Small Scale Military Headquarters

Good day,

I have gone back and forth on purchasing a JSI 18th scale F-14 model. I have kept up with the threads here, and now I am really thinking of buying an F-14 from a friend who has one in the box. He has offered it to me for a good price, but things such as the spots, weak landing gear, and other issues are keeping me from getting the model. Can you gents please help me make up my mind one way or another? Should I bite on the Tomcat model? Much appreciated.

i like it if it is a good deal... i would pickup another...

Yes, the F-14 has its flaws as has been been posted here quite a bit. However, it is also the largest pre-built 1:18 aircraft and one of the most detailed. I have been very, very pleased with my example, particularly onece I fixed the spots. It has given me no landing gear trouble. Since you're getting one from a friend, I would see if you can inspect it for QC issues before committing and then go for it. Should you have a good example, you will not be disappointed.

Even though I hate looking at the spots, the model itself is really amazing.
I would buy it, and let somebody take care of the spots.

Buy it.
Cleaning up the spots isn't that tough.
The tough part is masking off the markings only because it is time consuming.

And I guess metal replacement gear is coming soon.

I hang mine up though, so no need for gear.

Mine is displayed on one of pizzaguy's F-14 stands, so there's no need for a reinforced landing gear for my Tomcat.

The stupid thing is that I had to superglue the main landing gear into position, so that I can't retract it now.

I'd say buy it, especially if the price is right...You should be prepared to pay extra $$$ to possibly repaint/fix spots and change main gear, but that is not mandatory...
Look, it is really a fantastic model despite the "warts"...The 1/18 aircraft market has changed forever which means way fewer new planes and much higher prices...
Won't be too long before $200.00 looks like a pretty good deal.
I have two of JSI's F14s, both repainted, both getting new Skyworks gear, and they are the pride of my 80+ 1/18 aircraft collection!

456THBG wrote: my 80+ 1/18 aircraft collection!

What the...
Where do you display them?

I'm really lucky, I guess...My wife gave up our upstairs media/rec room, which is 20' x 25'...I have the majority of the planes hanging (very carefully) from the ceiling...The rest are sitting on shelves against the walls of the room. It was somewhat of a challenge though, because the ceiling is only 8' and I am 6'3", so I used my height as the guide on how high to hang them...Works great except for my 7 P-38's which are just low enough where I can bump them occasionally.
There is no duplication, and since I have only been collecting around 4 years, the last few Spits, P38's and F18's got a little pricey.
This is really my only hobby, and compared to some of my neighbors' hobbies, it is a relatively inexpensive one. Plus, my home office is located in the same room, so I get to enjoy them all day when I'm in town.
I posted pictures a few months ago, probably not smart enough to do it again.
I really am pretty much out of room at this point, so the lack of new planes probably has worked in my favor

Take pics. That would be very cool to see.

MM,
Out of the box the Tomcat's spotted appearance is pretty bad, the gear weak, and some parts may or may not be broken. She has potential.

With that said, after dumping a lot of money into my Cat to repaint her, she now looks awesome. I went the hard route with paint/tape/decals/etc. Like others have mentioned, I ordered a stand from PizzaGuy (Nathan), so I don't have to work about gear breakage or sagging. The bottom line is you HAVE TO be careful with it.

In my opinion, if you're picky and want a really great looking model out of the box, the S1 Tomcat isn't it. You'll have to do some work to her to get it presentable. If you want a great looking model and don't have the skills to repaint/fix spots, then Zach and Skyworks is an option.

But if you have the opportunity to see the Cat in person, do so. Its sheer size and complexity definitely has a "HOLY COW!" factor to it.

Plus the HOLY COW factor in getting it looking as it should have,from the start.

PASS.