Hasegawa 1/72 Grumman F9F-2 Panther

HASEGAWA 1:72 GRUMMAN F9F-2 PANTHER

Reviewer: Myself (smakr@bigpond.com)
Kit Built + Review submitted: 8 October 2001

Aircraft:
The Panther was the first jet fighter to be produced by Grumman and was also the first Carrier-Borne Navy jet fighter to partake in combat in the Korean War having shot down a MiG-15. The Panthers were utilised effectively in the Korean conflict, providing air support to US Combat troops.

The Kit:
There is already an INBOX review of this kit on this site so only the basic information included here, you can follow the link at the bottom of the page if you wish to refer to the Inbox review.

Hasegawa No.00242 - B12:800 1/72 F9F-2 Panther
Two sprues of 46 light grey (older release comes in blue plastic - Ed) injection molded parts come in the usual Hasegawan cellophane bag with a separate bag containing the decal sheet and sprue of two clear parts. Panel lines are recessed but very finely and it took me a while to work out whether they were engraved or raised! Everything receives the usual Hasegawan attention to detail which is quite reasonable everywhere - bar the cockpit, which includes a basic seat, instrument panel (with no console detail other than a decal), pilot figure, stick and cockpit tub.

There is a very logical breakdown of the parts, with the fuselage halves having the tail fin already molded on. The fuselage is split vertically, which encases the sparse cockpit tub, tailhook, exhaust tube and of course nose weight (3g quoted). If you wish to include the stores on the kit you will need to drill out the holes in the single underwing piece on both sides. The nose has the four cannons already molded into it and actuating struts are provided for the underside airbrakes to be displayed open.

There are a few options one can decide on this kit other than the versions and wheels up or down. A pilot figure is included in the kit. Decals have been provided for the side and main instrument consoles. Canopy is two piece so can be displayed open. Airbrakes can be displayed open but unfortunately the tailhook is affixed in the closed position only. Three rockets are provided (as depicted in the boxart above) as the only stores the kit provides.

Instructions:
Again, the standard Hasagawan fold out offering with 8 assembly steps, short history, sprue part diagram, four view marking drawings and colour call outs from the Mr.Color and Gunze Sangyo ranges. Inset diagrams are also provided for canopy (open/closed) and exhaust/tailhook positioning. Everything is easy to follow and Hasegawa also let you know what to paint certain parts depending on which version you are doing (eg: blue gear doors for VF-781 version or white gear doors for ATU-206 version.... and so on).

Construction:
The cockpit contains a tub, instrument panel (no console detail), stick, seat and pilot figure. Decals are supplied for instrumentation on the main and side panels. The cockpit was painted medium grey and the seat in silver in accordance with the directions in the instruction sheet and then black around the outside of the cockpit area. At the same time the exhaust was painted gun metal and matt black inside and the arrestor hook was painted alternate black and white stripes with a silver hook, again as directed by the instructions. The tub was then affixed inside one fuselage half along with the exhaust. The arrestor hook was trapped within both halves right in the middle underneath the exhaust (a small inset diagram in the instructions assists here), as the two fuselage halves are affixed together. Everything fits snugly and the halves click into place as you would expect from Hasegawa. Don't forget to add noseweight for wheels down modellers, and the separate nose later could also house a small ball bearing or whatever.

Next comes the wings - two upper halves are glued onto a one-piece underwing section - but don't forget to drill out the holes in the wings if you wish to attach underwing stores (rockets). These are easy to open up and I simply opened the holes (which are marked on the inside of the lower wing piece) with the excel blade and sanded smooth underneath afterward.

The intakes were added to the fuselage with the interior being painted silver as directed. Throughout the instruction sheet it refers to Version 1 or Version 2 with painting instructions for either version, naturally depending if you are doing the midnight blue example or the traditional upper light grey, lower white example. Once the intakes were carefully put into place the wing sub-assembly clicks into place into the belly cavity with only a minor amount of sanding and filling (with glue) needed. The tailplanes were added and so was the nose, which has one solitary locating pin so you affix the correct way around and also has the machine guns already molded onto it which were painted gun metal. Everything fit very well. As did the two-piece canopy, which can be displayed open (again the instructions provide a small inset diagram) or closed, and this fits nicely into where it is supposed to go.

