Another build with the nephew, Monogram/Mattel F-14A Tomcat
Noah, my 7 year old nephew paid a few more visits this summer. Lucky for him that a few family birthdays were celebrated at our house, since we have the pool.
When I showed him the old Mattel/Monogram F-14 with its swing-wing action, he sort of flipped out in amazement and said that's the one he wanted to build next. I told him it would be ready for his next visit. This kit is not a ‘snap-together' but it is definitely close to a toy category kit, the dimensions look good and things all look in proper proportion.
This would need to be another quick build with no putty time, so I painted all the components and the kit stand and found some the phoenix and sparrow missiles from the old Matchbox F-14 kit in my spare parts box in preparation.
During his next visit, he seemed a bit frustrated when we started putting the wings and front fairings together but I was able to hold his attention long enough to get the fuselage glued together. His next visit saw the attachment of the rudder, figures and canopy as well as the hardware. He held the pieces in place while I dabbed a little instant glue. Once the glue set, I guided him to strategically apply Tamiya Thin Cement to make sure things stayed in place. His third visit saw the application of the decals – after coating them with decal film, I cut them out and Noah soaked them and place them onto the plane ( I gave the decals their final positioning).
We also had some time to visit the CWHM in Hamilton, with Noah insisting that we each get our own Costco Hotdog for lunch before getting to the museum. We were able to sit in some of the display aircraft, after which Noah did ‘crash' the simulator - due to him not realizing the significance of ‘running low on fuel'.
Overall, a fun experience and another kit will be selected for assembly. Looking forward to making repairs since this one will definitely be flown around the house when he gets home.
I'm sure that's a memory he will treasure forever. Nice job!
Thanks John (@jdtruby). It appears Noah does like jets, so it might be a simple F-22 next.
An excellent build, George! An everlasting memory!
Well done!
Thanks Spiros (@fiveten), true about the memories – Although, I think he remembers the Costco hotdog the most.
Some wonderful days with your nephew and a great Tomcat as final result, George @georgeswork
Those memories will be forever.
Thanks John (@johnb), the more we build the more he wants to visit.
Nice!
Thank you Rob (@robertandy)
Well done on all accounts...building models and families!
Thanks Gary (@gwskat), I think I’m turning into his favourite Uncle – my plan is working.
Good job, uncle, keep him interested in this great hobby.
Thanks George (@chinesegeorge), he’ll probably be getting a ‘Snap-Tite’ kit for his BDay.
Yes, a real nice idea, I thought about doing one of these, Maybe I 'll wait till my hurricane gets a little older.
Thanks Robert (@roofrat), I saw your post – a hurricane indeed! Gotta watch out for those small assembly parts.
Nice work on that, George. I’m pretty sure I built mine at age 7 in 1972 too! You guys got a much better result.
Thanks John (@j-healy), definitely brought back some memories for me when I found this kit on the ‘Pre-owned’ shelf. Too bad I couldn’t find the SKYSTICK, he would have loved that.
Good one George, keep him interested.
Thanks Allan (@kalamazoo), I think I got him hooked!
@georgeswork - Very nice George!
Thank you Brian (@brithebuilder), something quick and flashy always gets a kids attention.
Great!
Thanks Lis (@lis).