Rando

I'm not familiar enough with the F-100F's differences from the F-100D, or the flaws of the Trumpeter F-100F, but the crazy modeler in me wonders if you could rescribe the Monogram F-100 and kitbash it with the Trumpeter to make your F-100F. It would cost you two kits to make one, but you'd also have to pay a similar amount for a hard-to-find conversion. That said the changes you would incorporate from the Trumpeter kit might not be accurate enough for you. I feel the pain of hunting down conversion kits for underserved subjects, and also not being too thrilled with the more modern

Sent you a PM

Question about the F-8H that I've not been able to get a firm answer on. I know that it was a remanufactured F-8D, receiving most of the F-8E features like the bullpup hump, etc. My question is, was it further upgraded to have the BLC, larger horizontal stabs, and the features that the F-8J was known for? Reason being is I am interested in building the F-8H from this decal sheet: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/aeromaster-48-751-colorful-crusaders-pt-viii--173390 That F-8H is circa 1973, and it has the larger ECM blister on the tail like the F-8J. I've seen in one of my reference

While I get this in theory, I feel like #6 usually just means....more Tomcat/109/P-51 stuff. As much as Eduard has brought to the table over the years it feels like they could do so much more, lately instead are cranking out more of the same popular single engine WWII stuff. Fortunately Kursad is definitely one of those aftermarket guys who gets it and is willing to fill the voids.

The last question I could give two answers--ease of use and durability, but you could make the case that durability falls under ease of use. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to mask something off only for the tape to lift paint under it, which is why I moved on from Mission Models. Alcohol/lacquer based acrylics give me no trouble, ever. I also picked Gunze as my "favorite" but Tamiya is like 1B to 1A. Their main drawback to me is they don't have certain specific colors in their range like Gunze does, but they're also way more available. Thanks for the poll

I haven't tried Vallejo Air, but that's because I mainly hear negative experiences with them. I didn't like Mission Models much either, my experience was too inconsistent, and found they were complicated to use. I switched to Tamiya and Gunze acrylics and haven't looked back.

Anybody try building the conversion kit in earnest? I want to but I have a project on my bench that I'm finishing first.

Will gladly accept a partial sheet if the Massachusetts option is fully in tact. Thank you.

Kursad, has there been any interest in a reissue of your F-106 part 1? The Massachusetts scheme is one I'd love to have. Could it be one of your future rereleases?

found it

I myself got ahold of a Muroc kit thanks to one of our friends here on ARC. All told it was still the best way to get an accurate early F-8, although I examined the nose many times and could only come to the conclusion that it was too long and large. I may be wrong. If CAT4 gets their nose right it’s likely they have a winner with everything they’ve provided, the windscreen is an excellent and key part that almost all conversion kits missed in the past.

I was actually given his email address at one point, so just want to mention he’s not unreachable. If you want I can DM you his address. This week I’m going to try to modify the parts per the instructions, and post on how it goes. Fingers crossed.

I'm withholding judgement for the moment. I know little about CAT4, although on Britmodeler someone mentioned their conversion for an A-4 had a nose that didn't seem like it would work. The eBay vendor said CAT4 intends to implement the fix on future releases of the kit. If the correction they released seems to work, I'll be happy with that. If not, I'm going to request replacement parts that work. It's indeed disappointing, but at least this means he's received feedback and is responding. I do appreciate the work that this company is doing to get an F-8 conversion kit out there.

The seller on eBay sent me this from the manufacturer on how to correct the nose. Hopefully it works, definitely confirms what I was thinking about the nose being too long.

This is what I have tried so far: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235140339-cat4-148-f-8-crusader-conversion-set-for-hasegawa-148-f-8e-crusader/&do=findComment&comment=4977290 Haven't yet tried grafting the nose halves to the fuselage. I think the radome is well shaped but it ends up being slightly too long because the flat part it attaches to extends a bit too far. Might be trimming that part back slightly. I've heard others mention the humpless wing section fits well.