Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $ 150.00 Kit provided by: Stevens International www.stevenshobby.com . At long last! The last of the Gunfighters is finally on the market after a seemingly endless wait. And from what I'm able to see in the box, our patience was worth it. First impression is of a good sized lawn dart! Man, this puppy is long in the fuselage and short in the wing. The kit is nicely molded on numerous trees in light grey styrene and first look doesn't show many flaws. In looking at the interior, while I'm sure the kit would benefit from use of the Avionix after market offering, it appears to be very nicely done straight from the box. The included photoetched fret (see images) helps to enhance the front office. The only negative I see so far is the engine. The Crusader and the F-100 shared the same power plant, and long story short, if you've built the Hun, the same engine mistakes appear here. The good news is that unless you decide to cut open fuselage panels, you can't see it anyway, so this is truly a minor point. The kits good points far outweigh the bad. Trumpeter engineers have offered the builder a cornucopia of options with this kit. The following lists the ones that a first look shows: · Wings folded, or not (yea !!) · Leading edge slats and flaps up or down · Variable angle of incidence up or down · Optional position items:   · Control surfaces   · Speed brake   · Canopy   · Gun bay door access (beautifully detailed if left open)   · Refueling probe   · Ram air turbine And I may have missed some, but it will be covered in the full build article to follow. The clear canopy parts are packed on board in a separate small box to protect them from damage, while the other lenses are in their own plastic bag. When it came to the ordnance, I must confess I need to do more research to determine what is appropriate for this aircraft, but the kit includes a mixed bag of things that go boom. Listing follows: · Fuselage missile pylons (single or double) · Aim 9-D sidewinder (2) · Zuni rocket launchers (2) · Bullpup missiles (2) · Shrike missiles (2) · Walleye missiles (2) · GBU 15's (2) With respect to the ordnance, the F8 was such a slick (aerodynamically speaking) machine, it seems wrong to hang a bunch of weapons over it (just my take) to slow it down, so don't expect a "Christmas Tree" in the build. The kit offers a multiple page instruction booklet as well as a full color profile sheet showing decal placement. The decals themselves are a huge sheet, extremely well done featuring two beautifully marked F8Es in the light dull grey over white scheme. First up is a multi colored CAG Bird from the USS Oriskany (VF-162) circa 1968. The second, also a CAG aircraft, is one from the USS Ticonderoga (VF-194) 1968. Very nice, but there are so many beautifully colored options for this machine, one can only hope that the decal manufactures are burning the midnight oil producing options. While on the subject of aftermarket wish lists, this kit, as would most other jet aircraft, would benefit from an available intake (and exhaust) cover. I hope Harold of AMS is reading this! In conclusion, this appears to be one of the nicest offerings from Trumpeter to date. If you're a fan of USN/USMC aircraft, it should be a "must have" for your collection. Stay tuned for a progressive build on this website. Many thanks to Stevens International and Mike Bass for the review sample. Most highly recommended.

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