pjman792 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Here’s my attempt at backdating the 1/48 Monogram F-8E Crusader into a DF-8A drone controller/utility aircraft from the Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu, California during the late ’60′s-early ’70′s. I started this project ten years ago, but shelved it when I realized how involved it really was, and that I lacked the proper references. I finally resumed the project last fall. I used the venerable Monogram 1/48 F-8E, and a few parts from the Cobra Company F-8 backdate set. Monogram’s Crusader makes a decent F-8E out of the box, but there are many minor and a few major changes you must make to any F-8E kit to backdate it to the earlier A version. I’m sure I missed some things, but here’s what I did: I removed and filled in the dorsal avionics ‘hump’ on top of the wing, filled in the holes and slots for the afterburner cooling scoops and ventral fins, installed a fuel dump vent on the rear port side, removed the ECM fairing from the vertical fin, and filled in the vents just behind the nose cone ( though I should have left the three vents on the right side!). I used a resin replacement cockpit from Black Box (but the intsturment panel isn’t right for the -A version). I used the white metal main landing gear from the Cobra Company backdate set to correct the kit gear, which sits too low, along with the earlier spoked nose wheel. I also used the Cobra replacement nose cone, but heavily modified it. The hardest – and most crucial – part of the project was getting the shape of the earlier nose correct. It’s more of a flattened oval when seen head on. In profile, it’s almost flat on top, and slightly curved on the bottom. While no where near perfect, the shape I wound up with is at least in the ball park. The afterburner section on Monogram’s kit is incorrect – the burner nozzle is missing. I used a cut-down section of an old Monogram F-18 exhaust cone to replicate the nozzle. The antennas and pitot probe were taken from leftover parts from a Hasegawa A-4 Skyhawk kit. I also scratchbuilt the ejection face curtain pull rings, refueling probe light, tail hook, a canopy restraint strap, steps and a boarding ladder. I also added lots of plastic rod and wire to the main wheel wells to busy them up some. The decals came from several different sheets from my scrap box, with the Naval Missile Center markings courtesy of Mike Grant. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhtmo Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Very nice. Never knew there was Crusader drones. Cheers Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StLeon Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Great Job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostbase Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Very nice indeed, that was a lot of work to backdate the kit to an original F-8A but definitely worth it I have got the old Lindberg F8U-1 Crusader kit in the stash, that could probably be converted with a little less work but the Monogram kit is way more detailed. Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Nice, bright and looking great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 looks great, i remember reading about these 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjman792 Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Thanks to all for your comments! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Fantastic looking model and a great scheme, love the neat finish. One of the schemes I have always wanted to cover but never quite got around to it. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your pics. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungo1974 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Beautiful I do wish Hasegawa would give us early F-8's in 1/48 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicE1 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Excellent, you can't have enough crusaders! Julien 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Holy moly, that's a thing of beauty! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlet Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Never heard of a DF-8A before, thanks for the education. Great job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Very Nice and `Different` Crusader !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hythe Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Excellent and eclectic choice, beautifully executed. The yellow paint looks perfect, great work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjman792 Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Very nice. Never knew there was Crusader drones. Cheers Dave Hi, Dave - Thanks for your comments. The DF-8A Crusader was not actually a drone itself - it was used sometimes as drone controller aircraft. In this capacity it was used to guide unmanned target aircraft and also to control the Regulus guided missile during tests. I've always liked drone-controller/utility aircraft because of their high-visibility paint schemes. Beautiful I do wish Hasegawa would give us early F-8's in 1/48 I agree! I also wish Hasegawa would tool a good RF-8A/RF-8G from their F-8E kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 That's superb! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goon Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 It's always lovely to see something different, so all the hard work was worth it. Very nice looking Crusader, well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Quite a different take on the subject, she looks great! Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 Wow, man! Looks like you've put a tonne of work into this kit. It's really paid off!Nice work ~M~ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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