I was going to do another British aircraft when a good friend suggested doing something ‘exotic’, perhaps American. This got me thinking of my favourite US Navy fighter: the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
I’d always loved the aircraft, but wanted to do something different. I’d seen some great angles but not quite close enough or from the angle I had in mind. A 1/48 scale kit provided the means to get the shot I wanted… taking it into the garden helped with the lighting and shadows.
Numerous images provided the references for detail work. Initially it was going to be without background but a cloudscape brought it to life.
To gauge reaction to the drawing I placed it on an F-14 Facebook page – what a feedback!! The upshot was that I’ve made some great contacts and have even got know the crew on this particular aircraft, of VF-143 (’World Famous Pukin’ Dogs’).