Fixing warped wing after assembly

Don't look closely! :-)

More seriously, you might try heating the wing in boiling water and then immediately pressing the wing flat with a heavy weight.

Sometimes that works - it seems to depend on the exact type of plastic used in the kit and whether boiling water is hot enough to "relax" the plastic a bit.

Cheers,

I'm working on my second one...and I have two Tamiya ones waiting...

If it's near the tip, and you can get the halves apart in the area of the warp, you might try seperating it and then reglue it jigged to a flat surface like a table top to pull the warp out. That works for minor warps...sometimes.

Hot, not boiling! Trust me on this...

yeah, wouldn't boiling turn it into a puddles of melted plastic?

Kinda hard on the fingers too!

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Thanks very much for the advice, folks. After careful consideration I've decided to take Bill's "tongue in cheek" advice: "Don't look closely!" I've put a lot of work into this kit so far; it's fought me every step of the way with fit problems, and I've overcome them all (!). If I screw up the wing unwarping all that work will be down the drain.

So. I'm hoping the extra detailing, painting and weathering will draw the eye away from the wing. And, I've learned a lesson. Check things out closely on these older kits.

peace, david

Yeah, there's something about that Revell kit, and big F-14s in general. I almost bought the Tamiya kit, but wanted to see what I could do with Revell's offering (mostly) out of the box. The only aftermarket item I'm using is a decal set from CAM (Pukin' Dogs).

Good luck on yours.

david

I bought a Tamiya one first, and then decided to do a Revell one for "practice"...I put the Teknics cockpit in it, and am doing the same on my second one.

The Revell kit does build up into a nice Tomcat, but I like the landing gear on the Tamiya kit better - I've about scratchbuilt a complete set of gear for my latest Revell F-14A, and have also detailed up the gear wells. I'm building a Bombcat -A; VF-41...the project has sort of been on extended hold. I'll have to get back to it once I'm done with the U-boat.

Which Pukin' Dogs decal set have you got? I have the grey one waiting for an F-14B converion using one of my Tamiya kits.

Yeah, I'm sure the overall level of detail is better with the Tamiya kit. I've read the gear is exceptionally well done. The Revell kit has certainly challenged my skills; almost as much as the Monogram 1/48 EA-6, which was horribly warped, nothing fit, etc (the only thing that kept me going on that kit was the CMK cockpit set I had for it; that thing fit better than anything else).

I have CAM's Tomcat Alley set, number 32-119. It's for an F-14B, but I don't care. This Tomcat I'm building is for me, a personal tribute to the aircraft's departure from fleet service.

It's funny. After I discovered the warped wing and worked on it for awhile, I primed the airframe and then gave up. It sat in a closet for three months, but kept beckoning to me. I was actually going to trash it; it was halfway into the bag when I reconsidered. Now it's back on my bench and I'm excited about finishing it. Go figure...

Oh, and I suspect a Tamiya F-14 is in my future.

david

You haven't been sneaking into my stash, have you?..I have a 1/48 Monogram EA-6B on deck, too...Black Box cockpit and folded wing sets, Cutting Edge update set...planing to get the new CE intakes as well.

My big Tomcat has been sitting stalled on my bench for a few years now. I was doing an in-depth constuction article and someone's trash camera deleted all of my pictures of the construction during a download. I've been so P.O.'d about it that I haven't touched the kit since. Going to get back at it, though. You've inspired me...

Both the Revell and Tamiya kits have points over each other. Seriously consider the Teknics cockpit for the Tamiya if you do one - it was actually made for that kit...you can fit it into the Revell kit, but it takes some work to do it. I can post some pics of my first Revell one on ABMS if you'd like to see it.

The Black Box set! Yes, that's the one I put in my EA-6, not a CMK set. I'd actually like to take another crack at the Mongram kit someday, or perhaps their A-6 version if I can find it.

Thanks for the tip on the Teknics set. I've heard it's lovely...

peace, david

Rufus wrote: