For my entire 28 year career, I’ve been surrounded by A-6s, F-14s and F/A-18s, and I’ve been building models since I was a kid.  At 51, the eyeballs just don’t like the smaller scales any more, and being an engineer, I like being able to add tons of details. So when I found out that Trumpeter was in fact producing a 1/32 Super Bug, it was straight off to the hobby shop to order one.

The box is BIG, and as is standard with Trumpeter, it is very sturdy, insuring that all the parts are well protected. The bagging and packing of the sprues was clearly done with care.  The large upper and lower fuselage sections are packed in their own form fitting plastic trays to prevent warping. The inner box contains the impressive array of weaponry. Note the bubble wrap on the AIM-120s to keep the fins protected.

Click on images below to see larger images

The kit comes with three large decal sheets, allowing for three versions: VFA-31 Tomcatters AJ100, VFA-143 Pukin’ Dogs AG100 and VFA-27 Royal Maces NF200. A large full color painting and decaling guide is included, which has color reference data for Mr Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol paints. The 24 pages of instructions indicate paint colors for various detail components. Pages two and three are what I call the “Sprue Map” which you need with the number of sprues and parts. The final page of the instructions is a Stores Chart to guide you in hanging ordnance on your finished Super Bug.

The kit contains 41 Sprues total; 17 for the airframe and 24 for external stores; over 600 individual pieces. There is a small PE fret with seatbelts, rubber tires, and metal “bones” that go inside the molded plastic landing gear to give it strength. The canopy parts are crystal clear. The surface details appear crisp but not overstated. The stock landing gear wells and cockpit have some details, but many modelers will likely opt for the resin and PE details that will surely be forthcoming from Aires, Eduard, Avionix and others.

Once it warms up around here, I’ll work on doing a detailed walk-around shoot of either the Tomcatters or Pukin’ Dogs aircraft, and getting it posted here.

Miles Lumbard