[Colt40Five]

Originally Posted by lanslide

I hope CW is listening!

Does anyone know if any CW employees monitor this or other forums?

[David Hingtgen]

Moving leading and trailing edge flaps, combined with a working pivot? Well, let's just say FIXED ones don't work and fit on 99% of plastic kits. Even CAD-designed ones. Basically, the angles are so complex it's hard to get to work in one position, much less get them to move and maintain alignment. If you get them to fit when up, they won't fit down. And vice-versa. The main issue is that none of the cuts/angles are simple ones. Everything moves at an angle and basically--nobody but Vought knows what they are, especially in 3D. You'd need to measure every angle in 3D to make it work, and the museums won't let you. Or at least, nobody's done it yet.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by Colt40Five

Does anyone know if any CW employees monitor this or other forums?

You bet their watching........

[lanslide]

I get it but I propose that there could be one metal wing that is not movable but poseable. There could be two sets of plastic flaps for raised or lowered posed wing.

[Colt40Five]

I don't understand the design/manufacturing process well enough to know if the lack of all the weapons etc is enough to offset the cost of a whole additional wing for the launch/landing config, but CW could surely sell them like they did the F-14s(ie some with the wing up/flaps down). If selling more models by doing it that way convinces them to do the Crusader, I'm all for it!

And if CW is watching this thread, I offer to shamelessly plug their products at various flight sim forums if they will make the Crusader in the scheme from my first post!

EDIT: I thought of another angle...There is a popular Japanese anime series called Area 88 which is about a mercenary airforce. The main character flies a Crusader...I'm sure CW(which is a Japanese company right?) could sell enough of that scheme in Japan alone to help get us some real schemes...here's a not so great pic...

[11SQNLDR]

my Amex is poised and waiting.......bring it on!!!

[David Hingtgen]

See, my proposal is that the basic model has a launch configuration wing. (since one wing is a "given" for any mold/tooling cost). The "extra" wing is the simple, one-piece "all closed up" wing.

lanslide---removable flaps probably wouldn't hold their position, and would fall off a lot. Look at Dragon's P-51. (The flaps aren't even supposed to be removable, but they just fall off) And as I mentioned---no one yet has figured out the right shape so that they look right in both the up and down position for FIXED flaps, much less ones that can move. And having them be removable would make the scuff plates etc much harder to incorporate. F-8 flaps are piano hinged on the bottom, they are not hinged at all like your standard diecast moving rudder etc. Changing the hinge style/location will change how they deploy, and make the fit problems even worse.



Also, here's the recent OVA versions of Shin's F-8 and Mickey's F-14:

[admin]

Originally Posted by lanslide

Okay but...we would want metal wings - not plastic! Right? Why would it be "impossible" to just make the operable parts operable like the real thing though?

Certainly not impossible, but as Mark at EI told me;"You sacrifice detail for operability".

[Colt40Five]

Originally Posted by David Hingtgen

Also, here's the recent OVA versions of Shin's F-8 and Mickey's F-14:

Nice pics! I thought the CGI of the new version was good, but I prefer the old hand-drawn stuff from the 80's OVAs...call me 'old school'

[lanslide]

Okay David you have convinced me. I see the wisdom of your proposal. I would not want to sacrifice accuracy for operable parts even if it were possible to produce different parts for the wing's two positions. Two wings sound good to me whether they are included with the same model or available as two separate models like the Tomcats are.