The Little World

You may be forgiven for raising your eyebrows at the final stance of the Monogram F8F Bearcat…it looks impossibly high off the runway on the main legs. I assure you it was built strictly according to instructions and the landing gear legs were firmly inserted into the bottom of the sockets in the wing.

I suspect that Monogram measured a Bearcat at some museum that was pumped up to the top of its oleos with no ordnance or fuel load to lower it. No biggie…I certainly was not going to start cutting and shortening plastic landing gear legs.

The Mr. Color paint came out very well in one spray session, though prudence kept me from handling it until it had cured overnight. The 1989 Monogram decals, however, would have spoiled the entire model. They had yellowed and their clear sections fogged in the last 30 years. Fortunately I had leftover decals from a Hobby Boss F9F Panther that were of the same period in the US Navy…they slotted in very well.

So this becomes the 2020 Christmas model. A kind gift and a very pleasing build.