Gunfighter!
The 1/48th Monogram F-8E Crusader

by Rafe Morrissey

“Last of the Gunfighters” was the motto of the Vought F-8 Crusader community. In the end, it proved to be untrue in every respect as most F-8 kills in Vietnam were obtained with AIM-9 missiles and every Navy plane since the Phantom has included a gun.

F-8 pilots were a rare breed and had been trained by the WWII aces. They wore handle bar mustaches and were full of swagger but the Crusader pilot ethos and the obvious need to have a gun for close-in fighting was profound and contributed to the ‘Top-Gun’ training program and ensured that all future planes would be armed with cannons. Their other motto: “When you’re out of F-8s, you’re out of fighters” would not be true for long!

Kit Notes:

Monogram released its F-8E in 1988. It was a welcome subject at the time. Like most Monogram kits, the fit could be challenging and there were some detail issues. It included the wrong type of ejection seat and the sit of the landing gear was too low. Fortunately, there were aftermarket options to correct both issues.

Some modifications are necessary such as trimming the engine exhaust to sit even with the end of the fuselage. While the raised panel lines are a turn-off for some, pastel weathering techniques still provide a pleasant appearance.

Other details used were:

• Cobra Company F-8 Replacement Landing Gear

• True Details Martin Baker Ejection Seat

Photo 1: Monogram pilot figures were among the best available in the 1980’s and still hold up well today. Note the cut-off thumb on the glove. Crusader pilots did this to have better feel for the trim tab control on the stick. 

Photo 2: Monogram’s F-8E Crusader captures the look of the airplane. While it has raised panel lines and some challenging fit issues, the overall impression is spot on. Quite impressive for a period when everything was done by hand.  No CAD!

Photo 3: I painted the kit missiles to represent the AIM-9C.  I used decal strips for the striping. The AIM-9C was a radar-guided version of the Sidewinder that was used rarely but provided a head-on attack capability.

Photo 4: Some back-dating to remove ECM pods from the tail was needed to do the earlier VF-11 scheme. This involved carefully sawing the bulges off of the tail and carefully sanding away the remnants to keep the raised detail around it intact.

Photo 5: A resin aftermarket Martin-Baker ejection seat from True Details corrects the most glaring deficiency in the kit, which included a later seat type for the F-14.

Photo 6: Another must-have is a corrected main landing gear replacement. It is possible to cut and re-position the struts which, as-molded cause the plane to sit too low but a now out-of-production replacement set from Cobra Company was a quicker fix.

Photo 7-8: The overall shape and contours of the F-8 were wonderfully rendered by Monogram.

Photo 9: Alclad II metallics were used to replicate the metal rear-end of the airframe. The base color was Magnesium. I applied thin strips of tape and over sprayed with Hot Metal Burnt Carbon. The leading edge of the wings and stabilizers are painted in Dark Aluminum.

Photo 10: The refueling probe door is a poor fit, so I posed it open. There is no detail in the bay, so I scratch built some with stretched sprue and bits of plastic but little can be seen. I also scribed in the airbrake on the bottom of the fuselage.

Photo 16: A VF-11 Crusader “gunfighter” on the flight line at NAS Midway, GA In 1964 prepares to ride off into the sunset (This is almost true). Right across the river from my home was Harris Neck Army Airfield. It was only in use from 1942-1945 but used for touch and go practice by the Navy into the 1960s!

Cheers!

Rafe Morrissey

For more on this review visit ModelPaintSolutions.com

Text and images copyright ©2026 by Rafe Morrissey

Text Copyright © 2026 by Rafe Morrissey/ Model Paint Solutions
Images Copyright © 2026 by Rafe Morrissey / Model Paint Solutions
Page Created 7 August 2026
Last updated 7 August, 2026

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page