F14 Skinners thread (Paintkit in 1st post)

[LanceCriminal86]

4 hours ago, Swordsman422 said:

Lance is right. You can see the APH-6D here with butterfly bayonets. Instead of tape for the base color, they used a gloss paint and then a high-gloss clearcoat with metal flake in it. The decals were still made of 3M reflective, though. This was the result.

 

 

 

I know whose that is, I will try and ask if he knows when the last cruise was for the full blue helmets. If you're doing 1981 and they still had them, then totally do it.

 

VF-84, 114, and 213 stuck with the fancy painted helmets a bit longer I think than some other squadrons, but by 82 for sure it looks like they were using the taped base helmets in white, as the Navy made it mandatory fleet wide.

[Swordsman422]

32 minutes ago, LanceCriminal86 said:

 

I know whose that is, I will try and ask if he knows when the last cruise was for the full blue helmets. If you're doing 1981 and they still had them, then totally do it.

 

 

I know him too, and I can ask him right now. I'll update this post with anything I find out.

 

Edit: According to him "1983 was mandate for white tape but not fully adopted till 84.... No painted helmets (for VF-213) after 82/83."

Edited February 25, 2021 by Swordsman422

[LanceCriminal86]

Just now, Swordsman422 said:

 

I know him too, and I can ask him right now. I'll update this post with anything I find out.

 

81 looks to be the last cruise with the blue helmets, there may have been some all blue done in 82 but by the time of their cruise book, they were white tape base.

[Swordsman422]

Lance it seems like you and I know a lot of the same people.

[LanceCriminal86]

1 minute ago, Swordsman422 said:

Lance it seems like you and I know a lot of the same people.

 

When you start nerding out on Tomcats and flight gear for skins, it leads you to the same places.

 

Then it turns into collecting and you bank account suffers. I could easily have had a Virpil stick, extension, and pedals but instead there's this:

 

 

Now I have 7 helmets and shells and none of them are "complete"....

 

But hey, one has been identified as being part of VTAS testing at Pt Mugu in Tomcats and Phantoms, and the same or similar helmet seems to be in a few photos I've found.

[Swordsman422]

I'm in the same hobby. My helmet count currently is up to 19 with 7 HGU-68s, 3 -55s, 5 -33s, and 4 APH-6s. I got into it 15 years ago initially for cosplay and figure modelling but it quickly got out of control. Fortunately in terms of completion I lack only a few difficult to acquire bits of gear, so my wallet is suffering less now. Easier to resist when you've already got one, and I DO NOT want any more helmets. Unfortunately aside from one -33 I know was originally owned by an instructor with VT-9 and a couple that I bought new from Gentex, I don't know the origins of most of what I have.

[LanceCriminal86]

1 hour ago, Swordsman422 said:

I'm in the same hobby. My helmet count currently is up to 19 with 7 HGU-68s, 3 -55s, 5 -33s, and 4 APH-6s. I got into it 15 years ago initially for cosplay and figure modelling but it quickly got out of control. Fortunately in terms of completion I lack only a few difficult to acquire bits of gear, so my wallet is suffering less now. Easier to resist when you've already got one, and I DO NOT want any more helmets. Unfortunately aside from one -33 I know was originally owned by an instructor with VT-9 and a couple that I bought new from Gentex, I don't know the origins of most of what I have.

 

There's a decent chance this is my helmet, either during or after the guy traded it in for a new one:

 

More on topic though, I'm starting to work on fixing up my F-14B template with the needed changes/deletions and am going to update my old VF-32 CoNA skins.

[_YaeSakura_]

I have unfortunately hit a snag with completing my 1975-76 VF-32 package, which I've put on hold until I can find the needed information. However, work has now shifted to a remastered VF-41 Black Aces package, circa 1977-78.

[Jackjack171]

2 hours ago, _YaeSakura_ said:

I have unfortunately hit a snag with completing my 1975-76 VF-32 package, which I've put on hold until I can find the needed information. However, work has now shifted to a remastered VF-41 Black Aces package, circa 1977-78.

Very nice! You even got the helmets right for that time. Cannot wait until HB finishes the TCS options!

[WolfHound009]

Very nice! You even got the helmets right for that time. Cannot wait until HB finishes the TCS options!

I may be wrong but I thought it is only for the Iranian F-14A-95-GR that they’re giving the ability to replace TCS with ALQ-100.


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[isoko]

 

[Jackjack171]

On 2/27/2021 at 5:27 AM, WolfHound009 said:

I may be wrong but I thought it is only for the Iranian F-14A-95-GR that they’re giving the ability to replace TCS with ALQ-100.


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Should be for the early Blk as well. To include the bullet fairing also! 

[ShinyMikey]

17 hours ago, isoko said:

 

  These look great! Been looking forward to these for a while, when can we download these?

[isoko]

2 hours ago, ShinyMikey said:

  These look great! Been looking forward to these for a while, when can we download these?

Thanks for the message!
Painting the 12 planes takes a lot of time.
I'm planning an initial release in early May this year, but it's still uncertain.

Enjoy the screenshots in production for a while!

Thanks again!

[Tomcatter87]

Allright, after all your helmet related feedback, I dug into that subject a bit. Since I did a 1984 bird (serial number, tail code, crew names...), that metal flake helmet wasnt really used anymore. Since quite a bit of work went into that APH-6D-ish helmet and I love the look of it, I'm gonna include that in the download as well. 
For everyone who wants the correct helmet, I did a taped version as well, based on the 1984 cruise book.

