This one just landed in my collection from the FlyingMule
Witty Wings (Sky Guardians) Grumman F-14A Tomcat
USN VX-4 Evaluators, "Vandy 1 / Black Bunny"
NAS Point Magu, CA 1985 (WT-WTW72009-25)
I have Century Wings F-14 Vandy 1 but I decided to pick up Witty Wing's version as well since it is a different alteration to the Black Bunny. In all, a total of 4 F-14 Vandy 1 existed:
Quote:
1.) The First (matt) Black F-14A "Vandy-1" was BuNo 161287 ( XF-01 ) and was used for a Chance of Command ceremony of Capt. R. "Moon" vance. 23 June 1985 , Capt Hank M. Kleeman ( Sukhoi killer ) took over command of VX-4 with in the background the Black Tomcat. ( XF-01 ) This paint scheme lasted only for two weeks ( water base paint )
2.) In 1987 VX-4 presented the second Black Tomcat during the 1987 Point Mugu Airshow , The 161444 XF-1 , flew only for a short while in this scheme , after some photo shoots , a formation flight with another Vandy-1 ( F-4S 158358 ) the matt black paint was removed in October 1987.
3.) The third Black Tomcat ( the first Permanent ) was the 159853 XF-1 was accepted by Capt. Fred "Wigs " Ludwig on the 10th of April 1990 . This was done by Grumman after they had heard that VX-4 was planning to use a F/A-18 for the next Vandy-1 .The 159853 flew in its glossy black scheme until October 1992.
4.) We all know the fourth Black Tomcat F-14D 164604 XF-1 it arrived at Point Mugu on 17 September 1994 ,and it was used as background for the disestablishment / establishment ceremony of VX-4 / VX-9 on 30 September 1994. This Tomcat flew with VX-9 until 2004 ( it was WFU on 16 July 2004)
Courtesy of David H.
Therefore for those people who have the Century Wing's F-14, this might be worth a second look since it's not a duplicate. Here is some pictures:
Side by side with CW F-14
Here she is on the far right with the rest of the black bunnies
Now it's been a while since I've had a Witty Wings F-14 in my collection, this is the first time I've had the series 2 version with optional gears and weapons. To be honest, this plane has to be displayed with gears down and no loadout. why? Well because this paint scheme is not meant for war - it doesn't need weapons. And if you look closer, the sparrows' rear fin doesn't go into the pylons. In addition, if you have it gear up, a portion of the main landing gear is exposed. So if I were you, keep it clean and grounded and it would look it's best.
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Yup, I guess that is true. Cw should be way better since it demands double sometimes triple compared to what others manufacturers are asking. Though this witty wings release looks really good in my opinion. Don't see much difference from the cw release.
I'm a bit surprised at how nice this looks. I guess it's the black paint. It compliments Witty's mold nicely. The flat gray they use on their Navy planes doesn't look right to me.
The only problem I see is the windscreen and canopy, but for the price, it's not a show stopper.
It would be great to see a side-by-side comparison of these two, because I know a lot of people will be asking for it. This shows me enough to want to get one, but I probably won't due to space.
This one just landed in my collection from the FlyingMule
Now it's been a while since I've had a Witty Wings F-14 in my collection, this is the first time I've had the series 2 version with optional gears and weapons. To be honest, this plane has to be displayed with gears down and no loadout. why? Well because this paint scheme is not meant for war - it doesn't need weapons. And if you look closer, the sparrows' rear fin doesn't go into the pylons. In addition, if you have it gear up, a portion of the main landing gear is exposed. So if I were you, keep it clean and grounded and it would look it's best.
Excellent post, you are an encyclopedia, SKF. I have a Tomcat, Series 2, of the Witty. Part of the landing gear exposed, was one of the Things That turned me off from buying other Tomcats of the Witty.
looks ok to me. but then i am not an expert as i collect mostly commercial airliner. but i have just got my first CW F-14 JOLLY ROGER!! and have pre-ordered the 'vandy 1' for august!! just a question, what do you think of the dragon wings, and franklin mnt 1/48 black bunnies??? any pics?? thanks.
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I never owned a DW F-14, it doesn't have a nose probe so that killed the deal for me. I did have the Franklin Mint F-14 before - if it was the Vandy then it's ok, but if its any other scheme, I wouldn't recommend it since its so static. Wings don't move, no optional gear, pilots, weapons...etc. It's missing a lot of detail like pitot tubes. And it has decals so it was peel over time. So I'm not a big fan of those large FM models. The reason why I say the Vandy scheme is ok is because it should be displayed gears down and wings folded back like all FM F-14s.
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I'm a bit surprised at how nice this looks. I guess it's the black paint. It compliments Witty's mold nicely. The flat gray they use on their Navy planes doesn't look right to me.
The only problem I see is the windscreen and canopy, but for the price, it's not a show stopper.
It would be great to see a side-by-side comparison of these two, because I know a lot of people will be asking for it. This shows me enough to want to get one, but I probably won't due to space.
True beauty, my favorite fighter jet and exact same scheme. Sad they are gone, I really liked the extendable and collapsible wings. Kinda reminds me of the Russian Su-35, hmmmm I wonder if they copied the US Navy....Nice model.
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Favorite Aircraft:
Civil Jet: Boeing 727
Military Jet: F-14D Tomcat
Helicopter: A/MH6x (Civilian not AH-6j littlebird)
Military Helicopeter: AH-1z Viper
Witty Wings F-14 USN VX-4 Evaluators "Vandy 1/ Black Bunny" WTW72009-25
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