Grumman F9F-5 Panther by Monogram

1/48 scale
Kit No. 5456
Price: $19.95 aftermarket (out-of-production)
Decals: Two versions – U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps
Comments: Highly detailed cockpit featuring abundant raised detail; clear gunsight; optional position canopy; detailed landing gear and wheel wells; raised panel lines; ordnance includes two 500 lb. and six 250 lb. bombs, six 5-inch HVAR projectiles

History

Grumman’s F9F Panther was the first U.S. Navy jet fighter to see combat, and was involved in the earliest jet-on-jet engagements during the Korean War. First flown on November 24, 1947 and entering fleet service in May 1949, the early Panthers were powered by a Pratt & Whitney J42, a license-built version of the British Rolls Royce Nene turbojet (similar to the powerplant of North American’s F-86 Sabre). The Panther would become the Navy’s workhorse fighter-bomber in Korea, equipping 24 U.S. Navy and Marine Corps squadrons, and quickly becoming their primary ground attack aircraft in support of United Nations troops.

The design work that culminated in the F9F Panther actually began as a response to U.S. Navy specifications for a jet-powered nightfighter, issued in 1945. The initial design of the XF9F-1 called for four Westinghouse J30 turbojets, two mounted in pods beneath each wing to obtain the desired thrust, as jet engine technology was then in its infancy. The concept changed radically when the Navy evaluated the Rolls Royce Nene turbojet capable of 5,000 lbs. of thrust, or more than three times that of one of the Westinghouse J30’s. The modified design based on the availability of the Nene was now a straight-winged day fighter, and became Grumman’s Model G-79. The Navy placed orders for prototypes in September 1946. The permanent wing tip tanks, not initially a part of the airframe design, were added during the flight test program.

The F9F-5, the subject of this kit, was the final and most capable version of the Panther. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney J48 turbojet (based on the Rolls Royce Tay engine) capable of 7,000 lbs. thrust using water-alcohol injection, it featured a taller, pointier tail fin — an attempt to resolve the directional stability problems that plagued the Panther throughout its career. The F9F-5 also introduced small wing fences just outboard of the jet intakes in the wing roots. Lastly, its fuselage had been lengthened by two feet. It flew for the first time on December 21, 1949, just over six months after the type entered service, and deliveries to the fleet began on November 5, 1950. Production would continue through January 1953, with 616 -5’s rolling off Grumman’s assembly line — more than any other version. Armament was the same as for earlier types, four 20mm cannon in the nose, and the ability to carry two 1,000 lb. bombs with either six 5-inch high velocity aircraft rockets (HVAR) or six 250 lb. bombs.

Panthers were among the first American jets on the scene after the June 25, 1950 invasion of South Korea by North Korea that triggered the war. F9F-2’s of VF-51 and VF-52 operating off the U.S.S. Valley Forge were the first Navy jets in combat, providing fighter escort for British Royal Air Force bombers attacking airfields near Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. During that mission, VF-51 aircraft downed a pair of propeller-driven North Korean Yak-9’s. On November 9, 1950, a Navy F9F-2B flown by Lt. Commander William T. Amen, downed a MiG-15 while providing fighter escort for a strike force of bomb-laden F4U Corsairs and AD-1 Skyraiders attacking the Sinuiji Bridge in North Korea — the Navy’s first recorded victory against a MiG.

Serving as the primary fighter-bomber of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during the first armed challenge to Western resolve during the Cold War, the Grumman Panther secured an honored place in aviation history. It was the last step in straight-wing naval fighters before swept wing designs took over in response to the increasing performance of U.S. Air Force interceptors.

The Kit

Released in 1990 when they were still an independent kit manufacturer, Monogram’s Grumman F9F-5 Panther was, until the appearance of the Trumpeter kits in 2007, the best 1/48 scale kit of the Panther available, bar none. The kit’s major deficiency, if it can be called that, is its raised panel lines. But the detail that would be brought out by weathering techniques applied to engraved panel lines would be hard to spot anyway, on a paint scheme as dark as overall Gloss Sea Blue — so no demerits on that score as far as this modeler is concerned.

Monogram’s Panther is molded in dark blue plastic and consists of 88 parts, including three clear parts for the canopy, windscreen, and gunsight. There is a cockpit tub rich in raised detail on its side instrument panels, a separate main panel that is equally detailed, rounded out by a control yoke and gunsight. The bucket-style ejection seat (consisting of four parts) is primitive by the standards of modern jet fighters, but it’s accurate (with the exception of the missing face curtain handles above the headrest to initiate the ejection sequence — can’t have everything).

The landing gear, landing gear doors and wheel wells are very well detailed, a quantum leap above the Monogram kits of the 1960’s. Ordnance is provided in the form of two 500-lb. bombs, which can be carried with either six HVAR (High Velocity Aircraft Rocket) projectiles or six 250-lb bombs. There are not many small bits to hang off of this bird: a single blade antenna that is cemented to the starboard landing gear door, a pullout step that may or may not be used, facilitating the pilot’s entry into the cockpit, and a small pitot tube on the ventral surface of the starboard wing, just inboard of the wing tip tank.

Construction

Construction of Monogram’s Panther is straightforward and begins in a conventional way with the cockpit assembly. It’s a Monogram kit, so there are few surprises and even fewer construction headaches. A key thing to remember is that this kit will be a tail-sitter unless proactive measures are taken. Since the internal nose area is blank, I superglued about 24 ball bearings, 12 on each side, into the nose, and for good measure replaced the kit’s nose gear with an identical white metal aftermarket part by Scale Aircraft Conversions (Kit No. 48111) designed specifically for the Monogram Panther.

