Jim Sullivan Memorial Group: F9F-2 Panther
I was looking in one of Jim Sullivan's books, entitled "Bent and Battered Wings", and came across an interesting series of photos of an F9F-2 Panther that came to grief in 1952. Apparently the returning Panther failed to catch a wire on landing, crashed through the safety barrier, and barreled into the planes spotted forward. The book also has an artist's profile for this plane. I also found a photo of this plane in a "pamphlet" I picked up when I was flying a mission through Japan. I bought this pamphlet new in 1978, so I guess I am officially an old guy. I had never seen stripes like these on a Panther, but one of my references says they were temporary stripes for an exercise.
I have reached an age where building a 1/72 kit is truly a challenge, but I had heard really good things about this kit. It was built straight from the box. I added the seatbelts using masking tape. I managed to lose three cockpit parts in the carpet, but I also managed to find all of them. I take this as irrefutable proof that my Karma is in-sync with the Universe.
I wanted to replicate the markings on the plane in the photo, which involved piecing together a lot of numbers and letters of various sizes. Squadron Mail-Order just came out with a decal set of 1/72 White Letters and Numbers that worked perfectly for the markings.
If you are interested in the build details, please stop by the in-progress thread at the Jim Sullivan Memorial Group. I plan to do at least one more model for the group, so on with the show. Cheers.
A wonderful result, George, a great tribute to Jim!
Your build was a joy to follow!
Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten). Now, on to something in good old 1/48 scale.
Nicely done!
Thanks, Rob (@robertandy).
A real nice choice and buld, great job!
Thanks, Robert (@roofrat). I haven't built a kit straight out of the box for a while.
That turned out great , George @gblair .You did a nice job building & painting the cockpit. ( as well as the rest of it.)
Thanks, Jay (@ssgt). This was a nice kit and it went together well.
Fantastic result and great tribute to Jim, George @gblair
Hard to believe this is just a 1/72 scale, looking to the details of the cockpit for example.
Well done.
Thanks, John (@johnb). I appreciate the kind words.
Great job, George! I love to see Panthers built.
Thanks, John (@j-healy). I have built several Panthers, but this is my first in 1/72.
Well done, George! Jim would have appreciated your efforts. I enjoyed watching the build.
Thanks, gary (@gwskat). I didn't know Jim, but I have all of his Squadron books. I suspect we liked the same planes.
Thanks, John (@j-healy). Ever since The Bridges at Toko Ri, Panthers have also been one of my favorites.
Great looking Panther, George especially with the white bands.
Also a great tribute, very nice build- especially in 1/72nd scale.
Thanks, George (@georgeswork). It was the white bands that drew me to this plane. I had never seen bands like this on a Panther.
Fantastic work in this scale, George, it may be a nice kit but it takes skill, knowledge, and experience to get it looking this good.
Thanks, George (@chinesegeorge). I appreciate the kind words, but this model truly did fit like a glove. I think the modeling gods smiled down on me for this one.
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
Thanks for contributing to our Jim Sullivan group build. I'll bet you are very pleased with how your Panther jet turned out. I would be if it were mine. I no longer build anything in 1/72 scale, for the reasons you mentioned. I commend you for how nice it looks. You my friend, have some serious skills ! I don't think I could have done it as well as you have. Not even close ...
This is an excellent choice for the group. Practically any Navy bird from the era would have qualified for the group, but you picked my favorite jet from back then. The Panther jet is SO cool looking, and your model is too. Well done buddy !
Do you have any plans to build anything else for the group ? I'm going to be building a 1/48 Dora Wings Curtiss SNC-1 soon. I have already been working on it in the past. I started it shortly after they first came out. You will see it soon.
Thanks again. Your build journal was a joy to follow.
Thanks, Louis (@lgardner):
My next model is one for the group, a wheeled Kingfisher in Atlantic camo. I was waiting for a resin interior before I started, but it is in my hands now.
I may also build a Corsair from one of his books that had interesting markings. I have a 1/48 kit of the late model Corsair that I would need for the build.
I also have the Dora Wings SNC in the stash, which is a really cool looking plane. Looking forward to your build. Have you decided on a paint scheme?
George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I have several pictures showing these SNC-1 "Falcons" that were stationed nearby at Green Cove Springs. These aircraft were a highly polished bare metal fuselage and lower wings, with a Yellow upper wing surface and Black letters. They also had the early / pre war round star insignias with the red centers on the wings.
Here's one of them.
Then I also ran across a picture in one of Jim's books that showed a Blue Gray over Gray camouflaged version that was stationed at NAS Daytona Beach. So now I'm not exactly sure which version I will do. In a perfect world I would build both. But my wallet would hate me for it later. I'm waiting for the new tool ICM 1/48 scale Ki-21 to hit the shelves next. It will likely be my next purchase, but time will tell for sure.
I'm looking forward to your Kingfisher build. Your Panther Jet was a hit too !
While I was looking for stuff from Green Cove Springs, I ran across this one. It's definitely mislabeled as these are not Falcons, but Kingfishers. You can see some of the Falcons in the background though.
Enjoy !
Thanks
Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). Really interesting photos with some interesting paint schemes. I am looking forward to your SNC. I have one sitting in the garage, so I will be interested in seeing how it all comes together. Kingfisher is interesting. Previously I wasn't all that interested in wheeled versions, but in the last few months they suddenly seem pretty cool, probably because they are different than what you normally see. There are several models I want to do after the Kingfisher, but I may do one more for the group. There is a great photo of a late model Corsair that was forced to land in a huge crab on a carrier because his engine imploded and completely covered the canopy with oil. He opened the canopy and then basically landed sideways so he could see the carrier through the open part of the canopy. The Corsair had a red diamond as a tail marking. I don't remember seeing red markings on a Corsair. Anyway, I may do a 1/48 Corsair basically out-of-the-box except for the markings. I also have a Dora Wings 1/48 Vengeance that I want to do and a 1/48 B-25J fire bomber that I have a conversion for. So many models...so little time.
Thanks for posting the photos. They make me want to dig out my SNC, but it can wait for another time. Hope all is going well with you. Cheers.
@gblair - This piece turned out beautifully George! The cockpit details at 1:72 are incredibly well done.
Thanks, Brian (@brithebuilder). The only thing I added to the cockpit was some seatbelts made from Tamiya tape. I wish my 3D prints were going that well.
Your Panther looks terrific. I agreed, for 1:72, you managed amazing detail in that cockpit George, @gblair. I’ve never seen that Jim Sullivan “Battered Wings” before. Interesting.
Looking forward to your Kingfisher progress now that you have your resin parts in hand. How do they look?
Thanks, Eric (@eb801). I focused on "Battered Wings" and another one named "Golden Wings" because they covered a wide variety of aircraft and not just one. Gave me a bunch of potential planes to choose to model.
Nicely done George, like you I've never seen one painted in that scheme. Gotta say I like it, and in 1/72 scale. Brave man .
Thanks, Tom (@tom-bebout). The stripes are what drew me to this model, plus Panthers are one of my favorites. One of my resources said that this plane's squadron was the only one that didn't actively participate in the Korean War. I have reached an age where 1/72 is really scary.
That is a great build - love that scheme with the stripes! Well done!
Thanks, Greg (@gkittinger). I had never seen stripes like these on a Panther, apparently temporary stripes for an exercise.