[Phantom Phan1200]

From what in understang the Century Wings F-14 & Forces of Valor are the same mold or model sort of like the Corgi/Hobby Master thing.

Aside from maybe better paint & detail in markings is there any difference in the structure of these two models or build quality?
What exactly do you get for the extra $$$ over the FOV version?

I was thinking about picking a few of these up for my shop but if im going to ask my customers to shell out $60 for a 1/72 figher in a market where they have other quality choices of the same aircraft for less, I need to know what they are getting?

[David Hingtgen]

They're not the same at all---it's clear they share a "heritage", and I believe the master molds were designed by the same people--but they are 2 quite different molds.

Basically---the Century F-14 is most accurate, nicest, most detailed diecast fighter jet there is. Not just the best F-14, or best 1/72. But the best diecast jet.

It is superior to the FoV version (and the Dragon, Revell, and Witty ones as well) in every possible way. Weapons, shape, details, accuracy, paint.

[flyXwire]

I've scrutinized every inch of outline and every nook and cranny of both FOV and Century Wings F-14 molds for comparison (oh, my poor old eyes are strained to the max) and the only thing different I see is on the rear area canopy: The FOV has the 'two prong hinges thingy' molded on, while the Century one does not have it. I verified this with all available F-14 references I have in my arsenal, and the Century canopy is the right profile. So it appears, to my eyes anyway, that that's the only area that was corrected by Century Wings, all the rest has FOV's imprint on it - thus the shared 'heritage' mold.

[wieh9995]

I do not own a FOV F-14 but I can offer this on the Century Wings. I had held off on any F-14 waiting for the elusive Black Aces. I broke down and had to buy this one. From the 1st opening of the box lid it is "Oh my". This is impressive, the details, the weight, the paint, everything. I have not put the ordinance on but the landing gear fit snug & perfect. No drilling/gluing required. From a F-14 virgin I can say this is the one. As for the price if you consider a JU-88 or B-25 will cost the same, this is close to the same size.

[David Hingtgen]

Ok, I'm going to have to revise my statement (after looking at more pics of the Fov one)---they're closer than I thought, especially the weapons. That'll teach me to make a comparison post when I only own one of the molds and am relying on memory of pics of the other... (though usually I'm quite good at that)

Question: Pilot's boarding steps. Are they raised on the FoV? It's clear they're engraved as "split" rectangles, but are they raised like Witty did? (The Century ones are right, one of the first things I checked)

::edit::

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by David Hingtgen

Question: Pilot's boarding steps. Are they raised on the FoV? It's clear they're engraved as "split" rectangles, but are they raised like Witty did? (The Century ones are right, one of the first things I checked)

::edit::

They're both (FOV & Century Wings) the same - engraved.

[ZS-VAN]

So are you lot saying that Century F14s are worth the considerable additional cost? I have two Dragons and am quite content. Yes, I know the Dragon Tomcats have been slated in the past but last time l looked they pretty much resembled F14s.

[Panther10]

Originally Posted by ZS-VAN

So are you lot saying that Century are worth the considerable additional cost? I have two Dragons and a quite content. Yes, I know the Dragon Tomcats have be slated in the past but last time l looked they pretty much resembled F14s.

They don't even have the Alpha probes featured on the tip of the nose. The absence of that feature alone makes me hate the Dragon F-14's. I'm also not a big fan of the blue-tinted canopy

[David Hingtgen]

I already said the Century F-14 is the "best diecast jet money can buy", and have gone on plenty of rants about the numerous errors and just plain lower quality of Dragon's F-14's. IMHO Dragon and Witty are tied for worst F-14. FoV and Revell are about tied for 2nd best. Century is far superior to all.

[RJLee]

The Century F-14A has a number of refinements over the FOV equivalent, including:

- probe detail (metal and in-scale, as opposed to oversized plastic probes)
- corrected and reinforced nosegear (the FOV model filled in a large area behind the cat shuttle)
- removable pilots (FOV's are fixed)
- refined ejection seats (including overhead ejection loops that are in the proper scale rather than the clumsy plastic exaggerations in the FOV model)
- innovative canopy mechanism that hides the hinge (as opposed to oversized plastic hinges)
- higher-quality paint

Some of these are subtle but make a noticeable difference, mostly related to the handful of oversized components on the FOV that make it clear that this is a model rather than the real thing. Century also obviously has a greater variety of available schemes and loadouts (to date, only the FOV VF-154 has been readily available in the U.S.).

Are they worth the extra cost? I think so. I don't know that a casual collector who already has an FOV F-14A will notice a huge difference with the Century F-14s (except for the greater number of liveries), but the Century is definitely a finer piece in all the details. I was a great booster of the FOV F-14 mold, but honestly at this point will find it very difficult to buy any more of them now that Century has entered the picture.