1/72 F/A-38 Crusader IV

Gallery Article by Petko Mironov aka piko1 on Jan 9 2010

Silly Week 2010

 

The F/A-38 Crusader 4 is a larger and more advanced variant of the F8U2 Crusader 2 . An early version was marketed by Vought as Super Crusader in the 1980s. The concept was an advanced version of the F8U2.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

US Naval Aviation faced a number of problems in the early 1990s. The A-12 Avenger II program, intended to replace the obsolete A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsair IIs, had run into serious problems and was canceled. During this time the end of the Cold War resulted in military restructuring and budget cuts. With no clean-sheet program in the works, the Navy considered updating an existing design a more attractive approach. As an alternative to the A-12, Vought proposed the "Crusader 4" (initially "Super Crusader" in the 1980s) to improve F8U-2 and A-7 models, and serve as an alternate replacement for the A-6 Intruder. At the same time, the Navy needed a fleet defense fighter to replace the canceled NATF, which was a proposed navalized variant of the F-22 Raptor.

The model is still unfinished it is the Italeri F-8E with a Scratch built Cockpit new Glass and will have new gear. The one shown here is the first of the several Crusaders delivered to Luftwaffe as the Eurofighter project was scraped and they needed a fast replacement.

For more information and progress pictures please visit ARC forum and the A-7/F-8 Group Build. 
PS. The plane should be in US Navy markings when it is finished 

Petko Mironov

Photos and text © by Petko Mironov