SPA Modeler

tempestjohnny wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2024 5:56 pm The one Iranian marked aircraft. Is the camouflaged Tomcat. That I'll build

Me too, Johnny! If I ever get around to building my Tamiya F-14A, it will most likely be the Iranian version; I really dig that camo!

Gary Brantley wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2024 8:32 am

tempestjohnny wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2024 5:56 pm The one Iranian marked aircraft. Is the camouflaged Tomcat. That I'll build

Me too, Johnny! If I ever get around to building my Tamiya F-14A, it will most likely be the Iranian version; I really dig that camo!

The funny thing is that due to the Iran Iraq War, the Iranian Tomcats saw far more combat and scored more kills than they ever did in US service.

Which is funny because the Tomcat, mainly the "A" model, was a horrible aircraft and you were lucky if the Phoenix missiles worked.

The main problem with the A was the engines… which was rectified in the A+/B. But from what I’ve read, due to their experience with the Iranian Tomcats, the Iraqis developed a healthy respect for the ‘cat and pretty much turned tail during the 91 Gulf War whenever their radar warning receivers indicated that a Tomcat radar was searching for them.

Yeah the engines and the way the intakes were designed caused a lot of problems. The engines would have compressor stalls constantly. But I've read articles in aircraft magazines were Tomcat pilots/RIO's would talk about how the jet was a hanger queen because of all the maintenance problems.

But... who doesn't love a Tomcat????? They were my first all-time favorite aircraft after watching Top Gun during the 80s. Since then, I had been building a lot of modern Navy aircrafts in my teen years.

No one!!! If you don't love the brutally fast beast of a fighter, then you have issues.

The Final Countdown did it for me, then Top Gun.

Living a stones throw from (what was then) Miramar NAS I'd see them flying all the time. We'd see them at a couple hundred feet on final approach flying over old hwy 163.

Pulled this one out to see what I needed to do to get it ready for priming. Just some sanding around the engines and it's good to go.