Fightertown Decals | FTD32002: F-14
Reviewed by Randy Bumgardner
Fightertown Decals... if you like modern USN jets, then you probably have heard of them. Their specialty is producing decals for modern naval aircraft - especially the F-14. This sheet focuses on a single aircraft - F-14 "201", BuNo 160669 - deployed on the USS Nimitz during VF-24's last cruise from December 1995 through July 1996 and shortly afterward.
For the last deployment, 201 was painted as a tribute to VF-24's 41 years of service, the last 20 of which flying the F-14 Tomcat. The artwork on the tails, the fast check, was an homage to the original scheme the F-14's wore during their initial deployment with VF-24.
The second scheme on the sheet are the markings the plane wore shortly after VF-24's dis-establishment ceremony in late July 1996. The forward fuselage was repainted, providing a contrast with the weathered post-deployment airframe worthy of a decal scheme. Vice Admiral Frost's name was painted under the canopy in honor of his keynote address at the aforementioned ceremony.
The decals are very thin with a minimum of carrier film surrounding them. The colors are well done and match up nicely with their appropriate scheme. The decals also include the major stencils that are on the airframe. There are a few of small stencils, especially those for the landing gear and the ejection seat - which are great additions to this set. So be patient and be careful. The full color marking and painting guide provides the modeler with a clear color callouts and decal placement. The modeler really has to work hard to screw up the paint job with these instructions. My apologies for the poor colors in the scan, my scanner was not cooperative at all.
These decals are a very nice addition for the large scale modern jet modeler.
A big "Thank You!" to Fightertown Decals for the review samples.
Fightertown Decals are available for purchase on their website.
© Randy Bumgardner 2009
This product is available from the following LSP sponsors
This review was published on Saturday, July 02 2011; Last modified on Wednesday, May 18 2016