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Grumman F-14 Tomcat

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Italeri F-14A+ wings swept This is an Italeri 1:72 F-14A+ carrying six AIM-54C Phoenix missiles and two external drop tanks. (Photo Mary Boucher)
Italeri F-14A+ wings forward The same F14A+ with its wings swept full forward. (Photo by Mary Boucher)
Italeri F-14A An Italeri F-14A in 1:72 scale armed with four AIM-7M Sparrows and four AIM-9L Sidewinders. It also has two external drop tanks. (Photo by Mary Boucher)
F-14D Super Tomcat An F-14D of VF-31 "Tomcatters" (US Navy Photo)

Variable Sweep is For the Birds!

Ages and ages ago, Mother Nature outfitted birds with variable sweep wings. Ever since, birds have made good use of these wings, extending them for quick turns, energy-conserving gliding and quick landings; sweeping them rearward for high speed diving and other fancy wingwork. All in all, the variable sweep bird seems to have a pretty solid design as there's never been a need for product improvements or model changes. Was it something she just lucked into? Was it the result of extensive research and prototyping? Or was it just the natural thing to do? We're sure it was the latter, but how could we verify it? We found that if the run-of-the-mill, everyday bird had been equipped with a fixed wing, most or all of the following would be true of his characteristics:
  • he would be heavier
  • he would need more food
  • he wouldn't turn as well
  • he wouldn't be able to go as far
  • he would land faster
  • he would need a bigger nest
  • he would cost more (if it were possible to cost account a bird)
We must admit that when it comes down to our variable sweep wing capabilities, TOMCAT is really a "Copycat." We just hope that Mother nature understands that copying is the sincerest form of flattery.

Grumman Aerospace Corporation



About the models:

Since these two, I've gone on to build quite a few more Italeri Tomcats (and copies of them). The kits themselves are pretty straightforward, and are typical of Italeri. Currently, the Italeri F-14A is only available in their F-14 Bombcat kit.

Good points: The detail is very good, the engineering is OK, the instructions are clear, and the decals are superb. They build easily and look great when they are done. They can be easily built either gear up or gear down without any door fit problems. And theyare about the only kit I've seen with AIM-9Ls

Problems: the nose is split into upper and lower halves, and radome. These pieces rarely fit properly, so some putty work is required here. the intake tunnels don't always fit right. The kit includes wing glove vanes, and filler pieces to fill the vane slots if you want the vanes closed. These filler pieces don't fit at all, and are extremely fragile. Putty is required to close the wing glove vanes.

Special note: Most seriously, the mounting holes for the main landing gear struts go all the way through plastic and are open at the other end. If you install the wings before installing the landing gear, MAKE SURE to sweep the wings full forward! If you don't, then you WILL cement to the landing gear directly to the wings, and will jam the wings aft. If you try and break the wings free, you WILL destroy the thin strip of plastic that links the wings, and they will no longer sweep together.

Overall though, Italeri makes about the best value Tomcat kit.

About the Grumman F-14 Tomcat:

Possibly the most complete fighter in the world today, rivalled only by the F-15 Eagle and the Russian Su-27 Flanker, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat first entered service in 1975, and has since taken its place among the best aircraft ever. Armament consists of an M61A1 20 mm rotary cannon plus AIM-9L Sidewinder short-range, AIM-7M Sparrow medium-range, and AIM-54C Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles. A combination of all of these missiles can be carried at one time, making the F-14 capable of shooting down any flying intruder at any range up to 125 miles. The Phoenix missiles are operated in conjunction with the Tomcat's AWG-9 radar (AWG-15 on the F-14B (A+), and AN/APG-71 on the F-14D), and can hit targets at any altitude from ground level to over 78,000 feet. The aircraft itself is extremely fast, reaching speeds up to Mach 2.34, and for dogfighting the wings adopt optimum angles of sweep automatically to extract maximum agility.

For the F-14D Super Tomcat, the older TF-30-P-414A engines were replaced with significantly more powerful F-110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans. The -D also has all-new avionics, NACES ejection seats, and onboard oxygen generating capabilities, which make the D an even greater fighter than the -A and -B (A+) versions. The US Navy will fly its Tomcats until 2010, when the last of these great fighters will be replaced by the F/A-18E. Apart from the US Navy, Iran is the only operator, although only 15-20 of their aircraft are airworthy.

F-14 Tomcat Specifications
Empty Weight 40,104 lbs
Maximum Takeoff Weight 74,349 lbs
Maximum (Ferry) Range 2000 miles (with external tanks)
Combat Radius 800 miles (with external tanks)
Armament M-61 20mm cannon with 640 rounds; up to six AIM-54C Phoenix or six AIM-7M Sparrow missiles and up to four AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles
Engines F-14A: two 20,900 lbst Pratt & Whitney TF-30-P-414A afterburning turbofans
F-14B (A+), and F-14D: two 27,000 lbst General Electric F-110-GE-400 afterburning turbofans
Speed 1,544 mph (Mach 2.34)
Height 16'
Length 62'8"
Wing Span (Width) 64'1.5" (wings extended)
38'2.5" (wings swept)
Crew Pilot and Radar Intercept Officer
Manufacturer Grumman

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