Saber Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Scored the KH Saber Dog & figure to offer a few observations. The box seems small for a 32nd jet, but is well packed with no wasted space. The superb clear parts are boxed separately, always a nice touch to prevent chaffing during shipment. I took the 'ol Exacto to a couple of the sprues to check the quality of the plastic...very high quality that cuts easily, but not too easily. The instructions are pretty well done & they include the profiles for the multiple options for markings. Speaking of which, numerous choices are available, to include JAF & ROKAF, along with USAF. I experimented with one decal I knew I wouldn't use & it responded very well to Solvaset. One small thing is the box art markings don't come with the red areas...an easy fix with red decal film or Tamiya tape & your airbrush. Test fitting of the forward fuselage was rewarded with a nice snap....shouldn't require very much putty at all. The kit tires are ok, but AMS resins is doing some ribbed ones which will certainly enhance that area. All the parts are completely void of any flash whatsoever & all the detail is perfectly done to include the wing slats & vortex generators. The attaching points of the parts to the sprues are minimalized & shouldn't require but a bit of clean-up before assembly. If you're on the fence about this kit, I'd certainly encourage you to get one....I'll probably get another, given the choices of markings & what is apparently a very well engineered & accurate kit. And the price is more than reasonable for the outstanding quality you receive. I am in no way associated with KH, KH marketing or development team.....just a life-long modeler. Happy Modeling, Jim scvrobeson, Kagemusha, williamj and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b757captain Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I'm about 2/3rds through the build of the first of mine - it will be OOB and kit decals - and the second for my father-in-law. He flew the -D with the 62nd FIS and I'm waiting for confirmation from him on proper squadron markings and some other details before starting on the next one. I should have taken some pics of the build but didn't think of it until too late. Oh, well. A few observations: fit is mostly good, though care must be taken due to the segmented fuselage construction seemingly taking over model design these days. So far, with appropriate care, I'll only need one spot of filler and maybe one area of .010 plastic card, both concerning the intake lip. Everything in the cockpit fits well, but the ejection seat has the armrest/ejection handles in the raised position, should be in the lowered position. This makes a big difference in the look of the completed cockpit, I fitted the seat after closing up the fuselage with the arms raised and it didn't look right - removed the seat, cut the arms loose and repositioned them. Looks much better. Decals are provided for the side panels and instrument panel. They can be used directly over the raised details with no problem. To test the decals, I placed them and used a wet towel to press them into the detail. Even used my thumb - the decals behaved superbly and Microset snuggled them down nicely. Nose gear well is partially molded into the bottom of the intake, but the ww sides are built up from 8 separate pieces. They all fit but it was like a jigsaw puzzle and took some care to get all the pieces lined up. The engine parts fit well, the intake fits well, everything fits into the fuselage when it's time to close things up. Now the problem areas: ejection pins! Everywhere, most not in noticeable places but the intakes have a bunch. Plus quite a few of the EPs are posts that need to be cut off. Pain in the rear in the intake. In other areas not so bad - BUT - there are some in the strangest places and you have to look hard for some of them. I found one on the back of the seat, after I had assembled and painted the seat. Too late now! Be careful when trimming the sprue gates on some areas like the wing and tail trailing edges. Biggest gotcha of the kit - the assembly sequence for the wings and wheel wells. KH has you assemble the wing halves first. Then the wheel wells are built from several pieces and glued into the ventral fuselage piece which is glued to the fuselage. Then they have you slide the wing halves onto the wheel wells. Only problem is, it won't work! It took quite a bit of trimming before I could get the wings on. A better idea might be to assemble the wheel wells as per the instructions but hold on the wings. Glue the top wing half to the fuselage and wheel well sides, then fit the bottom wing half. As someone gets to that point maybe let us all know. That's where I'm at, waiting for everything to dry well before tackling the rear fuselage and tail tomorrow. I should start getting paint on tomorrow night. I would recommend the kit, just watch for the few gotchas. Mark Harold, Piprm and Kagemusha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 (edited) Thank you Jim and Mark......Harv Edited March 15, 2015 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 (edited) I should have mine this week, so I'll check the pin marks and plan for them. Edited March 15, 2015 by Clunkmeister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otis252 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Excellent reviews gentleman, many thanks. I was really on the fence on the Dog, but I'll be getting one for sure now. Chuck Harold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 It sure looks like a winner Chuck. I can't wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 Excellent reviews and looking forward to mine as well Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I found the same thing. I removed a couple of the "locating" tabs to get some of the parts to align properly. Nothing that can't be easily taken care of. Just remember to LOWER THE ARM REST ON THE SEAT! About ten minutes worth of careful cutting takes care of that. shbemo13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 And make sure your seat back and table tray are in the upright and locked position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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