If Top Gun: Maverick has rekindled your desire to build an F-14 – or indeed if you never lost that loving feeling – Detail & Scale’s new book is the ideal reference.
The softbacks by Detail & Scale have been go-to visual aids for modellers since 1979, whether it’s for colour schemes or structural features. However, the digital age has encouraged the publisher to move with the times – not only by offering ‘ebooks’, but also revamping and improving print versions.
Its latest work, the 102-page F-14 Tomcat in detail & scale, provides a wealth of fresh imagery not seen in the original books, and includes plentiful coverage of the F-14D. Once you’ve stopped ogling Jerry Crandall’s famous artwork on the front cover, depicting the Muczynski/Anderson F-14A during 1981’s Gulf of Sidra incident, there is plenty to savour and employ throughout any build project. It comes hot on the heels of the publisher's other recent books on Tomcat camouflage and markings.
The Tomcat’s conception, development and entry into service are explored via ten concise pages, before the narrative shifts to the F-14’s operational track record, dealt with across 12 pages. An 11-page focus on variants and systems follows, and then the reader is plunged into the nitty-gritty of the airframe and all its nuances, beginning with the cockpits. Every facet of the aircraft is then explored visually by way of excellent and revealing photos, which are a super-detailer’s dream. The approach provides a sensible pathway to appreciating the sometimes subtle differences between the F-14A, A+/B, and the more capable ‘D’. Less obvious nuances such as gun gas purge vents and antennas get equal billing with more notable features, such as the so-called boat/beaver tail, chin pods and engine exhaust nozzles.
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There are also ‘under the skin’ views, for anyone wishing to scratch-build internal ‘gubbins’ (or employ aftermarket details on that score). Scrap plan view illustrations showing the different styles of beaver tails are useful indeed, as different kits offer varying degrees of choice. Another vital section is that detailing weaponry… a subject that often foxes modellers in terms of fitting the correct stores for the variant/time period, and even down to paint shades on missiles, bombs, pods and the like. Even test armaments are shown, inspiring the modeller to tackle a decidedly different build in terms of weapons. The interesting AN/ALQ-167 Bullwinkle electronic countermeasures pod also features – a store commonly confused with the AN/ALQ-88. Other useful items are tables charting the F-14’s production summary, and key features by manufacturing block.
Closing the book is an extensive section assessing major Tomcat kits in different scales, with no punches pulled on their accuracy (or lack of) but also praise where it’s due. Author Haagen Klaus is a long-time modeller and kit/aftermarket reviewer, and his passion for the subject is clear.
Ultimately, this is a splendid reference at a reasonable price… and should be in any Tomcat modeller’s reference armoury. It costs $19.99 for the print version, but note that a digital version is also available at $12.99, and both are available direct from Detail & Scale.
F-14 Tomcat in detail & scale
By: Haagen Klaus
Format: 281 x 216mm
ISBN: 978-8-8319474-9-6
