A Tale of Two Crusaders

[Spino]

As I'm winding down my ST21 build (finally), I figured I'd jump back to an earlier time period and do the F-8H build that has been on my list ever since the F-8S turned out so well.  So here goes.

The "kit":

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Mostly 3D-printed, but the AIM-7 is left over from my Revell F-15C.

I also have an ESCI F-8E on the way that I'll be building alongside this F-8H when it gets here.

[Spino]

Progress so far.  Fuselage and wing sections are together, PSR started on joints, and mounted the y-pylons.

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[Spino]

My original plan to drill gun ports didn't work out as intended, so I 3D-printed a pair of gun packs from an F-8 model that I got online.  The only problem is that I cut holes in the sides of the nose to install them, only to realize that I mounted them too far back andthe cheek Sparrow stations are in the way of the lower pair of guns!  Fortunately the gun pack configuration wasn't exactly accurate to begin with, the guns weren't staggered, so I think I'll just extend the lower one and maybe leave the barrel exposed.  If that doesn't turn out right, I have a spare nose section that I can use to fix this mess.  I may decide to re-work the backstory to have the Vulcan installation get introduced on the F-8H instead of the F-8S.  That would make my job a lot easier since I have already figured out the Vulcan installation with my F-8S build.

[Spino]

Well, the ESCI F-8E kit is supposed to arrive today, it'll be interesting to see what it's like in terms of quality.

[Charlie_c67]

Mine's packed deep in the stash, but from memory it's not to the same level as the Academy ones, but was good for its time though I think the cockpit's a little bland as was the norm. I believe you can at least model the wing incidence as down unlike the Academy ones...

Shame no-one's come out with an F-8A/B/C or D yet!

[George the Cat]

Mine's packed deep in the stash, but from memory it's not to the same level as the Academy ones, but was good for its time though I think the cockpit's a little bland as was the norm. I believe you can at least model the wing incidence as down unlike the Academy ones...

Shame no-one's come out with an F-8A/B/C or D yet!

Sword do a 1/72 RF-8A btw.

[Charlie_c67]

Mine's packed deep in the stash, but from memory it's not to the same level as the Academy ones, but was good for its time though I think the cockpit's a little bland as was the norm. I believe you can at least model the wing incidence as down unlike the Academy ones...

Shame no-one's come out with an F-8A/B/C or D yet!

Sword do a 1/72 RF-8A btw.

Forgot that one! Be nice if they did more than just the recon one though.

[McColm]

A kitbash using the A-7 and F-8  might not work but what if there roles had been reserved?
The A-7 the reconnaissance/fighter and the F-8 as a ground attack aircraft. Not too far fetched as both made it to the concept stage but wasn't implemented

[Gondor]

A kitbash using the A-7 and F-8  might not work but what if there roles had been reserved?
The A-7 the reconnaissance/fighter and the F-8 as a ground attack aircraft. Not too far fetched as both made it to the concept stage but wasn't implemented

The A-7 was a development of the F-8 into a Ground Attack aircraft, although some later variants of the F-8 did have a limited ground attack capability once wing pylons were fitted to the aircraft, which is a lot more work than when we modellers simply glue a pair of pylons onto an aircraft.

[Spino]

A kitbash using the A-7 and F-8  might not work but what if there roles had been reserved?
The A-7 the reconnaissance/fighter and the F-8 as a ground attack aircraft. Not too far fetched as both made it to the concept stage but wasn't implemented

The A-7 was a development of the F-8 into a Ground Attack aircraft, although some later variants of the F-8 did have a limited ground attack capability once wing pylons were fitted to the aircraft, which is a lot more work than when we modellers simply glue a pair of pylons onto an aircraft.

Well if we're being honest, one of the big limitations of the F-8 as a ground attack platform is its variable-incidence wing - I suspect that was one of the first things to go in the evolution from the F-8 to the A-7.  Hanging a lot of stuff off VI wings is a pretty sketchy idea to be honest.

Meanwhile the ESCI kit arrived.  While certainly not top quality, it's better than the Lindberg kit I used to have - not that Lindberg set the bar very high...
Anyway, it has the Y-pylons included, which makes my life a lot easier.  The included Sidewinders all look like AIM-9Bs or AIM-9Cs, and have very little detail, so I think I'll be using my own 3D-printed AIM-9s for it.  Not totally sure about the decals either, they might be all right but they look so old that they could easily disintegrate when they touch water.  I had an old Monogram EA-6B kit that had the same problem, and that was more than ten years ago!

[Spino]

I decided to re-print the F-8H nose due to issues with the gunpack arrangement that I attempted to add on the other one.  This nose has been redesigned with four distinct cannon bulges.

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A dry fit of two AIM-9Hs shows exactly why you can't have more than one AIM-7 with the Y-pylons fitted - the lower Sidewinder covers the AIM-7 well almost entirely!

[Spino]

Got the first coat of primer on last night.  Before long it'll be ready for paint.  It'll be grey with white underside, late Vietnam era Navy  hi viz scheme.

[HarryPhishnuts]

Well if we're being honest, one of the big limitations of the F-8 as a ground attack platform is its variable-incidence wing - I suspect that was one of the first things to go in the evolution from the F-8 to the A-7.  Hanging a lot of stuff off VI wings is a pretty sketchy idea to be honest.

Vought did a study in the early 60"s (V456) I think for an "Attack Crusader" based on the F-8 but with a larger wing and 2 hard points under each wing. It still had the VI wing but everything else was buffed up for the role. Never got any traction with the Navy but did server as a starting point for the follow on proposal for what became the A-7. Interestingly enough when Vought proposed the A-7F in the 80's it was just an afterburner section away from being a Crusader/Corsair hybrid.

[Spino]

Working out the paint scheme.  It'll be a high-viz bird, with black nose and tail and a white underbelly and black on the outer surfaces of the ventral fins.  I'll probably paint the undersides of the wings white as well.

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The paintwork here is just rough outlines, I'll probably finalize it by masking off the white and black areas and hitting the plane with a spray coat of light grey (pretty much the same color as the primer incidentally).  Given the decals I plan on using, I'm considering doing a black stripe all the way from the black nose all the way back down the tail spine to connect with the tail. 

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I'm also in the process of PSRing the good 'ol Crusader refueling probe fairing into the port side of the fuselage, and filling some 3D-printer related inconsistencies in the model that the primer coat made more apparent.

[Spino]

Started the ESCI kit.  The level of detail certainly leaves a lot to be desired!  I'm probably going to replace the seat with one of my 3D-printed Martin Baker seats, and the included Sidewinders are definitely going to be replaced with some of my 3D-printed AIM-9s.  The kit doesn't seem to include a pilot figure at all, so I'll be printing one for it too.