Hasegawa

1/48 F-14D VF-213 Blacklions Last Cruise

Kit Number: 9683

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $66.95 With the retirement of the F-14 this year, model companies have begun to release kits and markings of the retirement schemes. Hasegawa's latest release is the F-14D VF-213 Blacklions kit that includes marking for two aircrafts, the standard operational scheme from 2005 and a special scheme for the last cruise they did aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2005. I will not delve too deeply into the actual build. The Hasegawa F-14 has been the best kit of this plane for a long time and remains so now. The differences between this and the standard Hasegawa kit include the appropriate engine for a "D" version, new decals and two extra sprues containing AAM launchers and pylons. The kit is showing its age a little as there was some flash around some of the smaller parts but it was very easily cleaned up with a knife. For those that have never built this kit before, there are a couple of cautions. To get the F-14's shape, Hasegawa broke the main fuselage and wheel wells into a lot of parts that require careful lining up. A little misalignment will cause some work later. Take your time and test fit and you will be rewarded with a very nice finished product. The second caution is that both the intakes and exhaust are very detailed but will need filling and sanding due to the halves. I cheated here and purchased Steel Beach's F-14 FOD Intake covers (in Blue) and FOD Exhaust covers. The sets were $6 each and I got them from Sprue Brothers Models (www.spruebrothersmodels.com). More later on them. Construction of the kit started with the cockpit, which is good for an injection molded one. There are aftermarket sets available if you desire. The kit is split into left and right sides for the forward fuselage. I didn't add the nose gear early, as suggested, but waited until the kit was done. Don't forget the weight in the radome as you finish the front of the plane off. One other thing to mention is that you will need to polish the seam out of the canopy. The rear of the kit is split into upper and lower halves for the rear. I left off the intakes and ramps as I was going to use the FOD covers. The intakes are separate and are built from 9 parts each. Fit is OK on these part. I had the biggest problem with the wheel wells trying to get the side parts to line up and cover all the needed area. In the end, I used a little filler here. Speaking of filler, the rear of the fuselage where the air brakes are located required some filler to get right. I elected to close the air brakes, and that required a fair amount of filler also. Adding the tails was straightforward. I built the wings, which have options for raised or lowered flaps and slats, and the kit was ready to paint. The "Last Cruise Scheme" involves a blue tail and also anti glare panel. The color required has a mixing formula from Gunze paints. I mixed as close as possible and it came out a little off compared to the decals, but not bad. Overall color was Gull Gray. Very pretty scheme. All the landing gear and bays were painted in white and the leading edges done in Alclad aluminum. The decals went down well with minimal effort and all the small bits were added such as antennae, landing gear and the landing gear doors. I also added the intake covers, which have complete instructions, are cleverly designed in vinyl and fit over the intake very well. The exhaust FODs were added but I trimmed them a little and they fit well also. Hasegawa's F-14 is still the industry standard, even for as long as it has been around. With some care and patience, it builds into a nice replica of the real thing. I am sad to see the F-14 retire but it has served well and Hasegawa gives you an excellent representation of this magnificent plane. My thanks to Hasegawa and Dragon as well as IPMS and John Noack for the chance to build this beauty and add it to my Naval Aviation collection.

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