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F-14A Upgrades (Tamiya 1:48)


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F-14A Upgrades (Tamiya)

1:48 Eduard & Eduard Brassin

 

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Tamiya's new F-14A in 1:48 has caused a stir in the modelling community due to their reputation for high quality kits, and rightly so - It's a lovely kit.  Here comes Eduard to make it better with a host of resin and brass sets!  As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card.  Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between.

 

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F-14A Ejection Seat (648293)

Containing two resin Martin Baker GRU-7A seats that were fitted to the early Tomcats before they transitioned to the MB.14 in later models, each one consists of a highly detailed base, to which resin cushions and PE controls are added, after which it should be painted before adding the superb STEEL pre-painted belts and handles that are supplied on the PE sheet.  Also included is a small decal sheet with the stencils appropriate for this seat to complete the look.  A scrap diagram calls out the painting in Gunze colours as usual for Eduard's sets.

 

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Wheels Early (648304) & Wheels Late (648290)

In each set Four resin wheels are supplied, two main wheels with separate hubs, and two nose wheels with their hubs moulded in.  Detail is superb both on the tyres and their hubs, with plenty of brake detail on the back side, and differing hub pattern between the early and later versions.  The sidewalls have the marker's marks in raised relief, and the contact surface has circumferential tread cast in.  A set of hub masks are included for good measure, pre-cut from a sheet of yellow kabuki tape.

 

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Early

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Late

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F-14A Interior (49805)

Two frets are included in this set, one with nickel plating and pre-painted details, the other in bare brass for the constructional aspect of the upgrade.  It included sidewall skins for the two cockpits; replacement rudder pedals; highly detailed side console skins that require removal of the moulded-in detail, as does the instrument panel replacement for pilot and RIO.  Other details include switch panels on the sidewalls; small structural details; a hoop for the windscreen with built-in grab-handle, matching hoop on the canopy front with rear-view mirrors, canopy closure details with retention hooks and another hoop with mirror for the RIO (Goose!), plus some additional details in the rear bracing panel.

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Seatbelts STEEL (49806)

The new ultra-thin an bendy steel frets are becoming common in the Eduard line, and if you aren't going for the resin seats, you can get the PE from that set separately to improve the kit parts with pre-painted belts; anti-flail injury leg straps; ejection actuation hoops, and additional seat controls.

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Exterior (48909)

A large fret of natural brass includes a host of additional detail to improve on the base kit, starting with the landing gear, which is given additional small structural improvements, hosing on the legs and inside the bays; structural elements; bay door details including the transparent grille in the centre of the nose bay doors; a number of grilles for the exterior of the airframe; upgrades to the main bays including their covers; belly pylon end skins; mating surfaces for the wing mounted pylons; exhaust details for the included weapons; crew access ladder replacement, for which you will need some lengths of 0.4mm rod for the rungs, and additional parts for the arrestor hook.

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Engines (48910)

This single fret of brass includes a representation of the rear of the engine, and you will need to roll two tubes (one for each engine) to form the centre spindle onto which the other parts slide.  The remaining parts form the afterburner ring, which is in three parts, both of which are quite delicate, so care will be needed.  There are plenty of scrap diagrams to help you position everything correctly, as well as one of a cross-section of the exhaust trunking showing the parts installed.

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Grilles STEEL (48914)

If you don't want to spring for the exterior set, this smaller set includes just the grilles for the various parts of the airframe in the ultra-thin steel PE, which should allow them to conform nicely to any curves.

 

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Masks (EX540)

Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape.  In addition you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort.

 

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Review sample courtesy of

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