if any of the designers was using personal pics from an airshow or something, he would have had photos of A cockpits. Unless someone finds a photo of an F-14 with a single ECM bump under the wing, that Fujimi kit is the only "depiction" of an F-14 that matches Shin's (and it does so in so many ways that nothing else does), and it matches it pretty darn closely.
  15. I meant I know neither the kit, nor the "real" plane. I need pics of both, to determine what exact variant the Hase kit is, and what the M0 version is.
  16. Ok, Shin's F-14 is actually YF-14A #7(157986), in it's 3rd form, with AMRAAM's and a D's chinpod. It is thus basically an F-14, with F101DFE engines and custom engine fairings and burner ducts. Any Fujimi F-14+/B/D kits offers parts to do this, though the instructions rarely show it (unless you happen to find the very rare "F-14D prototype" release of it--which I think has the wrong gun vents). The main difference we're concerned about is the fairings/duct area. It's even shorter than a production B/D's, so an A's is WAY too long, about twice as long as Shin's. But Fuji includes the parts for a short duct, and new short fairings that are just right. To install them, you do need to slice off the molded-on ducts and fairings. But there is a deep line engraved on the kit just for this purpose. It also includes a different set of GE nozzles (not as nice as the ones in the later D kits), that fit the short ducts better, though the nicer nozzles are only SLIGHTLY smaller, and look fine--and better. Shin's F-14 also has a unique ECM bump arrangement, which is what Fuji says to do on F-14D's. 1 under each glove. Wrong, real F-14D's have none. (Hey, Hase says they have 2, like a B). But Shin's is unique, it has one bump, just forward of where the aft bump is on a B. Fuji kits come with both bumps, so if you want an accurate Shin F-14, slice them both off, and glue the "new" bump just forward of where the aft one used to be. (Later Fuji kits, and all Hase's, include an appropriate ECM bump to glue on) Shin's cockpit is totally an A, so no need to change anything. Be sure to use the later-style gunvents, which is the "other" forward fuselage half, included on the sprue with the nice GE nozzles. ok, I'll stop here for questions/explanations and what-not.
  17. If you only care about Shin's F-14, skip down to the next post. Well I spent pretty much the entire day going over my new 1/72 Hase F-14D. I'm going to try to keep this post orderly, but I'm almost certain to ramble a bit. Think it'll be easiest just to go front to back on the kits, then talk about Shin's at the end. From now until the end, Fujimi and Hasegawa will be abbr. as Fuji and Hase, or F and H if I get tired. Specifically referenced kits are the Fuji F-14D Bounty Hunters, and the Hase F-14D Bounty Hunters. They are both the most recent releases from each company. Most comments are for F-14's in general, but I'll denote when it's variant-specific. Other people's comments/reviews (I'll refer back to these on how to "fix" any major problem, rather than retype what they say): Fuji F-14A buildup: http://www.xs4all.nl/~designer/models/f14/f14.htm Fuji F-14A+/B review: http://www.topedge.com/alley/models/f14bmfua.htm Big long comprehensive Hase F-14 series review/buildup: http://www.topedge.com/alley/models/f14mhase.htm 0. Overall comments/build. The Hase has more fine, accurate scribing. Rivets, and zig-zag/hinge lines. Fuji has either squares or circles, nothing more complex than that, but it is nice and recessed. Honestly, the Fuji reminds me of most 80's Hase kits, panel-line-wise, while the Hase F-14 looks like the best Hase's ever done, surpassing any other release the past 10 years. So while the Fuji's fine, the Hase's is spectacular. I plan to get a Hase Super Hornet very soon, their newest jet, but from what I've seen it's got nothing on their F-14. 0B. Upper fuselage shape is identical, for how it's broken down. Forward fuselage similar, as is the rear fuselage/boattail. It's the lower part/intakes that it's different. Hase is like every other F-14 kit out there--a bit lower fuselage with the engine area molded in, with 2 big intakes that go from the very tip of the intake, back to where the big "NAVY" lettering is on the fuselage. Fuji is unique, but I do like it a lot, fit/putty-wise. No separate lower fuselage, just parts. Left glove underside, right glove underside, center tunnel underside, and the intake/engines. Intake/engines are split left/right, all the way from intake tip to exhaust nozzle. But they line up nicely, and there's no engine/intake area seam. There is a seam running straight back on a curved area from the wing sweep area to the nozzle, right above the h.stab. Hase has a zig-zag here. Pick which style you want to putty! 1. Nosecone. Fuji is more F-14-esque. 