48-606 is the second sheet in AeroMaster's coverage of the fighter and attack squadrons of Carrier Airwing Seven (CVW-7) whilst they were based aboard the USS John F Kennedy during the air war over Afghanistan.  Unusual for a modern day airwing, CVW-7 has two F-14 squadrons. 

The sheet provides markings for three F-14Bs, one from VF-143 'Pukin Dogs' and two from VF-11 "Red Rippers": 

Bureau Number 162924, modex 114 of VF-143.  The aircraft is finished in the standard F-14 Tactical Paint Scheme (TPS) of FS36320 dark ghost grey over FS36375 light ghost grey.  Whilst the markings are all lo-viz they are quite comprehensive and spectacular.  They consist of:

• 114 modex for the nose and wing flaps with a further smaller set for the inside of the rudders.

• Three diagonal stripes incorporating lo-viz national insignia for the nose with a second set without the national insignia for the intake mounted drop tanks.

• VF-143 scripts for the ventral strakes.

• A one piece decal for the outer sides of the vertical stabilizers that include the fin cap, three horizontal lines that span the entire cord of the stabilizer, VF-143's squadron insignia, Safety S and Golden Spanner award. The grey fin caps for the inner surfaces are also supplied as a decal.

• AG airwing identifiers with "JFK" for the rudders.

• Pilot's, RIO's and Plane Captain's names for the canopy rails and nose gear doors respectively.

• NAVY titles and Bureau number blocks for the rear fuselage.

• Intake warnings, ejection seat triangles, and arrestor hook warnings.

Bureau Number 162927, modex 205 of VF-11.  The aircraft is finished in the F-14 TPS of FS36320 dark ghost grey over FS36375 light ghost grey.  The markings and consist of: 

• 205 modex for the nose, wing flaps and nose gear doors with a further smaller abbreviated 05 for the outer faces of the rudders.

• VF-11 scripts for the ventral strakes.

• VF-11's squadron insignia for the outer faces of the vertical stabilizers.

• Dark grey fin caps.

• AG airwing identifiers for the rudders.

• CVW 7 scripts for the base of the vertical stabilizers

• Pilot's, RIO's and Plane Captain's names for the canopy rails.

• USS JOHN F KENNEDY scripts for the leading edges of the wings.

• NAVY titles and Bureau number scripts for the rear fuselage.

• Intake warnings, ejection seat triangles, and arrestor hook warnings.

Bureau Number 161433, the CAG bird of VF-11  Whilst the aircraft is finished in F-14 TPS of FS36320 dark ghost grey over FS36375 light ghost grey it bears a little colour in the form of dark blue vertical stabilizers, rudders, ventral strakes, canopy and anti-glare.  No FS number is given for the dark blue. The markings and consist of:

• 200 modex in red for the nose, wing flaps and nose gear doors with a further smaller abbreviated 00 for the outer faces of the rudders.

• VF-11 scripts for the ventral strakes in white.

• Large full-colour VF-2 squadron insignia for the outer faces of the vertical stabilizers that are placed over the top of a red lightning bolt with a further two red spots to complete the insignia.

• AG airwing identifiers in white for the inner surfaces of the vertical stabilizers.

• Full colour CVW-7 insignia, also for the inner surfaces of the vertical stabilizers.  Two sets of insignia are provided, with one set being a two-part decal to avoid register problems.

• Pilot's and RIO's names for the canopy rails in white.

• Plane Captain's name in red for the nose gear door.

• USS JOHN F KENNEDY scripts in red for the leading edges of the wings.

• NAVY titles and Bureau number scripts and arrestor hook warnings for the rear fuselage in grey.

• Intake warnings, ejection seat triangles in red.

• A set of hi-viz national insignia.

• Small VF-11 zaps in red for the intake mounted drop tanks.

A colourful bird to say the least. 

The placement guide is a departure from AeroMaster's norm.  Whilst it still shows colour profiles it also has several colour photographs of each of the options – nice stuff!  A further innovation is that the inside of the header sheet contains a very complete explanation on the employment of the F-14s of CVW-7 during its Afghanistan cruise.  It gives details of how the aircraft were configured and what ordnance was carried on what station as well as a discourse on LANTRIN and TARPS pods.  I for one am glad to see this sort of information provided in a decal sheet as it gives you a fuller understanding on how the F-14 is used without having to refer to other publications – a one-stop shop! 

The decals themselves have been printed in Mexico.  Everything is in perfect register and there is minimal carrier film around each subject.  I have used Aeromaster decals that have been printed in Mexico before.  Whilst they are not as easy to use as Microscale decals they do work well if you use patience and settling solution.  If you are going to do the VF-143 option I would cut the one-piece vertical stabilizer decal into several smaller ones to save you some anguish. 

The decal sheets (there are two of them) the placement sheet and the header are packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag. 

The recommended kit is the Hasegawa one. 

Recommended.

Thanks to AeroMaster / Eagle Strike Products for the review sets

On-line sales are available from the AeroMaster Products / Eagle Strike Productions web site.

Review TextCopyright © 2003 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 27 August, 2003
Last updated 11 August, 2006

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