CAT4 1/48 F-8 Crusader early version conversion set for Hasegawa 1/48 F-8E Crusader

[Stephen]

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/cat4-r48100-f-8-crusader-conversion-set-early-hasegawa--1556193

 

Also Windscreen, wheels and undercarriage forthcoming.

Edited May 16, 2024 by Stephen

[Rando]

Fantastic no? All of these can be purchased now on eBay and Plastic Models Store. These do ship from Ukraine so it will take them awhile to arrive. Also, they are all sold separately, so if you want to build a completely backdated F-8, you'll need to purchase them all. 

Very excited to eventually get these. These just appeared, so other than the instructions provided we know basically nothing about how the kit is to use, but for those of us who want early F-8 variants, we'll take what we can get.

Edited May 16, 2024 by Rando

[RichB63]

Great news…thanks for alerting us!

 

I really like CAT4. They’re a clever and creative bunch.

 

Rich

[Rando]

Rich, I've never used any of their products before, are they high quality? I'm so excited for this conversion. It seems like they did their homework on the correct nose shape, etc., hopefully that's the case.

[Paul Boyer]

FYI, here's a look at the cross sections of the noses of early and late Crusaders. The enlarged late radome is circular at its base.

[RichB63]

12 hours ago, Rando said:

Rich, I've never used any of their products before, are they high quality? I'm so excited for this conversion. It seems like they did their homework on the correct nose shape, etc., hopefully that's the case.

Hi Rando,

 

While I’ve acquired a few of their sets, I have yet to incorporate them on any model. I have fiddled around somewhat with the F-111B set. The resin nose is slightly large in width when mated to the Academy fuselage. But a little trimming and sanding should take care of it. The panel lines match the finesse of those on the donor kit, which is to say they’re “okay.”

 

Like any major conversion set, it’s not for the faint of heart. But if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, all the pieces are available for an impressive SeaVark build.

 

Getting back to the F-8, I just received in the mail CAT4’s early Crusader wheels, early and late tail hooks, and early and late control sticks, all of which are 3D printed and of very good quality.

Rich

 

 

Edited May 18, 2024 by RichB63

[Rando]

Thanks Rich. As this is my favorite airplane and I’ve already cut up a Monogram Crusader to raise its wing, I’m all kinds of ready and willing to take on this conversion. Conversion kits like Muroc’s are incredibly hard to find and it’s hard to say if anyone will ever tool an F-8C. There’s so many Crusaders I want to build but can’t because of this, so I’ve ordered them and definitely going to try it out. 

[serendip]

Hi all,

 

Excited to hear these but I'm not clear as to which variant this enables you to backdate - to the C variant?

 

Thanks,

 

Marc.

[RichB63]

1 hour ago, serendip said:

Hi all,

 

Excited to hear these but I'm not clear as to which variant this enables you to backdate - to the C variant?

 

Thanks,

 

Marc.

F-8A thru D, to include the re manufactured versions (H, K and L).

The airframe mods allow you to model any “small nose” Crusader save the photo recon variants.

 

Detail differences aside, the included instrument panel most resembles the B thru D layout (A’s lacked radar scope).

 

There’s lots more to discuss, but the basic ingredients included in this set, in combination with CAT4’s other F-8 bits, allow for any “early” Crusader to be modeled.

 

Edited June 2, 2024 by RichB63

[MarcB]

Wonder why they don't offer a reference with all the sets included ?

 

MB

[serendip]

I understand now that to make all this work, other sets from CAT4 are also necessary like the narrower canopy.

 

Can anyone confirm?

 

Also I can't find much info on the company anywhere to ascertain credibility (of which I am beginning to become doubtful if they sell required components for a conversion separately). 

 

Thanks,

 

Marc.

[KursadA]

Smart "cats" who are reading the US market correctly - I think they could go far. Everyone else is working on the same old dumb stuff (how many resin AMRAAMs do the world need?) If anyone knows these guys, please let them know Caracal Models is open to collaboration.

[Rando]

8 hours ago, serendip said:

I understand now that to make all this work, other sets from CAT4 are also necessary like the narrower canopy.

