1/32 Sabre choice

[gregair]

Hi,

I would appreciate some opinions please, I can get a Hasegawa 1/32 Canadair Sabre edition for 30 USD or an Italeri (kinetic) 1/32 F-86F for 40 USD.

 

I know that the Hasegawa has raised panel lines etc and the Italeri one is engraved however the impression I have got from various builds is that some folk prefer the older Hasegawa kit.

 

I am not crazy about scribing and if I went for the Hasegawa kit I would only scribe the majour panel lines, is this an easier kit to build than the Italeri one?

 

I have to say that I am undecided on which way to go here.

 

 

 

[Guest Peterpools]

I'm in the midst of building the Italeri Sabre right now and have an on going Buddy Build under way. I did build the Hasegawa kit almost 40 years ago and thought it was a terrific kit, but that was back in the day. The Italeri/Kinetic kit to be honest has it's problems and some are from my own doings.. My suggestion would be:

Don't remove the kit wheel wells and install resin ones - just leads to a lot of fit problems

Do replace the cockpit and ejection seat - I used the AMS Set but this means you won't be able to open up the machine gun bays. If you want to have them open, you will need to use the Aires cockpit set.

You will need to use the AMS corrected nose and machine gun plates, as the kits are incorrect.

All three kits: Hasegawa, Italeris and Kinetic have the toy like removable rear fuselage to show off the engine. If you want to see the engine, just build it as a separate model. The Italeri kit panel lines are very soft and in places not well defined.

For my money, if I were going to do this all over again, I would go with the 40 year old Hasegawa kit - would I re-scribe it - no, I would build it as is.

Hope this helps.

Peter

[Guest Jessie_C]

If you do the Hasegawa kit, be aware that it has the extended F-40 wing. If you're going to do it as a Canadian Sabre, or any other which didn't have the long wingtips, you need to saw out the extra panel between the wing tip and the end of the aileron (shaded area), then glue the tip back on, scribe the aileron line over the wingtip and bend the pitot tube to clear the slats. Some Hasegawa kits of recent release cover this step in the instructions and have resin wingtips; others don't. The Hasegawa kit also has slats, which are accurate for the F-40 and Sabre Mk 6 (with the shortened wingtips), but if you're doing an F-30 or Sabre 5, you'll need to glue the slats up, fill in the lines and add fences. The Sabre 6 will also need "sugar scoops" on the lower fuselage intakes and the large rectangular panel on the upper fuselage just forward of the fin should be sanded flush.

[SinuheH]

Hi Greg,

 

I'll be starting the Hasegawa kit soon as a SAAF Canadair 6… using the mods described by Jessie.

 

I prefer the look of the Hasegawa kit to the Kinetic / Italeri kit - there are a few comparisons here on LSP.

 

I'll be using a spare set of wing tips from the Kinetic release of their F-40 Sabre - easily ordered from Kinetic /Lucky Model - and should make the conversion easier.

 

 

If you do go for the Kinetic version, make sure you get a slated variant and not the hard edge / fence F-30.

 

HTH

 

S

[gregair]

Thanks for all the Info guys.

 

I want to build the Canadair Sabre 6 version either a Luftwaffe or South African one so I think I will go ahead and buy the Hasegawa kit.

I will leave the gun bays closed and probably not use much aftermarket stuff other than for the cockpit, sugar scoops and the nose ring.

 

Thanks again for the help.

[SinuheH]

The Hasegawa nose ring is fine, the Kinetic kit has an issue with it.

 

Enjoy your build.

 

For the SAAF version, see if you can get some old Leading Edge decals: http://www.aero-spezial-modellbauversand.de/Decals/Leading-Edge/Scale-1/32/LE32004-Sabre-Mk-6::1127.html?MODsid=d7aa5d339911a38589526152ddcf956c

[williamj]

The list of things to correct is long on both of these kits. The Kinetic list is a bit longer though,

   The biggest issue with the Hasegawa is the cockpit, canopy,windscreen are about 1/36-38 scale..too small,Kinetic about 1/30 scale.a bit large,but closer.

      Hasegawa's Tanks are the wrong shape,Kinetics' a bit better.For a Canadair Sabre the pylons are in the wrong position on both.but AMS has replacements.

       Over all shape of the Hasegawa kit is much better as far as the thickness of wings,vertical fin,shape of tailplanes,depth of wheel weels.

        The Hasegawa nose and gun ports are much better,but the nose isn't quite there,not enough pitch down on the radar cap area.but passable

    If you can find the older Hasegawa kit molded in silver you'll have an easier time re-scribing.when you sand the raised detail off you're left with a darker line where the raised lines were.

    My recomendation is go with the Hasegawa,but remember there's a lot more to change to a Canadair Sabre Mk.6 than just the resin wingtips Hasegawa supplies,many different vents and hatches to deal wth.but that's your call.

Well I could go on and on about much more, but probably already sound like a pissy assed know-it-all so I'll stop here.

  If you really want a Canadair Sabre get some good photos and bit of info on it then get stuck in and have fun,remember to please yourself. Oh!and post some pics

.

   PS...Hope I live long enough to see Tamiya release a 32nd scale Sabre.

Edited February 22, 2014 by williamj

[gregair]

Thanks for that info williamj and SinuheH I will certainly take this all into account.

 

Are the two versions of the Hasegawa kit ,F-86F-40 J.A.S.D.F and Canadair Sabre 6, the same kits in the box but just with differrent decals?

Does the Japanese F-86 have english or Japanese lanuage service markings/stencils?

[williamj]

Thanks for that info williamj and SinuheH I will certainly take this all into account.

 

Are the two versions of the Hasegawa kit ,F-86F-40 J.A.S.D.F and Canadair Sabre 6, the same kits in the box but just with differrent decals?

Does the Japanese F-86 have english or Japanese lanuage service markings/stencils?

Same kit,different decals..The Canadair has resin wing tips,Don't know about the Japanese kit markings,or stencils....I have the original Korean War kits only.

[thierry laurent]

Hasegawa only released one variant if one looks at the plastic sprues. It was a special Japanese edition (quite rare) with an additional sprue having the engine trolley as well as an airfield tractor. I've yet to understand why this stayed a very limited edition!?! Odd!

[marauderdriver]

 williamj.  a human can not sustain life  that LONG

[gregair]

Thanks for all that info everybody.

 

I have gone and ordered the Hasegawa kit "CANADAIR SABRE MK.6 ''BLACK TULIP'', I will not be getting resin for the wheelwells etc but I will be looking at something for the cockpit.

[williamj]

 williamj.  a human can not sustain life  that LONG

LOL..I'm workin on it.

[gregair]

I'm Back!

 

 

Sorry about having so many questions, would the Aires cockpit set be a good idea (would it fit in the Hasegawa kit?) because I can get one for a reasonable price, or what would the suggestion be for a lowish priced cockpit set be, resin or Eduard PE?

 

 

The AMS set looks very nice but the postage price from the USA is just far too high. 41 usd for the set and approx 45 usd postage!!!

Edited February 24, 2014 by gregair

[Ken Stetzenko]

The best cockpit set for the Hasegawa kit is either AMS or Avoinix. Have you tried someone like Sprue Brothers or Hobbyeasy? Shoot an email to Gordon from Sprue Brothers and ask him what he can do with postage as sometimes he can get it lower than what the webstore suggests.

HTH