PattheCat Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Hi, everybody, I haven't finished a single build for over a year now and here come two concurring GB's (this one and "Not my comfort zone"). Time to wake up and finally complete something! My entry will be an Academy 1/72 F-8(P) Crusader of the French Aéronavale - Naval Aviation - in it's late "French/Mirage" blue-grey livery. It will be sporting either a shark mouth or invasion stripes (special liveries for the last cruise of the Cruze and for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day). Hello Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle It seems we both had one of these waiting in our stash just for this occasion 😀. Eager to follow your builds, as always. A nice evening to you all. Pat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 1 minute ago, PattheCat said: Hi, everybody, I haven't finished a single build for over a year now and here come two concurring GB's (this one and "Not my comfort zone"). Time to wake up and finally complete something! My entry will be an Academy 1/72 F-8(P) Crusader of the French Aéronavale - Naval Aviation - in it's late "French/Mirage" blue-grey livery. It will be sporting either a shark mouth or invasion stripes (special liveries for the last cruise of the Cruze and for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day). Hello Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle It seems we both had one of these waiting in our stash just for this occasion 😀. Eager to follow your build, as always. A nice evening to you all. Pat. The French options are nice though Im torn I may just do USN/USMC markings ? Im just hoping I have the ability to work on stuff then ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattheCat Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 47 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: The French options are nice though Im torn I may just do USN/USMC markings ? Im just hoping I have the ability to work on stuff then ? I don't know if the Academy kit correctly depicts a French F-8E/P. If I'm not mistaken the French aircraft were modified to operate from their aircraft carriers that where smaller than USN ones (P = E with upgraded avionics). I think the visible differences between French and US machines had to do with the horizontal stabs, flaps, missile railings, seatbelts and maybe the IP. Surely someone more knowledgeable here can help if you need it. Regards. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 21 minutes ago, PattheCat said: I don't know if the Academy kit correctly depicts a F-8N. If yes, I think you'll have to do some modifications to backdate it to an F-8E as French aircraft were modified to operate from their aircraft carriers that where smaller than American ones (and received upgraded avionics). I think the visible differences had to do with the horizontal stabs, flaps and IP. Surely someone knowledgeable here can help if you need some. I have both the F-8E and F-8J kits in The Stash and have just compared them. The F-8P kit is the same as the F-8J kit and represents an aircraft with blown slats and a larger tailplane. In order to build the F-8P kit as an F-8E, Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle will need to remove about a millimetre from the leading and trailing edges of the tailplanes as well as about 3mm from the tip. For extreme accuracy, the blown leading edge flaps will need to have a couple of panel lines scribed onto the underside as well as the line on the uppersurface filled in and rescribed closer to the leading edge. I will take some photos tomorrow to illustrate this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattheCat Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 1 hour ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: I have both the F-8E and F-8J kits in The Stash and have just compared them. The F-8P kit is the same as the F-8J kit and represents an aircraft with blown slats and a larger tailplane. In order to build the F-8P kit as an F-8E, Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle will need to remove about a millimetre from the leading and trailing edges of the tailplanes as well as about 3mm from the tip. For extreme accuracy, the blown leading edge flaps will need to have a couple of panel lines scribed onto the underside as well as the line on the uppersurface filled in and rescribed closer to the leading edge. I will take some photos tomorrow to illustrate this. Thank you Enzo @Enzo the Magnificent. So now I know the kit indeed matches a French aircraft. Good for Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle too as he'll be able to use his kit for a US "J" and even an "E" with not that many changes if he wishes so. Friendly regards. Pat. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 2 hours ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: I have both the F-8E and F-8J kits in The Stash and have just compared them. The F-8P kit is the same as the F-8J kit and represents an aircraft with blown slats and a larger tailplane. In order to build the F-8P kit as an F-8E, Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle will need to remove about a millimetre from the leading and trailing edges of the tailplanes as well as about 3mm from the tip. For extreme accuracy, the blown leading edge flaps will need to have a couple of panel lines scribed onto the underside as well as the line on the uppersurface filled in and rescribed closer to the leading edge. I will take some photos tomorrow to illustrate this. Thanks for the Info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 7, 2023 Share Posted March 7, 2023 @PattheCat @Corsairfoxfouruncle Here are comparison photos of the relevant sprues in the two kits. Be aware that the F-8P kit is identical to the F-8J kit. The mould is set up so that parts of it can be blanked off depending on which sub-type is being moulded. Close-ups, showing both sides of the relevant parts. The panel lines can just be discerned... Direct comparison of the tailplane parts. Some dimensional data regarding the tailplane parts, from my trusty digital calliper. F-8E F-8J Root chord 28.1 mm 30.9 mm Tip chord 4.9mm 5.4 mm Leading edge length 41.5 mm 46.5 mm Trailing edge length 29.7 mm 33.3 mm 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Sorry folks, but I won't be joining after all. I removed all the bits from the casting blocks of the Anigrand XF8U-3 Crusader III and this is what I noted: The ventral strakes are missing The landing gear doors are missing One of the fuselage halves is banana-shaped and does not align with the other The sugar scoop is incorrectly shaped and does not align with the shape of the forward fuselage The windscreen/canopy (one piece clear resin) is full of air bubbles and about 8mm too short and 3mm too wide. I well acquainted with dipping resin into boiling water in order to reform it, but not stretching it! The front/top surface of the windscreen is nearly horizontal - how is the pilot supposed to see