[Shawn 507]

I'm giving though to buying one of these Legacy Fighters as I guess they are called now. But was curious about the members thoughts. So which is the cream of the crop?
Thanks
- Shawn

[Gort]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

I'm giving though to buying one of these Legacy Fighters as I guess they are called now. But was curious about the members thoughts. So which is the cream of the crop?
Thanks
- Shawn

Shawn, I own Dragon’s “C” Hornets and love each one of ‘em. You’ll like ‘em, too; but to get a flavor for Navy artistry at its best, try the #50024 VFA-195 Dambusters, "Chippy Ho", USS Kitty Hawk. Extremely cool.

I can’t comment on Dragon’s “E” dudes (don't own any), but I can speak to Witty’s Super Hornet stable. For pure, unadulterated coolness, not to mention precision and accuracy (and heavy-duty ordinance load), Witty Super Hornets are number one.

Hope that helps.

[skysurfer808]

I have the VFA-25 Black Tail CAG bird, and have to say she looks great. I wanted something as close to possible to an operational livery, and this one fit the bill. The Dambusters schemes are cool if you are into those kind of things, but I'm more generic in my taste for modern fighters. One thing you should be aware of is that Dragon's F/A-18Cs don't come with wingtip Sidewinders, for some reason they were released with AMRAAMs instead. The Dragons also come with Harpoon derived SLAM missiles for their main payload, along with drop tanks. You can always get one of the Dragon weapons kits for more, in my case I took the Paveway LGBs off Dragon's VFA-41 Rhino, and Sidwinders from a Dragon F-16 and made a switch. So now my Dragon Hornet flies with LGBs and Winders, the way real ones do. There is no targeting pod on the fuselage stations, nor any Sparrows, it is simply an empty pylon. This is a sharp model, one of Dragon's better releases. Pics don't do it justice, though it doesn't have a pilot it looks a lot like the real thing. One warning though, Dragon's base is made of flimsy plastic and is the same one that they use for their much smaller, and lighter Zeros. They also use the same base for their F-15 models, which is something of a joke considering how big and heavy these models are. However, I have also found out that it is possible to use a Witty base for a Dragon Hornet. Not too sure you can do the same with the F-15 stand, but if you are going for long term display and want a strong stand, this could be the way.

Of course after watching the youtube Tomcat tribute video, I keep flashing to the scenes of the Tomcat guys dissing the Hornet....and the Rainbow tail CAG livery of this model reminds me of the little episode of Hornet Eye for the Fighter Guy.



I do love this video...though it more appropriately belongs in the Tomcat thread, and has been posted before.

Skysurfer808

[Shawn 507]

OK so Witty makes the best F/A-18 then? I assume the same goes for the Tomcat?
- Shawn

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

OK so Witty makes the best F/A-18 then? I assume the same goes for the Tomcat?
- Shawn

No....The Witty tomcat is getting a little better as each new release comes out.
But not the best Tomcat.
Dragon has a better looking F-14D then Witty's F-14.
But CW is the best F-14's on the market imho.
JP

[Shawn 507]

Understand. I'm really only after a decent model of a F-14 and the Witty Jolly Rogers "Merry Christmas" one looked pretty cool. This and one F/A-18 would be my only modern birds. And I'd kinda like to keep them in the same family ( Witty, Dragon, whoever..).
Any thoughts on that?? Thanks for the help so far.
- Shawn

[David Hingtgen]

Gotta be specific about what type of Hornet. Witty makes the best *Super* Hornet, but Dragon's the best 1/72 Legacy Hornet. And it's pretty good, the most obvious A/B vs C/D differences are there.

All said, I say VFA-25 is the best Legacy Hornet, mainly based on the paint scheme. Dragon's first announced F-18C was VMFA-232, but they never made it---but Sun Star did! Might want to look into those. I've never seen a Sun Star in person, but they don't look bad at all.

Just a note, nearly all Dragon and Witty Hornets of all types have major weapon issues----you really can't make a realistic load unless they're nearly empty. If you want the most realistic out-of-the-box weapon loads, go for a Witty Super Hornet or either of Dragon's VFA-195 releases.

PS---the Witty F-14 is the worst of them all by far IMHO. If you can't afford a Century, look at Revell's-----not many to choose from, but they're all pretty nice and VF-84 is available. Revell is a step up from Dragon/Witty.

[ACpilot]

I'm still waiting for the Dragon announced but never produced Canadian Air Force CF-18!

http://www.dragon-models.com/catalog...irds_f-18.html

[David Hingtgen]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. They promised the CF-18 right along with VMFA-232.

[mikeb1958]