I have the old 1:48 Monogram kit of the Crusader, and I have seen people calling it an E version and others calling it at J version. What is the difference between the two? Anything external or is it all software? Which version does the kit represent??
Thanks in advance!
OWL
The F-8E was one the “original” production of the F-8 series, asdie from the F-8E(FN). The F-8H was an F-8D upgraded with strengthened airframe, landing gear, and a new radar. OOB it is an E kit,
Looking at this flow chart of F-8 development, this kit also can be an F-8H OOB because it has the Rear Warning Radar (RWR) receiver on the tail molded on. I removed it from the Monogram kit I am building now.
![[F8U+Variants+rgb.jpg]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wI-DdPSXymk/SuhLH88oIxI/AAAAAAAAAYs/d7G_XsjiN64/s1600/F8U%2BVariants%2Brgb.jpg)
As far as I can see, it’s an F-8E that is represented.
The F-8J’s were rebuild F-8E’s, with reinforced airframes, boundary layer control, AN/APQ125 radar, pylons plumbed for external fuel tanks & P-20A engines - that being said, I don’t think the external differences add up to much.
Some decent build reviews here;
http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/viet/huif8.htm
http://modelingmadness.com/scotts/viet/f8.htm
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal6/5501-5600/gal5564_F-8_Tollens/00.shtm
I’m going to try and answer based on you meaning F-8E or F-8J Crusader, not Corsair (the A-7)
the main difference is external, and is the tailplane size, there are details like stronger wings, rebuilt A-7 type landing gear, etc,but, the tailplane size is the biggie
if you go take a look at Tommy Thompson’s site, there’s a drawing of the 2 different tailplanes, and a chart of “what’s on what version”
http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2009/10/f8u-crusader-variations.html
hope this helps
Rex
haha, 3 guys answer in the same 3 minutes
however,the F-8H is really not buildable from the F-8E,it’s the “small nosed” D with the bullpup control hump added on the wing
a lot of kits in 1/72 and 1/48 have been released with F-8H decals, but they are F-8E plastic in the box
Rex
Tarn, is this the frontal profile difference between the small and large nose F-8? Or is it mere radome size on side profile shown in the chart?
![[f8conv-nose1-lg.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wI-DdPSXymk/SuhOWAHJezI/AAAAAAAAAZc/vzyFUTCELDY/s1600/f8conv-nose1-lg.jpg)
yes, that is the difference
the A-D and the H, (and first P), K, and L rebuilds from them are on the left, that’s also the RF-8’s radome shape
the E, E(FN) and J, the second P (from F-8E(FN)'s) rebuilds are on the right
they are harder to see from the side view, but, the E and J radome have a slightly more bulbous shape from that angle
Rex
(another quick way to check is to look at the BuNo,if it has the bullpup hump, and a “D” BuNo,it’s an H)
this is as far as I got yesterday, before I had to stop for the holidays
http://z15.invisionfree.com/Hangar_Deck_Resource/index.php?showtopic=8
Rex
There are more differences between the two.
This is for the 1/48 Monogram kit, right?
OK, your kit shows an -E in every basic respect, except for the nose landing gear. On the -E, the nose gear should look like this:
!(http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/AWA1/001-100/walk089_F-8/images Hawk/Image033.jpg)
The nose gear in the Monogram kit, if I recall right, represents the later style that was found on the -J model, like this:
Notice the two small “horns” at the front edge. Also, there is another part that may be incorrect in the Monogram kit. Look at this link:
Notice the large part, the one that’s shaped like a V? This is the -J landing gear, and the part is I believe a part of the retraction mechanism for the nose gear. On the -E, this part has four lightening holes on the starboard(right) side and three on the port side.
There are other minor differences, ones that most people would never pick up on in this scale, such as the ailerons being different. The -J’s had a blown BLC system, so there were vents in the top of the hinge line on the ailerons that were visible whenever the flaps were down. Which reminds me, if youre going to build this with the wing raised up, be sure to drop the flaps because they would drop automatically whenever the wing was raised.
It all depends on how much detail you want to be correct. The -E and -J used two different ejection seats, for example. Most people, again, would never know the difference. One other thing I do want to mention is that the Monogram kit’s main landing gear is incorrect for the plane. There is an aftermarket set of landing gear that fixes it to the correct height.
yup, the main gear mods are covered by a drawing in Milair’s first link (just ignore the E/H mistake in the article),the “horns” are covered in my mention of A-7 landing gear (the F-8J nose gear was from the A-7, without the catapult launch bar, J’s still used the bridle) , and the link to Tommy’s site has a chart that shows which seat goes in which version
taken all together, with the links and pics, you should be good to go on fixing it to a real E
Rex
OOPS! Yes, I meant the Crusader. My bad… [:$]
To sum it all up, the kit represents the E version, but I need to correct the landing gear? Thanks guys, your quick responses were very helpful and the links enlightening! [t$t] Now I know what decal sheet I should get too, the ones in the box are from the 80’s and very yellowed.
OWL