Model Art Co., LTD

Model Art Profile No. 6: F-14 Tomcat of US Navy [F-14 A/B/D]

Reviewed By  Scott Hollingshead, IPMS# 34786

MSRP: 2500 YEN (about $25) Website: Model Art Co. Available from: Dragon USA I feel a need to start this review with a short story about myself. At the ripe old age of ten, I visited the Air Force museum at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio with my Dad, an Uncle, and two of my cousins. On our way out, we stopped by the gift shop, where I selected an F-14 model kit that must have been about 1/100 scale. My father, being a former Air Force member, just had to give me one of those looks that only a father can give for selecting a Navy plane kit at an Air Force museum. Little did I know that some ten years later, I would report to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), where my true appreciation of the Tomcat came to its fruition. This was during the same year that the movie Top Gun hit theaters, which had me really pumped up about being assigned to an aircraft carrier. In the end, I served aboard two carriers (I am a plank owner on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)), and while on the Lincoln, I observed some of the first F-14D carrier suitability trials, as they selected our ship for the testing. Enough about me though, as you are here to find out about Model Art’s newest release in their profile series, and I am here to tell you that it is something special. Like their other releases, the soft-cover 7-3/16 inch wide, 10-1/8 inch tall publication is almost entirely written in Japanese. The lone exception is that the first pages of the book, which discuss Tomcats in Japan, is loosely translated to English in some of the final pages. Aside from that, there are small items spread throughout the book that are in English, but these are certainly limited. What this book does contain though are some wonderful color and black-and-white photographs, along with some outstanding drawings. Between pages 48 and 49 there is a 1/48 scale foldout drawing that measures 19-3/4 inches by 21-1/8 inches, and inside the back cover is a 6-1/2 inch by 9-1/4 inch decal sheet from Trumpeter with three additional markings for their new 1/32 scale F-14D. As I mentioned before, the profile starts out with a seven-page article on the F-14’s that served in Japan starting with their first appearance in 1976 for a fly off with the F-15, to a hiatus that essentially lasted until 1991. This article focuses on F-14’s of carrier air wing five, and its fighter squadrons 154 (the Black Knights) and 21 (the Freelancers). All of the photographs in this article are in color, and there are two pages of color drawings (as well as two color photos) of Operation Iraqi Freedom markings for VF-154 planes. The nice bonus on these two pages is a table with plane numbers from the squadron as well as the bureau numbers for each of the eleven aircraft. Oddly enough, page 9 is the Table of Contents and Introduction for the publication, which seems a little strange for a Westerner like me, but I know that this is how they do things in Japan. The article that spans pages ten through thirty-three is titled “Anytime Baby!”, and gives the story of the Tomcat, with a good deal of space being dedicated to the F-111B. All of the photographs and drawings in this section are black and white, and they include drawings of the VFAX and VFX competitors that led to the F-14. Late in the article is a twenty-two step takeoff checklist, that I really would have enjoyed seeing translated, but on page thirty-one where all of the Tomcat squadrons are listed along with their nicknames, and years of operating the plane, the folks at Model Art did most of the writing in English. Pages 34 through 42 are also in black and white, and starts out with what appears to be a history of swing-wing aircraft showing a drawing of the Messerschmitt P.1101, then photographs of the X-5, F-10F, and an Air Force F-111. There are also photos of a Panavia Tornado, MiG 23, and Su-17. Some line drawings of the wing sweep controls inside the Tomcat are provided on one page, and the article then discusses development of the Phoenix missile followed by information on flap controls, engine inlet controls, and a discussion on the TF30-P-414A and F110-GE-400 engines. I have to wonder how on earth the author tied all of that together. Page 43 is titled “Tomcat in Action”, and tells the story of the VF-41 victories over two Su-22’s flown from Libya in 1981, while operating from the USS Nimitz (CVN-68). This is followed by line drawings on pages 44 and 45 showing the various chin pods used on the F-14, the three styles of speed brakes that were installed, the four different tail designs, and the engines. Pages 46 through 48 are dedicated to photographs and line drawings of the various weapons carried by the Tomcat, and again, all of this is done in black and white. I mentioned the large foldout drawing between pages 48 and 49, and this shows the top and bottom views of the D-model, right and left side views of the D, a left side view of a block 130 A-model, as well as weapon pylons, fuel tanks, and a LANTIRN pod. On page 49, we hit pay dirt with a data file on the F-14A that includes twenty-eight pages of color photographs of just about everything imaginable. Four of the pages are taken entirely in the cockpit, and many show details that will bring a big smile to the face of any modeler. Page 77 begins two pages of F-14B photographs, and page 79 is focused on the F-14D, and these are all in color as well. The next article is titled “Colors and Markings of US Navy F-14 Tomcat”, and includes six pages of color drawings of planes dating from 1974 through 2006. This provides some great details on some special markings carried on various squadron planes, and also includes Federal Standard numbers for the paints that were used. The squadrons selected are VF-1, 2, 32, 114, 84, 142 (mislabeled as 124 in the book), 31, 143, 111, 11, 103, and then two additional VF-31 planes. Page eighty-six begins thirty-one pages of kit builds of various F-14 kits. First up are six pages dedicated to the new 1/32 scale release by Trumpeter representing a VF-31 plane. One page contains photos of subassemblies, and this appears to be a nicely fitting kit (I am looking forward to seeing the review on our own IPMS web page) with no signs of filler or strip styrene being present. Next comes a 1/48 scale A-model in VF-154 markings, which was made in a bomber configuration. There are a full two pages dedicated to some subassembly work, and there was quite a bit of work involved with making this plane look as good as it does in the end. Pages 98 and 99 are reserved for 1/72 scale planes with photos of a Hasegawa F-14B from VF-143, Revell’s F-14D from VF-31, and Fujimi’s F-14A of VF-84 fame. Pages 100 and 101 are dedicated to a 1/72 scale diorama based on the Hasegawa F-14 in VF-154 markings and some thirteen figures. This is followed by a 1/48 scale F-14D in VF-2 markings that starts with three pages of color photographs, then beginning on page 105, the book reverts to black and white for the remaining pages. Another odd item for me is that pages 109 through 117 give information on the 1/72 scale planes that were shown in color on pages 98 through 101, beginning with the diorama, then regressing to the Fujimi, Hasegawa, and Revell kits. A nice touch in the book is the five pages that are dedicated to every Tomcat kit produced from 1971 to present from 1/144 to 1/32 scale, and everything in between. Next are two pages of decals that are presently available from Fightertown Decals, that include 1/144, 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scales. This is followed by fifteen pages of line drawings of cockpit components (control panels, ejection seats, and HUD views), nose gear details, and locations of items on the F-14D. Page 142 shows the installation of the markings included on the decal sheet that is incorporated in the book (VF-31 planes from the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2002, and from the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2005 and 2006). Next up is the aforementioned English translation of “F-14 Tomcats in Japan”, followed by six pages of advertisements, and the bonus decal sheet. So, in conclusion, I do think that this is a very good publication, and I would recommend it highly to any fellow Tomcat fanatic. The hits are the great detail photographs in the data files, the large foldout drawing, and additional decals for the Trumpeter kit. My miss would be that fact that I caught some small errors in the English translations, but nothing too serious. It would be nice if this publication included more English; similar to the AJ Press armor books with Polish and English translations, but that is not how Model Art does business. Even with all of the Japanese text, there is plenty of valuable information for the modeler. Thanks to the folks at Model Art, and Dragon USA for making this issue available for review, thanks to IPMS/USA for allowing me to do the write-up, and thanks to you for taking the time to read it.