out? Wrong ejection seat Many voids in the resin casting The model is underscale, but not always by the same amount in all areas I've tried contacting Anigrand and they are content to be aloof in Hong Kong. To heck with them - this kit is a colossal fail. I know they can do better as I've seen photos of this kit built up and it looks pretty good. I've got a really bad copy and it wasn't cheap. I'm pushing 70 years old and I don't need to waste my time on such a mess. Which is really too bad, because the Crusader III is such a cool bird. Please, someone like Special Hobby, Clear Prop, or Modelsvit - please do this aircraft in 1:72 scale injection moulded styrene! Significantly depressed in NY, Bill 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 25 minutes ago, Navy Bird said: Sorry folks, but I won't be joining after all. I removed all the bits from the casting blocks of the Anigrand XF8U-3 Crusader III and this is what I noted: The ventral strakes are missing The landing gear doors are missing One of the fuselage halves is banana-shaped and does not align with the other The sugar scoop is incorrectly shaped and does not align with the shape of the forward fuselage The windscreen/canopy (one piece clear resin) is full of air bubbles and about 8mm too short and 3mm too wide. I well acquainted with dipping resin into boiling water in order to reform it, but not stretching it! The front/top surface of the windscreen is nearly horizontal - how is the pilot supposed to see out? Wrong ejection seat Many voids in the resin casting The model is underscale, but not always by the same amount in all areas I've tried contacting Anigrand and they are content to be aloof in Hong Kong. To heck with them - this kit is a colossal fail. I know they can do better as I've seen photos of this kit built up and it looks pretty good. I've got a really bad copy and it wasn't cheap. I'm pushing 70 years old and I don't need to waste my time on such a mess. Which is really too bad, because the Crusader III is such a cool bird. Please, someone like Special Hobby, Clear Prop, or Modelsvit - please do this aircraft in 1:72 scale injection moulded styrene! Significantly depressed in NY, Bill Very sorry to hear this. Can you take the wings and other bits and add them to a standard crusader ? Or would that not work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Very sorry to hear this. Can you take the wings and other bits and add them to a standard crusader ? Or would that not work ? I thought about that, but the bits are quite different. The XF8U-3 may have been called a Crusader but it really was an entirely different aircraft. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 my current/ recent GB performance is less than stellar.... still I want to build either a Greek A-7 🇬🇷 or a French Crouze 🇫🇷..... both Hasegawa and 1/48 of course! lets see! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Are we starting yet? Are we? But are we though? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Slufs away, well in ten days. Better clear a bit of wip while I’m rooting out my two kits and deciding on colour schemes…. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 While I have a couple of A-7 SLUF's in the stash I have been looking for an excuse to bump this kit up onto the modeling table, the Eduard boxing of Hasegawa's F-8E, it comes with some of Eduards resin upgrades, resin wheels and ejection seat and the 5 decal options are by Furball. Not trying to out do Ray @Ray_W In the resin department I also have an Aires cockpit, Quickboost afterburner cooling intakes, Wolfpack ventral airbrake, Master pitot tube and New Ware canopy masks. Not sure whether to make it US Navy or Marines. The box art is the only Marine option, "Death Angel's", or there are some colourful US Navy options of CAG birds. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Very nice option. I say study the photo’s and find your subject. I adapted F-4 Phantom markings to get my USMC Crusader. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: I adapted F-4 Phantom markings to get my USMC Crusader. I saw that in the inspiration gallery. There were lots of Crusaders in spectacularly colourful markings (I will be building one in this GB) but the more plain markings emphasise how elegant the jet was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Is anyone building any of the following? Portuguese A-7 Greek A-7 Thai A-7 Phillipino F-8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 9 minutes ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: Is anyone building any of the following? Portuguese A-7 I once had the old Esci A-7B kit, however like a number of my silly previous sales, sold it off cheaply when I was ‘swayed’ by a good friend that 1/48 scale was the way to go. I’ve got the Italeri A-7D rebox and Fujimi A-7E however the parts in both are a little different. I don’t really need to be tempted into starting another kit……. So please stop putting crazy thoughts in my head! Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 6 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: So please stop putting crazy thoughts in my head! Who? Me? Heavens forfend... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: Is anyone building any of the following? Greek A-7 OK - I'll bite, is there much difference between the USAF A-7D in comparison to a Hellenic Air Force A-7H? Cheers.. Dave (asking for a 'friend' !!) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: Is anyone building any of the following? Portuguese A-7 Greek A-7 Thai A-7 Phillipino F-8 If I can get back to building an Greek A.F. Was an option. I have decals for both Greek & Portuguese markings. If I had the decals the Philippines A.F. F-8 would be a definite. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 4 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Very nice option. I say study the photo’s and find your subject. I adapted F-4 Phantom markings to get my USMC Crusader. Hi Dennis, hope you are well. It's making a decision on which decals to use and which to leave in my US Navy decal stash, that is the difficult one to make. I know there is the Enzo route, but I'm too old for that option. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 2 minutes ago, Retired Bob said: Hi Dennis, hope you are well. It's making a decision on which decals to use and which to leave in my US Navy decal stash, that is the difficult one to make. I know there is the Enzo route, but I'm too old for that option. You could post up the options and ask for input/votes to help you choose ? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 11 minutes ago, Retired Bob said: I know there is the Enzo route, but I'm too old for that option. Ohhhhh no you're not! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 4 minutes ago, Enzo the Magnificent said: Ohhhhh no you're not! Don't turn this into a pantomime, Ohhhhh yes I am! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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