ax365

Thank you for the kind words my friends.

Here are some photos of the last Sabre I completed. It's the Hasegawa F-86F-40 JASDF boxing. I built it to resemble a Sabre 6 from 441 Squadron, 1 (F) Wing, RCAF, Marville, France. What you see here is actually the second paint job and second application of Leading Edge stencils and decals. I had completed, painted, gloss coated and stencilled and decaled the Sabre. It was looking very nice but there were a few issues with some of the main markings (red ensigns not laying down properly and refusing to stick and fuselage codes shattering) but those issues were remedied. After the decals had dried, I applied a gloss coat to seal the decals. All paints were MM enamels and the gloss was MM Gloss Coat. After applying the sealing gloss coat, I covered te model but left a space to allow for air movement. I checked after a few hours and noted that the decals had silvered badly and some of the paint had blistered and bubbled quite badly. I ended up stripping off all the decals and stencils and completely sanding down the first paint job and respraying the three tone camo a second time. I then gloss coated with Future and applied a second set of stencils and the 441 Sqn markings graciously donated by a friend. Anyway...enough of my tale of woe. The only additions to this kit were the Leading Edge declas and stencils, a set of AMS Resin sugar scoop intakes and Scale Aircraft Conversion metal landing gear. I know I should have removed the moulded in 12" wingtip extensions but I was going for overall look and not complete accuracy. I think the end result is a very close resemblance to the real deal. Here she is... Thanks for looking and any comments and constructive criticism is welcome. Mike

Nice work Neo. The mottle is subtle and not overpowering. You've done well. Mike

ALF: Nice to see Max make a cameo appearance! Your personal attachment to this particular airframe and the fine memories it holds for you far outweigh any misgivings you might have about the final product. I admire your tenacity and 'press-on-itis" for completing the build. I still haven't dared touch the vac form Arrow that Emvar gave me a couple of years ago. I'm a little too intimidated still. If someone tries to give you the gears about 710 tell them to pound salt and relish the good time you had flying her. No reason not to be proud of the end result. You now have something tangible to help with the memories of bygone days. Well done, my friend. Mike p.s. - got your reply and will respond in the week ahead. Thanks for your thoughts on Eric. It has been tough but Anna's strength has been nothing short of remarkable. With any luck, the judge will charge the jury on Monday or Tuesday and Gregson's fate will be in the hands of the jury by Tuesday afternoon.

Hi ALF. Sent you an e-mail yesterday and I figured I'd stumble by here and see if there was any progress on your build. Lo and behold... She looks good. Certainly has that 'lived in' look like a pair of comfortable and faded jeans. Keep at it buddy. Mike

ALF: P.C. is ruining the world. Sometimes a forceful *@#*&@*^~#*^@!!!!!!!! is needed. Works for me. I got your e-mail, including your commitment to sensitivity, yesterday morning before I posted here. Did you not get it? I'll send you another reply. To quote the old Tubes song...Talk to ya later Mike

Salut mon ami! Just had a gander at your progress since my last post. You're doing some great work, ALF. As you said, the hard parts are behind and you've done well. I like your fix for the refuelling probe. I'm so pedantic at times, I would have toiled, filed, cursed, etc until the end of the rod was straight rather than see your simple fix. Nice job. I look forward to more action shots and commentary. Take care buddy. Mike

Bill: A friend directed me to this build. I don't know how I missed is as the Sword is my favourite early jet. All I can say about your build is...outstanding! Truly outstanding. I like what you did to make the wing a better and more accurate representation of an early F-86E / Canadair Sabre 2. I wish Kinetic or Hasegawa would make that wing standard fare on their 1/32 Sabre offerings. I built a Kinetic F-86F-30 Sabre using your corrected nose ring and gun ports. I didn't do nearly the amount of surgery you did on yours. I don't have nearly enough confidence in my skills not to destroy a $60 kit. I was happy to settle with a close resemblance to 19365, the Sabre my uncle was flying when he was killed 58 years ago. http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=30496 Again, an outstanding Sabre, Bill. VERY well done. Mike

Nice work ALF. Slow and steady wins the race. Mike

Gentlemen, Thank you all for your kind words and sentiments. I appreciate them. Here's a scan of an article from a June 1953 Ottawa newspaper that was given to me by a gentleman who flew with Uncle Guy as a Red Indian and was part of his funeral procession. Mr. Des Peters has become a good friend and he was invaluable in helping me learn more about Uncle Guy. My aunt never spoke of him. I gave the original article and a 1/48 scale version of AX365 to my cousin David, Guy's son. He has taken the article and model and used them as the centerpiece in a small memorial to his father that he has in his home. David never knew his father. Aunt Barbara - my mom's sister - was only 4 months pregnant with David when Guy was killed. Thanks for allowing me to share. Mike

Folks, My first completed work posted here on LSP. As the title suggests, this is the Italeri kit. Those who have built it are aware of the pluses and minuses of this kit. It's completed as a Canadair Sabre 2 attached to the Royal Canadian Air Force, 2 Wing, 421 Squadron, Grostenquin, France, May / early June 1953. With this build, I've gone for overall effect and not accuracy. For those unaware, my uncle was killed flying this very Sabre on 09 June 1953 when his engine flamed out. He bailed out at about 1,000 AGL. He didn't make it. They found his body, still strapped into the ejection seat, in a wheat field, near Benestroff. He was 7 weeks shy of his 22nd birthday. Paint is Alclad II white aluminum. Gun ports and exhaust opening were masked and sprayed with Alclad II steel. An AMS Resin seat, replacement nose ring and gun ports were also used. The stencils are for the Sabre 5 /6 by Leading Edge Models. The main markings are from CanMilAir, set #190. I present, AX 365. Comments and constructive criticisms are always welcome. Thanks for looking. Mike

ALF: Sorry for the delay but Teri and I just got back from spending a little R and R time, with her cousin and her husband, in Montreal and Tremblant. Great weather. Good times. No stress...except for the Decarie Autoroute, as usual. It looks like the project is coming along ok. Don't let the fiddly stuff bother you, That gun cover looks like a real test. I'm having some of the same problems with a 1/32 Hasegawa Sabre that I'm building. I didn't realize how much of a pain it can be. The removable panels for the exposed gun bays on both sides of the fuselage are going to be glued in place but there's a bit of a gap that will need to be worked to make them 'seamless', at least that's what I'm hoping for. I have to glue the guns in place in order to get the panel to sit reasonably flush. The four piece fuselage is a real pain in the posterior. No matter how much sanding and test fitting, I still can't get it quite right. Oh well. C'est la vie. Break out the gap filling super glue and a bit of putty! I have a few more of them to build so I'm making some mental notes on what not to do next time. Will drop a line later on. Keep at it brother. Depending on what the weather is like, I may spend Canada Day at the Canada Aviation Museum. You have a nice extra long weekend after the Wednesday holiday? Take care. Mike

Go ALF Go! Go ALF Go! That will be a sizable 'air force' you'll soon have on your hands. Fortunately you'll have plenty of hangar space available. Looks good so far, my friend. I look forward to seeing the finished project. Take care. Mike

That is a beautiful build. She's absolutely gorgeous. None opf my Sabre projects will hold a torch to yours. Very nice, William. Mike Long live 2Wing! Hold on...Reactivate 2Wing!

It's coming together very nicely Butler. Keep at it. Mike