US NAVY F-14 PILOT BUST TOMCAT CREW SET 1980S 1:9 SCALE ITEM NO. #R19-B09
If you are a fan of “Top Gun”, or have an interest in US Navy aviation, here is a kit you may be interested in. It is a 1:9 scale kit, comprising seven parts. It is 3D printed. Printed in smooth grey resin, the parts are- torso, head and helmet, oxygen mask, and base or plinth and a couple of plugs for the base. Also included are a sheet of decals for the helmet, and instructions.
Being 3D printed, the parts are shipped in small printing cages as they come off the printer. Each is wrapped in a plastic bag and secured with bubble wrap.
The bust is impressive with all the equipment a Naval aviator would wear while flying a F14 (or pretty much any Naval aircraft of that time period). This really about a half- figure sized bust because the equipment hangs down to about waist level. The printing is top notch. There are no indications of any printing lines or striations that I have seen on earlier printed kits. As a matter of fact, once the runners are removed, it looks like it was a cast resin kit. The detail is impressive and realistic. The basic fit of the parts is spot on. It is amazing what is being achieved with 3D printing. The instructions guide you on removal of the runners and assembly. You must use caution removing the parts from the runners as there are a few fragile straps and details that could be easily broken off. The runners are small, and the clean-up went very quickly despite the sheer number of them.