Another old-stager from my deep stash: Tamiya’s original 1/32 F-14A, the second one I’ve built. This went marginally better than my first go at the age of 16. I’ve run the rule over the new 1/48 one and, while it’s similar in many ways, it’s a long way ahead of this old thing in fit and finish.

Click on images below to see larger images

Additions to the kit were a Master pitot, Avionix cockpit, Wheeliant wheels from Aires, and CAM decals for VF-142 in about 1975-77. The cockpit had fit problems and included nothing to enhance the canopy, despite the price, so I decided to leave that shut, whereupon I found it doesn’t shut properly and is twisted withal. Good thing the framing is black. The decals were, on balance, poor: they managed to be thick and brittle at the same time, and many broke irreparably. I retrieved a few but had to replace others with paint. Also, quite a few were much too big. Still, the kit's decals had yellowed badly and the national markings had turned red-white-and-black, so they still helped.

The basic paint job is Halfords Appliance White (the pictures usefully hide how badly that went on) and Humbrol light gull gray. Other colours came from all sorts of brands.

Weathering: you may know this one by now, pencil and chalk pastels.

It’s nice to have it, but it’s also nice to know I won’t be building another.

Sean Langley