2. Cockpit. Well, Hase's is more accurate and detailed, hands down, by far. Like 5 different subtle panel variations, with 2-layer photoetched panels and ejection seat handles. And etched vents for the sidewalls. But the seats themselves--Fuji's are better. I notice the forward cockpit coamings (the shrounds above the instrument panels) are very differently shaped and sized between the two kits. Can't really find good photos at the moment to say who's right. (the RIO's are nigh-identical, either one fits on either kit) 2B. F-14D cockpit: Fuji doesn't do it, period. Hase: Got all the panels and seats right, but didn't do the new control sticks, nor a LANTIRN side-stick for the RIO. Hase RIO panel fits in Fuji coaming fine, and the Hase pilot's panel comes with a new pilot coaming, which will fit in a Fuji cockpit. (There's a gap, but it's on an utterly flat section--just fill with like .020 strip) 3. Forward fuselage. Muzzle opening on all are too large, but Fuji's is worse. For the gunvents, Hase (and Revell, btw) has a large section cut out of the fuselage, and offers various (flash-encrusted) panels to fill the gaps. Fuji has late and early forward fuselages for the major differences, and single small gaps with a single panel to get the exact variation. (Thus 2 fuselages but 3 panels for all variations, whereas Hase has 1 fuselage but 5 panels). Hase splits the forward fuselage/main fuselage right across the middle of the sparrow troughs, keeping the nosewell whole. Fuji keeps the sparrows troughs intact, but splits the nosewell area where the front and rear nose doors split. 3B. That is generally considered the biggest problem in all F-14 kits, and especially the new-mold Hase's. It is inherently difficult to align this section in any kit, but the Hase is really sad here. Check the review link up above. 4. Midfuselage, upper. Hase includes blanked-off heat exhanger vents as an option. No idea why, even YF-14's had them installed. And so do A's and B's and D's. Anyways, here's one of the few places I can note a real difference. The bypass duct opening on the Hase are much wider than Fuji's. And Fuji's right. (this is the big slot on top of the intakes visible from above the plane). However, Fuji has the forward part of the intakes themselves slightly too far away from the fuselage. 1 or 2 mm too far. But when it should be like 3mm, 1 or 2 more is noticeable. But the openings are right. 5. Midfuselage, lower. AKA the wing gloves. Not much to say, both are nice. Both companies mold on the "shoulder" ECM antenna, which is only on say 1/2 of Tomcats. (very common on B/D's though). Hase's is much more blended but is more of a "blob", Fuji's is more accurately shaped like an antenna, but too defined--should blend. They're equal, just in totally different ways. Hase's nav lights are much more accurate. The Hase split the main gear bay up a lot here, Fuji is one (rather featureless) piece. 6. Midfuselage, intakes. Already explained a bit above, more in detail here. Both have all the intake ramps up, but the Hase has the bypass ramp down thus showing some struts and such. There's a lot of ramp positions possible, but when shutdown, the ramps are all down. As they are, the Fuji is for subsonic speed, the Hase for low supersonic speeds. Think about wingsweep implications. (Very, very, very few people go to the work of lowering the intake ramps for shutdown or high-speed flight--just assume it's taxiing or something) 6B. Hase has full intake ducting. Not accurate, but it goes fairly smoothly from a rectangular intake to a circular fan---plenty good enough for me, shape-wise. But have fun filling the half-dozen seams. Fuji's got nothing, just your standard "fan in a bulkhead" and you will need to remove a rather visible mounting pin. But, due to the intakes being built completely differently, you can easily fill any seam, since you can access it from above prior to installation. (I plan to just putty in a small transition from the intake to the fan, just to eliminate the right-angle inside---in the Fuji, you can actually install the fan after you install/putty the intake) Intakes are probably the biggest difference between the two kits, both in design and detail. And like cockpits, intakes are the current "trend" in jet modelling--as in, that's what everyone tends to focus on, and spend time/money making it perfect. But I have always gone for the external shape of the plane above all else--the silhouette, basically. 