VFA-103guy

Hey..look at that!! I have NEVER seen a lo vis VF-1 tomcat..pretty cool! I stand corrected. Ha Ha...leave it to Brian P to have the keys to the magic reference locker..lol

I've got 2 tats..One that says "Lost Cause" on my right forearm, and I have the infantry crossed rifles on my left forearm. All free work from favors owed by customers I've met coming into the club I work at part time..boucning at an adult entertainment club does have it's privilages..

Here's some VF-103 pics from 2003-2005 Vic 110 from the 2001/2002 cruise Vic 103 from March 2004 Vic 105 from the 2004 COMPTUEX Another shot of Vic 105 March 2004 Vic 102 from March 2004 gah..had to go back and edit the dates!!

Was it just the one jet they did in the heater/Ferris? I coulda swore it was 106 and 101, but my tomcat knowledge is fading.

VF-1 never officially hit the mainstream lo-vis like what was seen from DS1 on. The most lo-vis they ever got was when they had a jet or two painted up in the Heater/Ferris scheme, but other than that they pretty much stayed overall 36440 with 36081 subdued markings.

D-Rob is correct. There really is no simple answer to the orginal question. If you want detailed info on the VF-103 last tomcats, or their jets from 2000-2005, I've got about as much info as one could gather considering my interaction with the squadron during those 5 years.

Yep..the new font for the AG is cool

Nothing new...VFA-103 CAG tails as of last week..they dropped the 70th Ann markings and went back to the black and yellow...thank God.

Randy- You building the current hi-vis jet with the large bat on the tails? If so, that's a pretty sweet looking scheme!

Tom- Please accept my apologies..I was wrong about the guys calling you out on the forums, but like I said..it's been several years since I've logged into the site and quite frankly my interest in F-14's, models and the like just isn't there any more. I did manage to snag up a copy of the Iranian F-14's in combat book to see for myself, and honestly I know when to eat crow. You've done some serious home work on those jets obviously, and you know your stuff.. This my attempt to burry the hatchet and prove I can be an arse from time to time.

Yeah..I stopped building last year. But thanks.

I keep hearing that, but I have no passion for this hobby any more. Hell, I barely care enough to answer F-14 or Jolly Rogers questions any more...I just don't have it in me to give a rip. But, I hang around cause I like to see stuff people are working on..ironic I know, but I've given up. I have a stack of half built kits sitting in my old hobby room, some that were started 5-6 years ago that will never get finished..still haven't figured out why I hold on to them. Sorry to have rambled on.

No kidding..I hated that new plastic they're using. The last revell F-14D I bought was the original box produced in 1993. Got the kit for $5 and if I ever come out of model building retirement, I'll build it up as a VF-101 F-14D.

The Revell A & D kits are EXACTLY the same kits and come from the same molds. However, if you bought any of the kits that were molded back in the 90's, the quaility of the kit plastic was better and detail was a bit sharper. Even the newer releases of Revell's F-14B and D kits with all the bombcat updates are the same kit with some newer parts. To improve accuracy of the kit, Steel Beach makes some nice update sets for a reasonable cost.

Hey, as much as I bust Jeremy's chops, the guy does his home work. The information I posted was from an official DoD report that had come down our supply chain from about 7 years ago. The number of pics of airframes flying out of the IRAF bases has almost tripled since then. Have they been painting different numbers on the jets..I doubt it, but the thought of them pulling off any type of false propoganda wouldn't surprise me. Hell, in the infantry, we have ways of making an enemy thing we're a larger force than what we are...same principal applies here. And honestly, I'd trust J's word over

If you were ever on the F-14 Association boards, Tom was called out a few times for posting inaccurate information about the Iranian F-14's as I recall. As a forum admin, I ususally stayed out of it, but if memory serves correctly he got creamed a couple of times by folks in the know...then again, it's been over 3 years since I've logged into that forum.

The official intel on how many operational F-14's Iran has in flying service is lower than 30 I'm afraid. They have roughly about 15, maybe 20 jets flying, and the fact they've been able to keep said airframes flying whether it be 15 or 50, is truly remarkable within itself. And yes, about 80% of what Tom Cooper publishes is not accurate, although it's interesting reading and to me his "reports" give an interesting perspective on Iranian air power. To me it's just good reading material while dropping a deuce. The point being is, who really gives a rip. On the plus, I think the increase in

meh..your stuff sucks Darren...you'll never be as good as the D-Rob guy..lol Just kidding man..loving the RA-3B!

Basically to prevent the doors from getting caught up in the baskets when the jets hit the tanker. It's based on mission requirements/operational tempo, and how often the jets will re-fuel while on station.

Oh hello Blue Blasters!

I've actually seen the process done with US Navy jets. For an F-18 for example, typically, there's a crew of about 4-8, 19 year old kids with orbital sanders working around the clock to sand the paint off, then the jet is washed down and allowed to dry from 1-7 days pending on the weather conditions. Then the masking process starts with lot of tape and brown paper. Once the jet is prep'd, the base tactical scheme is applied. This takes any where from 1-3 days to dry (again weather permitting), then side/flap/tail numbers and other squadron markings are added. Squadron shops have pre-cut vyni

Very Nice!!! Don't know how I missed this!

The articles are posted on Z5

The best replacement for the TCS is the one that Avionox produced in their "bombcat" set. Otherwise, you need to hit up Revell of Germany and get one out of the black F-14 kit..those are seriously your best options.

Fightertown Decals just released a decal sheet with ALL of these jets. www.fightertowndecals.com