Great Wall Hobby (GWH) F-14B Tomcat 1:48

Summary

This kit took me quite a while to ‘get into’ due to its complexity and having been used to the ease in which the Tamiya F-14 has gone together in previous builds. I purposely opted to build this with the options on display for two reasons; firstly, to show what the kit offers over the Tamiya kit and secondly because I wasn’t sure how well the parts would fit in the closed positions. On the fist I think the finished kit shows the options very well and on the second point I needn’t have worried as the fit is excellent in all the options offered. I do still have some reservations about the wing sweep mechanism and how it has been approached with the removable rear glove sections. I understand this is necessary for accuracy but in my opinion, it does overly complicate this area of the build, hence why I opted for the forward sweep option and glued the parts in place. My other main observation is the weapons offered in the kit, given its price I would have liked to see a selection more appropriate for a B model.

So, I suppose the big question is how this kit stacks up against its competition, namely Tamiya and AMK? The kit is more closely aligned with the AMK kit than the Tamiya in its breakdown and options but its overall fit and detail is better and even with the AMK kit having a better weapon selection I would choose this kit if I had to choose between them.

Now for the comparison with the Tamiya kit and this is far more difficult to quantify as both models offer the modeller very different builds. The Tamiya kit is probably the better designed kit with a better overall fit of the parts but the GWH gives you far more options and the detail is better in lots of areas such as the cockpit, the engine nozzles and the undercarriage and their bays. I suppose in the end it comes down to what you personally want from a kit. If I wanted a clean build with the wings swept back and the canopy closed I would choose the Tamiya kit, if I wanted the wing swept forward, open airbrakes and the canopy open the GWH is the better option.

I’ve given you my opinion of this kit when compared to the others out there and hopefully it will help you choose the right F-14 for you given your requirements for the finished model.
Overall a great kit but not for the inexperienced builder.
Dave C.

GALLERY IMAGES

Here’s my summary

Great Wall Hobby (GWH) F-14B Tomcat 1:48	STAR RATING
Quality of moulding	****
Accuracy	***
Instructions	***
Decals	***
Subject choice	*****
Build enjoyment	***
Overall	****

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