Eduard F-14A Weapons Set (SIN64828 for Tamiya 1:48)

[Mike]

F-14A Weapons Set (SIN64828 for Tamiya)

Eduard Brassin

 

 

Tamiya's new F-14A is a supersonic interceptor in the true Cold War style, so needs to be bristling with weapons.  Injection moulded weapons are all well and good, but even the new slide-moulded one-piece weapons come with mould lines which can drift out of alignment, all of which takes time to deal with, as generally you are looking at four seams per item.  Resin weapons can be moulded without seams if expertly done, and Eduard are the masters of resin moulding.  As this is a BigSin set, it arrives in a flat top-opening figure sized box, and although the box is perhaps a little over-sized for the parts, there is adequate bubble-wrap inside to prevent the contents moving in transit.

 

Inside the box are three sets that have been available separately in the past, as follows:

 

648062 AIM-7E Sparrow Missiles (4 in the pack)

648097 AIM-54A Phoenix Missiles (4 in the pack)

648303 AIM-9G/H Sidewinder Air-To-Air Missiles (4 in the pack)

 

Each set is in a separate ziplok bag, with the combined Photo-Etch (PE) and decal sheets in another ziplok back with two sheets of white card providing extra protection.

 

 

The Sparrow missiles are each built from the main body that has the rear fins moulded in, and separate steering vanes.  At the rear is a circular exhaust in PE, and all the stencils are provided on the sheet, with the painting and markings on the instruction booklet using Gunze paint codes for the colours.

 

 

The Phoenix missiles are each made of the main body with a separate tail part with the rear fins moulded in.  The two parts join together with a butt-joint, so ensure that you cut the mould plugs cleanly, and it may help to Dremel the join so that it is concave to improve the fit if the two parts rock at all.  The exhaust is moulded into the rear of the tail with a deep undercut adding realism, so no PE is required.  There is a short pin moulded into the nose cone to ensure that no bubbles form in the very point of each missile, so remember to remove those and knock back the stub to the correct shape with a fine sanding stick.  Again, stencils are included on the sheet with the colour codes given in Gunze shades.

 

 

The Sidewinders have separate steering vanes and a clear resin seeker head at the front, and a PE exhaust ring at the rear.  There are also optional Remove Before Flight covers for the clear head, and adapter rails to facilitate attachment to the aircraft's pylons.  Stencil placement and colour codes are on the instruction booklet with the paints in Gunze codes as per the rest of the set.

 

 

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