1/32 Tomcat Black Bunny - Tamiya

[Stokesy44]

Good to see that Tomcat shape now the nose is taped on. Classic lines.

[cor]

To keep this balanced on the stand, as it is so far to the rear of the plane, I needed to add 600 grams of lead.

Foam was added to try and stop the balls rolling around if the super glue I poured over them stopped working. Also stuffed a lot of toilet paper in there to fill the gaps.



The stand was set in a vice and I just keep adding lead balls until it seemed about right.

At this stage it weighs about 850grams.




Also inserted the engine exhaust area





And I dont know how realistic this will be, but I've been adding rivets to a lot of the top surface in attempt to break up the large flat surface and give it some detail. I think it looks pretty good.











Ive also been driving it around the living room with Danger Zone playing over and over in my head. for some reason...

[digger303]

I dunno if the rivets are really there, but they look good.
The 600gms of lead got my head turning....is it actually 60gm and a typo ?
Why shouldn't you exercise the ole imagination and revert to simpler times and have a little flight and dogfight around the living room.

[Stokesy44]

Very nice detailing

[cor]

I dunno if the rivets are really there, but they look good.
The 600gms of lead got my head turning....is it actually 60gm and a typo ?
Why shouldn't you exercise the ole imagination and revert to simpler times and have a little flight and dogfight around the living room.

Very nice detailing

Thanks gents, and yes digger, it will weigh almost a kilo when done. Its very easy to handle with that weight too, like its got a sense of a real plane.

And after checking the internet, I've come to the conclusion that these planes are absolutely covered in rivets, and phillips head screws apparently...

[digger303]

I dunno if the rivets are really there, but they look good.
The 600gms of lead got my head turning....is it actually 60gm and a typo ?
Why shouldn't you exercise the ole imagination and revert to simpler times and have a little flight and dogfight around the living room.

Very nice detailing

Thanks gents, and yes digger, it will weigh almost a kilo when done. Its very easy to handle with that weight too, like its got a sense of a real plane.

Heck that's a lot of weight to add, I'm amazed it takes so much.

[Stokesy44]

Great reference pics. Am I right in thinking the Tomcat was not well liked by the maintenance crews?

[cor]

Great reference pics. Am I right in thinking the Tomcat was not well liked by the maintenance crews?

I read that if they went to war, 40% of losses would be due to equipment failure. Apparently they werent the world's greatest aircraft.
But they sure look cool.


Bit more riveting and added the seals around the wing sweep root, scratched from thin styrene sheet.


scribed these lengthways lines in and riveted



riveted...


riveted... still more to do too...



This grubby thing shows the lines and rivets quite well, plus the seals around the sweep.



I filed and sanded a fair bit away from where the plastic touches the wing, but there will bit a bit of scrape going on. Hopefully it will look natural as there seems to mostly always be a curved discouloration where the wing sweeps out.

[digger303]

Interesting your comment on there serviceability, I didn't know that.
Great pic's.

[Tomcat64]

Just done some major catching up and read through from the start of the project.

This is amazing work & detailing so far - looking forward to following along for the rest of the ride

[Stokesy44]

Good spot on the wing seals, never noticed that before.

[DRUMS01]

Still watching and enjoying this build.

Your keen eye for many of the details will pay off when its done.

Keep it coming, next update please!

[digger303]

Good spot on the wing seals, never noticed that before.

I've seen pic's where a very large area of the wing and Ailerons ( think that's the term ) have a very distinct discolouration from wearing on the wing seals.

[cor]

Good spot on the wing seals, never noticed that before.

Added some more detail with wire , its supposed to be a hinge
rivets are a bit wonky, but they are very tiny

Good spot on the wing seals, never noticed that before.

I've seen pic's where a very large area of the wing and Ailerons ( think that's the term ) have a very distinct discolouration from wearing on the wing seals.

Yes, that was going to be added, however the wing mount has broken off and there will no more swing wing operation on this aircraft...see below for details
fyi - this plane doesnt have ailerons. Those thing at the back are the flaps, and there are bits on the wing just forward of the flaps which rise up and down, perhaps like ailerons but on the top of the wing, not the trailing edge.

This diagram shows the control surfaces on the wing

Still watching and enjoying this build.

Your keen eye for many of the details will pay off when its done.

Keep it coming, next update please!

It is a nice thing to build, however it is very much a case of a large canvass, and lots of lines and dots to add.
But I do agree, once its finished, the black should reveal all the highlights of the rivets and panel lines. So Im trying to get it pretty good now in the priming and filling stage, which is neverending


So yes, the wings will be glued in swept back position due to the mount breaking off after too many times putting the screw in and out.





However this is probably a good thing as I can paint and decal the body and wings seperatly which should make it easier to do. And the swing mech was a bit of a gimmick, which I could see breaking after completion which would be bad.
So its a static display model in supersonic flight.


The wheel well covers fit terrible. Lots of super glue and fixing up.

They look a mess, but will clean up nicely.








And a few pics of other detail and such after looking at reference pics, which I dont really do enough of
Some areas look really good, others no so much, so there is still a very long way to go with this. Because of the size it just takes a long time, and it seems its not getting anywhere. But I know it come together sooner or later.






