|
Italeri 1/72 F14 Tomcat |
This is an
updated English version of my Italeri 1/72 Tomcat build review. Original
Indonesian version can be found here.
The Grumman F14 Tomcat
To be honest,
I not used to be a big fan of Tomcat. For me it’s just a big fat expensive
interceptor. Tomcats air to air combat record is not impressive. It famous
after shot down Libyan Su22, just an attack aircraft, not an agile
fighter.
Then
everything changes after I watched Top Gun movie almost six times in a week. I have
to admit the ingenuity of this movie displaying agility of a fat Tomcat next to
small A4 and F5. I’m very impressed by Tomcat’s agility. Especially when
considering its original role as a high speed interceptor, designed to shoot
down enemy supersonic bombers before they can launch their missiles. Yes,
bombers, not bomber, because Tomcat can track and shoot multiple targets at
once with their Phoenix
missiles. Even though Tomcat never performs this role, its presence must be put
a lot of headache in Soviet naval planners to develop a plan to sink US
carriers.