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Academy 1/72 F-8P Crusader


Seamus

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Afternoon all,

 

With the Buccaneer completed in good time I thought I'd get a second build in this GB. My chosen kit is the French Navy boxing of the excellent Academy F-8 Crusader.

 

20200404-154918.jpg

 

I love French Navy types, and it was a toss up between this and a Hobby Boss Rafale M- in the end I let fate decide and a coin flip sided with the Crusader! If I have time I may even squeeze the Rafale in as well. I plan to finish this one OOB in the special markings of Flotille 12F:

 

20200404-155014.jpg

 

A hurricane is currently occupying the bench but as it's flying along I'll get be able to get some decent time in on this one as well.

 

Cheers

 

Shaun

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Cheers guys. I've built a couple of these in the past, one of my favourite kits. Looking forward to having a French one in the collection though for sure.

 

First progress and I've sprayed up all of the interior components ahead of assembly and weathering.

 

20200407-153130.jpg

 

I've not bothered with the upper fuselage interior as I intend to build this one with the wing down. Looking at images of French jets this seems to be pretty standard for the jets at rest. The images seem to show the flaps drooped at various angles, and sometimes not at all (this is the case for the jet I'm building that has been in storage for years) so for ease I'll probably leave them retracted too, saves cutting and re-positioning them. Not as interesting perhaps but shows of the clean lines of the jet rather as opposed to it's party trick. Another thing I've noticed from these images is the intake interior seems to match the exterior blue, rather than the usual white. I have the blue on order but I'm expecting it to take a while to arrive, so progress may well slow down on this one. Maybe I'll start the Rafale after all...

 

More as and when,

 

Shaun

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Thats a fine Crusader tou have there! I did a bit of reading and it seems there's some conjecture, however one suggestion that stood out was PRU blue, which is definitely more blue than grey, but does seem a decent enough match to cleaner schemes I've seen in images. I'll be adding some fading and shading which may lighten it if necessary, but I won't be too disheartened if it isn't quite right, French colours are something of a mystery!

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A bit more progress on this one, the internal parts have all received a wash, Payne's grey in the cockpit and a mix of black and raw umber for the undercarriage, bays, airbrake etc

 

20200409-122309.jpg

 

Nothing fancy going in in the cockpit, just a simple drybrush with a few knobs picked out in white and the dials given a drop of gloss. I still need to complete the seat, hopefully I can find some thin gauge fusewire or similar on my weekly shop tomorrow...

 

20200409-122349.jpg
 

Other bits and pieces are ticking over in the background, but I'm getting to the point where I won;t be able to go much further until the blue arrives....

 

More soon

 

Shaun

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Thanks chaps :)

 

The blue arrived this morning so I've been able to spray the intake interior and knock the fuselage together. One thing I like about this kit is how full the interior looks before the fuselage halves go together, it all looks impressively busy

 

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It all comes together nicely with just a few strips of tape holding it all tight. Note I've also got the main wing components together.

 

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I'll let that cure overnight now before tackling the seams, but she should start to come together pretty quickly now.

 

More soon

 

Shaun

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More progress, with the wing and underside fuselage panel attached. In the past I've left the latter off until the end of the build to ease masking, but there was a sizeable step between the rear of the part and the fuselage which required a touch of filler. The same was true at the front lip of the wing so that too has been blended in. Probably a bit more work required there but otherwise it's coming together nicely.

 

20200415-234317.jpg

 

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More soon,

 

Shaun

 

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Cheers :)

After accidentally prioritising the Rafale I've now got this one back up and running. Construction is now complete, the seams have been tended too and she's had a coat of primer.

 

20200422-124444.jpg

 

A few spots to tend to here and there but she's just about ready for some paint.

More soon

 

Shaun

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Thanks chaps :)

 

The painting is now complete. Hataka Orange Line PRU Blue for the base colour, which seems as good a match as any to my eye. This was subsequently lightened slightly to add shading and bit of tonal variation, nothing too heavy, just enough to break up the monotony a little. 

 

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The exhaust area was sprayed with Alclad aluminium over a black base before shading with a mix of dark aluminium, steel and a touch of pale burnt metal.

 

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Overall I'm pretty happy with that. I'll get a couple of gloss coats on her throughout the day before cracking on with the decals.

 

More soon

 

Shaun

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Thanks chap :)

 

After a couple of coats of Tamiya X-22 yesterday I've got the decals on this morning. They've settled beautifully and the scheme now really looks the aprt. I'll let them settle down for the rest of the afternoon before getting a final gloss coat on in preparation for a panel wash.

 

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Weathering will be kept light so nit much left to go on this one.

 

Cheers,

 

Shaun

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Cheers :)

 

Just a quick update to show the panel wash has been applied and removed.

 

20200426_092637.jpg

 

I'll be keeping the weathering fairly light otherwise so this is more or less done now save for some detail painting, a flat coat and final assembly. Hopefully she should be finished tomorrow all being well

 

Cheers

 

Shaun

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Thanks all.

 

I've put the finishing touches to the Crouze this morning and she's now sitting proudly in the display case. I'll throw some images in the gallery shortly but here's a quick one to round off the WIP.

 

49828819003_68e88870ec_o.jpg1/72 Academy Vought F-8P Crusader by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr

 

Thanks to those who showed an interest during the build, much appreciated

 

Cheers,

 

Shaun

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