72nd Italeri F-14 review?

Break out the economy-size tub of filler, the big pack of wet-and-dry, and the scribing tool...

First item of consideration - the kit has raised panel lines all over. The lines appear correct, but due to the amount of filling and sanding needed during construction, it might be better to just rescribe.

The radome is misshapen - the surface is too flat on top and too curved on the bottom, giving a distinct nose-up appearance. I managed to fix it by sanding off a sifnificant slice from the rear edge - about 1 mm - and trying to get the shape conical. A better option might be to raid the Airfix/Heller kit, which isn't good for much else. Dunno about the fit of that, though.

There's a major fit issue when mating the forward fuselage to the rear, straight across the Sparrow recesses. Can't remember what the topside looks like if you get the bottom right, but it wasn't pretty the other way around.

Old-style gun vents only, IIRC - and very soft detail around the burner cans, with "full open" being the only option for both cans. There is a

*bad* representation of the A+/B engines included, the use of which requires sawing off parts of the top/bottom main fuselage.

Armament included is wierd - four phoenix, two sparrow, two sidewinders, and the TARPS pod - and the only buildable configs include the TARPS, since the aft pallets are not included, although the shoulder mounts for either Sparrow or Phoenix are. There's a "Bombcat" version with a pair of "GBU-12" LGBs, which are wrong in every aspect except maybe length, and a lackluster LANTIRN attack pod, with a pylon that looks sort of correct. Correct loadout for the original version would IIRC be something like Sparrow/Sidewinder or Phoenix/Sidewinder on the shoulder stations, TARPS at the rear, and either the Phoenix pallets only or Sparrows with cut-off fins at the front (ballast).

Anyway, get past the nose, the engines, panels, fit and armament, and it builds into something halfway decent. Remember to get another decal sheet, since at least the newer bombcat version is lacking somewhat in stencils - it's been too long since I saw the decal sheet for the other option to remember if it had the same problem, but I don't think so - Italeri is the one company I can remember whose decal sheets have gotten

*worse* over the years...

HTH!