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Muroc Models 1/144 F-8A SCW Conversion

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

Easily one of the most interesting Crusaders ever to fly, the NASA Supercritical Wing (SCW) F-8 featured a new, longer and more tapered wing, along with large aerodynamic bulges on the fuselage. Building on this new look, the Crusader was also painted in the attractive blue and white NASA scheme, resulting in an impressive looking F-8.

So just what is the Supercritical Wing? It was a wing concept out of the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch of the Langley Research Center which was flatter on the upper side and rounder on the lower side, with the trailing edge curving downward. The design was supposed to both delay and reduce the shockwave over the wing at the transonic flight envelope (just below and just above the speed of sound). This would result in a reduction in drag, and thus improve cruising speed and fuel economy, giving the aircraft an increased range.

NASA's F-8 SCW flew from 1970 to 1973 and amassed extensive amounts of information. The results from the flight tests showed that the transonic efficiency of the SCW was roughly fifteen percent greater than the standard Crusader wing. When applied to passenger aircraft, that efficiency translated to a savings of around $78 million (1974 dollars) per year for a fleet of 280 200-passenger airliners. In 2008 dollars, that would be roughly $332 million, which is a significant amount. As a result, supercritical wings are found on just about every modern airliner.

The Conversion

This conversion is designed for the excellent Platz 1/144 F-8 Crusader kit. There are some obvious and some not so obvious changes between the SCW Crusader and the stock Platz kit. First up, the Platz kit is an F-8E, while the base Crusader used for the SCW was an F-8A. The main difference there is in the nose, which is slightly narrower. The obvious changes, of course, are the large aerodynamic blisters on the fuselage and the all-new wing. To handle all the fuselage differences, this conversion provides a whole new fuselage that incorporates the bulges as well as the various modifications to backdate the airframe to F-8A standard.

The other major part in this conversion set is the wing, and it is a beautiful one at that. A quick test fit onto the fuselage halves shows that the fit will be quite good, and should only require a bit of cleanup to get a smooth finish. The remaining small parts include a separate nose, a nose gear well, and the main gear doors. A vacuformed canopy is also included. Assembly is really straightforward, as all the conversion parts are direct kit replacements. From the Platz kit you will need the landing gear, stabilizers, etc., although the kit does include cockpit decals.

Speaking of decals, these are nicely done as well. In addition to the aforementioned cockpit decals, this sheet includes all the basic markings, including the fuselage stripe, as well as two options for the NASA band on the tail. For those who feel the yellow is too pale in the decal, the second black-only option allows the modeler to paint the yellow. A fairly complete set of stenciling is included as well. Generally, when NASA repainted their aircraft in the house colors, the copious amount of military stenciling was not added, so these planes are fairly clean, stencil-wise.

Conclusion

This is a simple conversion for the Platz kit, and one which will result in a striking Crusader to sit next to your Navy or Marine examples. My thanks to Muroc Models for the review sample.  The conversion is $14 and is available direct from Muroc Models.