COBI F-14A Tomcat Set 5811A

COBI's F-14A Tomcat is a 1:48 model built from 757 blocks, 38.5 cm long, produced under the original Top Gun and Northrop Grumman licences. The wings sweep, the landing gear retracts, the wheels turn, and a full load of weapons hangs under the fuselage. Two figures are included — Maverick and Goose, with helmets and oxygen masks — and their seats are printed with their names. A display stand and a plaque with the film's logo complete the set.

The wings move by themselves

The F-14's wings sweep from 20 to 68 degrees, and in normal flight the pilot has no control over them. A computer reads airspeed and altitude and sets the sweep continuously, hundreds of times a second, because a human cannot judge it fast enough during a dogfight.

The reason for the mechanism is a conflict that cannot otherwise be resolved. A carrier aircraft has to fly slowly enough to land on a moving deck, which wants a long straight wing. An interceptor has to reach Mach 2, which wants a short swept one. The Tomcat has both, at the cost of a wing box weighing well over a tonne.

Iran still flies them

The F-14 was retired by the US Navy on 22 September 2006, and the Americans shredded their airframes rather than store them, specifically to stop spare parts reaching the only other operator.

In 1976 the Shah of Iran bought 79 Tomcats — the only export sale ever made. Three years later the revolution changed the government and the aircraft stayed. Iran has kept a number of them flying ever since, through four decades of sanctions, by cannibalising, reverse-engineering and manufacturing parts locally. It is the only country in the world still operating the type.

Specifications

Pieces: 757 · Figures: 2, Maverick and Goose · Scale: 1:48 · Official Top Gun licence · Swing wings
Model dimensions: 38.5 × 27 × 10.5 cm (15.2 × 10.6 × 4.1 in)