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Pretty Birdy
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be invited down to Merit International’s headquarters in the City of Industry, California. Tony had let me know they were planning an exclusive release for the upcoming San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC!), and he wanted to give me a peak at what they were going to be bringing to the show.
Well a peak I certainly got.
Merit got JSI to produce a limited edition F-14A, based on the VF-154 “Black Knight” squadron. This release is going to be a Merit exclusive from JSI, and have a total run of 888 planes. 30 of these planes will be available for sale at SDCC next week for $299. The rest of the planes should be up for sale in September. Of the 888, 300 or so are going to Japan, some are going to Germany and the rest will be available stateside at your favorite online retailers.
Hanging in Merit's offices
The SDCC planes come with an all-new weapons set, and are cast in resin. The mass release in September will come with plastic weapons, and everyone who bought the plane at SDCC will be mailed a free 2nd set of plastic weapons when they are finished. The plastic weapons will have more detail and features, though it is nice to get 2 sets of weapons! There are no current plans to release a standalone weapons set for the F-14.
One of the new additions to the plane is the LANTIRN AN/AAQ-14 and accompanying new pylons.
Oh did I also mention this model lights up? I hadn’t seen the previous LED lit F-14, so it was pretty cool seeing it light up in person. It’s not lit up like Christmas tree, but it gets the point across nicely I felt. The plane displays nicely with the lights on or off.
The canopy is also not as heavily greased this time, so, as you can see, it stays up on its own if you wish!
In my opinion this plane looks wonderful, I can attest that it’s REAL, its not a prototype, they are ready for sale now and there are NO SPOTS to be found! Be sure to check out Merit’s booth at SDCC if you are heading down there next week!
Please check out page #2 for a full gallery of pictures! Be sure to join the conversation about the new F-14 on our Forums: Click Here