The two main challenges with this kit were the fit of the wings, which despite my best efforts just would not fit flush against the fuselage — there was a visible step on the forward edge of the underside of the wing assembly were it should have slid into place to fit flush with the Panther’s belly — and the main landing gear. After judicious puttying and a lot of sanding, the flawed fit of the wing was largely masked from view. The only other issue was the main landing gear — they were quite fiddly and difficult to position, a real shock after the main gear went into place without a hint of protest.

The only real mishap I had was with the windscreen, which like the canopy I was able to paint without incident. Once painted, I followed my usual procedure of dipping it in Future floor polish and setting it aside to dry overnight in a covered Tupperware container. This has never failed to give canopies a professional, crystal-clear appearance. This time the canopy was fine as I expected, but the windscreen had a piece of lint or fiber on it that was clearly visible, stuck to the windscreen fast by the dried clear lacquer. Stripping the lacquer off entailed soaking the windscreen in hot water, firm but gentle scrubbing with a paper towel, then realizing with horror that a white fog now covered the windscreen. More scrubbing eliminated 90 percent of the fog, which was just the lacquer reacting to the water. Upon realizing that the canopy was not ruined, and that I could get the remaining white material off with a toothpick, I started over, masking and painting the canopy — the only time I have ever had to do this job twice. Beware random bits of airborne lint when you are treating your canopies!

Drawbacks
This kit had two critical flaws, both of which are surprising given Monogram’s reputation. First, the fit, and second the mold employed for the 20mm nose guns. The key drawback was the fit.  My example for some reason had wings that simply would not fit flush against the fuselage, despite abundant sanding of all contact points. This may have been a defect unique to my example, since I built Monogram’s Panther when it was first released in 1990, and did not have this issue. The forward edge of the wing assembly, which is supposed to fit snugly into the belly, just wouldn’t do it — there was a visible and unsightly step. The other issue was that on the wing’s upper surface there was a visible gap where the right wing should have touched the fuselage. The left wing was fine. The fit in the belly area was cured by aggressive sanding and a judicial use of putty; and the fit of the right wing was cured by liberal use of putty and a little sanding. Monogram is generally better than this — their P-38 Lightning and P-47 Thunderbolt, both kits which date back to the 1960’s, had superior fit compared to the Panther.

The other flaw was the mold design of the 20mm nose guns. As detailed as the cockpit is, the guns could and should have looked more accurate, but not much care was taken with this part of the mold. The other issue is that the parts for the guns should be a bit more rugged. A number of Monogram’s WWII fighter kits feature .50 caliber guns of more robust diameter, and particularly for kits released from 1977 on, guns that looked more accurate than the 20mm cannon provided for the Panther. With the extensive sanding required to hide seams, it was only a matter of time before I broke the none-too-rugged guns that I had cemented into the nose.

Painting

The Panther is painted in acrylics, the major color being overall Gloss Sea Blue in Gunze Sangyo’s Mr. Color line, C365. This is a solvent-based acrylic, and can be applied with a paintbrush for small touch-up jobs and look nearly as good as when it is air brushed. While I alternated for years between using distilled water or alcohol as a thinner for this paint, I’ve discovered I get the very best results using Mr. Color Thinner. This is excellent paint, and while it is a tad darker than I expected, I was extremely happy with its finish. All interior surfaces were painted U.S. Interior Green, a Humbrol enamel.

For the leading edges of the wings and of the wingtip tanks, I masked most of the airframe, then airbrushed on AK Interactive’s Polished Aluminum, AK 481. This is a high quality enamel and is easier to work with than Alclad. It withstands subsequent handling better than Alclad, but I discovered that it too will rub off if handled too much (touch up with the airbrush was required), so it is best to protect early on it with generous layers of a clear lacquer — I sealed the kit with Future floor polish. The red flash at the top of the vertical tail was airbrushed on and is a mixture of 80% Model Master Navy Red, and 20% Vallejo Black Grey or Panzer Grey, No. 71.056. For the ordnance, the 500 lb. bombs were airbrushed in Gunze Sangyo Olive Drab, and the rockets are airbrushed in AK Interactive’s Aluminum, AK 479, with the warheads painted in Vallejo’s U.S. Olive Drab, No. 70.608.

Markings

For the decals I used an aftermarket set by Print Scale, “Navy F9F Panthers in Combat over Korea,” Sheet No. 48-160. The decals depict the aircraft of Lt. Commander Ernest Beauchamp, commanding officer of VF-51 aboard the U.S.S. Essex during 1951-52.  During his deployment to the Korean peninsula, Beauchamp, together with Paul Gray, commanding officer of VF-54, developed flak suppression tactics using fragmentation bombs equipped with special fuses to generate air bursts with extended ground coverage, rather than standard fuses set to explode on contact. These weapons were used against heavily defended targets such as bridges. On such missions, the Panthers would immediately precede the main strike force of AD Skyraiders and F4U Corsairs, with the assignment of knocking out enemy gun emplacements. These attacks by the Essex air group against such strategic targets were successful, and reputedly inspired James Michener’s novel, The Bridges at Toko-Ri.

Conclusion

An above-average Korean War-era jet fighter from the zenith of Monogram’s independent years, this Panther still holds up well against competitors with newer tooling. Highly recommended.

References

• F9F Panther in Detail and Scale by Bert Kinzey; Copyright 1983 by Aero Publishers, Inc., Fallbrook, California
• Fighter by Ralf Leinberger; Copyright 2008 Parragon Books Limited; Bath, United Kingdom
• Combat Aircraft Since 1945 by Stewart Wilson; Copyright 2000 Stewart Wilson and Aerospace Publications Pty Limited: Fyshwick, Australia