Aires

1/72 F-14A Tomcat Exhaust Nozzles - Varied Positions For the Fujimi kit

Stock Number: 7184

Reviewed By  Clare Wentzel, IPMS# 1096

MSRP: $23.49 Website: www.aires.cz This latest set of resin exhaust nozzles from Aires is designed to replace the kit parts for the Fujimi F-14A Tomcat kit. The intricate parts are well cast in gray resin. Four parts make up each nozzle for the model. It starts with a well-molded turbine face, adds a nicely etched metal flame holders, includes the cooling liner within the afterburner and finally the outlet nozzles. The two outlet nozzles are different. One is closed and one is fully open. This is how the nozzles appear after the engines have been shut down. The outlet nozzle flaps are so thin they are almost transparent and have to be handled carefully during removal from the molding block. The turbine face and the flame holders are shown in photo 1. The crude kit part is included for reference.

The cooling liner is one piece and really shows the internal detail and different sections. Photo 2 shows this detail. The kit parts have some detail but must be glued together producing a joint line that cannot be easily fixed. Photos 3 and 4 show the two outlet nozzles compared to the kit parts. Again, the kit parts are shown for comparison. The details of the flaps of the outlet nozzles have been faithfully reproduced.

Due to the design of the Fujimi kit, the engine shrouds, the parts directly in front of the outlet nozzles, are molded integral with the fuselage top surface and the two engine nacelles. These must be maintained with the nozzles gluing to the rear of the shroud assemblies. The kit parts could probably use some scribing to bring out the detail. The turbine/flame holder/cooling liner assembly simply drops into the kit nacelle assemblies although some care is required. The kit cooling liner features an alignment groove, two tabs and a notch to mount the parts, see photo 2. The modeler must work around these features and still mount the assembly correctly. I don't envision any major problems with this. Although this set is designed for the Fujimi kit, a quick look at the Hasegawa kit shows that it might also fit. This set will certainly dress up your Tomcat kit. I have made a commitment to my club to build an F-14 during 2009. This set will be included in that build, stay tuned. I would like to thank Aires for supplying this great accessory set for review. Well recommended.