I’m looking to build one. I have a Hasegawa “beaver tail” kit but I need more reference photos for markings and chasis differences. depending on which prototype the gun may be gone and the stiffeners above the wings are larger. I haven’t had much luck on the web.
Hmmm… I don’ t know where to send you other than reeally lookin on the net for something. Sounds like a heck of an idea! Good Luck!
There were 14 preproduction aircraft including a 1 and 1X since the first F-14 crashed on its second flight. They were very similar in configuration except for the nose boom (or not), the sensor fairing under the nose (or not), and the gun opening - the first #1 had just a small bump in this area; early aircraft had a shorter fairing than the production one. The first #1 also had a different fairing at the intersection of the vertical fin and the fuselage. Early aircraft also had a different overwing fairing (see next post). The original beaver tail was continued into production but then was modified to eliminate a cracking problem.
About half the preproduction aircraft had various International Orange (FS12197) markings that are a red-orange color, not orange, that tends to photograph red. #2 had orange on the left hand side only of the vertical fins and on the bottom of the wings, for example.
Oh, and the overwing fairing is different on at least the early aircraft, the aft side extending aft instead of curving inboard, which is why the outboard stiffener extends farther aft:
Better yet, take a look at this web page:
MMMmmmm cool subject. Let me see what I can find…!! At the the moment this is what I have.
Can’t help you but wishing you good luck on that project!
Butz,
The black and white you posted is the first #1 that didn’t have the gun port or the full vertical fin root fairing. There aren’t too many pictures of this aircraft because it crashed on its second flight.
The first two color pictures are the prototype F-14A+ with the GE F110 engine. Its first flight was in 1981.
The last picture is BuNo 157991, Aircraft 1X, late in its career, with extendible canards (the black panels) on the forward fuselage near the nose for spin recovery assistance. Note the windshield in front of the RIO’s position that was on this particular aircraft.
T
just to help you out, someone in my thread about fujimi F-14 s stated that they are actually kits of the prototype. perhaps the fujimi kit might be a good place to start…
it seems that whichever aircraft I get the most info about will be the one I will try to build. I was hoping for 1 or 1x. I’ve been watching the Discovery Wings episode on the F-14 and while it helps, stills are better. The books I have don’t have photos of the prototypes and the Grumman history pages seem to be gone. I’m using a hasegawa since the one I have has the beaver tail already. Thanks for the replies.