by Sgt. Ryan Labieniec, USMC
1/48 F-14A Tomcat landing aboard USS Nimitz CVN-68, 1980 (Hasegawa/Just Plane Stuff)
I know this is more of an aircraft display than a ship , but I thought it may look good on this site as well. This is a diorama of my friend, CDR Emory Brown, USN (Ret) making his milestone 1000th carrier landing aboard the USS Nimitz in 1980.
I have modeled the Hasegawa F-14A to match the plane CDR Brown made his landing in, right down to the correct bureau number (BUNO) 160380, plane # 201, with the correct pilot and RIO information on the canopy. CDR Brown was CO of VF-84 Jolly Rogers at the time this landing took place.
The Hasegawa kit is well detailed, but the fit of the cockpit section to the fuselage was terrible, and required a ton of sanding and filling. The fit of the interior of the cockpit with the figures installed requires omitting numerous cockpit details and modifying the figures extensively.
I used mostly Testors Model Master acrylics for paint, with 1 or 2 small parts painted with Tamiya acrylics. I weathered the plane with artists oil paints thinned way down with mineral spirits.
The decals are a combination of kit decals and Superscale VF-84 set. Both sets are well made and go on the model easily. A note of caution: the superscale decals are very thin, and react quickly to any solvents, so be careful not to move them too much.
The base is a resin kit from Just Plane Stuff, and comes with photo etched brass tie-downs. I was very happy with the quality of this kit, and have no complaints.
Semper Fidelis