[Blinde]

4 hours ago, Tomcatter87 said:

Allright, after all your helmet related feedback, I dug into that subject a bit. Since I did a 1984 bird (serial number, tail code, crew names...), that metal flake helmet wasnt really used anymore. Since quite a bit of work went into that APH-6D-ish helmet and I love the look of it, I'm gonna include that in the download as well. 
For everyone who wants the correct helmet, I did a taped version as well, based on the 1984 cruise book.

 

 

Pretty noob question but what is that black patch for? Looks like velcro. I think there weren't proper small cameras to mount on the helmet even on 2006.

[Swordsman422]

2 hours ago, Blinde said:

 

Pretty noob question but what is that black patch for? Looks like velcro. I think there weren't proper small cameras to mount on the helmet even on 2006.

 

It's the attachment point for a beacon strobe, a brightly flashing, waterproof light that would help the pilot be found at sea at night. He pulls it out of his survival vest, clicks it on, and attaches it to his helmet by the velcro. In rough seas or poor visibility, a rescue helicopter might overfly him a dozen times and never see him without it.

[Tomcatter87]

5 hours ago, Blinde said:

 

Pretty noob question but what is that black patch for? Looks like velcro. I think there weren't proper small cameras to mount on the helmet even on 2006.

Seems I got the look and roughmet right

Edited March 1, 2021 by Tomcatter87

[LanceCriminal86]

Something of note, I've found tons of photos as well as 2-3 personal examples of helmets where the strobe is on the pilot's right. So for the OCD maybe shift the velcro patch to that side, and if you want variety shift it around.

 

It's a pain but if you do it right you could have 3-4 different spots and then a set of roughmets/normals for each and just random them up between pilot/RIO

 

And I'll drop this in here again, an EXCELLENT resource for helmets:

http://www.salimbeti.com/aviation/helmets3.htm

[Tomcatter87]

21 hours ago, LanceCriminal86 said:

Something of note, I've found tons of photos as well as 2-3 personal examples of helmets where the strobe is on the pilot's right. So for the OCD maybe shift the velcro patch to that side, and if you want variety shift it around.

 

It's a pain but if you do it right you could have 3-4 different spots and then a set of roughmets/normals for each and just random them up between pilot/RIO

 

And I'll drop this in here again, an EXCELLENT resource for helmets:

http://www.salimbeti.com/aviation/helmets3.htm

A really cool thing is that that velcro sometimes was even used as a squadron symbol. Some skinmakers have already incorporated that, for example the black aces just cut out a black velcro ace symbol and put it on their helmets.

 

 

Anyway, I've moved on to my next project. Its the 1988/89 VF-1 CAG bird. I call that one "Rudolph" (the grey-nosed Tomcat), for obvious reasons.

Does anyone have informations why the radome and parts of the Phoenix pallets had been changed? Also, if you have material on how the inner sides of the vertical fins looked like (Tail code?), please let me know.  By Op Desert storm, the CAG bird seemed to have a fully painted nose again, matching the rest of the bird.

[WolfHound009]

28 minutes ago, Tomcatter87 said:

A really cool thing is that that velcro sometimes was even used as a squadron symbol. Some skinmakers have already incorporated that, for example the black aces just cut out a black velcro ace symbol and put it on their helmets.

 

 

Anyway, I've moved on to my next project. Its the 1988/89 VF-1 CAG bird. I call that one "Rudolph" (the grey-nosed Tomcat), for obvious reasons.

Does anyone have informations why the radome and parts of the Phoenix pallets had been changed? Also, if you have material on how the inner sides of the vertical fins looked like (Tail code?), please let me know.  By Op Desert storm, the CAG bird seemed to have a fully painted nose again, matching the rest of the bird.

Yeah as far as the Radome is concerned F-14A BuNo 162597 must have received a replacement radome at some point in between 1988 and 1991. The insides of the tails had "NE" written in between some red stripes , Ive attached pictures. Hope this helps and thanks for doing this livery!

Edited March 3, 2021 by WolfHound009

[Tomcatter87]

10 minutes ago, WolfHound009 said:

Yeah as far as the Radome is concerned F-14A BuNo 162597 must have received a replacement radome at some point in between 1988 and 1991. The insides of the tails had "NE" written in between some red stripes , Ive attached a picture. Hope this helps and thanks for doing this livery!

 

Thanks! That rainbow looks really nice, too, I think that came after the timeframe I'm trying to depict - desert storm, I think. Maybe a next project

[mikeg65]

Hello folks,

 

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you skinners for designing and sharing your amazing artwork, it's truly awesome stuff! But I was hoping you could all help out an old veteran, I would like to know how you were able to make all of these vivid and amazing decals for your models?

 

I would like to know because I would like to either use some of them or design some myself for some paper model designs for my own collection. I've always loved the Tomcats/Hornets. Any assistance you could give would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

Cheers Mates!

 

 

 

 

 

[Jackjack171]

On 3/3/2021 at 5:46 AM, Tomcatter87 said:

Thanks! That rainbow looks really nice, too, I think that came after the timeframe I'm trying to depict - desert storm, I think. Maybe a next project

Yep, replacement radome! Seen a lot of that on Rhino's just like that. For what it is worth, what you have there looks really good. Gives it character! 

[Gunslinger22]

Just completed 'Thief Of Baghdad' from VF-24 in 1991, uploading now.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Gunslinger22