Tyas Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 In 2003 VF-154 along with the rest of Carrier Air Wing 5 was deployed to the Gulf of Persia for Close Air Support and Forward Air Controlling mission to support land-based aircrafts and Special Forces mission in Operation Iraqi Freedom. During that time, Black Knights scored the most numbers of explosive ordnance dropped of all squadrons in CVW-5, totaling 358 LGBs by the end of the 27-day mission. Yes, it's another F-14 from me, but since I really like F-14s, I can't see why wouldn't I make another one. This time, I decided to make VF-154's CO jet during OIF, which dropped about 45 bombs in total. Now, I don't really have the most information about what the particular aircraft was carrying back then, but sources said that back then the F-14s from VF-154 were armed with 1 2000-pounder LGBs on station 3 and/or station 5 with 1000-pounder mixed in during the early phase of the operation. Later operations saw them carrying 4 500-pounders. I decided to give this particular one a GBU-10 on station 3 (which is in front) and a GBU-16 1000-pounder at the back in staggered position (station 5), assuming that if they were put side-by-side, neither of them would be able to clear each other when dropped. As for the rest of the kit, it's a surprise that this time round, Hasegawa's kit didn't put up too much fight. Or so I thought, because it turned out the decals were a bit on the thick side, causing problems during clear coat. Oh well, learn something new everyday, I guess... Also something new, Hasegawa made a fatal flaw in their painting instruction. Instead of showing the proper 3-tone gray like all TPS F-14s, this one got only 2-tone gray. A little search confirmed my suspicion, so 3-tone it is, plus VF-154's characteristic FS36081 gray for the skunk stripes and vertical tails (not engine gray like what Hase wanted you to believe). The FS36081 itself is actually a home-brew, made by mixing flat black with several drops of FS35237. I decided not to glue the wings and the inflatable wing seals so that I can change the wing position anytime I want. As always, critics and suggestions are more than welcomed here 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 Love it! You can never have too many Tomcats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyas Posted December 7, 2018 Author Share Posted December 7, 2018 On 12/5/2018 at 10:43 PM, F-32 said: You can never have too many Tomcats! My little brother might beg to differ because he always threaten to launch my Tomcats if I bought another Tomcat 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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