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Revell/Monogram Crusader (what does it need?)

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  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Sunday, July 8, 2018 7:07 AM

Ish47guy

What squadron markings are you going to use?

 

None of them. I found the eduard kit on eBay along with a stack of extras for a really nice price!Smile. My monogram will likely become something I test-paint on.

Chris

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: The NYC.
Posted by Ish47guy on Friday, July 6, 2018 10:50 PM

What squadron markings are you going to use?

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Friday, July 6, 2018 1:38 PM

Thanks for this in-depth reply! It was super helpful.

  • Member since
    January 2009
Posted by F-8fanatic on Friday, July 6, 2018 12:56 PM
The R/M kit does have its challenges. Aside from the above mentioned thinning in various places to make more of a scale appearance, the main landing gear is too "squat" on this kit. There was an aftermarket replacement produced, will possibly be hard to find by now. Another issue with this kit is that it takes a bit of reworking if you ever intend to display it with the canopy open. The "ears" on the back edge of the canopy--as well as their cutouts on the fuselage--are not correct. The"wing fold" had a habit of poor fit. Every time I ever built this kit--and I built a bunch of them--the upper wing fit was better than the lower. If you intend to display it with the wings folded, I would recommend against it. The more common stance on the ground was to have the wings folded, with the variable incidence wing raised and the flaps and slats dropped. But this model does not give you the option to drop the flaps and slats, or to raise the wing. Not only that, but unless you really just want a very basic looking model, the wing fold is super plain on this kit, and you would want to add a lot of detail there. If you decide to go all out and raise the wing, be sure to drop the flaps and slats, as they would automatically drop whenever the wing was raised. The shape is basically about right, what most would probably call close enough. There was an aftermarket resin cockpit set made by FM for this one, which would probably be close to impossible to find today. Now, on to some other issues. The Crusader was built in a few different variants. With Crusaders, if you're looking to build a specific example--for example, my dad was a plane captain on one and so I built his plane--you will want to research that specific bureau number. There were different upgrades and different electronics installations that can affect the size and shape of, as an example, the top of the vertical fin. Fighter versions of the Crusader had, if memory serves, three different antenna options near the top of the fin---or, as in earlier jets, there could be no antenna installed. Each one provided a different "bump" or "blister" fairing, so if you're looking to accurately build a specific jet, you're going to need to check for photos to see how that jet was equipped at the time you are trying to represent. It's important to note that the kit is designed only to represent an F-8E model. The -J had the same nose as the -E, but had other modifications such as different size tailplane and double-droop slats. The earlier -A to -D models had a slimmer nose. All -A to -C models and some -D models also did not have the hump fairing along the top of the wing either. Some -D's did have it installed. The windscreen was also different, depending on which nose was on the aircraft and whether or not it had the IR sensor installed. Remember to have filler on hand, you'll need it. Remember also that if you're building a Navy version, the USN birds very rarely carried bomb racks on the wings, but the USMC birds carried them far more often. The Y-racks for the sidewinders are rather wrong in the kit, and I've seen people just install the single sidewinder rail on each side instead.
  • Member since
    August 2014
Posted by Timdude on Friday, June 1, 2018 9:25 AM

https://theaviationist.com/2014/02/19/us-navy-fighters-folded-wings/

Found this article also, apparently not at all uncommon. 

  • Member since
    August 2014
Posted by Timdude on Friday, June 1, 2018 9:18 AM

Image result for crusader flying with wings folded

I have heard that it happened twice. Once, the pilot was able to unfold and lock the wings by slighly yawing the aircraft side to side to overcome the aerodynamic forces of lift to enable the hydraulic system to unfold the wings and lock the pin in place. I also am under the understanding that that happened on a carrier trails and that he was shot off the carrier like that and was somewhat forced to improvise. This picture is the other example where I believe he came back and landed. The Crusader has no control surfaces on the outer wing panels so no major control issues would be evident.