7. Ventral fins, h.stabs, v.stabs are nigh-identical between them, though the Hase offers very early v.stabs as an option. (Which I'll put on a Fuji A for my Wolfpack VF-1). Hase v.stabs strike me as being slightly more accurate--about 1mm taller and thinner, a degree or two more vertical. Fuji's fit better though. (Just assume all Fuji parts fit better, I'll tell you if there's an exception) 8. Engines! The big huge main difference between F-14 variants. Both offer nice A-style engines and fairings. Now on to THE thing about Tomcat kits: 8B. GE engines. F-14A+, F-14B, F-14D. I'll just refer to D's, since that's what the kits are, but applies to A+/B's, too. Anyways--D's are completely different, basically aft of the h.stabs' pivot-point. (It's a great reference point for Tomcats, it never varies, and is easy to see, since the stabs always pivot leading-edge-up when the plane's parked). Hmmn, will actually need pics for this. Here's an A: And here's a D: Ok, on the pic of the A, see where the grey stops and the bare metal stops? That is the exact line where A's and D's start becoming different. In the drawing below (of an A, from below) I've marked this area in grey. Note it's a series of squares, arranged in a ring around the engine. Ok, so aft of that is the end of the afterburner duct. Blue here. Note it's made of many long rectangular plates, with a smaller series of plates at the aft end. Then the actual nozzle. Red. Small plates, then larger plates. Now, the vast, vast majority of F-14B/D kits like to simply stick a new nozzle, right where the old one was. Very, very wrong. First, GE-engined ones have new fairings on the engine sides. Highlighted in yellow in the diagram, and very visible in the pics above--they go on the sides of the afterburner ducts. Viewed from the side, an A's fairing tapers above and below, and the rear is rounded, and doesn't get all the way to the nozzle itself. B/D fairings are much more square, with little/no taper on the top and bottom edges. They reach right across the burner duct to the edge of the nozzle. However, the fairings themselves are not any longer, the duct is shorter! Long story how/why, but the burner duct on GE ones are 11 inches shorter, and thus the fairing can fully cover its lenght. Thus also means the nozzle is mounted 11 inches forward of the A's nozzle. The burner duct is also nearly featureless, not made of separate plates, and doesn't taper as much---an A's burner is rather conical, a B/D's is only SLIGHTLY conical. (Difference is subtle, but is there). Look at the pic above--it's just a smooth black short section of tubing, basically. There are 3 rows of itty-bitty rivets on the lower half, and that's it. Now, the Fuji F-14B/D is just wrong in this area. (We'll talk about Shin's further below--I think I'll make it a separate post at this point). Anyways--the Hase is VERY close, but not quite right. They did give a new fairing and squared it---but it still tapers too much, and is too long. It's too long because they made the new, smooth GE burner duct as long as an A's. Because of the slight taper of the burner duct, that makes the new nozzles slightly too small (since it's too long, the duct thus narrows a bit more than it should). (maybe only 1mm, but that'll come up in a moment). Ok, so the Hase has new nozzles, new fairings, and new burner ducts, but they're all SLIGHTLY off. (Enough that I notice). The big thing is, the Hase GE nozzles suck. Bad. The closed nozzles are full of interior sinkholes, protrusions, and are featureless inside. The open nozzles are made up of 6 segments of 2 nozzle-petals each. Each petal has 2 sinkholes and 1 ejector pin mark. (or viceversa). And no interior detail. However, the Fujimi GEnozzles are flawless, and have interior details and scribing. (And better exterior details too) They are also slightly larger. Sooooo, for my F-14B's and D's (I need at least 2, probably 4, maybe 6)---I plan to just fill in the Fujimi's burner-duct scribing with putty, and sand smooth. I will use the Fujimi nozzles, for they are FAR better, and slightly larger (which is right). Yes, they will be too far aft, being attached to an A's burner duct---but so are the Hase's, and AFAIK that means (unless someone scratcbuilt a duct) no 1/48 or 1/72 F-14B/D ever has the correct length duct. And the difference is only like 3mm in 1/72. (And with the fairings being lengthened to match, it looks right, even if its wrong). As for the fairings---I don't know if I will tediously sand off the Fuji fairings and attach "almost the right shape" Hase's (which will be the right lenght, since at this point both kits have A-length ducts), or just putty-sculpt my own REALLY squared-off ones directly onto the Fuji. I'll probably go with the Hase's, simply because I hate putty, and it'd be very very hard to be consistent across multiple kits, and getting the left and right engines to mirror each other. (Assuming I can order a half-dozen "N" sprues from HLJ--that's all I need from a Hase to make a B from a Fujimi D). For D's---do as above, and just use the cockpit parts from Hase sprue R, on a Fujimi. They fit plenty well enough. Overall far easier IMHO than trying to build a Hasegawa, especially the back end. And just as accurate. Whew! Shin-specific info below.
  18. And the box is often wrong! Review up soon, I decided to go pictureless, for I'd need like 50 of them and it'd take hours to write. Also decided to go more "general" than piece-by-piece. I'm 99% decided on what I'm going to do for MY Tomcats, but it's up to the individual on what kits they want to use.
