Sword RF-8 Crusaders

[Jetdog]

Sword has announced RF-8 Crusaders in 1/72 for October!  Decals by Caracal will be needed!

[viking73]

About time someone kitted them 🙂

[achterkirch]

Loos like they will do both an A and the G variant.  

[Miramar Road]

Awesome news! Sort of on the fence on Sword's quality and accuracy in past kits so I'll wait and see how it looks before I put down cash for it. Still, a recon Crusader is long overdue in plastic.

[Paul Boyer]

I'm hoping the RF-8 will be a good one. Sword gets away with using modified existing kits for their masters (P-47N for example was based on the Tamiya P-47D), so I hope they start with an Academy F-8 and correctly modify it. But I'm told that their F9F-8P photo Cougar wasn't so good, but I built two of their TF-9J Cougar trainers and they were OK. Time will tell.

[Dutch]

I started this Hasegawa + Ventura 1/72 RF-8G conversion over twenty-five years ago and put it on the shelf after difficulties with the fit of the nose fuselage halves and trouble fitting the cockpit. I recently rediscovered it in the stash along with a few other started kits, but not completed.  I may alter this to RF-8A CY1 of VMCJ-2 "Playboys" during the Cuban Missile Crisis if the decals are printed or just pitch it and get the Sword kit.  Anyway, any Sword release has got to be loads better than my Hasegawa + Ventura conversion mish-mash.  I also bought the Falcon Triple Conversion with the RF-8G, but haven't cut it yet.

[GW8345]

My attempt at the Hasegawa/Ventura 1/72 RF-8 conversion;

Decals came from the Mircoscale EA-6A sheet that had VMCJ-1 markings and spare decals.

 

Been waiting for years to have a decent kit of the RF-8 Crusader in 1/72 scale released, glad someone finally stepped up to the plate to do one.

 

Now, what do I do with my other Airmodel, Ventura and RVHP conversion sets?

[Quixote74]

12 hours ago, Paul Boyer said:

I'm hoping the RF-8 will be a good one. Sword gets away with using modified existing kits for their masters (P-47N for example was based on the Tamiya P-47D), so I hope they start with an Academy F-8 and correctly modify it. But I'm told that their F9F-8P photo Cougar wasn't so good, but I built two of their TF-9J Cougar trainers and they were OK. Time will tell.

 

The consensus from folks who've studied the Crusader's shapes much more closely than I (or apparently most kit manufacturers thus far) is that the vintage Heller kit, raised panel lines and all, has the most accurate shapes. Academy's kit is obviously the current leader by miles for detail and fit, but apparently its fuselage forward of the wing is much wider than it should be.

 

In any case, I'd be happy enough with an Academy-based kit as long as they get the basic shapes of the recce versions correct.  It's probably too much to hope for, but what would be *really* fantastic is a tooling that could also form the basis for the early fighter variants with the slim nose.  Depending how they end up handling the RF it may still provide some shortcuts compared to the late-model kits currently offered.

 

Steering back to Kursad's raison d'etre, some subject matter to ponder:

 

VFP-63 RF-8A circa 1962:

 

And circa 1980 (G):

 

 

And a link I had previously ignored in much the same way most manufacturers treat my scale of preference 😈:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/312635-cd48187-148-rf-8ag-crusader/

[KursadA]

Yes, it’s a great excuse to finish the 1/48 scale RF-8 project at the same time and release the artwork on both scales. Stay tuned, I will do these.

[hemspilot]

According to some history sources the RF-8 Crusader was the last NAVY recce plane to take a photo of an intact battleship row at Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attack on 12/7/1941.

Unfortunately I cannot remember what squadron detachment it was, but perhaps we can add those historically important markings to the decal sheet?

[GW8345]

2 hours ago, hemspilot said:

According to some history sources the RF-8 Crusader was the last NAVY recce plane to take a photo of an intact battleship row at Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attack on 12/7/1941.

Unfortunately I cannot remember what squadron detachment it was, but perhaps we can add those historically important markings to the decal sheet?

It was VFP-63 attached to CVW-8 on the USS Nimitz.

Edited September 7, 2023 by GW8345

[habu2]

1 hour ago, hemspilot said:

According to some history sources the RF-8 Crusader was the last NAVY recce plane to take a photo of an intact battleship row at Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attack on 12/7/1941.

Unfortunately I cannot remember what squadron detachment it was, but perhaps we can add those historically important markings to the decal sheet?

 

Is this a Final Countdown reference? or am I missing something?

[Jetdog]

The possibilities for markings are endless- the early version -A was used during the Cuban Missile Crisis, then you have the Vietnam War, excellent bicentennial markings, there were even multi color CAG RF-8Gs.  Then of course they finished in the low visibility grays....

 

[phantom]

I like this one for markings, Hasegawa with resin conversion in 1/48.

 

[hemspilot]

7 hours ago, GW8345 said:

It was VFP-63 attached to CVW-8 on the USS Nimitz.

🤣🤣

[achterkirch]

I guess for me I’m impartial to low viz schemes. 

[Jetdog]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RoNFMrby7iA/UZLyvlVzmqI/AAAAAAAAAVM/pTzCWbsK2bY/s1600/RF-8G_VFP-63_1976.JPEG

[Ghostbase]

8 hours ago, achterkirch said:

I guess for me I’m impartial to low viz schemes. 

 

I remember taking this photo, was literally a couple of weeks before the type was finally retired, and for that reason I am very partial to lo viz schemes too. Still hoping that one day someone will produce an RF-8G in 1/48th scale as well...

[hemspilot]

10 hours ago, Jetdog said:

VFP-63 det-1

Pretty colors!

[hemspilot]

Crusader landing on Nimitz

[Tailspin Turtle]

On 9/6/2023 at 10:42 AM, Paul Boyer said:

I'm hoping the RF-8 will be a good one. Sword gets away with using modified existing kits for their masters (P-47N for example was based on the Tamiya P-47D), so I hope they start with an Academy F-8 and correctly modify it. But I'm told that their F9F-8P photo Cougar wasn't so good, but I built two of their TF-9J Cougar trainers and they were OK. Time will tell.

For what it's worth, Sword had pretty good Vought F8U-1P drawings to work from. Also see:

 

https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2013/12/photo-gator.html

 

https://superheatmemorial.blogspot.com/2023/01/rf-8-conversions.html

[JackMan]

I just hope Sword get the windshield correct for RF-8s and not copy the one from the Academy kit.

 

[f5guy]

These would be my choices 👍 Thanks, Fred K.

[Dutch]

Fred, Your top photo is my second choice.  My first choice is a Cuban Missile Crisis VMCJ-2 machine (CY-1 or CY-5).

[Tank]

43 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Fred, Your top photo is my second choice.  My first choice is a Cuban Missile Crisis VMCJ-2 machine (CY-1 or CY-5).

I like this version as well.