I have always liked the Crusader or
'the last of the gunfighters' as it is often called. The French navy only got
rid of the last Crusaders some years ago, I guess because it took them
a very long time to enter the Rafale to the service and there was simply nothing better. I had
this Hasegawa kit for a while but wanted to do a special version with very
colourfull markings. So after a while I found the Eagle Strike production
decals: 'Crusaders part 1' and built it. The Hasegawa Crusader is an old kit in
a new box. It is rather basic but fits very well and I had no trouble
building it 'out of the box.' The only thing I added were a pilot figure and a
larger ECM fairing on the vertical fin which I made of stuff I found in my scrap
box. Paint was regular Humbrol enamel and was done by using several types of
brushes in stead of airbrushing.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Pilot of this
Crusader was Commander Bob Coffey, unit was C.A.G CVW-19 which operated from the
Carrier Oriskany in the Vietnam war. The unit was nicknamed 'Satans Kittens' and
was painted on the front of the wing, only visible when the aircraft has the wing in
the 'up' or braking position. The markings are special C.A.G markings.
Jeroen
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