Official Freewing Twin 80mm F-14D Tomcat Thread

[Aros]

Welcome Twister! Great job! Love the weathering!

[C17loadmaster]

That looks great! Did that other guy that replicated the same tail buy the decals you had custom made? I think his name is Andrewflyguy

[C17loadmaster]

I just did the same homework for the 50th Anniversary of the Sound Barrier F-15 “Glamorous Glennis” from 1997. Callie did a good job. I sent her an autographed book haha

[Hardway]

Welcome and great job!!! :Cool:

[Twister006]

I knew there were multiple aircraft used as Mavericks, that's fairly obvious when you watch it shot for shot. The movie stuck with the lore of pilots only flying "their" jet but reality is you fly whatever is up and ready. The best shots for me were of the aircraft used during the Top Gun course so most of my weathering is based on that jet. I am considering getting another and doing it up as one of the test platforms. Thoughts?

OV10- Thanks for the welcome. I've frequented the forum but decided to join and quick lurking in the shadows.

[Twister006]

Regarding Andrews bird, Callie put that decal set on the website after mine were done. I think there were only 2 decal sets when I looked and decided to see if the Top Gun scheme was doable. His jet is really nice. I'm gonna end up with a full squadron of Tomcats after seeing all of the jets on this thread. Thanks again for all the welcomes.

[C17loadmaster]

It's almost like computers and TVs. As soon as you buy a new one, it's obsolete.

I bought the “New” Freewing 80mm Inrunners and 100a ESCs. I’ll let you know the difference

[C17loadmaster]

Regarding Andrews bird, Callie put that decal set on the website after mine were done. I think there were only 2 decal sets when I looked and decided to see if the Top Gun scheme was doable. His jet is really nice. I'm gonna end up with a full squadron of Tomcats after seeing all of the jets on this thread. Thanks again for all the welcomes.

Yeah his turned out awesome. He said the repaint went well using Floetrol with latex paint. I use that stuff all the time now. It makes brushed paint jobs look like an airbrush.

I have 10 of the FW jets and the Tomcat is my favorite. I am getting the A-10 next... I’m definitely looking forward to it. It will be hard to beat the F-14

[xviper]

I bought the “New” Freewing 80mm Inrunners and 100a ESCs. I’ll let you know the difference

That would be great. I would get the ARF Plus kit, so I won't know if it's an improvement over the stock system.

[Jhnybgd]

Fellow flyers I have decided to share my Tomcat I started back in the spring. Callie was able to generate the proper decals for Maverick's jet, after some back and forth with pictures and screen captures, which is was so inspirational since I watched Top Gun. Having flown in the Navy I had a love for the dirty and grimy aircraft (the clean ones always seemed to be breaking). So after reviewing the movie I tried to weather mine to give it that look. I haven't been able to fly it yet and honestly it just looks so good hanging in my bonus room that I am hesitant to ding it up. I added some details such as doing Maverick and Goose's helmets and patches by making decals at home, added the green tint to the front windscreen and did the ejection seat detailing. I do have some more detailing Id like to do but for now those will have to wait a little longer. The pictures are a mix of mid makeover to where it is now.

That looks fantastic,great job.

[Twister006]

Yeah his turned out awesome. He said the repaint went well using Floetrol with latex paint. I use that stuff all the time now. It makes brushed paint jobs look like an airbrush.

I have 10 of the FW jets and the Tomcat is my favorite. I am getting the A-10 next... I’m definitely looking forward to it. It will be hard to beat the F-14

I just picked up the F-4 and it is a beauty. The Tomcat however has no equal for me. I'll have to try to Floetrol with latex paint on my next bird.

[andrew_flyguy]

Looks AMAZING, Twister!!

[Alpha]

Twister, thank you for your naval service and welcome to Hobby Squawk! I hope you find a fun home here. Your Tomcat looks great in those colors. I especially like the tan color of the coamings.

Fun fact: When we were developing this model, the Top Gun livery was in the running for the final production PNP. Ultimately we chose to depict Bullet 100 for a variety of reasons, but one cannot deny the beauty of a simple low-vis scheme.

Again, great job!

[Twister006]

Thanks Alpha. I really liked the Bullet 100 livery and that first spray of navy gray was not easy but I had a goal and decals so it happened.

I did the tan by using sticky bandage material to give it the fabric look then simply painted it. I actually ordered another bird yesterday and Callies is working on the graphics for Buno 157985 F-14 prototype 6. The high visibility markings are hard to miss and should make flying a little easier. I have always had a love for the test aircraft.

[Alpha]

Hey Twister,
Sticky bandage is a good idea for the coamings, I would have never thought about that! I used thick textured masking tape on mine and painted the tan over it.

You're right about the high visibility markings.... almost all of my prototypes are flown in high-vis in one way or another. Here's the original CNC F-14 and F-15. Both of these survived and are actually still in flyable condition to this day, albeit in storage. I look forward to seeing your rendition of Pre-Production 6! It's nose and overall color palette remind me of the Wolfpack.

Which reminds me, has anyone created a 3DPUP for the early burner cans on the TF30-P-414A? Granted they wouldn't be able to choke down enough due to FSA, but overall they would enhance the visual appearance of an F-14A/B.

[EA-6B Geek]

Here's the original CNC F-14 and F-15. Both of these survived and are actually still in flyable condition to this day, albeit in storage.

Very cool Alpha. Not the right thread, but how about some Skyhawk prototype photos? XA4D-1FW?

[Alpha]

Sure, I can post some of those later in the A-4 thread if I don't forget in the morning. Fun fact: Our original A-4 petite prototype was an M variant, in 70mm.

[Evoman]

Breaking news for you F-14 fans that want to take it to the next level! It was just announced yesterday the pre-realease of the best simulation for DCS ever done of the Tomcat that has been in development for years. This is no cheesy arcade game, this is as real of a simulation as you can get with complete working systems. It was developed using actual flight data and input from former F-14 pilots, RIO's and flight maintainers. I will be be pre-ordering this module for sure.
Check this video out for more details starting at 3:44.

[Aros]

Breaking news for you F-14 fans that want to take it to the next level! It was just announced yesterday the pre-realease of the best simulation for DCS ever done of the Tomcat that has been in development for years. This is no cheesy arcade game, this is as real of a simulation as you can get with complete working systems. It was developed using actual flight data and input from former F-14 pilots, RIO's and flight maintainers. I will be be pre-ordering this module for sure.
Check this video out for more details starting at 3:44.

Sweet! :Cool:

Wow, graphics are getting outstanding these days.

[Hardway]

just too cool....:Smug: