EmperorKai Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Thanks guys! Starfighter- Here ya go Fork length with horn Fork length without horn Kit part 1.154 inch (29.31 mm) 1.037 inch (26.34 mm) SAC part 1.102 inch (27.99 mm) 1.004 inch (25.50 mm) G-Factor part 1.139 inch (28.93 mm) 1.017 inch (25.83 mm) Also, after working the cross section a bit, I've got the nose wheel down to .676 inch (17.17 mm) Thanks for the measurements- it sounds like the nose gear is off a bit in most dimensions. Kai Girlscanplay2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) somewhere i read that the F8 was retrofitted with the A-7 wheel/strut becaus od strutural problems with it. maybe there were two sizes? trumpys A-7 front LG is smaller than the F8 gear.... Until it was brought up recently, I never heard this, and thought it would be interesting to investigate this and for the sake of posterity to comment on this. F-8A nose landing gear. Note the wheel, fork and the diameter of the main piston. For the sake of this conversation, this is a fairly typical example. A-7A Corsair II nose landing gear. Note the same design elements as the F-8 gear Observations: The F-8 gear obviously has a single wheel, whereas the A-7 gear has 2. The fork on the F-8 gear is heavier not only in construction but in design as well. The 3 spoke like reinforcing ribs along the bottom are not present on the A-7 gear. Also, though not apparent in these specific photos, each tang on the F-8 fork has an I-beam type profile whereas the the tangs on the A-7 are a flatter U-channel profile, relying on the overall box like construction of the fork in general. The main piston on the F-8 appears to be much greater than the A-7 The landing gear issues are fairly well known in F-8 lore, and I believe strengthened landing gear were part of the upgraded series starting with the F-8H. Aside from the horns on the nose gear fork and the "A-brace", it seems to me that most of the changes to the gear were actually to the main gear. Certainly there are similar design elements in each one, I think it's pretty clear they are definitely different gear. As Vought designed both aircraft, it's no surprise that there are so many similarities in not only the gear, but the rest of the aircraft as well, but again it ends there- the nose gear are distinct to each aircraft type. Kai Edited June 14, 2014 by EmperorKai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 It so happens that I also was able to get some build time in- some updates Opened up the various vents and ducts around the fuselage. Generally, it wasn't necessary to open them all the way- just scribe more depth in them and thin out the louvers. Washes during the finishing process will do the rest. The stabilizers suffer from some shrinkage, so these were "planed" with a hobby knife and cleaned up for a nice smooth surface. The same was done along some similar shrink lines on the fuselage and wing as well. The refuel probe door from the kit and the Aires set. The Aires piece is nice and thin (though about 1mm shorter than the bay opening), but after comparing to reference photos, the I found that the inside detail on both the kit and the Aires pieces are not correct. The Eduard piece actually has the correct detail. Photo-etch detail on the kit refuel probe door which now compares very well to references. The nose gear wheel. As mentioned previously, out-of-the-box, it has a very circular cross section. The circumference was scraped down, which reduced the diameter by about 1 mm. It was also slightly flattened for weight. The bulged nose is now cleaned up on both sides. Thanks for looking! Kai Girlscanplay2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitali Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Nice work on the bulge on the nose! Neat work all round with your build. Great idea withe intake as well. EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngtiger1 Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Wow Kai, you sure are taking it to the next level. Great work on adding the depth to the vents anspd such. You are right, during weathering process it will surly show well... EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Great job, Kai - the nose looks great! 4mm too long, that's quite a lot! If you want, I can send you a scan of the scale drawing within tomorrow. I just need to check if it is still correctly scaled as it is a scan of the printed drawing, but I can do that if you want to. EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Highly impressive work Kai, I like especially your way of seeing/analyzing and correcting details, highly impressive, joy to follow. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thanks much guys! After the discussion on the nose gear, I was planning on doing more with the front landing gear, but after grinding off the horns, I decided to punt and use the G-Factor gear as is. One reason is that by cutting down the vertical length of the nose gear, I became concerned that it might incur an undesirable consequence with the angle of the "sit" of the aircraft in relation to the main gear. The second reason is simply that I'm starting to fatigue a bit and want to start painting! The gear already looks good, so I decided to just go with it In the pic above, the nose gear has been dry fitted in place in the Aires front gear bay. I did drill a hole for an axle for the nose wheel, but in the end, it was still necessary to gently pry open the forks to get the nose wheel into