Real World Shenyang J-8

[Gondor]

Decided to at least book mark a page for this aircraft rather than cluttering up Kit's Flattening thread. If Chris or some other moderator could transfer the necessary posts it might be a good idea to do so.

Gondor

[Gondor]

So this build will be a slow one, a bit being done now and again although I do encourage anyone who has been discussing this in Kit's thread to continue talking about the aircraft here.
I have one of the Trumpeter J-8II kits in my stash and another on the way, hopefully, so one of them will form the basis of the resultant aircraft.
Dizzy sudgested using the Modelvist Ye-152A The intake and nose would have to be reduced minimum, other things as well so it may be easier to just rebuild the nose of the J-8II instead.

Gondor

[Mossie]

 

It might be worth looking at some other Modelsvit kits, they do a lot of Soviet pitot nose aircraft.  The I-7U looks pretty close,

Failing that, the I -75 or one of the early Su-17/20 family might work at a push.

[jcf]

The problem remains that the J-8 fuselage has a flattened oval cross-section that only
transitions to a circular inlet at the very front. All of the Russian aircraft mentioned have a
circular cross-section fuselage. Using any of the MiGs, the Sukhoi is too small, would
require adding tapering "cheeks" from the wing leading edge forward. May as well just do
that with the J-8II, the flat sides of the fwd. fuselage would probably be a better base to
build out from as you'd already have the cockpit more or less in the right place and the
circular cross-section of the radome as a reference point.

[jcf]

Quick n' dirty J-8 and J-8II overlay, J-8 in red. The J-8 gif used as a basis ain't the greatest
as it's hard to find any 3-views, it is at least better at showing the fuselage width than the only other
one I found that has the fuselage way too skinny. Of course not all details jibe with each other, as is
typical of drawings from different sources.

[rickshaw]

If your serious about this, I'd be building the model so it can be used as a master for Resin kit...

[Gondor]

Thanks Jon for the drawing, it will be a big help 
I was thinking that it would probably be easier to "backdate" the J-8II rather than to modify the Ye-152A or another aircraft, I would have eventually clocked that the soviet aircraft were circular where as the J-8 is not, but had not yet.

Rickshaw, I have no idea how to do such a thing.

Gondor

[rickshaw]

It isn't hard to make it into a Resin kit.  All you need to is make the fuselage, wings, tail planes and undercarriage separate and then create moulds for them in moulding rubber.  Then mould away and produce kits in resin!  Send me the various bits and I'll make the moulds.  It would be the first F8-I kit.   

[Gondor]

It isn't hard to make it into a Resin kit.  All you need to is make the fuselage, wings, tail planes and undercarriage separate and then create moulds for them in moulding rubber.  Then mould away and produce kits in resin!  Send me the various bits and I'll make the moulds.  It would be the first F8-I kit.   

No point in doing the whole thing, a Conversion kit would be better. Forward fuselage with the nose cone separate should do for that. If I do go that rout I would see how it turns out first then make parts for a conversion kit with what is learned from building the model first.

Gondor

[rickshaw]

Sounds like a cunning plan!

[Gondor]

To me it makes the most sense. Whiffing the aircraft would be easy as not many really know Chinese Military Aircraft, so putting it in Russian, Vietnamese or North Korean markings should really confuse the punters. Saying that, any central Asia country would probably do as well, Mongolia, Tibet or almost any of the "baijain's" would do if the markings could be found.
I have pulled Dragon's Wings from my library so I can refresh my memory on the aircraft and to see if there is anything that can help the build.

Gondor

[Gondor]

The base kit arrived today! Looks reasonably straight forward although the instructions would have you fit the main undercarriage, complete with wheels and doors, to the wings before fitting the wings to the fuselage 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Had a breif look at using the intake from an E.E. Lightening as the intake ring for this build, a little small unfortunatly I think. I will have to scale the drawings that someone put up, which I can't find again    hopefully I am wrong as it would be nice and easy.

Gondor