Grumman F-14D Tomcat – Vandy 1, VX-9 Vampires, US Navy, NAS Point Mugu, CA, 1997

Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA5248: Grumman F-14D Tomcat Vandy 1 of VX-9 Vampires, US Navy, NAS Point Mugu, CA, 1997. Production run of 500 models.

Length 10.25 inches Wingspan 10.75 inches

F-14D BuNo 164604 c/n 632 was the last Tomcat to be produced and was delivered to the USN on July 10, 1992 and assigned to the Test & Evaluation units VX-4 and VX-9 as Vandy 1. VX-9 “Vampires” was created when VX-4 and VX-5 merged. The first F-14 to wear the black livery was 159853 and 164604 was the last. On July 2, 2004 164604 made its last flight when it flew to NAS Oceana and serves as gate guard and repainted as VF-103 “Jolly Rogers”.

Designed to carry the formidable long range AIM-54 Phoenix missile, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat was first flown on December 21st, 1970. Made famous by the Hollywood film Top Gun, the F-14 replaced the F-4 Phantom II as the US Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter. Its design includes a variable geometry wing that can sweep back for high speed supersonic intercepts and forward for improved positioning in air to air dogfights. Nicknamed “Bombcat,” the F-14 spent much of its late career in an air-to-ground role, carrying the Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) system.