FCM 144-032: F-14A Sundowners
Units: | See review |
Price |
$ |
Reviewer: |
Markings are provided for
six aircraft. The first option is
from the USS Kitty Hawk circa 1978 and is probably the least colorful that VF-111
wore. The sunburst is only on the ventral strake, which will need to be painted
red along with the fin tip. The aircraft does have the unit's signature shark
mouth. and the aircraft is overall gloss light gull grey. The aircraft shown is
160674 from 1979.
By 1981/82, the markings had changed yet again, this time
taking up most of the fin. Two different options are provided for these
markings. One is an overall gloss light gull grey
plane with the markings in
red. The other is a Tactical Paint Scheme plane with the markings redone in
shades of grey. For the latter scheme, small shark mouths are provided for the
drop tanks. The photo to the right (160668 from
1980; which is the same plane modeled for option #4))
shows these markings but on an overall light gull grey scheme, so if
you don't like the TPS scheme but want the grey markings, it is something that
can be done with the markings provided.
The next three are for the markings carried from around 1986
until the unit disestablished in the early 1990s. By far, these are the ones
most well known. There are three planes with these
markings. The first is in the Tactical Paint Scheme version from 1986 when the
wing had moved to the Carl Vinson. this is followed by a 1988 scheme in full
color on light gull grey as was typical for a CAG bird. The final scheme is from
1991 when the wing had returned to the USS Kitty Hawk (see photo to the right).
This scheme is similar to the other one though in this case the shark mouth is
outlined in black and the wing codes had shifted to the rear of the fin/rudder.
The font has also been slightly changed to a near italics design.
Since this is 1/144, there is plenty of room for full insignia, wing walk markings and enough stencils to make anyone happy in this scale.
The decals themselves are very nicely printed by Microscale. Instructions are in full color and include color information and a full stencil placement guide.
June 2010
Thanks to FCM for providing the review sheet.
If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.