Well. The major assembly is finished on the F9F Blue Angels Panther. Here are a bunch of WIP Images taken over the construction process. Tomorrow it's paint and decalling time. I could have gone to paint today but it is much too humid here right now. So On with the show.
First off, the Pedigree..
Now the WIP Images... "In the Beginning.."
Next is a shot of the painting process about halfway done on the cockpit tub and instrument panels. They look a lot better in person than the images.
Now the front landing gear bay. I'm not 100 percent sure on the correct color for the Blue Angels birds in the landing gear bays, so I stuck with the Interior green called for in the instructions. If anyone has any better info, please let me know.
Here is the cockpit and landing gear bay installed right before I closed up the fuselage halves.
Here is the Fuselage assembled and banded to dry overnight.
After assembling the fuselage, I installed the tail elevators. One thing that has always impressed me about this kit, is the tightness of the fit. You almost never have to sand to get a good fit. And for an inexpensive kit, that is rare.
Here we see it with the wings freshly added and clamped on.
Here is the main cockpit glass canopy section. I have already installed the rear deck in the canopy. I am opting for a closed canopy on this one.
And lastly, the main aircraft sections after final assembly. I almost always wait until after primary paint before installing landing gear. It get's rid of a lot of otherwise needed masking.
Pardon the arthritis gel in the background. I tend to go through a lot of it when building nowadays.. lol.. Anyways. Since this is a Blue Angel plane, I will not be installing any under wing stores or tanks. I should have her ready and painted tomorrow, then just decals and some detail and touch up work and this bird is ready to fly. I hope the Don approves.. :)
Rich