  19. I'm going to need GOOD pics to determine the exact type. (Show me the rudders, that's where a lot of the subtle differences are) There's about 5 types of A's, not many B's, several C's, etc. And then there's the Naval variants... Russia has been known to "produce more variants than airframes" some years, and the MiG-29 is no exception. If only there was a Fujimi MiG-29, then we'd know. PS--whatever it is, it's not a MiG-29UB. Those are two-seaters.
  20. Hey, I hadn't even tried the wings or cockpit yet. At the moment, based on how the Hase is(n't) fitting together, as well as the burner duct being too short (F-14B's are 11 inches shorter than the A, but I'm the only one who ever seems to notice) I'm seriously considering doing what I thought about earlier---puttying over the engraving in a Fuji A's burner, using Fuji nozzles, but a Hase fairing. While the length would be slightly inaccurate, it'd be the same inaccruate length as a Hase, with less work. F-14B/D's have nigh-feautureless ducts. The upper half is UTTERLY smooth, the lower half has nothing but itty-bitty rivets. I plan to just putty over the Fuji's "A" engravings, and end up with a totally smooth burner duct. Sand off the fairing, and attach a Hasegawa's fairing. (I swear, the Hase fairing fits on a Fuji better than it does a Hase). Also, the Fuji and Hase cockpit coamings are designed identically, so a Hase "D" cockpit should practically drop in to a Fuji A. I just need to order a half-dozen sets of sprue N and R from HLJ.... (The Hase F-14D is nothing more than their F-14B with 1 new sprue R and an addendum instruction sheet--you actually get their F-14B Grim Reapers Instruction book, and an extra folded sheet showing the changes needed to make an F-14D Bounty Hunters) (Though they leave out a few--wrong ECM and spine antennas) Full review later!
  21. Ever tried trimming a decal with a NEW blade after you've clearcoated them? Usually works quite well if a decal ends up being too long. I slice applied decals all the time. PS--could you give a comparison for the decal thickness? Home-made/laser-printer, microscale, cartograph, etc. PPS--what color did you use for the dark grey areas right behind the wings, where they sweep?
  22. Well, as it is now, 986 is in yet another configuration. Has the D's chinpod, but still has A's cockpit. Has a D's rear fairings, but has gone all the way back to TF30's. I do believe that's the only F-14 ever to have F110 fairings with PW engines... Or those could be F401's, they are nigh-identical to TF30's---but when it had F401's originally it had A-style fairings, not B/D. PS--got my Hase F-14D, fiddling with it now. It's scary how many parts there are, I've put together battleships with fewer pieces. Still, to truly test to see if I can combine a Hase and a Fuji, I will need to slice apart a Fuji. Looks like it SHOULD work at the moment, but I'll have to use the Hase nozzles, despite Fuji's being far superior. (I'm going to try hard to see if I can get them to fit--the Fuji's are better, and much easier to use, but the exterior part of the afterburner duct MUST be Hase to be accurate) Overall quick comparison (the full reviews will be a new topic): Hase has more and finer panel lines, and a million itty-bitty rivets engraved. Fuji does not. Hase has far more detailed wheel wells, but this means there's about a dozen parts per gear to assemble, and 4 per well. There are no "wheel wells". There's a font, back, left, right, and top of the well--you build a box, then start putting the struts in. Eventually, you'll have a well, and a gear. Then repeat. In only slicing off about 4 parts, I've already encountered fit probs in the Hase. (hey, might as well try to use the Fuji nozzles, because the Hase nozzles won't fit the Hase burners very well either! ) The Hase has photoetched instrument panels, canopy rails, and consoles. Hase has separate Sparrow and Phoenix adaptors for the glove pylons, Fuji is Sparrow-only. (Neither offers Sidewinder adaptors for the lower position--it's not as common as a Phoenix there, but does happen) Hase's got a fair amount of flash--surprisingly a lot on the B/D-specific sprues, which is surprising since that mold should be "newer" than the overall F-14 parts. Overall, I've got to say the Hase is more DETAILED, not more ACCURATE. There's simply more detail in the panel engraving, gear wells, cockpit, etc. But the Fuji is utterly flash-free, has 1/20 the sink-holes and ejector marks (a Hase's D nozzles has 6 parts, each with 3 holes to fill--and there's 2 nozzles), and fits much better. The Fuji can open its nose to show the radar, the Hase can open its speedbrakes. Both are designed to have flaps down and wings forward, though both can be made flaps up pretty easily by slicing off the actuators. But only the Fuji has a sweep mechanism when flaps are up--a Hase with flaps up must have the wings back (oversweep I think, not "normal max sweep") and can't move them. (Though I don't think the Fuji can achieve oversweep, but it can sweep them) If you're talking F-14A's, the Hase is offering options even *I* don't recognize yet, will have to look them up. (Though the non-pitot radome looks really funky). A lot of the options seem to cater to REALLY early F-14's, nothing 1980's or later. No block-70 boattail though, maybe they only include that in an A kit, not a D kit (since no D has that). Full review to come later! (Though it can't be a FULL review because I don't plan on actually building two Tomcats tonight)