 

Can anyone confirm?

 

Also I can't find much info on the company anywhere to ascertain credibility (of which I am beginning to become doubtful if they sell required components for a conversion separately). 

 

Thanks,

 

Marc.

Yes, depending on which early version you want to build, you would choose what components to use. The lineage of early Crusaders received various upgrades that were common to the F-8E, but generally retained the nose and windscreen profile. It’s a bit confusing at first but it mostly makes good sense why CAT4 released these parts the way they did. 
 

I got mine in the mail today. Haven’t tried fitting them into the kit yet but the parts look very nicely 3D printed. 

Edited June 4, 2024 by Rando

[Rando]

19 hours ago, KursadA said:

Smart "cats" who are reading the US market correctly - I think they could go far. Everyone else is working on the same old dumb stuff (how many resin AMRAAMs do the world need?) If anyone knows these guys, please let them know Caracal Models is open to collaboration.

I asked the eBay distributor and passed this on, I would love to see a Caracal sheet for these early Crusaders.

[serendip]

Has anyone tried the CAT4 sets?

How's fit / accuracy etc?

Thanks,

[Rando]

On 6/15/2024 at 2:15 AM, serendip said:

Has anyone tried the CAT4 sets?

How's fit / accuracy etc?

Thanks,

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.

[serendip]

5 hours ago, Rando said:

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.

Thanks for the link Rando.

[Rando]

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.

[serendip]

Thanks Rando,

More than disappointing to pay good money for what should, for the price, be state of the art AM parts and that it turns out they don't fit.

 

Plenty of AM manufacturers out there seem to be in it just to make a quick buck with no pride in their work - is that the category CAT4 falls into or am I being too negative?

 

Marc.

 

[Rando]

1 hour ago, serendip said:

Thanks Rando,

More than disappointing to pay good money for what should, for the price, be state of the art AM parts and that it turns out they don't fit.

 

Plenty of AM manufacturers out there seem to be in it just to make a quick buck with no pride in their work - is that the category CAT4 falls into or am I being too negative?

 

Marc.

 

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.

 

IDK what it is, but the early F-8 nose seems to be one of those shapes that few have gotten right.

[serendip]

22 hours ago, Rando said:

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.

 

IDK what it is, but the early F-8 nose seems to be one of those shapes that few have gotten right.

Right you are Rando in withholding judgement, and it's a positive sign at least they are giving feedback.

Good there is light at the tunnel regarding the possibility of modelling early 8's, strange that manufacturer cannot be contacted however - this always signals alarm bells for me.

 

Much appreciate your BM thread!

[Rando]

1 hour ago, serendip said:

Right you are Rando in withholding judgement, and it's a positive sign at least they are giving feedback.

Good there is light at the tunnel regarding the possibility of modelling early 8's, strange that manufacturer cannot be contacted however - this always signals alarm bells for me.

 

Much appreciate your BM thread!

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. 

[serendip]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:03 PM, Rando said:

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. 

Good luck Rando, I'm sure you'll do well - let us all know how you get on.

 

Forwarding his address would be much appreciated,

 

Thanks,

 

Marc.

 

 

[Miramar Road]

These CAT4 accessories for early Crusader conversions are much appreciated. I have a pair of the Muroc (RIP) conversions along with Hasegawa F-8E's that I've been converting into an F-8K and F8U-1 respectively. I'm definitely thinking of getting the windshields and the arrestor hooks, along with the landing gear.

 

I never knew about the nose being off on the Muroc kit. I might just try to reshape it myself in the meantime.

 

[Rando]

10 hours ago, Miramar Road said:

These CAT4 accessories for early Crusader conversions are much appreciated. I have a pair of the Muroc (RIP) conversions along with Hasegawa F-8E's that I've been converting into an F-8K and F8U-1 respectively. I'm definitely thinking of getting the windshields and the arrestor hooks, along with the landing gear.

 

I never knew about the nose being off on the Muroc kit. I might just try to reshape it myself in the meantime.

 

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.