RN Crusader

[Devilfish]

Yea, yea, I know it's been done to death, but I still fancy doing a Royal Navy F-8 Crusader.  So at the Peterborough show last weekend I picked up an old 1/48 Esci kit.....





Old, basic, raised panel lines and silver.....could it get much worse?


First job was to get rid of those raised panels and awful rivets and replace them with something more civilized...








After that, the cockpit.  Esci cockpits were always basic.  Just a tub, a seat, a stick and an instrument panel.  And decals.

So, to make it look a bit better, if not 100% accurate, some work was needed.

[sandiego89]

Looks promising.  Nice work so far. 

[kerick]

A few basic tools can take you a long way. Press on!

[Captain Canada]

Nice work. I love it. Nothing wrong with the old kits and elbow grease ! Especially for your own enjoyment. Why go mad fiddling about with extra bits that you paid for, when you can detail it up as you are doing ? Great stuff, and I think the results will speak for themselves, especially when they are all bolted together !

And maybe it has been done before, but there is nothing wrong with building one of the world's sexiest fighters in one of the world's best Navies !

[Devilfish]

Got a bit more done.  The fit it terrible, but with a bit of "manual adjustment" things can be made to line up, more or less.  Only had to put a smear of filler across the bottom of the fuselage in the end.
Also added a more "British" RWR.

[Captain Canada]

Coming along nicely. Love the Crusader. Nice touch on the tail addition as well.....definitely a must !

[Mossie]

RN Crusader is good.   Coming along nicely.

[Howard of Effingham]

one to follow methinks 

[Devilfish]

Little bits of progress.  First up I received this today. 



A resin seat, so the cockpit won't look as barren....

Next up, the wings.
Again, a lovely fit...not!  Injection marks all around prevent them fitting together properly, so some sanding was required.





Then, once fitted, the joints on the fuselage were pretty bad too.  Made them line up as best I could and sanded the rest.





You don't have this much fun with a £50 Hasegawa kit....call yourself a modeler, lol

[Howard of Effingham]

hmm, nothing done here I wouldn't do to a FAA crusader myself. fact is why not do a RF-8 in FAA markings.....

keep up the good work. 

[Captain Canada]

Yes, very nice. Glad to see her coming along so quickly !

[Devilfish]

hmm, nothing done here I wouldn't do to a FAA crusader myself. fact is why not do a RF-8 in FAA markings.....

keep up the good work. 

Did I mention Red Tops?

[zenrat]

There are no bad kits...
...just challenges. 

[Devilfish]

Just a quick update to show you I haven't forgotten about it.....

After 3 attempts, I finally managed to get a decent coat of grey on it.  All painted and lacquered now, awaiting decals....

[Captain Canada]

Oh that does look good ! Love this aeroplane. And it looks even better in RN colours. Can't wait !