Just finished this Hasegawa F-8 Crusader. It was a blast to build, but took me a year since I’m rarely home it seems. I love Vietnam-era aircraft. I used a ridiculous amount of aftermarket on this, from a brass gear set, brass pitot tube, canopy masks, and an interior photoetch set. I also used Eduard’s afterburner intake set and exhaust set. I want more Crusaders now after building this one! : )
This will be at IPMS starting tomorrow. Hope to see some of you there.
Here is the F-8 with my previous build. Amazing they’re only three decades apart huh?
Definitely an awesome man! First Crusader pilot to down a MiG-21!
Yup, it’s a beauty - congratulations! But it looks a little strange so squeaky clean… It’s unbelievable how filthy those birds tend to get, especially on the underside where you can’t see it that good and nobody wants to crawl under…
Thanks for the constructive feedback everyone! I attempted to base my plane off a similar Crusader that served with my subject. I think some of the Crusaders from the Oriskany early in the Vietnam War were some of the cleanest I could find, according to my reference photos. The USMC ones on the other hand gave weathering a whole new meaning haha. Believe it or not though, I did use several layers of filters and washes in gradual moderation. It doesn’t really show unless zoomed in.
It’s presently on display at table 132 at IPMS in the vendors’ area. Come check it out and our business too. Say you saw this from FSM and we will give you a free raffle ticket for our drawing. : )
That is a great looking F-8. I also prefer a clean airplane, within reason. I keep hoping someone will kit an RF-8 in 1/48th scale. An RF-8 set a speed record from CA to NY back in the early days of jets. The pilot was a Marine named John Glenn, and a Thompson Trophy went with the record, as did an appearance on the “$64,000 Question” TV game show back at that time. He won, getting much national acclaim, and the rest is as they say history. If I recall the F-8 was referred to as the last gunfighter.
Thank you rangerj, Bill, rocketman, and Mongoose. I look forward to giving the Tamiya F-4 a go! I hope they release an F-8 someday! I almost bought another Hasegawa one at IPMS. I’m surprised how hard they are to come by now and how much they go for on eBay, if you can even find one.
@Mongoose, the kit was harder than I thought. It took significant work to build it with flaps and slats retracted. Even though it’s an option the kit gives builders, be ready for a lot of scribing and sanding. The fuselage was great. Easy, except the panels are weak on the belly of the kit and need rescribing. Some panels are raised on the fuselage. That needs fixed. They were all flush with the jet. Overall, very rewarding, but I’m hoping Kinetic or even Tamiya will come out with a worthy replacement. Even though many make the F-8 in 1/48, the Hasegawa is really the only game in town in my opinion.
