[WIP] F-14A Sundowners Part 3

So after the paint had dried on the kit, I brushed on a coat of Future as a gloss undercoat for decaling. Hasegawa's decals are quite nice to work with, but a little on the thicker side.

Decals for the tailfins are especially quite challenging to deal with since I'm using them on the Academy kit.
Panel line wash also done after decaling, using oil paint thinned with lighter fluid.

Another coat of Future over the decals and wash to seal them. Left it to cure for about 2 days. In the meantime, I made a trip to an art supply shop to hunt for materials to make an in-flight stand for this plane.



Managed to obtain some wooden bases, brass tubes and metal rods. Will be drilling a hole in each of the 2 exhaust cones to insert the brass tube. then drill 2 more holes in the wooden block to insert the metal rods which will hold the kit.

Had some time during the weekend, I touched up the red color on the tip of the tailfins. Instruction manual states to use H327 which came out a darker red compared to the decal, I had to tone them down a little to get it closer to the decal red.

Canopy unmasked! Luckily no paint overspray.  Can see a small part of the decal at the cockpit torn off while decaling, might touch up with a fine marker/pencil.

Comments welcomed!