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VF-84 Operation Eagle Claw 1980


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Is anyone aware of a listing of F-14s assigned to VF-84 by bureau number during the 1980 time frame?  Would like to correctly depict one in 1/48 using the Tamiya kit and unsure if the beaver tail, gun vent set up and chin pod in the kit is correct to do so.  It appears to be but if I need to grab aftermarket replacements I want to do so before they are no longer available.  Thanks in advance.  

 

BW

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VF-84 and VF-41 were both issued -95GRs when they converted over from the F-4. The Tamiya kit out of the box represents specifically the -90GR, -95GR, and -100GR variants as seen in the latter half of the 1970s. The tail stiffeners weren't added until 1981 and the beaver tail and gun gas vents were now the standard types, so from the box you can build what you are looking for. The old-style beaver tail was only seen on the -70GR and -75GR variants that VF-84 never flew.

Edited by Swordsman422
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Looks to be the all gull grey scheme with larger Stars and Bars. I think the kit decals will be reasonably representative but not 100% accurate.

 

I don't know of any decals that are Eagle-Claw specific. You'll have to paint the wing stripes probably.  Oddly, the covers are missing from both refueling probes.  I wonder if it was a mod they did specific for this mission?

 

 

 

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Edited by kozlok
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They may have anticipated taking fuel from a KC-135. The F-14 refueling probe door was just a flimsy sheet of metal. If it got smacked hard enough in an attempt to gas up, such as from the KC-135's unforgiving wrecking ball of a basket, it could knock the door off and straight down the right intake where it could FOD the engine.

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The identification markings on the starboard wing was not limited to Tomcats as suggested by the caption above. The Marines had Phantoms on board Coral Sea, and they had the I.D. markings as well, along with A-6s and A-7s. 

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Wolfpak decals 72-091 if you can source it, will get you a VMFA-531 F-4N from Coral Sea if 1/72 is OK.  I can't think of a 1/48 sheet with Eagle Claw subjects, but all you really need is to paint the recognition stripes and you has it. 

 

Rick L.

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Swordsman422: thank you, exactly the info I was looking for.  Do you mind if I ask the source?

 

kozlk: that pic is one of the better ones out there showing eagle claw/evening light F-14s.  It looks like the info above the pic includes aircraft history by bureau number and modex with dates.  Where did you find that?

 

thanks for the assistance, much appreciated.  

 

BW

 

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It's just a matter of knowing the dates that squadrons converted over to Tomcats and what the currently manufactured version was. The only fleet squadrons to get the -70GR and -75GR new were VF-1, VF-2, VF-14, and VF-32 in 1972 and 73. VF-142, VF-143, VF-211, and VF-24 converted to the -80GR and -85GR in 1974 and 75. The -80GR introduced the standard beaver tail, but still had the early 7-hole gun gas vents and no pitot tube on the nose. The -90GR and -95GR introduced the nose pitot and 2-hole gun gas vents. These went to the IIAF, and US Navy squadrons VF-41, VF-84, VF-114, and VF-213 in 1976 and 77.

 

Checking the BuNo of the aircraft you want to build against the BuNo list at Torsten Anft's site will show you what production block it fell under and thus what its features were at delivery. The VF-84 aircraft in the Tamiya box is BuNo 160393, which has a label right next to the BuNo that it's a -95GR and checking against Torsten's list verifies this label.

 

Here is one of the relevant pages on Torsten's site. http://www.anft.net/f-14/f14-serial-08.htm#95

 

Edited by Swordsman422
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Yeah, 100% those are -95GRs. The Tamiya kit will give you everything you need for the build. Decals will be another matter. You'll have to paint the stripes since decals do not exist. VF-84 decals you should be able to find pretty easily, and a VF-84 set come in the Tamiya box, but that specific aircraft, Victory 204, will be another trick entirely.

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