Just got my hands on the new (?) Panther kit from RM and thought I would ask what every one else thought of this kit. I had the original F9F-5 and enjoyed building it so hopefully this one will be as easy. I’ve just given this kit a quick lookover and I’ve seen things I like and things I don’t. One of the things I like about this kit is the way the recce nose is done. No fiddly alignment problems with seperate pieces, but it does mean that the moulds have been altered. One of the things I don’t like is the camera lenses are represented by pieces of paper that you cut out of the instruction sheet. The instructions say to do this in step 2E, if you cut it out at this point, you’ll lose part of step 5. I would suggest copying the camera lenses and using that instead. The decals are protected by a piece of wax paper over the decal sheet and includes markings for VMJ-3 based at MCAS Miami in May 1954 and VMCJ at MCAS El Toro in Feb 1956. There are also a lot of stencils on the sheet. These are printed white on a nearly white backing sheet, so be prepared to squint alot. Still no wing fold option available. The speed brakes are still openable and there is an integral pilot step that can be open or closed. New for this kit is the option of the underwing fuel tanks. Overall I like what I see here. Anybody else?
That sounds like a very nice kit. I have more kits now than I will ever build, so I probably wouldn’t buy it, no how much I liked it. Good luck and happy glueing on yours. [alien]
It’s still basically the old Monogram kit with a few modifications. If you built that one, you know what to expect. Basically still a very nice kit, but showing it’s age. I really wish Tamiya or Hasegawa would do an all new tool for this & the Cougar, but if wishes were fishes I’d have a lifetime supply of Mackerel.
Regards, Rick
roadkill 275, the molds most likely have not be “altered” as they probably had the capability of the insertion of a “slip” – an interchangable mold section that slips into place. Something similar was done on the F-89 Scorpion for the gun nose B/C, and on the early and late exhaust cones on the F-86D Sabre Dog. Monogram does this a lot. Same goes for the different B-24 noses (IIRC).