SHEET:

Eagle Strike 48-025 for F-14 Tomcat

PRICE:

$7.50

UNITS:

VF-14 / VF-24

REVIEW &
PHOTOS :

Chris Ishmael

NOTES:

'F-14 Part II'

For all you Tomcat fans, Eagle Strike has come out with another sheet for 2 early F-14s. The Hasegawa kit is recommended.

The instructions are in full color, having small top & bottom views, and a large side view for both aircraft. The gull gray over white scheme is applied to both aircraft. Only one set of common markings are provided, but the printing is extremely sharp & very legible. Tail hook stripes are included, but formation light panels are not. Two different anti-glare panels are included, so check the instructions so you use the right one.

First up is VF-24 "Fighting Renegades", a long time F-8 unit. VF-24 transitioned to the F-14 in 1975 directly from the F-8J, having never flown the F-4. The aircraft has the wavy gray / white demarcation line common to early F-14s. The tail markings are the ones carried for the first couple of years of operations, before the introduction of the over-all gray scheme in 1978. The anti-glare shield with the rounded forward edge is used on this aircraft.

The second aircraft is the bicentennial CAG bird from VF-14 "Tophatters", the navy’s oldest, continuously active squadron (although not always in fighters) dating back to 1919. This aircraft is in the gull gray over white scheme with the wavy demarcation line also. The normally dark red fin flash is now red, white & blue with a starred & striped top hat on a white disc. Both the inside and outside of the vertical tail surfaces, plus the speed bump at the base, have to be painted white. A fin flash goes on both the inside & outside of the tail, with the AB tail code on the inside rudder surface. The blue area of the fin flashes that go on the right side of each tail are designed to go over the actuator fairing, having extra blue material, showing smart planning on Eagles Strikes part. Moving up front, the radome is all white, & "Tophatter" is painted on the rear canopy sills, with the CAGs name on the forward canopy sill. The squared of anti-glare shield is used on this aircraft.

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