Academy 1/72 F8E Crusader - USMC GB - Done

Hello Rob - that model looks great! Reminds me I want to do it some day too, once I find a fitting Vietnam-era paint scheme! Thanks for sharing and have a nice day

Paweł

Great job!

Very nicely done, particularly at 1/72!

Groot

Outstanding ! Great job on a beautiful airplane. I'm very partial to Marine Corps schemes too.

Tom

Thanks guys!! It was a pleasure to build.

Very nice work! I love the color schemes of VMFA-333 during that era. Everything looks really good. I like  the weathering you did. It looks subtle and restrained.

Thanks Drew, at 1/72, weathering can get out of hand real quick!

Looks super, especially knowing it is 1/72!! And I like them nasty too :)

Very nice build!

Mike

May I make a suggestion on your pictures? Many digital cameras have a setting for "white balance" and if you don't adjust for it, shooting with incandescent (or equivalent "soft white" bulbs) can give an overall orangy tint. I took the liberty of adjusting the white balance of your first photo in Photoshop and repost it here. If you can adjust the white balance on your camera to incandescent light (often a lightbulb symbol), it will give you better results. Beautiful 'Sader, but the way!

Very nice Rob. Even more points for it being in 1/72. I love the nice lines of the canopy closed and the wings raised. Looks like the clear parts fit perfect! Nice decal work too. Very professional looking. I'm gonna have to pick up the 1/48 version.

1/72?  No freakin' way!   That's is real nice

Way! Beautiful models like this can be made from 1/72 kits, sometimes a lot more easily than kits in larger scales. It's mostly painting techniques anyway.

PaulBoyer

May I make a suggestion on your pictures? Many digital cameras have a setting for "white balance" and if you don't adjust for it, shooting with incandescent (or equivalent "soft white" bulbs) can give an overall orangy tint. I took the liberty of adjusting the white balance of your first photo in Photoshop and repost it here. If you can adjust the white balance on your camera to incandescent light (often a lightbulb symbol), it will give you better results. Beautiful 'Sader, but the way!

Thanks for the comments gents...much appreciated!

Fantastic looking Gunfighter!

If I may, there are a couple of technical things I'd like to point out, just for information.  Please do not take this as criticism of your model or skills.

First, the afterburner cooling scoops on this model look to be on backwards.  The opening should be facing toward the front of the plane, not to the back  At the back edge of the scoops, they taper down into the tailpipe.  Also, when the wing is raised, the flaps and leading edge droops are automatically deployed.  it was not possible in the Crusader to raise the wing without the flaps being in the down position.  The Crusader had two different flap sections on each wing, there was a small section inboard, up against the fuselage--this section did not lower as much as the main flap because it would have hit the fuselage if it did.  Then, the main flap was of course lowered more.    The last Crusader model, the -J, had double-droop leading edge.

You got the weathering just right for this plane, especially a land-based USMC variant.

That is downright spectacular Rob! Fantastic paint and weathering. You have certainly demonstrated some fantastic skills and techniques in your 1/72 Crusader. So, which kit is that exactly? I've been wanting to add an F-8 to my stash in 1/72 or 1/48. Sounds like this kit would fit the bill. Thank you for sharing your beautiful model.

Thanks Joe. That was the Academy version: F-8E "US MARINES" version (2004). I was very pleased with this kit. It was well armed, detailed and assembled beautifully. I used just a tad of filler. I included the Eduard cockpit kit too.

F-8fanatic

Fantastic looking Gunfighter!

If I may, there are a couple of technical things I'd like to point out, just for information.  Please do not take this as criticism of your model or skills.

First, the afterburner cooling scoops on this model look to be on backwards.  The opening should be facing toward the front of the plane, not to the back  At the back edge of the scoops, they taper down into the tailpipe.  Also, when the wing is raised, the flaps and leading edge droops are automatically deployed.  it was not possible in the Crusader to raise the wing without the flaps being in the down position.  The Crusader had two different flap sections on each wing, there was a small section inboard, up against the fuselage--this section did not lower as much as the main flap because it would have hit the fuselage if it did.  Then, the main flap was of course lowered more.    The last Crusader model, the -J, had double-droop leading edge.

You got the weathering just right for this plane, especially a land-based USMC variant.

Thanks Rob. I'll remember that when I'm shopping for my F-8.