yardbird78 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) I would like to enter my second project for this GB. It is the 1/48 Monogram F9F-5 Panther and I will be finishing it in the same NMF and Gloss Sea Blue as the bird in my sig block. Darwin Edited March 21, 2011 by yardbird78 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Good work on the cockpit. Is this going to be the escort for your recce Panther? Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Good work on the cockpit. Is this going to be the escort for your recce Panther?Grandma L Probably not, since the Blue Tail Fly was during the Korean War and the recce bird was 1954 vintage. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SrkiRad Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 This one should be interesting - NMF + blue tail! Keep going :) Srdjan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 I finally got some work done on the Panther. I epoxyed a bunch of BBs into the nose to ensure it is not a tail sitter and painted some of the fiddly parts. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Great start mate! Recently I saw the movie The Bridges at Toko-Ri and I must admit that the Panther has a very harmonious line; exist a good 1/72 model ? Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 5, 2011 Author Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hasegawa makes a pretty decent -5 and a -2 version of the Panther as well as a -8 version of the Cougar in 1/72. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 I finished my RF-84F for the Recce Group Build a few days ago, so now it is back to the F9F-5 Panther. I painted the interior details, added nose weight, glued the fuselage halves together and added the wings and stabs. It needed some putty on the upper nose joint and one little spot underneath. I sanded everything smooth, down to 2400 grit sandpaper, meticulously cleaned everything and applied two coats of Future. I misted on a coat of Alclad II, Duraluminum and then after a couple minutes, came back with a heavier coat. It actually turned out rather well. It was dry to the touch after only about 15 minutes, but I plan to wait at least a couple of days before handling it anymore. It will have to be masked off for the Gloss Sea Blue tail, then the decals applied and the pylons & ordnance added. Darwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I like the BMF, looking forward to seeing it with the full scheme Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 14, 2011 Author Share Posted March 14, 2011 I masked off some panels and sprayed them slightly different shades of Alclad. The nose is burned metal and the fuselage panels are chrome aluminum. I was rather surprised when the masking tape pulled off a small amount of the first coat of Alclad in couple of places. Darwin masked and ready for paint done bottom view Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dirkpitt289 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Ver cool. I bought a 1/72 Panther last year in hopes of building this same "two-tone" bird. I'll be watching closely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 This kit went together very well with excellent parts fit and only two issues. The fragile nose guns must be installed prior to closing up the fuselage and the two inside ones stick out quite a ways. Of course, I broke them off while building the plane and the carpet monster had them for a snack. The upper nose from the windscreen to the tip had a rather large step that had to be filled and sanded smooth. I used Alclad II, Duraluminum for the basic finish with Polished Aluminum for some panels and Burnt Iron on the nose. Model Master Gloss Sea Blue went on the empennage. The decals are from Repli-Scale sheet # SP-001 and they went on quite well. This sheet does not contain the word NAVY for the aft fuselage or the round warning circles for the tip tanks, so I had to use the ones from the kit decals. The carrier film was very milky when applied and I had to use several applications of Micro-Sol to get rid of it. The ordnance is from the kit and I used strips cut from a yellow decal sheet for the nose stripes. The story of The Blue Tail Fly is quoted fromSquadron Signal, F9F Panther/Cougar, In Action # 1051. "The Blue Tail Fly was a unique combination of two different F9F-5s. Both aircraft belonged to VF-153 aboard the USS Princeton. The story of The Blue Tail Fly goes that a Lt Richard (Stretch) Clinite was flying an experimental natural metal finish F9F-5 when he was hit by Communist flak and tail section of the aircraft was badly riddled, but he managed to get the Panther back aboard. In the meantime, Ens William Wilds, Jr. brought back a heavily damaged standard Glossy Sea Blue finish F9F-5 with its rear section intact. After mating the two airframes, The Blue Tail Fly was born. It flew 12 missions in that configuration before being returned to the States for rebuilding." The Blue Tail Fly with an F9F-5P reconnaissance bird. Both are 1/48th Monogram kits. The three builds that I have completed since the first of the year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnsjunk Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Great job on the Blue tail fly!! :( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
texgal45 Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Beautiful work on the silver Panther and a unique story of the origins of the two tone paint job. Your three models represent quite lot of work for less than 3 months. They are all very nice. Grandma L Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alonzo Fonzo Posted March 21, 2011 Share Posted March 21, 2011 Another Blue Tail of VF-153! Awesome! Your panther looks great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted March 21, 2011 Author Share Posted March 21, 2011 (edited) Another Blue Tail of VF-153! This Panther with the blue tail was the origin of VF-153's nickname. Darwin Edited March 25, 2011 by yardbird78 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kilroy Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 (edited) Really nice work, I had never heard of this particular plane before. Nice topic to pick! Edited March 25, 2011 by kilroy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Those are 3 wicked builds. Nice work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mlicari Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 Nice! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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