  23. Actually, I'm talking about 157986. Originally YF-14A #7. Modified with PW F401 engines to be the first F-14B. Red/white paint. Asides from nozzles, looks just like F-14A. (And nozzles look very much like TF30's). Then modified to Super F-14B configuration--same scheme, but now says "Super Tomcat" on tails. Has GE F101 (not a typo) engines. Also has the new "inbetween an A and a production B" rear fuselage and fairings. That's what the Fuji "F-14D" kit is. It was then modified to nigh-full F-14D standard (F110's and all) and flew many tests for that program, and asides from I think the chinpod, was identical to a modern F-14D. It is technically not "F-14D prototype" but rather "F110-powered F-14D test programme plane in F-14B prototype colors". But that plane is sold by both Fuji and Hase as "F-14D prototype". (The Hase kit is correct for that final configuration--but lacks the chinpod, as the real one did--the Fuji kit is that plane in Super F-14B config, with the unique F101 engines and rear fuselage parts) From what I can find, 157986 has never had under-glove ECM bumps, both F-14B and F-14D config. (Did gain the ECM bump on the boattail as an F-14D). Have no idea where Fuji got the idea for one mounted forward---even on the latest release with markings for a 2003 VF-2 plane, the instructions clearly show to remove the "normal" ECM bumps from the F-14B position, and place a single large one forward! Need pic of glove of true F-14D prototypes. (Though if they followed that, they would have either ended up with F-14A engines, or a TRUE F-14D engine, not F-14B proto) As for the glove--I actually mean the missile, not the pylon. (The pylon's fine, I just checked--that pic is at a funky angle, the all-white makes it hard to tell) Sparrows on F-14's are mounted with the fins like "+" from head-on, but the kit shows them like "x". Common mistake on F-14 kits, since it "looks right" to have an "x", since where would the upper fins go? Well they go inside the pylon itself, and are mounted like "+". The rear fin however, is just off-set enough that it's actually outside the pylon. But Shin's F-14 carries AMRAAM's like "x". I'm trying to go through pics looking for a real glove-mounted F-14 AMRAAM configuration---but most test pics show them mounted in the forward sparrow wells. ::checks:: Huh, only pic I can find of a pylon-mounted AMRAAM is this: http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-detail-aim120-01.jpg which looks like it's mounted in "x" configuration. Maybe Shin's F-14 is actually right in that regard! Must stop now, brain ready to melt (and fingers hurting from thumbing through F-14 books)
  24. I don't know if the Russian Knights are even still flying. There was a terrible crash where they lost half their planes (standard Su-27's). They didn't fly for a while after that, don't know if they ever started up again. The Russian military is to put it mildly "poor" at the moment. There's been practically no post-2000 airshow/demos. They show up at Farnborough/Paris, may do one flight, and that's about it. The simply don't have the cash to show them off. Most Flanker demos were 1995/96/97. PS---want a nice diecast Super Flanker with moving flaps, rudders, brake, canopy? From what I've read, they're well worth the price. And it is a Flanker, so it'd be as big as a 1/60 VF-1, if not larger. http://www.flyingmule.com/Merchant2/mercha...ct_Code=GC-8014 (they are about the only US-distributor, much easier to find in Hong Kong AFAIK, always sold out because everyone wants a Super Flanker) They also have a few other variants--Su-27, Su-34: http://www.flyingmule.com/range/model/diec...aft_collection/ PPS--yes, their site takes a little while to load, but it's nice once it's up, good pics of every model (they take their own), and I've bought from them before. Flankers sell out so fast, ebay might be a better choice, especially for the -35.
  25. If you're talking about the Fujimi, don't bother, the 1/48 Fujimi F-14's SUCK they're like reboxed Matchbox kits or something with new nozzles. As for Hasegawa---their 1/72 and 1/48 F-14B/D's are practically scaled-up/down versions of each other. Heck, I think you could swap instructions and nobody would notice, sprues/parts are nearly identical too, I think. Very, very similar, comparing recent Hase F-14's across scales.
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