F-14 VF-31

[jjuwana]

Guys, I just bought my first revell kit, it's a F-14D 1/72, what confused me is the exact color of this a/c ? On the box art the radome is painted radome tan, while on the I/S it's overall gull grey (???)

Anyone can help me sort this out ?

Regards

JAhja

[Jay Chladek]

I'm pretty sure it is overall gray. I don't recall seeing any tan radomes on D models, unless a test bird had one. Usually, the tan radomes tended to be a product of the early A jets and they pretty much went bye bye when the gloss gull gray paintjobs did (some went when the gray over white paintjobs did, but other squadrons hung onto it until they went to TPS). Hopefully somebody with more definative information will post to say for sure though as in the case of Tomcats, there can be exceptions to the rule.

[jjuwana]

Thanks Jay, the marking supplied for this kit is for the CAG bird CMIIW, is there any exception on the CAG bird ??

Is the bird painted in overall gull gray color ??

Please pardon my silly question, I'm not a Tomcat guy, but I sure love that bird <_<

Regards

JAhja

[Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy]

Unless it was a special-schemed retro bird, I can't imagine a D would have been done in Gull gray. Any way you could show us the box art, or at least link us to an existing photo of it online so we could see which scheme exactly is in question? I'll bet you'll get VERY definitive answers really quickly then! <_<

[jjuwana]

Thanks Andrew, here's the link to the box art, hopefully I can get a very definitive answer then, thank you guys

http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/port...d-f/f-14d-i.htm

Jahja

[tomcatter727]

Heres the real plane. Looks gull gray to me, and the radome is not painted in a different color.

Edited November 4, 2006 by tomcatter727

[jjuwana]

Hey, thanks tomcatter, do you have any printed pics of this squadron ? I think it'll look great in my daughter's room

JAhja

[jjuwana]

Ooops, forgot to ask, is the color all over gull gray ? Is it ok, if I dull coated it ?

JAhja

[phantom]

Looks like faded TPS, not 36440. A mostly 36375 with subtle 36320 on the sides should do you well.

[tomcatter727]

Looks like faded TPS, not 36440. A mostly 36375 with subtle 36320 on the sides should do you well.

Looks a little light to be a TPS to my eye, compare to the jet in the background. I'd say gull gray, IMHO.

Edited November 4, 2006 by tomcatter727

[tomcatter727]

Hey, thanks tomcatter, do you have any printed pics of this squadron ? I think it'll look great in my daughter's room

JAhja

Actually I just got that from google image search, lol.

But I do have some VF-31 pics, such as this http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5815820

or 4 VF-31 jets

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5815826

Edited November 4, 2006 by tomcatter727

[phantom]

Only 36440 F-14 in recent memory was VF-213's AJ-213 on CVW-8's last cruise.

Don't think VF-31 has had one since AE-100 back on the Forrestal with a black radome. I'm still thinkin' very faded TPS, mostly 36375 showing. Could even be overall 36375 but not sure on that one.

Also the ones in Tomcatters link are of VF-31's last cruise/flight time with CVW-8. That plane I know is TPS. And certainly 102 behind it is.

Edited November 4, 2006 by phantom

[Armchair Aviator]

Actually I just got that from google image search, lol.

But I do have some VF-31 pics, such as this http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5815820

or 4 VF-31 jets

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5815826

Just want to set something straight here, the Tomcat no longer uses the Gull Gray scheme and has not for a very long time.

jjuwana, colors you want are Dark Ghost Gray FS36320 over the top and Light Ghost Gray FS36375 over sides and bottom. If your going to do the Tophatters CAG Cat paint the vert stabs flat black and use the Ghost Gray scheme. The Ghost Gray paint scheme is what the Navy painted all F-14D's before they retired the F-14.

AA

[tomcatter727]

Maybe I'm just crazy. But here is the VF-31 CAG jet almost the same timeframe, pretty sure its the same BuNo. I know gull gray is long gone for tactical naval a/c but it seems that at at leat one point the VF-31 had a Delta in gull gray.

Looking at the revell box it appears the featured jet has a 100 modex number. So this pic would be correct for it.

:edit:

Sorry for not being clear in my above post, the images I linked to I took this year. Those are TPS for sure. Only posted to go with the conversation, not to do with the original topic.

Edited November 4, 2006 by tomcatter727

[Armchair Aviator]

Maybe I'm just crazy. But here is the VF-31 CAG jet same timeframe, pretty sure its the same BuNo. I know gull gray is long gone for tactical naval a/c but it seems that at at leat one point the VF-31 had a Delta in gull gray.

Looking at the revell box it appears the featured jet has a 100 modex number. So this pic would be correct for it.

:edit:

Sorry for not being clear in my above post, the images I linked to I took this year. Those are TPS for sure. Only posted to go with the conversation, not to do with the original topic.

Tomcatter,

Please look closely at both pictures especially the one of NK200. You will notice there is a contrast line between two colors on the nose just forward of the windscreen and anti glare panel and those are dark ghost gray and light ghost gray with darker of the two going over the very top on the nose. The way the sun hits the plane does make it look darker but I assure you it's a ghost gray tactical scheme. Planes low-vis markings are still done in gull gray if that is what your refering to.

