F-14D Tomcat

Hasegawa | No. 51544 | 1:48

Facts

Brand:: Hasegawa
Title:: F-14D Tomcat
Number:: 51544 (Also listed as SP44)
Scale:: 1:48
Type:: Full kit
Released:: 1991 New parts
Barcode:: 4967834515444 (EAN)
Packaging:: Rigid box (Top opener)
Topic:: Grumman F-14 Tomcat » Jets (Aircraft)

Markings

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Grumman F-14D Super Tomcat

US Navy (1794-now)

VF-124 Gunfighters 431
VX-4 Evaluators 52

Box contents

Plastic sprue, Plastic sprue (Clear), Photoetched fret, Whitemetal, Rubber, Decalsheet (waterslide)

Boxart designed by Shigeo Koike

Product timeline

Full history »

Instructions

We don't have the exact instruction sheets, but we have them for:

F-14A Tomcat `Pacific Fleet Squadrons´

Hasegawa 1:48

07018 (P18) 1988 New tool

Download 8027Kb (.pdf)

Marketplace

No partner shops available

In-box reviews

External reviews

We don't know about any in-box reviews for this F-14D Tomcat (#51544) from Hasegawa.

Magazines

Replic | 04

French (TOC: 24 lines)

June 1991

Comments

Ron Garcia
Second to last F-14 in my stash. Basically the same as all the other Hasegawa F-14s; maybe you'll get lucky and it will go together relatively smoothly or you will have lots of fit issues in the main landing gear wells and where the forward and rear fuselages meet. I had issues with the latter, but, since this was the seventh one of these I've built in a row, it wasn't a major obstacle or surprise.

Unlike the Hasegawa A and A+ kits - which I would kind of recommend (depending on whether you encounter major or minor fit issues) - I would not recommend this D version.

Other than a few minor changes in the cockpit (new seats, instrument panels, HUD glass, cowls) and a new sensor pod, it's basically the same as the A and A+ kits.

This is the D version and there are no bomb racks or the new pylon for the LANTIRN pod. I'm used to Hasegawa not including weapons - which is another issue altogether - but this is just plain unacceptable for an aircraft that was upgraded to carry bombs.

I ended up modifying one of the pylons to hold an AMK Models LANTIRN pod and just glued the bombs from various other weapons kits in my stash straight to the pallets. It looks OK.

My recommendation if you still have this kit in your stash, sell it and get the Tamiya one instead.

7 July 2021, 03:08

Daniel Machado
So, it's easy to backdate to an A version and let the D for the Tamiya?
Thanks.

10 August 2022, 12:57

Ron Garcia
If I recall correctly, kind of. I don't remember if this version included both sets of parts needed for the correct cockpit A and A+ configuration. I would definitely buy the Tamiya version as it has what you need to build a D version including the weapons. Please keep in mind that I have not built the Tamiya kit, but I referred to the instructions for it found on Scalemates many times to help with the weapon loadouts. I think the Hasegawa version was just rushed out the door so they could have the first F-14D on the market (just my opinion). Hope this helps.

Edit: After thinking about it a bit, I believe the kit was the exact same as the A/A+ version with an added sprue for the D cockpit parts. Don't quote me on that, though!

10 August 2022, 23:31