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Gary Brantley
44 articles

Another Monogram Panther

May 11, 2013 · in Aviation · · 14 · 1.6K

Tom's fine looking and great story inspired me to dig up a few pics of my modest effort. An older build that finally made it out to the airport. This is the Panther, painted with MM gloss dark blue. I would've liked to take more pics but I was afraid the gusty wind might take her airborne any minute. This kit has a lot of nice detail, especially the cockpit. The framing on the windscreen was way too big so I sanded it all off and masked it with tape to get the more correct size frame. I read about the canopy frame issue in FSM years ago. I was really hesitant to sand them off but I jumped in and gave it a try. Believe me, I was worried that it would never look right again. But my ol' dad used to say, "Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and then." Whew, a lot of polishing saved the day!

It's been a long time since the kit was built, but I don't recall any particular fit issues. I approached the canopy frame issue with great trepidation, but it turned out okay. As I said earlier, the cockpit has some nice detail and features, but one does find that in many kits of this vintage. I am going to replace the cannon barrels with hypodermic tubing as one of the kit barrels has fallen back into the fuselage since these pics were made. The metal parts will look better anyway. The decals are a mix of aftermarket and kit markings. Please excuse the crooked canopy in one of the overhead shots. I left it unattached so I could pose it either opened or closed and I didn't notice that it was askew before I took the pic. Thanks for checking out my Panther.

Reader reactions:
2  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


14 responses

  1. Profile Photo
    said on May 11, 2013

    Cool Panther Gary. Great paint job, and nice photos.

  2. Gary... Beautiful Panther. Great looking finish and nice photos. Just goes to show that the old Monogram kits can still hold their own.

  3. Now THAT'S good photography of the Panther. And your background definitely adds to the realism. Kudos to you and your camera. I wish ALL the photos posted were as sharp as yours so we could see the detail clearly.

    Oh yeah...and the model ain't bad, either - lol đŸ™‚

  4. Terrific build, Gary! One of the best Panther's I've seen. And your photography is just as outstanding - it looks like a real F9F parked outside a hangar!

  5. Thank you gentlemen! You guys are too kind...but please don't stop, lol! Seriously, I really do appreciate all your great compliments. I am currently in a bit of a modeling slump; does that ever happen to ya'll? I guess I'm going to have to chain myself to the bench and get some new builds done. Thanks again!
    Gary

    • Modeling "slumps" are a common ailment to [almost] every one of us. Mine have lasted from several weeks to several months. Some have been years (I refer you to the narrative in the recent 'how-to' video). Forget the chains...it's a mind thing.

  6. Very nice work on that OOB project. I had to do the same thing to the windscreen on mine. The second run of the kit, they changed the windscreen and got it right. It's still the nicest Panther kit generally available, excepting for Paul Fisher's beauty, but that's also $200 nowadays.

  7. said on May 19, 2013

    Gary . all this plane needs now is a "mule" backed up to it to start it, and a pilot .. the REALISM photos in front of the hanger really sets it off .. SOOOO REAL .. AND the details in the cock-pit are unreal .. a modeling
    accomplishment ...

    • Thanks a million Ray! Those are really nice compliments and I certainly do appreciate them a lot. Sometimes they turn out okay for me, I'm glad you like this old Panther!
      Gary

  8. Outstanding work on this Panther, Gary! Your photography is also superb!

  9. Thanks Drew! Sometimes I get lucky and get four or five good pics out of 50 or 60. I appreciate your comments so much!

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