Kit: No. 01610
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Trumpeter, from Stevens International, 856-435-1555, www.stevenshobby.com
Price: $24.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 118 parts, decals
Pros: Well-engineered, excellent fit, good decals, good clear parts
Cons: Assembly-sequence issues, minor color and marking inconsistencies
A descendant of the MiG-21, Shenyang’s Jian (Fighter)-8 incorporates a great deal of MiG technology. The later F-8II version (NATO code-named Finback-B), with side intakes and radar nose, gained notoriety on April 1, 2001, when one collided with a U.S. Navy EP-3 Orion over the Pacific near Hainan Island.
Trumpeter’s F-8II is molded in gray plastic with recessed panel lines and excellent detail. External stores include three drop tanks and four PL-8 air-to-air missiles for the aircraft’s interceptor role. Decals are provided for the cockpit sidewalls, instrument panel, and consoles; but to my eye, they’re too colorful and not representative of a real cockpit. The five-piece ejection seat builds into a nice assembly.
The instruction sequence specifies building the fuselage and wings separately, including landing gear, speedbrakes, wheels, and all external stores, then joining the large assemblies at project’s end. Figuring this might complicate seam removal and painting, I deviated by building up the fuselage, wings, and fin together, leaving the stabilizers and “small parts” off until the end of the assembly. I didn’t use much putty; parts went together so nicely, little was needed.
The kit has excellent wheel, wheel-well, and speedbrake detail. The main gear doors mount at an angle to the struts, but the lower door supports (D5 and D7), won’t fit as drawn in the instructions. It’s easier to visualize all the angles and how to attach these parts if the gear doors are left off until after the gear is installed. I recommend attaching them to the doors first, then assembling them to the struts.
Although the windshield-to-fuselage fit isn’t perfect, the clear parts are crisp and thin. I opted to pose my model’s canopy open to show the cockpit but found it needed a support to hold it up. I used a piece of scrap brass from an old photoetched sheet to make one.
The decals, though few, are excellent and feature three complete serial numbers plus extra numerals, providing a wide choice of markings. Using Gunze Sangyo acrylics and Testors Metalizers, I finished my model as one of the two aircraft pictured in the kit’s separate color-and-markings guide. The only glitch in the decals was that the “tiger” unit insignia on the fin and forward fuselage are much larger than shown on the guide. There are minor conflicts in colors between the instructions and the guide as well, but nothing the modeler can’t figure out.
As all parts fit so well, construction was simple. I spent just 18 hours building the model. I didn’t have a lot of reference material in my library on this one, but it scales out correctly according to Swanborough & Green’s Complete Book Of Fighters and captures the look and sit of the real aircraft. A fine kit from Trumpeter!
– Walt Fink