One of the great things about modeling is all the great people you meet. Tom is no exception. At one of the shows we had met, I mentioned wanting a Monogram Panther. Lo and behold Tom boxed up a kit and it arrived at my door.

My dad and I had built several of these back in the 80’s. One of the first war movies we watched, that I remember, was Bridges. He was a Panther nut, which I understand, it’s one of my favorite jets and one of the most beautiful of the era. So, thanks to Tom, I’m building this as a little remembrance of that time with my dad. He built beautiful models, and was always meticulous and methodical.

I started this earlier this year intending to build a fun out of box 80’s reproduction. Well my dremel tool was calling and I started removing bits. This will be both a tribute to my dads building style and my need to modify everything 🙂 . Thank you Tom!

I started by removing the entire flap assembly. I had forgotten how stout monogram kits are made. This thing is a tank! So with all the bits removed, it’s time to break out the paints. More soon. Gotta find all the photos.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Jim, @jimh
Tom B is a genuine good fellow... We need more people like him in today's world.

I recently finished up my "Brubaker" Panther jet and I have a lot of pictures of this jet... Jeff Bailey was kind to share a lot of them with me and some are included in the build journal that was part of the Imodeler at the Movies group build. Here's the link to my build.

https://imodeler.com/groups/imoder-at-the-movies-1964926360/forum/topic/the-bridges-of-toko-ri-commander-brubakers-panther-jet-revell-f9f/
My kit had some seriously warped plastic parts in it, most notably the wing. I purchased it used from EBay, so who knows how it was stored before I got it.

Jaime Carreon also gave me a few pointers along the way. I removed the intake fences and scratched a set using thin plastic card stock. Please don't hesitate to reach out. If I can be of help, you know I will. This is one of my favorite jets and I plan on building another one soon as part of our Korean War group build that is currently underway.

What a great background on this kit, Jim.
And I agree that Tom is a wonderful guy among us.
Looking forward to this build which surely must mean a lot to you.

Wow, that’s a great looking cockpit, the color contrast pops up nicely.
Besides Mr Color ANA 623 I also have MRP sea blue and it looks great, though I have not used it still (awaiting a long time planned Hellcat project). Don’t know if it’s easy to find that brand where you are but if you can find it check it out. Besides they spray beautifully

Great details, Jim!
I usually go with humbrol 15 and darken it a tad...

Back to the Panther! The more it comes together the more I want to see it done. The initial seam primer went on showing off all the spots I missed, so on goes more Tamiya filler. I re-fitted the central trailing edge piece and it fit perfectly. To fill the big holes I mixed up some magic sculpt and filled it in. It won’t be visible so I probably won’t do much more other than paint it. The rocket rails and Bomb pylons are fitted as are the elevators. I cut the elevators and posed them deflected down per reference photos. Pretty much all that’s left is to fine sand the remaining filler, make new wing fences ala Louis Gardner and assemble the flaps. I’m still trying to find a good close up of the flaps to get the wing joint right. More soon!

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

That lovely filing. . . Great progress Jim (@jimh)

Jim, @jimh
The work you have done to your Panther is really taking shape. I like how you are filling in the areas behind the flaps. This Panther will look great with the controls offset and not centered. Replacing the wing fences is not too hard. I kept hitting them during construction, and broke them off a few times. I would consider adding them later on in the build. I also broke off the nose gear strut when I built mine.

I'm watching for the next installment. This Panther build journal would be a great candidate to move over to our Korean War group build. You're more than welcome to join us over there should you have the desire to do so.

I think I have some photos stored that show the flaps. I'll look for them soon if you want me too.

Happy New Year ! 🙂