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: Lancaster, South Carolina
Posted by Devil Dawg on Thursday, May 31, 2018 10:41 PM

stikpusher

I finished this one back in 2010

 

Great job on that, Stik!

I remember reading an account of where a pilot forgot to lower the wingtips on his Crusader, taxied out and took off, flew around for awhile, and then landed without realizing that the tips were still up. Said the plane wasn't handling as it should, but didn't think too much about it. Wish I could remember where I read that. Might be somewhere on the Internet.

Devil Dawg

On The Bench: Tamiya 1/32nd Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zeke For Japanese Group Build

Build one at a time? Hah! That'll be the day!!

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Thursday, May 31, 2018 6:10 PM

If anyone is interested, lone Star models has the upgrade kit back on their website for the revell f-8

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Sunday, May 27, 2018 5:49 AM

GreenStyrene48

Send Mike an email at LSM re: the Cobra set. I bought mine in December. He just rotates what's listed on the website. 

Check model shows and eBay for older aftermarket. It's out there!

 

I had never thought of that. I will certainly do it. Thanks!

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by GreenStyrene48 on Saturday, May 26, 2018 11:55 AM

Send Mike an email at LSM re: the Cobra set. I bought mine in December. He just rotates what's listed on the website. 

Check model shows and eBay for older aftermarket. It's out there!

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Saturday, May 26, 2018 9:38 AM

Ish47guy

 


 

Hey! That real stabilator has raised panel lines!!!! And look at those rivets on the fuselage... 

 

Everyone knows that that is not accurate... Wink

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Saturday, May 26, 2018 7:55 AM

Ish47guy

I went digging through my photos and came across this pic I took of the Eduard PE set for it. 

 

Cannot find that anywhere. Eduard says that it is discontinued. Other than some metal landing gear and 'maybe' wheels, I am beginning to think there is no aftermarket left on the market for this kit. sigh Sad I may gamble on one of those generic seats since learning on this post that the kit seat is wrong.

Chirs

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: The NYC.
Posted by Ish47guy on Saturday, May 26, 2018 2:33 AM

I went digging through my photos and came across this pic I took of the Eduard PE set for it. 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by GreenStyrene48 on Friday, May 25, 2018 1:42 PM

I recently bought the Lone Star Models/Cobra Company set for the Monogram Crusader.  It has parts to backdate it to an F-8A through F-8D, a raised wing with separate leading edges and flaps, and metal gear with a corrected stance.  Don't build many jets but looking forward to using it someday.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: The NYC.
Posted by Ish47guy on Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:15 PM

My fellow New Yorker DRob brought up a good point.  I stopped using the kit pit decades ago, and forgot about the seat issue.

Another area could use attention is the tailplane mounting point.  Its overdone, its not that big on the real airplane as you can see in the pics below.


Rather than try to modify the mounting point on the fuselage, I just shimmed the stabs with sheet styrene.

 If you look close, you can see the space between the stabs and the fuselage caused by the oversize mount.

  • Member since
    January 2003
Posted by Darren Roberts on Thursday, May 24, 2018 4:47 PM

I didn't see anyone mention it, but the seat that comes in the kit is a GRU-7, which is good for a Tomcat and Intruder, but not so much for the Crusader. You need a Martin-Baker Mk. 5. If you can't find one of those, you could use a Mk. 7 to at least get close.

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Thursday, May 24, 2018 1:10 PM
Thanks for the great post Ish47guy! I havent looked for decals but I have for resin stuff and have not found any yet. Sure would like to have that resin kit to raise the variable incidence wing up!! Chris
  • Member since
    August 2014
Posted by Timdude on Thursday, May 24, 2018 12:10 PM
You da man
  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: The NYC.
Posted by Ish47guy on Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:20 AM

This is one of my favorite kits of all time.  Its inexspensive and looks good when done.  I kid you not, the first one I built was in 1988 when the kit was first introduced, and I still have about a dozen in the stash to this day.  There are a few things that can be done to it to make it look better.

1.  Thin down the ass end of the fuselage (from the inside) by the afterburner nozzle.  It presents a better scale apperance.

