I never thought I’d buy a Panda kit, until I ran across a stack of 1/48 Panda F-35B USAF kits at an LHS selling for (get this) 500 yen (about $4.50 USD)!
Seemed like a pretty good bargain (considering a Big Mac set here in Japan costs about $6.00 USD!), so I couldn’t pass it up.
I had read reviews saying this kit was simple and undetailed, and to a certain extent that’s true, but my sample is cleanly molded and seems to be a nice kit as it sits in the box. The canopy is particularly nice, being very clear and blemish-free.
How it all fits together is another question, though! We shall see.
Anyhoo, perhaps hobby shops worldwide will soon be trying to unload their unsold stocks of Panda kits, so if you can find 'em at crazy cheap prices like I did, I’d say grab one!
Hey J-Hulk, wish I could have picked mine up for that much. But it is a very good kit. Some of the biggest problems I have had with that version is the gap where the ducted fan covers are located. I ended up placing them on there and covered it up with some gap filling super glue. The interior when put in left a gap on both sides about 1/8th of an inch. Other than that it really isnt that bad of a kit.
With what you saved on buying the kit, you can buy some extra styrene and putty to overcome any fit problems, and still be ahead of the game. I think you got an excellent deal!
Okay, don’t shoot me just yet Falcon [:D] - the Air Force announced earlier this year that they would acquire a small number of the STOVL F-35 variant for use in forward deployed areas.
Me shoot you tigger neverrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I really like the plane for its design. I really dont keep up with modern fighters as much as I do WWII planes. Besides I like to learn something new any time I can. Oh plus Panda was supposed to release a 1/35th series of the Chinooks (still waiting and probally will be for awhile).
I am reminded of a sort of pointless F-5 encounter I had. It was at an airshow, before the gates were open, and there were two Navy agressor F-5E’s on static display. A guy who was there early was walking his two very small young boys down the ramp, pointing out the airplanes to them. When he got to the F-5’s, this guy had the gall to flip open the locks to the gun bay, open up the panel, and lift his kids up to look at the LOADED, 20 mm cannon in the nose. Why those a/c were sitting unattended on the ramp with live rounds in them, I will never know, but I’ll bet some hot shots from the Top Gun school would have been tattooed had their commander found out.
TOM
I remember some years back, reading an accident report of an S-3 crew that was at a local airshow somewhere back east, and the crewmembers left the cockpit unattended to talk to the crowds outside. While the crew was distracted, a young boy entered the cockpit, pulled the pins on the seat and ejected himself. Can you imagine what thoughts went through minds of that crew?