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Robert Royes
248 articles

F9F-2 Panther,VF-31 USS Leyte,Year of the Cat,1/72 Hasegawa

February 19, 2018 · in Aviation · · 11 · 2.4K

Not another Panther? Yes, Killing two birds with one cat, I add to the group build and further presenting VF-31aircraft, used since WW 2. I used the latest boxing, It's still a great little kit, I got the Felix emblem from Print Scales F8F sheet, the rest are from a combo of kit and Techmod letter sheet, paint was rattle can MM dark sea blue #1917. It depicts a VF-31 A/C off the USS Leyte during the Korean war. I'll probably stop at the F-14, not being a fan of the FA-18.

Reader reactions:
6  Awesome

8 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. Another nice addition to the "family", Robert - good-lookin' build, my friend.

  2. I agree with Craig ! Plus it's a welcome addition to the "Year of the Cat" as well... Well done my friend. You have a nice collection of Grumman Cats and McDonnell Douglas "Spirits".

    PS: I thought you would like the photo that I used to represent Group Build... Old Felix makes his rounds...

  3. I meant to mention that too you. Yes, Felix has been around for awhile.

  4. These Panthers seem to look good in any scale, and the dark blue livery especially suits them, great addition to the group build.

  5. Nicely done Robert, Panthers always look good to me.

  6. Nice lookin Panther Robert.

  7. Beautiful Panther! I've got that same kit - hope to do it justice someday soon...

  8. Nice work. Leyte's Korean cruise was epic - 92 days from leaving Sasebo in late October 1950 to returning at the end of January 1951.

    If I might pass on a trick for countering silvering (which you can even do at this stage): once the decal has set and silvered, slice it several times with a sharp #11, then flood it with decal setting solution. Apply liberally and don't be afraid to re-apply. You can knock out the air bubbles and the decals will melt in and you won't be able to see any slicing.

  9. Thanks guys, and for the info, Tom.

  10. This is great. I was a corpsman with VFA-31. Being with such a historic squadron motivated me to get back into modeling. I built the whole spread from the 1933 to modern day. Was a fun project to complete, then donate to the squadron when I left.

  11. Thanks Ivan, and welcome aboard! I was with VF-31. I've previously posted some photos from then.

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