place. As there isn't really any spring in the metal, it is also necessary to gently bend the fork back into shape afterwards. The main gear temporary fitted in place in the Aires main gear bay, which is also now technically complete. The Aires instructions are not particularly clear, so it took a bit to figure out exactly where certain pieces are supposed to go. There are a few Eduard photo-etch pieces that I will be adding to the gear bay as well. Eduard PE and hydraulic/break lines added to the G-Factor gear. The lines themselves are lead wire, mostly .030 and .040. The gear with a coat of Gunze finishing primer 1200 The speed brake bay also primered... and the wing center section. A few additional lines were added along with some more Eduard PE. I've also been working on the Zuni rockets on the side. First, another thank you to John for the 2 extra Zuni launchers. The launchers themselves are pretty good though I think the barrels need some work. The rockets heads themselves have very heavy bands on them that I shaved off and smoothed out. The heavy nose cap actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it there is a break in the ogive curve on the Mk 24 warheads that I was able to incorporate into the final shape. Found this on the internet someplace (I forget where exactly) that shows some of the different warheads on the Zuni rockets. I'm specifically looking to depcit the third one down, with the general purpose explosive warhead. Note also that there are varying lengths to the Zuni rockets depending on which warhead is fitted and which motor is used. This explains why in photos of the Zuni launchers, some rockets stick out more than others. There's still more work to do on the ordnance in general and the cockpit, but getting very close to starting some painting Thanks for looking! Kai Seversky and Girlscanplay2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Great job, Kai - the nose looks great! 4mm too long, that's quite a lot! If you want, I can send you a scan of the scale drawing within tomorrow. I just need to check if it is still correctly scaled as it is a scan of the printed drawing, but I can do that if you want to. Thanks much Starfighter and for sharing your notes. Though I decided to move past the nose gear rather than make some of the modifications that were brought up, I'd still like to add your schematic to my documentation- I'll send along a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 (edited) Highly impressive work Kai, I like especially your way of seeing/analyzing and correcting details, highly impressive, joy to follow. Cheers Martin Thanks Martin! Looks like I was posting at the same time as you Edited June 15, 2014 by EmperorKai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Girlscanplay2 Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 That's looking great Kai ! Very interesting information as well. Keep up the good work! Teresa EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P Stoner Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Parts look real good primed Kai. Gear are going to look sweet I'm sure. Great share with the options. Paul EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 (edited) Thanks! Have been working through the cockpit and ordnance and have some update pics. Carved the angled radar off the Aires IP. Built up a replacement, but after double-checking references, the dimensions seem off, so will build up a new one. Cockpit painting in progress. Here, base coats are down. Main tub is MM Light Ghost Gray and the rest is MM Interior Black. Here, the LAU-33/35 Zuni rocket launchers. From left to right, a progression from out-of-the-box, drilled and then opened up and thinned. To thin the tubes, used a pin-vise with a Dremel bit. The same was done on the opposite end of each. The Zuni rockets themselves, which seem to stick out a bit too much out of the launcher. On the upper right, the OOB rocket minus the bands. Using the custom aluminum jig on the bottom, cut them back with the net result on the upper left. A finished Zuni LAU-33 launcher ...and the backside with the folding fins tucked inside One of the AMS Resin Mk82 Snakeyes, which are real beauties when done up. I contemplated putting fuse extenders on the forward bombs, but I wasn't able to find any Crusader pics with Mk82's with these, so built the bombs up without them. 8 snakes and an MER. The Trumpeter MER (from the weapons kit) has shape and dimension issues, but I think it will ultimately still pass muster once everything is hung. I don't want to pull the MER's from my Tamiya kits, so this is what I have to work with. I really wish there was a decent aftermarket Vietnam/any era MER available I've also come across and ordered some additional pieces, including wheels, afterburner scoops and Vietnam bomb graffiti, which will take a couple of weeks to arrive. Thanks for looking! Kai Edited June 19, 2014 by EmperorKai Girlscanplay2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderdriver Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hi Kai, Just caught up with this impressive build you have going here. You attention to detail is remarkable and love the additions you've made. This is definitely a Standard Bearer in this Group Just Dang Nice Work Sir watch'in you jack EmperorKai and Girlscanplay2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 Thanks much Jack- you are very kind! Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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