I will fill these lights with clear enamel after painting has finished. The red and green are tamiya clear acrylics.

[digger303]

It's a large chunk of real estate.

[Stokesy44]

The scribing and riveting is really looking good now. The section on the upper fuselage leading back to the tail looks so neat and realistic.

[Tomcat64]

I can only echo what the lads already said - it's a big chunk of fuselage but such a classic shape; all the extra detailing & fixing is paying definitely paying off

[cor]

It's a large chunk of real estate.

indeed.

The scribing and riveting is really looking good now. The section on the upper fuselage leading back to the tail looks so neat and realistic.

I can only echo what the lads already said - it's a big chunk of fuselage but such a classic shape; all the extra detailing & fixing is paying definitely paying off

Thanks chaps. Long way to go till that payoff, but slow n steady wins the race. apparently.




And a few updates.

Top and bottom fuselages are screwed and glued. There are 3 big bolts that 2 screw into the swing wing metal bracket, and another goes into a nut that is glued into a support at the front, just behind the nose.
These holes are filled with super glue, then mr surfacer 500. The front one also had a bit of spru stuck in it as it is quite deep









Front of the air intakes have the air flow regulators intalled - flap that blocks off the air going in - the black bit




Mr surfacer 500 is used everywhere on this thing





This metal bearing is what the wing clips on to. I cut away some plastic from the hole that this mounted into on the wing, so the wing will now clip onto this brass bearing.







Top bit where the fuselages halves meet needs cleanup, and I need to add the support braces.









The stand is mostly done except for polishing the edges of the base. Just some perspex with holes and screws.
One stand is 50cm for the hobbyco window, the other is 30cm for general practicality. The plane looks really good on the stand.

[Stokesy44]

Agreed, it looks awesome on its stand.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Cool, so very cool

[digger303]

[cor]

Agreed, it looks awesome on its stand.

Cool, so very cool

Thanks chaps


Did a bit of work on the vertical stabs

Bottom of the stabs are a bit thin on detail, plus most of the panel lines are raised









Needs quite a bit more work, but its looking better





Also slowly getting the gear doors looking better.

[digger303]

Are you going to rivet the whole plane ?
Great work to date

[cor]

Are you going to rivet the whole plane ?
Great work to date

Thanks digger.
Yes, I think I am. It's pretty easy with the riveting tools and really makes it more detailed.

[Stokesy44]

Nice work on the tail fins and gear doors. Great reference pics too

[Steve64]

Wow, this is a serious build with serious dedication to detail. Lovely to see her in the air too. Inspiring work! Thanks for sharing.

[cor]

Nice work on the tail fins and gear doors. Great reference pics too

Thanks. Its coming along, very slow work. This type of plane has quite a lot of pics online. I also have a 3D model of it on a flight sim on the playstation, which shows the thing flying with all the control surfaces working. I should try and get a vid of that as it looks really cool.

Wow, this is a serious build with serious dedication to detail. Lovely to see her in the air too. Inspiring work! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for dropping in and commenting, it keeps me going. I stated at the start of the build that I want to give it my best shot. Sometimes I just want to glue it together and be done with it, but then I remind myself that there is more work to be done. Its very slow going, but hopefully should be worth it in the end.


Bit of work on the vertical stabilisers. These things just demand scribing, sanding, filling and now the priming shows the work thats been done.
I added some aluminium foil to the plates at the top, just to give them a bit of volume after the sanding, and it flattens them out a bit.

I didnt mention this bit, but one of the fins was badly warped. As they consist of 2 parts, I tried removing the glued on part from the warped one. Bits of it broke off. I straightened the fin by soaking it in very hot water and bending it back into shape. Once I glued the broken half back on, it needed lots of filling. Thats the damage you can see in this pic below.







And a tiny bit of pe from the lucky dip box








Theres a lot of this going on - probably more mr surfacer than plastic on the model now...

oh dear, those rivets look a bit rough. These ones are hard to sand becasue I dont want to remove the raised detail.



Getting there...







They are nearly ready to attach, but I will glue the nose on first, as I think it will be easier to work on the fins with the nose on, rather than work on the nose with the fins on. First though I will need to finish the wheel covers, which are looking pretty good. Same story for them, scribing, filling, sanding, etc. I have gone through a fair bit of 240 grit sand paper on this thing already, and I need to buy another large Mr finisher primer. The larger scale is eating consumables like crazy.

[digger303]

Your right about the big stuff and the amount of supplies consumed.
Nice save in progress straightening that piece and patching the broken piece back in. It's always the prep that takes the most effort and it doesn't matter if your laying pavers or building a kit it still holds true if you want a good result.

[Stokesy44]

I really like what you've done with the tail fins. You've turned a really mediocre part into something that is nicely detailed and accurate to the real thing. Excellent work

[DRUMS01]

I agree with Stokesy, looking at the amount of corrections and accuracy changes you've completed, this is almost a whole new kit. While I know some was because of ill fitting parts, you cannot say you haven't gone the extra mile to make it a higher quality and more accurate model!

