Introducing VF-168 Dragon Riders. This is a fictional skin for the F-14B Tomcat that represents MODEX numbers 100 through 103 for aircraft attached to the USS Ranger (CV-61).
Part 2 can be found here:
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3314002/
Low visibility versions of VF-168 Dragon Riders can be found at the links below:
Part 1:
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3314842/
Part 2:
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3314844/
Cover art by Łukasz Czajka
Part 1 provides liveries for 100 and 101. The choice of “168” is inspired by the USS Nimitz CVN-68 which I served aboard with the Reactor Propulsion Department. The livery is inspired by VF-1 Wolfpack. Every stencil was created from scratch and my primary point of reference was the incredible Bert Kinzey books, “Colors and Markings of U. S. Navy F-14 Tomcats, Part 1 & 2”, (Digital Colors and Markings Series of books). The multitude of stencils present on the Tomcat is generally close to how Grumman stenciled the Tomcats early in production and this skin is meant to emulate that initial practice. Gradually, according to Kinzey, the number of stencils were reduced in number and type until most Tomcats had very few stencils (beyond the primary stencils).
