Dose anybody know if the amt f9f panther kit is any good and also which revell ww2 heavy bomber kit is the the best the b17 b24 or the b29
I’ve seen that AMT Panther kit on the shelves recently at my local Hobby Lobby. From the reviews I’ve read, it’s your pretty typical “1960s era” kit. No wheel wells to speak of. Sparse cockpit. I must admit that I was surprised when I read one guy’s review of it and he really didn’t mention any fit problems. The way he summed it up, he sort of made it sound like one of those kits you could put together when you wanted to take a much needed break from worrying about overly engineered kits. The one ding against it, though, was the price. I’ve read several comments on line that, for what you get in the box, the $25 - $28 price tag is kind of steep.
As for the best Revell WW2 heavy bomber, I’ve built all three that you mentioned with the most recent being the B-17. To be honest with you, they’re all about equal in terms of fit and quality. I really enjoyed the 1/48 B-17. In fact, I’ve got their “visible” B-17 in my stash that I’m thinking of making my next build.
All three kits have great interiors. While they may not be THE most accurate, they give you enough details to look great and satisfy the average builder without being overwhelming or too fidgety or complicated. Some kits stress me out while others relax me. The Revell line of WW2 heavy bombers relax me because you really can’t muck them up.
They all need careful attention when gluing those long fuselage halves together. Just take your time and those kits won’t let you down. Just take it slow and easy and you’ll have a minimum of sanding. I don’t think there’s any way around having to do a sand job but the more care you take, the less you’ll have to do.
The B-17 and the B-29 have some fit issues when it comes to their canopies though. They’re not bad but the quirks can easily stand out if you rush your way through them. On the B-17, it seems like the opening in which you slide the canopy is a bit taller than the clear part. With some glue and clamping, you can eliminate this problem. It’s not that difficult really.
On the B-29, I think the clear canopy is a hair’s breadth wider than the opening. I’ve read where people have superglued one side of the canopy down and then, after that one side has set, they squeeze the clear canopy and then superglue the other side down. Squeezing the clear canopy will narrow it down so it’s no longer wider than the nose section upon which it sits. I hope that made a little bit of sense.
The B-24 was great. Again, like the kits above, the interior detailing is more than ample. If you get the gun-nosed J variant, there’s going to be a seam in the turret when you glue the front and rear half of it together. I can’t help but think there might have been a better way to tackle that but oh well. It’s not a deal breaker for the kit in the least.
One of the many nice things I like about those large kits is the multitude of aftermarket decals you can get for them. Same with the detail sets. In fact, there are almost too many to choose from but, in this case, it is NOT a bad thing at all.
I highly recommend getting all three kits several times over.
Eric
I have built all three bombers in the past and consider them excellent quality and fit. That B29 is just toooo huge!
As far as the Panther, don’t know about the AMT but I have their Tigercat which is very nice. The Monogram 1/48 Panther is an old mold but still a very nice affordable kit.
The B-17G from Revell / GERMANY in 1/72 scale is an excellent, but rather complicated kit. Very well made with modern tooling.
Now the hard part of choosing what one to get first my local hobby lobby has all three in stock and just how huge is the b29
Yer gonna need a lot of room for that B-29. My daughter actually wanted my latest B-17G hung up in her room. I ended up doing that trick that I picked up on this forum where I hung it on the wall using fishing line. I suppose one could do that with a B-29 but you’d better make sure you use some very high test line.
I really can’t wait to work on my next B-29, B-17 or B-24. When I do, it’s definitely going to be something that hangs from the ceiling. I just don’t have any shelves large enough to handle those sizes. If you have the space to display it, that would be awesome!
Eric