Man Cave Modeler

Product Reviews
Take it or leave it, the comments here are strictly my opinion,
(and you know what they say about opinions)
I do this for fun and receive no compensation from anyone I might mention on this site.
Just my 2 cents worth

USN F-8E VF-162 "The Hunters"
Academy 15251

This is the 2015 release of their nice 1/72 F-8E Crusader kit with new markings options. Originally released in 2004 and retooled in 2012, this kit is molded in the usual light gray styrene on four sprues plus a sprue of clear parts.
Upon preliminary inspection, the parts are clear of flash, with well defined panel lines.
None of the parts were warped and there were no instances where the molds were mis-aligned. During construction I found the fit to be tight and well aligned with minimal mold lines and and ejections marks

Below is an example of the detail and the fit in this kit taken during painting.
The panel lines are crisp and well defined, and the canopy has no gaps or alignment issues

The Cartograph Decals included in the kit has markings for two aircraft:
VF-162 "The Hunters" BuNo, 149203, USS Oriskany (CVA-34) 1966
VF-103 "Sluggers" BuNo, 150303, USS Forrestal (CVA-59) 1964

The decal set also includes the instrument panels and one for the wind screen that includes the gold trim prevalent to aircraft of that era. Much of the stencil data is actually legible

Parts Trees
               


Paint:
The color scheme for ths aircraft is typical of the period of U.S. Naval Aviation, Lt. Gull Gray, f/s 16440 on top with Gloss White Belly and control surfaces.

After market parts:
Depending on your level of sanity (or insanity in my case), Aires makes several kit specific detail sets including a complete set
7110   F-8E Crusader Cockpit Set
7111   F-8 Crusader Exhaust Nozzle
7120   F-8 Crusader Gun Bay
7150   F-8E Crusader Full Detail Set

Master Models
AM-72-049 Chance Vought F-8E, Turned Brass Pitot Tube

As for Decals, there are many aftermarket sets in both U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy with some foreign nations.

Final Thoughts
I bought this kit for one reason, I've become a "sluggers' fan and this kit had the VF-103 markings. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. For realtively short money, this kit is superb. the parts are clean and flash free. Even the mold lines and ejection marks were minimal and easily cleaned

It's seldom that I find nothing to complain about in a kit, but this one might be the rare exception
I have a sneaking suspicion this will be replaced in the stash soon, and this time with some aftermarket parts from Aries.



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Last Updated September 1, 2017