The undercarriage, airbrakes and underwing rocket stores was all that was left to be put onto the model. I assembled the undercarriage which are naturally fairly basic and test fitting these showed there should be absolutely no hassles during assembly. The main wheel wells are devoid of detail although the interior of the gear doors had some rivet detail. The nosewheel well, however, did have some "beam" structure detail and again rivets on the inside of the gear doors. The fit of the two nose doors was nigh on perfect but the main gear doors were a little harder to fit perfectly as they sunk into the gear bays in the closed position. The air brakes can be displayed open with actuating strut also provided. In the closed position the speedbrakes fit was not quite perfect with the alignment tabs not quite meeting between the two brakes correctly.

The underwing stores features only three 5" HVAR rockets under each wing. I affixed these firstly to their pylons before painting the missiles matt white (needing a couple of coats) and then red tips as shown on the boxart, and then the missiles and pylons were attached to the wing to complete the construction process. However, in hindsight it proved a little tricky painting because of the silver leading edges so it might be wise to leave these off and affix after painting the wing leading sections.

Options:
There are a few options provided for in the kit including two piece canopy for an open cockpit and the ability to display the air brakes in open or closed position. Underwing stores consists of three rockets under each wing. While the instructions do not allude to this, it is possible also to extend the arrestor hook out of its bay in the deployed position.

Versions & Decals:
There are two versions catered for in the kit. The boxart VF-781 US Navy version in overall Midnight Blue scheme or the ATU-206 US Navy example in the upper light grey, lower white scheme common to many US Navy aircraft from 50's onwards. The decal sheet is large and typical Hasegawa, a bit on the thick side but in very good colour register and semi gloss finish. An adequate amount of stencilling is also provided. Only the stars and bars insignia (ie: no navy blue outline or circle) is provided for the Midnight Blue VF-781 version, as well as white lettering and serials. The light grey/white ATU-206 contains the normal US insignia (with the blue stuff!) plus black lettering. Decals for instrument panel and side consoles are also provided.

My choice was the Midnight Blue overall scheme although in hindsight I should have done the grey/white version since I have already recently done an F6U Pirate in Midnight Blue and the Panther alongside of it, well at first glance they look very similar. I am not sure whether it was the paint or the need to have primer laid down but it needed two full coats of paint to colour the aircraft as the first coat was extremely pale, patchy and streaky. The rockets had to be repainted a little as they are so close together on the underwing pylons it was almost impossible not to get a little bit of blue on them. The leading edges were painted silver and I decided to finish the model in gloss, factory fresh, just for something different!

The decals are what you have come to expect from Hasegawa, reasonably glossy and on the thick side but easy to work with and conform to the model surface with setting solution very well. There was one point to note in that the nose clearly had red decals, but these were not identified on the instruction sheet, instead it only catered for the decals either side of the nose that taper but do not meet together on top of the nose. Two decals (36+37) appear to be the decals that are to be applied to the nose section as they are not identified anywhere in the instruction sheet. I took a lot of time and effort soaking one and trying to work out how it would fit around the nose cannons etc (clearly they are intended to do this) but in spite of my legendary ability to put jigsaws together I just could not work out which way these decals should be applied, so they were left aside for another attempt another day.

Accuracy:
Being a late 80's release although based on a late 70's mold, this Hasegawa kit is about as good as you can get in build and accuracy. Everything looks right on the model and it was difficult to spot any real flaws. Measurement wise it is very acceptable. Using quoted reference material of span 11.58m and length 11.83m the model is absolutely spot on in span and a millimetre or so underscale in length.

Overall:
Yet another great kit from Hasegawa that would look great in any post-war US Navy aviation collection. Construction is quick and easy with the fit of parts being on average very good, if not better. With the midnight blue scheme I employed I was only left with one disappointment about this kit and that was how little of a challenge it was! :) Certainly highly recommended to all modelling skills especially beginners. A great little kit, what more can I say?

Related Reviews:-

Hasegawa 1/72 Grumman F9F-2 Panther (Richard Stracey)

Related INBOX Reviews:-

Hasegawa 1/72 Grumman F9F-2 Panther

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