Final Countdown -F14A VF-84 Jolly Rogers, A6m Zero

Started by Chuck A. Villanueva · 141 · 3 years ago
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    Adolfo Coelho said 5 years, 6 months ago:

    David,

    "Rivet counter…"

    Not really!...

    "Species: Detailus obsessiva"

    Even less...

    As I say on my previous post, my only goal was to state that I like tortoises/turtles, even if they are part of the "Reptilia" Class...

    So after all my rambling against reptiles, maybe after all I like some reptiles!

    Cheers!

    Dolf

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    david leigh-smith said 5 years, 6 months ago:

    No, no, no, Dolf, my little bit of fun with animal classification was not with you in mind. Just that my post about ‘ribbit counting’ and identification of species conflated with a juvenile sense of humour!

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    Paul Barber said 5 years, 6 months ago:

    Folks, I’m allergic to cats, rodents and some dogs. My dad took me to a pet shop to see if I liked tropical fish. I came home with a garter snake. That was 40-odd years ago and I have had snakes ever since. Had to leave them in England when I moved to Aus (the home of some very dangerous species) and for his 7th birthday my eldest asked for a Spotted Python - a small snake that grows to a little over a meter. It is a gentle creature and completely harmless. The kids love it and it eats once a week and needs basically no care at all other than removing the odd bit of poo, cleaning the cage every so often and changing the water. The kids have learned loads from keeping it. It’s name is David. Who’d let kids name their own pets?

    Shortly after Bill, my eldest, was found to be allergic to dust mites, grass, pollen and guess what? Animal hair! Genes, who have ‘em?

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    Ray Seppala said 5 years, 6 months ago:

    Cheers David, my F-14 and zero were built around early 2005. In fact, I have just disassembled it as it was looking a little tired.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 4 months ago:

    Here is the Hasegawa F-14A that I will use for this GB. A quick review to follow

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 4 months ago:

    When I get home, next up, I will show the box of the Mitsubishi A6m2 Zeke that will accompany the Tomcat.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 4 months ago:

    i will use the Hasegawa 1/48th A6m2 Type 21 Zeke as one of the Zero's splashed on The Final Countdown to accompany the Tomcat, still consider doing a Sea King in 72nd scale. Depending if time will permit.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 4 months ago:

    Whats in the box, Hasegawa's typical Lt grey plastic. Good details, easy to follow instruction booklet.

    Decals for 2 different aircraft flying with the 265th Flying Group Shinchiku AB in Taiwan, 1944.

    3 sprues and 1 clear sprue makes up the kit. Building 2 other Zero's base on the Tamiya kits, this is my first Hase build of the Zeke in this scale. Though the Tam kits are good and basic they have been around since the 70's and had a mixture of very fine raised and engraved panel lines. Where as Hasegawa's Zeke is a little bit more detailed with fine engraved panel lines through out.

    Nice touch by Hase offering 2 different engine crankcases and push rod assy's. Along with a nicely detailed engine assy.

    Separate engine cowling for the A6m2.

    There are no option for any flying surfaces to be posed other than neutral. So either an update or scratchbuilding to pose the rudder, flaps, and horizontal tail in different positions.

    The wing is a one piece lower with 2 upper wing panels, typical low wing style assembly from most other kit manufactures.

    The fuselage are in left and right halve with aforementioned separate engine cowl. The props are individual blade attached to hub with two style of spinners.

    Separate oil cooler scoop insert that attaches forward of the main wing to cowl point.

    The interior detail sprue also contains the landing gear doors, 1 piece horizontal tails, engines and wheels.

    Finally the side cockpit side panels, floor and instrument panel are ok. Seat basic no seatbelts. The instrument panel has separate decal dials on the sheet. But an Eduard zoom set will enhance this part of the kit.

    And finally the clear sprue which allows an open canopy. Nice as most of the time Hasegawa will only provide an enclosed 1 pc canopy in this series of WWII fighters such as the Hein Tony I built a couple of years ago.

    Next up is a quick in box review of the F-14. More to follow.

    1 additional image. Click to enlarge.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Let's look what is in the box. The Hase F-14 when it first appeared in 1988 was a much anticipated kit at the time.

    Typical Hasegawa instruction sheet. Easy to follow steps. Color call outs are using Gunze paint codes. You can substitute your favorite paints as you wish.

    The large decal sheet for 4 Tomcats, VF-84, VF-21,VF-31 and VF-154. Includes all the stencils for the entire airframe.

    Now let what is in the small box Included in the kit, which contains white metal wheels and rubber/vinyl tires, a PE fret for interior cockpit details and the clear canopy windscreen sprue.

    The first sprue in the box, holds the upper hull of the main fuselage. Also the L and R halves of the forward fuselage. Also the wing fold bladders, two set are offered for the wing fully swept or in open positions..

    The next sprue tree contains the engine components and the early style exhaust cones with the option of open and closed afterburner nozzles. Which on the F-14A one would be open at rest.

    Next sprue contains the main fuselage lower hull. Also contains the nose cone, cockpit floor and canopy frame with some nice detail with in that part. The lower fuselage does have some detail in part of the main wheel bay.

    Next sprue is the wings and horizontal stabs. The wings can be displayed fully swept or fully opened position with dropped flaps and slats. The kit is designed for the fully dropped option, mods will need to be made to close up the wings.

    12 additional images. Click to enlarge.

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    david leigh-smith said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Your standard excellent review, Chuck. That Tomcat looks especially good, with some nice detail. I actually watched this movie (again) just a couple of days before Christmas. Such a guilty pleasure. Looking forward to seeing this develop, Chuck.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Happy New Year D-L, as old as the kit is now, (wow old?) and having at least 4 of them in the stash (different versions) this is the first time building it. So looking forward to the well known challenges it presents.

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 2 months ago:

    Just a quick start up. First up will be the Zero. Interior green pre painted for cockpit components. Hopefully will be cutting parts of sprues this weekend. Weather permitting.

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    david leigh-smith said 5 years, 2 months ago:

    Well, here’s hoping your weather holds, Chuck, I’m looking forward to seeing more. This is a Build I’ve been looking forward to seeing - time travel, Carriers, Zeros - what’s not to love here?

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    Chuck A. Villanueva said 5 years, 2 months ago:

    Good thing we have all year for this...the unusually cold, wet weather has really limited the time to work out in the shop which is outside. So no heater (tried an electric heater but it keeps popping the fuse). Anyway finishing up a couple of projects and will start on the Zero forthwith.

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    Jeff Bailey said 5 years, 2 months ago:

    Chuck , David, et.al. - I lost track of this great WIP some time ago (before the turtle discussion) and just now "found" it. Chuck, this Hase Zero looks like a great kit. By some mistake (crappy memory caused me to order 2) I have the Tamiya Zero/Hamp , the ones with the square wingtips ... which I really like the looks of. (Sorry for ending that last sentence with w preposition) They are really nice, but the Hase kit does seem even better. How do their prices compare? If I recall, I got them from a vendor through Amazon for something less than $29 for both.