This
is the Trumpeter F9F2 Panther, built with the flaps and slats down courtesy of
the resin update set purchased from the now defunct Meteor
Productions. The set included a resin lower wing and outer wings
with corrected tip tanks and fuel dump vents. I also used the corrected
resin nose. The decals also came from Meteor, Yellowhammer Hot Cats on
Parade #2 with VMF 311 jets as well as a 1949 Blue Angels scheme. This kit
needs nose weight as it is likely to be a tail sitter otherwise! Use
caution attaching gear to the the resin lower wing bay as the resin is thin here
and easy to break.
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The
build was fairly straight forward, up to the time it came to attach
the outer wings. I contemplated raising the wings but could not find
any photographic evidence of raised wings with the flaps and slats dropped
at the same time; therefore I went with the lowered wings. As it
turns out, the resin outer wing parts were not very compatible with
the kit's attachments that connect Trumpeter's outer wings and
inner wings; the resin outer wing holes aren't deep enough and I
was also concerned with the weight of the resin eventually breaking
the attaching points. I decided on using superglue and with a
bit of sanding and refilling was satisfied with the outer to inner wing
attachment. I didn't install the wing fences as the plane I was
doing didn't have them installed according to my reference materials.
The kit was primed and wet sanded a few times in order to reduce
the effects of the "Trumpeter mad riveter"; I also filled in the
NACA vent near the base of the tail as I have no evidence
that these were present on -2 Panthers.
I
used Model Master enamel Sea Blue FS15042 and painted the leading edge slats
with Alclad II aluminum; for the thin aluminum edges of the tail and control
surfaces (and the tip tank front) I used Sharpie silver marker with a steady
hand and patience. The instructions for the paint called for a blue tail
top and thus used Testors' square bottle Bright Blue. In my reference
material it appears that the gear and doors are all painted the same Sea Blue as
the fuselage and so I didn't follow the kit's recommendations of white inner
doors and bay. I decided to break up the monotony by painting the inside
of the lower wing flaps interior green. The decals went on without any
issues using just a bit of Decal Solvent; they're very thin and I had a bit of
tearing here and there with the bigger decals. The canopy was dipped in
Future and came out clear and shiny. The windscreen was attached with a
bit of Future, it creates a strong enough bond to hold a clear part; I learned
this the hard way when I had a bottle tip over on a table and when the Future
dried it had attached a paint brush to my metal table! It took some work
to remove.
Some
of the reference material I used includes the Panther on static display in
Willow Grove, PA; it helped for positioning of the tail hook. Don't stick
it out as far as the Trumpeter instructions would have you do it! I also
used Wings of Fame, Vol. 1 and 4 as well as Squadron/Signal's Navy Air Colors
Vol. 2 1945-1985.
The
final product builds up into an attractive Korean War Panther; now all I need is
an acrylic case to display the Panther and protect it from dust and fly poo!
Max
Tollens Jr.
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