A comprehensive digital guidebook about making U.S. Navy Fighters from the Cold War era featuring Tamiya's 1/48th F-14A in the VF-14 Tophatters' 80th anniversary scheme.
Looks uncannily like this F14A…
That’s because its the same modeller.
Andy 
I figured, didn’t think to put that in my post 
The squadron represented in the cover is VF-32 “Fighting Swordsmen” out of NAS Oceana, VIrginia. During their 1988-89 Cruise in the Med; two of the squadron’s 'cats; call signs “Gypsy 202” and “Gypsy 207” flying in international waters near Libya, intercepted and shot down two Libyan Mig-23s that flew out of Tobruk.
1989 air battle near Tobruk - Wikipedia
Both aircraft are being preserved; one at Udvar-Hazy, the other one at Davis-Monthan AFB.
The squadron represented on the cover is VF-14 “Tophatters”, during their 80th anniversary cruise and based on this reference photo:
Without the shot of the tail in the cover photo, it’s hard to tell! Based on the information in the Fightertown Decals “Big Red Fighter Squadron” BuNo. 162698 got it’s tails repainted in white right at the end of the cruise in 1999, aboard USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT during Operation Allied Force - hence why they’re so pearly white.
Thanks for sharing the footage, something I’ve never seen before! Maybe my next F-14 build will have to be one of the two “Gypsy” planes.
I stand corrected then. I thought it was a “Swordsman” 'Cat.
This is “Gypsy 207” one of the two planes involved in the 1989 Tobruk shoot down, in its original A model designation before it was upgraded to F-14D(R) “Super Tomcat” designation.
Same plane, upgraded to F-14D(R) designation. On permanent display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
Ooo! I do quite like that two-tone grey scheme, part of why I like F-14s so much! You could probably build 50 of them and not have built the same scheme twice!
Cheers,
Nick
