| F-8 P Crusader French Special Scheme |
| F-8P Crusader
- French Navy Special
Academy kit 12407 - 1/72 Scale Background Progress in aviation is usually measured in terms of small steps of improvement. Occasionally however, a design comes along that offers such a major improvement over its predecessors as to be considered a milestone. The Chance-Vought F-8 Crusader is one such milestone. It was the US Navy’s first supersonic, carrier based jet fighter. In fact, the engineers at Chance-Vought were so confidant of the performance of the Crusader that it went supersonic on it’s first test flight. Over 1200 Crusaders were produced with almost 500 of them subsequently being rebuilt to extend service. It started service with the US Navy in 1959 and was finally retired in March 1979. The design was a pure fighter plane with both guns and missiles and featured a unique two-position wing to provide acceptable landing and take-off performance from such a hot airplane. In addition to the US Navy, the Crusader was used by the Philippine Air Force and the French Navy. In the latter case, the Aéronavale usage of the Crusader started in 1964 and continued to the end of the millennium – 35 years. To operate from the smaller French aircraft carriers, Chance-Vought modified the Crusader wing to provide lower take-off and landing speeds. In addition, modifications were made to utilize French designs for electrical equipment and armament. The Crusader was assigned to Squadrons 12F and 14F and operated with an exceptional safety record flying combat patrols in many of the world’s hot spots. Many of the US Navy pilots have a fond spot to the French for keeping this “Last of the Gunfighters” in fleet operation for another twenty years. For some of it’s final flights with the Aéronavale, one Crusader of Squadron 12F was painted in a special scheme which featured the “Donald Duck with a musket” emblem of the squadron painted on the upper surface of the wing. This silver painted airplane also featured red arrow blazes on the fuselage side, a reference to the original XF8U prototype. This airplane is featured on the kit box top. The Kit This limited edition kit from Academy is based on their US Navy F-8E Crusader kit with suitable additions and modifications to represent the French version. These modifications include unique antennas and wing leading edges that represent the “double droop” French version. The decal sheet, produced by Cartograf, features the special scheme markings of the Squadron 12F last flight, along with a standard airplane from 1981, a special D-day 50th anniversary commemorative scheme and a last cruise scheme with a shark-mouth and large squadron emblems on the vertical stabilizer. This sheet provides not only the major markings but also a myriad of small stencils that cover the airplane. Unique additions to the sheet are decals that represent the colored sealing strips around the canopy. I was torn between several of the schemes. The silver painted plane was kind of blah but the wing marking was spectacular. On the other hand, I love shark-mouth markings and that scheme along with the D-day scheme were painted overall intermediate blue which could be suitably faded around the panel lines etc. In the end, I couldn’t resist the silver airplane. The squadron insignia goes back to 1939 and was created by pilot officer Dupont, patrol chief of Squadron AC2 that evolved into 12F. The squadron marking has a great history. Construction starts with the cockpit. Reasonable details is provided and the modeler can choose to paint raised details on the side consoles and instrument panel or else use decals for these areas. I used the decals but added an oil wash to tone down the color. The ejection seat consisted of four parts and makes up into a good replica of the Martin-Baker Mk.7 seat. I added photo etched seat belts. (See photo 1) After looking at the seat for a while, I removed the thick plastic loops at the top of the seat and replaced them with photo etched parts. Six different sub-assemblies need to be built and installed in one side of the fuselage before the fuselage can be closed. These include the cockpit, an intake/nose wheel well, the air brake well, the main landing gear well, the tail hook receptacle and the area on top of the fuselage under the wing. (See photo 2) I was concerned that everything would align correctly but was pleased to find that this was not a major problem. I was very impressed with the detail level inside the wheel wells and the air brake well. Modelers can apply washes, dry brush and paint details to their heart’s content. It is a shame that most of this area is normally hidden. A couple of small parts initially confused me. They had two small, fragile curved extensions. Later on, I found out that these two parts positively located the landing gear doors. This is a well-engineered kit. The modeler does have to remove a molded-in rudder antenna so that the more elaborate French antenna can fit but this is not a problem. Also, if the modeler chooses to build the standard marking aircraft with Matra Magic 550 missiles, the mounting holes need to be drilled in the fuselage before assembly. Finally, lightly raised wing ordnance pylon mounting locations need to be removed. Painting of the model was simple. The wing and elevators can be painted separate from the fuselage. This allowed for a smoother paint job. I painted the model with Testors Model Master Aluminum Non-buffing Metalizer. Then I applied the decals, used a light wash to bring out the panel lines and then applied a semi-flat coat to represent the silver paint job of the original. The decals applied easily, were opaque and readily conformed to the surface details. The canopy was molded in two pieces and looked like it could be displayed open although this was not given as an option in the directions. I tried to mount the canopy open but it seemed to be a little too thick to fit right. I finally gave up and glued the canopy closed. The Wing The kit wing is a simple design – a top and bottom with separate leading edges. Also, a separate fuselage fairing is attached to the top of the wing. The wing can be displayed either in the up position or down. Since one of the most visible features of the Crusader was the two-position wing, I planned to make the model with the wing in the up position. This would also show off the well-detailed area at the top of the fuselage under the wing. After reading several references, I found out that when the wing was moved to the up position, the leading edges and the flaps automatically drooped. Academy molded the leading edges separately so they could possibly be modified to droop but the flaps were molded integral with the wing. I was in a quandary because I wanted to model the wing up but my AMS (Ancient Modelers Syndrome) would not let me make it “wrong”. I thought that I had solved the problem at the vendor’s area at the Region 4 Convention. I discovered a conversion set from Obscureco Aircraft which featured a resin wing for the F-8E Crusader with drooped leading edges and flaps. Not exactly the French double droop design but close enough for government work. I painted the wing to match the fuselage and then painted the edges of the flaps and droops a lighter silver in the joint areas. I was ready to apply the decal to the top of the wing. After cutting out the decal and holding it in place, I realized that I would have to cut this decal into seven or eight exact pieces to fit the model correctly. I decided that this provided too much chance to screw up this great decal and opted for the wing down position. Note - I had to do a little bit of carving of the fuselage sides and the area under the wing in order for the wing to fit tight. Conclusions Except for my comments about the wing, I feel that this is an excellent, accurate and well-engineered kit and Academy have done a great job of including the added parts to make an accurate model of the French Version. The markings that they have chosen are spectacular. Well recommended. Since I love models in different than normal markings, I expect that I will be building another one of these kits, probably using the shark-mouth markings. In fact, I have a wing that I can use to model it in the up position. Clare |
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| March 23, 2007 |
| Photo 1 |
| Photo 2 |