GREAT JOB SO FAR!

[cor]

Your right about the big stuff and the amount of supplies consumed.
Nice save in progress straightening that piece and patching the broken piece back in. It's always the prep that takes the most effort and it doesn't matter if your laying pavers or building a kit it still holds true if you want a good result.

Yes, something that takes a while to learn tho, doesnt it. The urge to rush and finish can be pretty strong. Patience is something Im trying to develop but it's not easy.

I really like what you've done with the tail fins. You've turned a really mediocre part into something that is nicely detailed and accurate to the real thing. Excellent work

I agree with Stokesy, looking at the amount of corrections and accuracy changes you've completed, this is almost a whole new kit. While I know some was because of ill fitting parts, you cannot say you haven't gone the extra mile to make it a higher quality and more accurate model!

GREAT JOB SO FAR!

High praise coming from you guys. The kit is pretty crappy imho, if you dont detail it up there's not a lot going on.



So got the nose attached, lots of work to do on the seams. Ive already dumped a ton of mr surfacer into the gaps, especially along the sides where there was about a 1mm space in some places. I just dumped the filler along the join, then wiped along it with a q-tip.





Braces stuck onto the top. Just a few little bits cut from styrene card





General test fit. All that scribing and riveting looks good in the grey primer. Almost like a finished low vis scheme.





Fins in situ




On the stand again. Only the fins need to be glued. The wings and horiz. stabilisers will be detachable.

[digger303]

Apart from a couple of scuff marks which might be repairs you've done it looks bloody marvellous.

[cor]

Apart from a couple of scuff marks which might be repairs you've done it looks bloody marvellous.

Thank you sir

Fins attached.
Nozzels painted with the basic colors. They will be detailed after the black goes on. Until then they will be under masking tape which might affect the metallic gold / copper colours I used.

Some pics of the work. Mostly self explanatory.

[digger303]

A lot of rivets.

[Stokesy44]

Beautiful work. I just hope all that rescribing and riveting shows up when the black paint goes on.

[cor]

Beautiful work. I just hope all that rescribing and riveting shows up when the black paint goes on.

I plan to rescribe a bit after the black goes on, to define the lines etc. Im sure there will be some kind of benefit to all that work. At least I hope so.

And its almost ready for the black. But Im still not sure how to handle it while the paint goes on. Im thinking of some kind of stand with some rods in the engine recesses, have it standing on its tail.

Windscreen washers


Fabric under the swinging wing




Cockpit detail. Aluminium foil used under the black. Looks terrible in these pics. Theres a lot of sanding dust over it. Needs some detailing, but probably do more of that once its glued in place after painting the fuselage black.

\Does anyone know what that big hole is in top of the dash? Im thinking a projector for radar and gun info, but I cant find out anything about it. Is it a lens?




Still not sure if I should glue the windscreen on before fuselage painting. It fits in place pretty good, so might leave it off.

[digger303]

[cor]

Bit more on the cockpit

decals were very crumbly, but you wont see much once the canopy is on with the seats and guys in it

[Stokesy44]

Nice work. It will look suitably busy with the crew and bang seats once they're in

[cor]

Almost ready for painting


Blue is a Hasegawa sticky film

[Steve64]

That's going to be very impressive. I love the in-flight look and I wish more manufacturers gave us good quality clear stands so that it is easier to achieve. Lovely work!

[cor]

That's going to be very impressive. I love the in-flight look and I wish more manufacturers gave us good quality clear stands so that it is easier to achieve. Lovely work!

I agree. You don't see that many planes built in flight, which is what planes are for.

[cor]

Had a bit of a spell from this, but doing little things like fixing up any issues with the surface before the paint goes on. Mr Surfacer 500 filling tiny imperfections here and there.

Also got the windsreen on, and painted the area matt black. Will mask this when the gloss goes on.

The panel lines show nicely through the black, so the rest of it should show the scribing well enough under the gloss black, i hope















Sitting on the low tech Combat Jet Flight sim bench between throttle and stick.

[digger303]

He's got a lock...ya doomed

[Stokesy44]

Nice and tidy masking around the windscreen

[cor]

Been a bit slow on this. Got the cockpit looking interesting. Sanding more bits flat, removing imperfections. Im taking my time as I want the finished black to look best as possible.

[digger303]

Can see loads of good work.

[cor]

Can see loads of good work.

Thanks man.

Ive been thinking of making this contraption for quite some time. Painting the model will be a real pita, and a decent stand was always going to be necessary.

The base is a lazy susan from aldi for $5, and the wood was laying around in the form of a broomstick and some scrap.







I will finish the cockpit first, glue on the canopy and fill and scribe that thing, then mask up and spray about a litre of black paint.

[digger303]

Oh I hope it's stuck to the lazy susan, I'm sure it is as it looks like a very workable idea.

[cor]

Oh I hope it's stuck to the lazy susan, I'm sure it is as it looks like a very workable idea.

It just sits on top, but due to the angle the poles are on the wooden plank it won't rock forward or back. Quite solid.