AA

[Andy Mullen]

Looks FS*6440 ish to me - subject of the Revell (Germany) boxing #04392 - Roving Sands 1997

Photo - Mike Burgoyne

Photo: U.S. Navy

Edited August 15, 2008 by Andy Mullen

[Jay Chladek]

Just want to set something straight here, the Tomcat no longer uses the Gull Gray scheme and has not for a very long time.

jjuwana, colors you want are Dark Ghost Gray FS36320 over the top and Light Ghost Gray FS36375 over sides and bottom. If your going to do the Tophatters CAG Cat paint the vert stabs flat black and use the Ghost Gray scheme. The Ghost Gray paint scheme is what the Navy painted all F-14D's before they retired the F-14.

AA

You are correct that this model probably should be TPS. But, all the last F-14 squadrons did roll out gull gray over white painted jets over the past year in the runnup to Sunset. So there is justification for seeing it on a recent Tomcat. VF-101 had one in gray over white for airshows, VF-213 I believe had at least one jet in all over gull gray and VF-31 had 103 painted up in High Vis gray over white generic Tomcat colors as well (although I don't think it flew like this).

Edited November 4, 2006 by Jay Chladek

[tomcatter727]

You are correct that this model should be TPS. But, all the last F-14 squadrons did roll out gull gray over white painted jets over the past year in the runnup to Sunset. So there is justification for seeing it on a recent Tomcat. VF-101 had one in gray over white for airshows, VF-213 I believe had at least one jet in all over gull gray and VF-31 had 103 painted up in High Vis gray over white generic Tomcat colors as well (although I don't think it flew like this).

You are correct, they never flew in those colors. AJ103 was painted as a tribute to grumman and the tomcat, 102 being the low vis version.

[Jay Chladek]

Looks like Andy has found the proof, especially considering that there is a TPS jet in the background of the first photo.

[phantom]

Have to admit, the photo Andy found does look like 16440. Especially when you notice the drop tank.

[Darren Roberts]

I'll clear this up quite quickly. The VF-31 CAG jet was indeed Light Gull Gray. How do I know you this, you ask? I stood next to it at the Whiteman AFB airshow back in '97. It was the first Delta 'Cat I'd ever seen, and the thing that struck me was the BOL rails, which I'd never seen before. They later painted in into tactical colors, which is what's causing the confusion. The Revell color callouts for Light Gull Gray are indeed correct. VF-2 also had a Gull Gray/White scheme around this same timeframe.

Edited November 5, 2006 by Darren Roberts

[Daniel_B]

Just want to set something straight here, the Tomcat no longer uses the Gull Gray scheme and has not for a very long time.

jjuwana, colors you want are Dark Ghost Gray FS36320 over the top and Light Ghost Gray FS36375 over sides and bottom. If your going to do the Tophatters CAG Cat paint the vert stabs flat black and use the Ghost Gray scheme. The Ghost Gray paint scheme is what the Navy painted all F-14D's before they retired the F-14.

AA

Wait a minute--I know different squadrons had different variations on the TPS, but shouldn't that be 35237 on the upper surfaces, 36320 on the horizontal, and 36375 on the underside?

Daniel

Edited November 5, 2006 by AP_Hancock

[tomcatter727]

Wait a minute--I know different squadrons had different variations on the TPS, but shouldn't that be 35237 on the upper surfaces, 36320 on the horizontal, and 36375 on the underside?

Daniel

In general yeah, but there are never any hard "rules". The TPS was sometimes simplifed to two or even one color.

[Daniel_B]

In general yeah, but there are never any hard "rules". The TPS was sometimes simplifed to two or even one color.

I guess that's where reference photos come in so valuable. I'm actually doing one now with a layout like AA described--I was just double-double-checking on the 'standard' version of it. 'Cause for awhile there, I was under the impression that the dk. ghost was on the upper surfaces, and the medium gray was on the horizontal ones. Luckily I realized I had that backwards before I screwed up and painted anything that way...

Daniel

[Armchair Aviator]

I guess that's where reference photos come in so valuable. I'm actually doing one now with a layout like AA described--I was just double-double-checking on the 'standard' version of it. 'Cause for awhile there, I was under the impression that the dk. ghost was on the upper surfaces, and the medium gray was on the horizontal ones. Luckily I realized I had that backwards before I screwed up and painted anything that way...

Daniel

First of all when your for building an aircraft model and you want total accuracy you cannot rely on the box art... any modeler worth his salt knows this. Yes, I agree reference photo's help alot but, researching the plane your planning to have your kit represent goes alot farther than just getting pics of the plane. Pictures alone will NOT tell you what colors they painted the aircraft, you need to look up technical specs, find web sites that show paint schemes for the aircraft, read some printed info on the aircraft you want to build as.

The VF-31 CAG F-14D Tomcat NK100 1998 USS Abe Lincoln did infact use the ghost gray scheme. However. I did my homework and it was painted all over light ghost gray. NK200 was painted in dk ghost and lt ghost.

http://www.brookhursthobbies.com/camdecals....asp?img=48-047

http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-squadron-vf031.htm

http://www.anft.net/f-14/merch-print-031-07.htm

I didnt want to turn this into a big debate. I just wanted to help a fellow modeler and share my experience.

AA

Edited November 5, 2006 by Armchair Aviator