2.  Same area, remove the aft-most mounting ridge for the afterburner nozzle (left fuselage half). That ridge causes the nozzle to stick out from the fuselage, which is incorrect for the F-8.  Use the other mounting ridge to mount the nozzle once you removed, and it will be correctly flush with the fuselage (right fuselage half).

3. Thin down the exterior around the opening of the nozzle itself for better scale apperance.


4.  Thin down the trailing edge of the tail on both fuselage halves.  You can see where I sanded by the area that says "VF-24"

Aftermarket-wise, Eduard does a exterior PE set for it,  KMC used to have a resin cockpit set, which I think is now marketed under the Squadron "True Details" line.  I don't recall who produced it, but there is a resin raised wing center section, and resin LE/TE flap set.

C&H Aero Miniatures used to produce a RF-8A/G resin conversion set about 15 years ago.




Aeromaster printed around 8 different F-8 sheets, and Furball Aero Design 48-007 is an F-8 MiG killer sheet sized for the Hasegawa kit, so some of the decals for the tail and ventral fins may not work on a Monogram kit.

Hope this helps.  I know thre are a few things that are escaping my memory right now, will post when I remember.

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 5:54 PM

The kit seat is pretty nice, much better than many other kit seats. The plug in the rear gear to adjust the stance is one of the few actual gigs that the kit has.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    June 2012
Posted by Compressorman on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 9:13 AM

Thanks for the replies guys. The only aftermarket I can find for this plane is the metal landing gear, which I do not want anyway. I did find a nice looking resin pilot/ejection seat but it does not reference a particular model so I am a little scared to buy it and find it does not fit.

Aggieman, that is one super paint job btw

Chris

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: Milaca, Minnesota
Posted by falconmod on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 7:30 AM

I just finished this one for the the shelf of doom build,  it was sitting around 98% done for like 15 years.  I didn't add any AM nor did I remove the raised panel lines,  actually I worked on it so long ago I didn't know any better about raised panel lines.

I did add a small plug in the landing gear strut to extend the gear downwards so I could raise the back end.

John

On the Bench: 1/72 Ki-67, 1/48 T-38

1/144 AC-130, 1/72 AV-8A Harrier

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 6:58 PM

I finished this one back in 2010

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 6:51 PM

It builds up nice enough OOB. Rescribing addresses the raised panel lines that some folks don’t like. You can dress up the wing fold and variable incidence areas, if you feel so inclined. And replace the kit AIM-9s with some proper D versions, if you’re planning a Vietnam Crusader.

The only AM items that I recall for this kit were some items by Cobra Company.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 6:50 PM

I built this one late last year.

This kit is pretty easy to build. although the instructions may leave you flabbergasted at least at one point.  There is one part that is not referenced anywhere, and I very nearly overlooked it - until I got to the point of dry-fitting the fuselage together and realized that I should not be able to see the cockpit tub through the air intake.  There is a piece that forms the upper half of the air intake tube that the instructions do not include.

The only after-market release I recall finding for this kit was metal landing gear.  I opted to use the kit parts, but keep in mind that the struts are not quite right and this results in a model that sits way too low to the ground.  I found all kinds of detail sets for the Hasegawa kit (yeah, I'd love to build that one some day).  I really did want to depict my Crusader with the wing structure elevated but did not want to risk the detail sets intended for the Hasegawa not fitting my Monogram (Revell).

Having said that, it does build up pretty good.

I used the kit decals, which were good for the most part, and I did not sand off the raised panel lines.

Good luck on your Crusader.

  • Member since
    June 2012
Revell/Monogram Crusader (what does it need?)
Posted by Compressorman on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 9:06 AM

I have a 1/48 Revell F8 crusader (yes, I wish it was the Hasegawa) that I plan to build. I am wondering if anyone has built this and can recommend what is really needed to build it into an extra nice model? I see a lot of aftermarket stuff for the hase and havent found any (yet) for the Revell. I do plan to sand off the raised panel lines and scribe the lines btw.

Chris

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