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Hasegawa 1/72 F-8E Crusader


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Hello all!

This is the build log for the Viet Nam War Groupbuild F-8E Crusader.

The Crusader was used mostly in the ground support role by the Marines, and this build should reflect that with a heavy air to ground loadout.

The kit is Hasegawa's boxing that has been around for a while. It has raised panel detail, but seems to fit together well. I will keep it mostly out-of-box, to prevent getting carried away with super detailing.

Build specifics:

- Lowered wing

- Kit decals VMF(AW)-312

- No intention of rescribing

- Resin seat

Loadout:

- 2x MER with 8x Mk82 Snakeyes

- Not sure: 4x Sidewinders or the unguided AAG missiles on the fuselage rails? TBD

The getting started shot:

2015-09-03%2021.18.42.jpg

I'll get back!

Cheers, Andy

Edited by Dotcom
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  • 3 weeks later...

NICE! I built this about 5 years ago using the kits Hunter squadrons decals.

It built up nice for an older kit, I loved it with the wing up! Will be watching

with interest.Nice choice for weapons.--John

Edited by john53
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  • 1 month later...

Phew...this is another issue of the derailed build saga...

It started off as a supposedly simple out-of-the box build to improve my less than stellar 'finished group build in time' record. A resin seat was the only intended modification, but then a Crusader is not a Crusader with the wing not upn. And when the wing goes up the droops and flaps go down. The kit provides the option to raise the wing but the bay in the fuselage looked just too blank. And that's when the derailment occurred...

To drop the droop flaps on the leading edge and the flaps on the trailing edge, the recessed panel lines of the kit were scorched with a scriber until the plastic was weakened enough to let the flaps be positioned down without braking them off:

2015-10-22%2007.12.13.jpg

When the lower and upper wing skin were joined the droops were glued together at just the right angle. The outer flaps on the folding wings go a bit lower than the inner ones on the fixed portion of the wing:

2015-10-30%2005.14.09.jpg

So with the wing up the fuselage bay needed some detailing. First the roof of the bay as provided was cut off and some longerons glued to the inside to provide support for the intake duct:

2015-10-21%2006.56.34.jpg

Before joining the fuse halves the front and aft bulkhead of the wing bay were deepened with sheet styrene:

2015-10-30%2006.27.51.jpg

Then a thin sheet was cut to size (oversize actually) and inserted into the bay to sit on the longerons, curved upwards to give the impression of the engine air duct. The center former was also cut and trimmed to fit onto the duct:

2015-10-30%2007.04.17.jpg

And after a few hours of detailing the bay now looks like this. Stuff used was thin strips of styrene for the stringers, some stretched sprue and copper wire for the plumbing. References were a bit hard to find so I mainly used images of other (bigger scale) build reports and of aftermarket kits offered for the bigger scale kits:

2015-11-02%2020.44.58.jpg

2015-11-02%2021.01.14.jpg

Well thats it at the moment, it looks as if this build may drag on a bit longer, but hey, it was fun!

Cheers, Andy

Edited by Dotcom
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On the front end...the kit provides a blank cockpit with decals and a very basic seat. I chose to go with the decals to get some progress and close that fuselage up, but for the seat I found a resin replacement.

All parts were first painted gray. The the instrument panels were painted gloss black, the decals applied and coated with clear flat. Finally the instrument faces were brought to shine with a drop of clear gloss applied with a toothpick.

The ejection rails were made from styrene strips, the ejection handles from copper wire. The head up display lens was drilled out and painted with silver, followed by clear green. The HUD screen is clear plastic from some plastic wrap or other. The green cover in front, whatever it is, is made from beer can aluminium which was punched from the back side with a nail to make the rivets stand out.

2015-10-30%2005.37.01.jpg

2015-11-03%2019.01.06.jpg

So thats it for the moment! More news when all is closed up and ready for the paint shop!

Cheers, Andy

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  • 1 month later...

In the meantime the holiday season offered some time to make progress on the Crusader.

After assembly and cleanup of the major components all panel lines were preshaded:

2015-12-23%2012.22.03.jpg

...and painted:

2015-12-24%2015.09.35.jpg

..and decalled. The kit decals were used of VMF(AW)-312 Checkerboards, based in Da Nang in 1966:

2015-12-28%2010.39.54.jpg

Next up: Weathering, detail painting and final assembly!

Cheers, andy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some more progress, almost there.

The major assemblies, including the external stores.

Bombs are 8x Mk82 Snake Eyes from Hasegawa weapons set, also the Multiple Ejector Rails (MER). I never saw an image of a Crusader with bombs on the innermost stations so I assume they were not loaded for clearance or separation constraints.

On the shoulder pylons are LAU-33 launchers for 8 ZUNI rockets. Those are scratchbuilt from 2mm styrene rod and some sheet for the launchers.

Some final assembly and unmasking the cockpit and she will be done!

2016-01-10%2012.36.01.jpg

Cheers, Andy

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And she is done!

All pieces assembled and the last touches of paint applied.

This was a fun project and a great experience to participate in the Vietnam group build.

Enjoy the pictures!

Cheers, Andy

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IMG_5774%20(Custom).JPG

IMG_5775%20(Custom).JPG

IMG_5776%20(Custom).JPG

IMG_5779%20(Custom).JPG

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Thanks guys!

Such a nice model!

Always makes me wonder how the hell that wing system was possible in practise, especially strenght wise. But I guess it was!

I read that there were indeed some troubles during development. The jackscrew could not be installed on the centerline because of the engine. So it was moved to the side, causing considerable stress and twisting during test flights that could only be remedied with strengthening, adding weight to the airframe.

Cheers, andy

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