A WIF or not a Wif that is the question.

Dork the kit slayer · February 01, 2012, 05:37:19 AM

Ive just posted this on another model forum and hope for What Ifs input.

Im sure most modellers are aware that box art on many kit releases are fanciful especially the more vintage of there number.

However some of them are based in/on factual schemes. I have seen many "drone" types,target tugs and targets painted in a wide spectrum of schemes (eg: The Hellcats from the atomic bomb tests)

The Panther,Fury,T-33 etc are well documented in very colourful "drone" schemes.

The $64,0000 question: Is there any documented evidence that the scheme below (from a 1950s Hawk kit) is an actual scheme or a flight of fancy by the illustrator.

Its got to be a must for a really cool WIF

The Rat · February 01, 2012, 06:26:39 AM

Just did a quick Google image search for various combinations of terms and couldn't find anything like that. If it's real it's a cool scheme, if not it's a whif! You could make it certain by just reversing the colours.

perttime · February 01, 2012, 06:30:02 AM

Hmmmm...

In other pictures of the kit, it is identified as "Grumman F9F-3KD Drone". As far as I can tell F9F-3KD never existed. There were "F9F-2KD" and "F9F-5KD" drone controllers for controlling "F9F-2D" and "F9F-5D" drones.

At least one site puts the kit in 1965.

I'm quite happy to be proven wrong about this...

Mossie · February 01, 2012, 06:34:09 AM

All I can offer you is Google & my fingers.

I did a few searches that seem to suggest against it being real.

Firstly, I can't find any reference to a drone conversion of the F9F-3, there were F9F-2KD's & F9F-5KD's, but can't find any F9F-3KD's.
Second, the F-9F3 was a realtively rare bird & insurance incase of failure of the standard engine installtion, seems most of them if not all were converted to F9F-4 standard.
Third, I can't find reference to the Bureau number & it seems earlier than other Panthers.
Fourth, the scheme seems to be an ealier dating to WWII?

Disclaimer: All this research was done in fifteen minutes on t'web & may in fact be b0llocks.

The Rat · February 01, 2012, 07:05:57 AM

Quote from: Mossie on February 01, 2012, 06:34:09 AMDisclaimer: All this research was done in fifteen minutes on t'web & may in fact be b0llocks.

b0llocks is pretty well our stock in trade around here, we couldn't be whiffers without it!

Geoff · February 01, 2012, 07:41:58 AM

Amen!

RussC · February 01, 2012, 08:22:40 AM

Hear hear !

perttime · February 01, 2012, 09:18:50 AM

I suppose the thing is: if you want a whif, you want to be reasonably sure it didn't exist in the real world.

pyro-manic · February 01, 2012, 09:28:08 AM

According to this, the serial 10915 falls in a range that was allocated to SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers:

http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries2.html

martinbayer · February 01, 2012, 11:51:32 AM

The closest similar real scheme I found was on Cougars rather than Panthers:

http://images.rcuniverse.com/forum/upfiles/167613/ca81027.jpg

http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1961/127341%20F9F-6K3%20ddmmm61%20CLK%20Larry-Ruybal.jpg

http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1961/128273%20F9F-6K%20ddmmm61%20CLK%20Larry-Ruybal.jpg

http://www.chinalakealumni.org/1961/127341,%20131045,%20130950,%20%20130954%20F9F-6K2%20ddmmm61%20CLK%20Larry-Ruybal.jpg

Martin

NARSES2 · February 02, 2012, 12:58:38 AM

This is actually quite perverse (not suprising considering who started the thread

). Here we all are working quite hard at the research trying to check if something is real or not so we know wether to label it as a wif or not

Or am I the only one daft enough to think so ?

A model would still look terrific wether real or not however

The Rat · February 02, 2012, 03:55:05 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on February 02, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
This is actually quite perverse (not suprising considering who started the thread ). Here we all are working quite hard at the research trying to check if something is real or not so we know wether to label it as a wif or not Or am I the only one daft enough to think so ?

A model would still look terrific wether real or not however

ROTFLMAO!!!

PR19_Kit · February 02, 2012, 04:00:15 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on February 02, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
This is actually quite perverse (not suprising considering who started the thread ). Here we all are working quite hard at the research trying to check if something is real or not so we know wether to label it as a wif or not Or am I the only one daft enough to think so ?

Hehehe, that is remarkably daft under the circumstances.

Perhaps we should recruit a couple of 'tame' JMNs to the Forum just to adjudicate on such matters?

Dork the kit slayer · February 02, 2012, 07:17:01 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on February 02, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
This is actually quite perverse (not suprising considering who started the thread

Im a pervert NOT perverse

..............doh thats what it means dun it...doh again.

I wasnt really trying to find if the "actual" aircraft existed re marque or serial only whether the scheme had been used on any "Panther".
Like the general consensus I think its a great scheme and will adorn one of my kits soon. Sun glasses at the ready me 'artys

RussC · February 02, 2012, 08:18:10 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on February 02, 2012, 04:00:15 AM
Quote from: NARSES2 on February 02, 2012, 12:58:38 AM
This is actually quite perverse (not suprising considering who started the thread ). Here we all are working quite hard at the research trying to check if something is real or not so we know wether to label it as a wif or not Or am I the only one daft enough to think so ?

Hehehe, that is remarkably daft under the circumstances.

Perhaps we should recruit a couple of 'tame' JMNs to the Forum just to adjudicate on such matters?

Ok, but they cannot access any of the floors above 3rd and none of the subterranean or the catacombs. And they DO NOT get prime parking spots, in fact we'll reserve two next to the dumpster for them.