1:72 F-14A Tomcat, VF-154 Black Knights NF100, 2000

1:72 F-14A Tomcat of the US Navy, the year 2000

A finished collector model in 1:72 scale. It is not a kit: it is supplied assembled, painted and with the markings applied, so nothing needs doing with it and it goes straight into the display case. The model carries the markings of a carrier aircraft from the year 2000 in the guise of the squadron commander's aircraft, which tends to be the most striking in color.

The real subject

The F-14 was a two-seat carrier-based fighter with a variable-sweep wing: for takeoff and landing it spread out for lift, and in fast flight it swept back. It carried two engines and a powerful radar, which together with long-range guided missiles allowed it to engage a target at a distance no other aircraft of the day could match. The crew consisted of a pilot and an officer working the radar and the weapons. It was precisely this pairing that made it an effective tool for defending a formation of ships.

How a collector model differs from a kit

A kit gives the modeler freedom: the colors, the markings and the degree of wear are his own choice and the result is one of a kind. A finished model, by contrast, offers the certainty of an exactly specified version, a uniform look across the whole collection and the immediate option of standing it in a display case. Collections of finished models therefore grow in series, where one machine complements the next.

How to keep the model

• Display it out of direct sunlight, which fades the colors over time
• Remove dust with a soft brush, not with a cloth, which abrades the markings
• Hold the model by the fuselage, not by the wings and the tail surfaces
• Leave it room in the display case so that neighboring pieces do not touch