The original design for the F4F Wildcat was as a biplane, but with the -2 model, it was redesigned as a monoplane. I am wondering if the -1 model was ever actually built, or did it remain as a blueprint only?
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$\begingroup$ A design was drawn up but it was never built. Grumman opted to move directly to the monoplane design instead. $\endgroup$– Juan JimenezCommented Jun 28, 2019 at 7:24
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According to aviation-history.com the design never left the drawing board.
In 1935, the US Navy ordered the XF4F-1 as a backup to the US Navy’s first monoplane fighter, the F2A-1 Brewster Buffalo. However, data from the Buffalo demonstrated that the biplane fighters could no longer match the performance of the monoplane. It was now apparent that biplane fighter's days were numbered as the XF4F-1 performed no better than the re-engined F3F.
The design never went further than the drawing board and the Navy’s thinking had finally reached the conclusion that the navy fighters were lagging far behind land-based fighters. The biplane design was scrapped in favor of a new prototype, designated the XF4F-2 (G-18).
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$\begingroup$ This seems to suggest that it was built, at least as a prototype. $\endgroup$ Commented Jun 28, 2019 at 23:34