F-14D Tomcat
VF-31 Final Days CAG Bird
 

Jasmine Model, 1/48 Scale

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

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Well, it never seems that it never rains but it pours!

Fans of U.S. naval aviation have had it good recently with two new decal manufacturers releasing sheets covering the contemporary machines gracing the flight decks of both Atlantic and Pacific Fleet carriers. To add to their glee, there is now another new player to the decal world, Jasmine Model.

As far as I can work out, Jasmine Model is based in Shanghai, China and they sell their decals directly from net via their website at http://www.jasmodel.com/Top_E.htm  . I have seen them on E-Bay too with the seller linking back to the website.

This sheet is their first one in 1/48 scale and it provides markings for a single machine, Bureau number 1643423 when it was painted up as the final F-14D CAG bird of VF-31 Tomcatters in September 2006.

1643423 is a pretty colourful bird even by CAG bird standards. She is finished in the standard tactical paint scheme finish of FS35237 dark blue/grey over FS36375 light compass grey. She displays yellow tipped black vertical stabilisers (the yellow tips are supplied as decals) and black painted canopy framing/anti-glare panels and spine, full colour national markings and safety stencil markings. Her outer faces of her vertical stabilisers wear full colour VF-31 Felix emblems incorporating a “Safety E” within the bomb as well as symbols representing three other awards. The first and last of which look to be the Arleigh Burke Award and U.S. Fleet Forces Command Golden Anchor respectively. I’m not sure, but the centre one looks to be a symbol representing the fact that VF-31 was credited with being the last F-14 unit to drop a bomb in combat. The inner surfaces of her vertical stabilisers bear large Carrier Wing Eight insignia. The squadron zaps for the drop tanks also sport colour in the form of red, white and blue flag, or a red and white striped top hat.

Stencil data is confined to the larger more visible items. These include the yellow block rescue instructions for the forward fuselage, a set of slime lights, red intake warnings, red turbine stripes, ejection seat warning triangles and some rather large “no step” warnings.

A complete set of instrument panel and side console decals are also included as are two seats of ejection seat harnesses.

The decals themselves are silk screen printed and glossy. The appropriate colours look to have been printed on top of a white background. This makes them a little on the thick side but will ensure that they will be opaque when applied over a dark background. Everything is in perfect register on my sample but there is a small smudge on one of the 100 modex decals that will be hard to rectify as it is on the white “shadowing” that the decal wears.

The decal placement guide is small at 7¼” x 10¼” sheet that has full colour left and right hand side profiles in 1/100 scale and upper and lower plan views in 1/200 scale. Whilst visually pleasing as artwork, it falls short as a placement guide as the smaller details (stencil data) is very difficult to ascertain. Similarly, it is impossible to make out the camouflage demarcation as the illustration is more an artistic rendition rather than an information illustration.

Packaging is via a thin cellophane bag with a gummed strip to seal it. Not good at all as it is neigh on impossible to re insert the decal sheet, the waxed paper protective sheet and the cardboard backing/header card back into it without the gummed strip fouling it all!

The application of this Jasmine Mode sheet in 1/48 scale will produce a great looking 1/48 scale F-14 and the company is a welcome addition to the decal producers world.

Recommended to those who have alternative references in their library so as to overcome the inadequate placement guide.

Thanks to Jasmine Model for the review sample.

Review Copyright © 2007 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 19 September, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

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