F9F-4 Panther

[McCoy]

OOtB build as I believe it's healthy to build a Matchbox kit once in a while in order to keep in touch with the roots. The build took some time due to long periods of not building anything at all during the process. The build itself created quite a lot of problems and extra work. The Humbrol Clear varnish did crack as it cured and I had to sand and respray in order to solve that issue. The result is that the bottle got a one way ticket to the greate waste bin and I've since then shyed away from all their products as the quality just isn't there anymore. Next problem was bad decals. I used liquid decal film on top of them first so that they wouldn't break but I got a massive amount of silvering that I just couldn't sort ot with decal solutions so I sanded the decals as much as I dared and then masked them and resprayed over them and finished it all of with a coat of Tammy's wonderful X-35 Semi Gloss. The engine exhaust was made by using a drinking straw that was perfect in diameter.

Started on February 1, 2013 and finished on December 30, 2013

[Whiterook]

Well, first of all, the drinking straws’ expandable section for use as the thruster module is brilliant! I’m not sure I would have thought of that, myself…I love when folks think out of the box with solving situations of needed parts or enhancements; using everyday items… as an aside, remember when MAGNA fooled many of us, me included, with his CAPS club thing of using everyday household items in builds! He sold that wonderfully!

As always, love the seat belts… they enhance the look of a kit so much.

I note quite a bit of putty use… what were the issues and need?

Good work on the Humbrol cracking issue…that had to be maddening… as the same with the silvering, which has ruined my day a few times, too…nice recovery with the sand and repaint touch-ups!!

Oh, and of course, this is a favorite bird of mine, so great to see what you did with it

[McCoy]

Thanks Em!

Putty was there mainly due to heavy sanding and bad rescribing efforts. The general fit is alomst always a non issue with the Matchbox kits. The sleek lines of this lovely bird is beautiful so I understand that you love it...