Hobbycraft's forthcoming 1/48 scale
F9F-3 Panther

by Tony Bell

Hobbycraft's 1/48 scale F9F-3 Panther will be available online from Squadron

I was recently given the opportunity to paint up some assembled test shots of the new F9F-3 Panther for Hobbycraft to display at the upcoming Nürnberg Toy Fair.

Please bear in mind that these are test shots, assembled by folks at HC for the purpose of checking fit, assembly sequence, etc. I was handed three built up models from which I cobbled together this one, so things like the holes in the upper surface of the wing at the fold line are my doing and would not have been there otherwise. I didn't have any instructions for the decal placement, so any such mistakes are also mine. There are a whole whack of stencil decals that I elected not to apply as I had no clue where they were supposed to go.

Now, what about those rivets? Any of you out there who are familiar with my stuff will know that I like to put rivets on my models. As molded on this kit, the rivets are a wee bit heavier than I would have done by hand, but to my eye they look very nice and suitably restrained, especially (to use a cliche) under a coat of paint. When I build this kit for myself - and I will - I will simply spray a couple of coats of Mr. Surfacer and rub the model down to tone them down just a touch. Much easier and quicker than applying the rivets with a pounce wheel.

Even though I did not assemble this kit the fit appears to be excellent, especially the wing to fuselage join. Little or no filler should be required to assemble this kit. Likewise the decals are also excellent, being very thin, opaque and easy to work with. I won't spill the beans and reveal what other markings will be released, but suffice to say that they are quite catchy!

The model was painted with Tamiya XF17 Sea Blue, with Alclad Polished Aluminum leading edges.

One final note before the pictures: I was approached by a third party to paint this model for Hobbycraft and I do not work for HC, nor do I have any professional relationship with them. The above opinions are mine alone.
 

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images: 

Model, Images & Text Copyright © 2007 by Tony Bell
Page Created 14 January, 2007
Last Updated 24 December, 2007

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