After a couple of months of carving plastic I finished the HiPlanes F8F-2 Bearcat “Conquest I”. This aircraft broke the world speed record in 1969 flown by Darryl Greenamyer, set by the Me-209V1 flown by Fritz Wendel in 1939. A photo of both pilots in front of Conquest I in 1969:
Greenamyer is on the left, Wendel is in the center.
The finished kit, in markings at the time Conquest I broke the record:
This was part of our club’s “Need for Speed” theme. I built both the Me-209V1 and F8F-2. See my completed Me-209V1 at
Very nice build! I am not familiar with “Conquest 1”, thanks for the history. What was your opinion of the HiPlanes kit? They have a couple I want to build, but reviews of them are HTF. Again, nice job and thanks for the pics! [:D]
Break out your big file. The details were very nice and while panel lines lined up, the fit gave me fits. It requires modelling skills. The original decals fell apart, but a quick email to the manager of HiPlanes and they shipped me new ones, no questions asked. Got them this week and wrapped up the kit.
Always like the Bearcat and especially Conquest 1 since I first saw it race at Reno in 1970. I was almost twelve and couldn’t get enough of all things with props. Racers and firefighter tankers were the tops with me and you’ve done a most outstanding job with this favorite!
