Hasegawa 1/72 Vought F-8E Crusader

HASEGAWA 1:72 VOUGHT F-8E CRUSADER
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (smakr1@optusnet.com.au)
- A Built up review of this kit exists on this site - see the respective fully built kit review index to locate review

Kit: Hasegawa Kit C9:900 F-8E Crusader

Aircraft: The Vought Crusader has a chapter in the pages of history, being the first production carrier-borne supersonic aircraft in the world. It was also seen as the last "Gun fighter" because it was the last aircraft to be built during that era to be fitted with a gun. Until the lessons of Vietnam were learned that guns still played a part on supersonic aircraft - every jet fighter produced after the Crusader was fitted with no gun and carried only missiles.

Parts: The good old trusty Hasegawa cellophane bag holds everything within, including the three sprues of just under 60 light grey injection parts, two-piece canopy on a clear sprue and the large decal sheet. Control surfaces are all etched but the panel lines are all raised signifying a late 70's/early 80's mold of this aircraft. The kit has been around for a while but it was re-released in 1999 and this is the version I picked up.

Instructions: Typical Hasegawa fold out sheet with brief history and specification on the front, sprue diagram, aircraft in action series little photos and a weapons configuration for underwing stores, symbols for translating parts of modelling (do not cement, open hole etc), eight (could it be any other number?) easy to follow assembly steps with painting individual component information taken from the Gunze/Mr Color ranges and of course the obligatory four-view diagrams for markings and decal placement.

Versions: The kit allows for one of three versions to be produced which are all finished in upper FS16440 Light Grey and lower FS17875 White. There are two US versions : US Navy VF-162 "Hunters" with black and yellow stars on the rudder as featured on the boxart; and a USMC VMF(AW)-312 "Checkerboards" with, you guessed it, black and white checkerboard pattern on rudder and where the tailfin meets the fuselage. The third version is a French Navy Flotille 12F (VF-12) example for something different to bland old US stuff.

Decals: Obviously produced by Hasegawa and is of their standard quality - excellent colour register, but thick and glossy. The sheet is also large with a plethora of stencilling as well as decals for the instrument panels. Should give the modeller little trouble in applying these. However, one must also note a few awkward placements on the model that might pose a problem - for instance the USAF insignia just behind the cockpit will need to be applied around the sidewinder missiles if they are chosen to be depicted.

Accuracy: The box says that the kit measurements are span 144mm and length 233mm. Going by quoted reference materials the model should be about 148.9mm and 230.7 mm respectively so if the kit measures out to the dimensions quoted on the box you will find it a little out in both areas.

Detail: Wheel wells contain structural detail within and the insides of the gear door also provide a bit of detailing as well. The fuselage fairing contains a bit of plumbing detail. There is no instrument panel detail neither on the main or side consoles, but you are supplied with decals depicting instrumentation. The cockpit is pretty sparse with just the instrument panel, cockpit tub, controls stick and two-piece seat provided. A rear bulkhead behind the pilot is also provided. Structural detail is provided on the top of the fuselage wing cavity, I assume so that you get to see something other than flat plastic if you display the wing in the open brake position. Everything else is typically of Hasegawa quality when it comes to detail.

Options: The kit comes with quite a few little bits and pieces to think about for the static display modeller. The cockpit can be displayed open by virtue of having a two piece canopy. The stores options include sidewinder missiles on the fuselage fairings just behind the cockpit but you can also expose the fairing behind the cockpit as well. The wing doubles up as an airbrake and an actuating strut has been included in the kit to display this open. An arrestor hook looks as if it can also be depicted down if desired. The underwing stores are a bit bland - just a pair of Mk.82 bombs being provided.

Impressions: There's not really a lot to say about this kit other than it is a typical Hasegawa offering that is going to go together without too many dramas whatsoever. The breakdown of the parts features the fuselage halves with the tailfin already molded onto them on two separate sprues with all the other small parts. The engine section comes in five parts with an outer cowling and an inner exhaust cowling with fan attached at the back, plus two cooling air ducts. There is no blocking plate for the nose intake trunk which is great for depth but it is going to make it difficult to pack in any nose weight, which I suspect will be needed. A little bit can be packed in the nosecone and forward fuselage section right behind the nose.

The wings are essentially an upper one-piece overlapping a single lower-piece that fits inside the upper wing. On this sprue is also the tailplanes and cockpit fit out. For stores, the kit only supplies four sidewinders on fuselage mounted pylons and a pair of Mk.84 2,000-lb bombs on underwing pylons. As the aircraft was noted as the only capable of carrying the 2,000-lb bombs during the Vietnam war it will be good to have these on an aircraft built for that era. The aircraft is capable of carrying the more widely used Zuni rockets (8 in all) on the fuselage pylons, which would be a more accurate profile for a Mk.84 ground attack laden F-8E, and a variety of other bombs for the underwing pylons including Mk.82 clusters and AGM-12B Bullpup missiles (which was more likely to be used with the Sidewinders). A bit poor in my opinion as far as combination of stores etc are concerned.

Overall, I would still say this kit comes with high recommendations and the best F-8E in this scale in my humble opinion (not that there is much choice!).

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