chuck540z3 Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 After putting a prop build finally to bed, I think my next build will be an F-86 Sabre. Although I'm not likely to do much until next September, I like to order stuff early to ensure that I receive everything in time and I am able to do a little research before I jump in. I was in the same boat here before I started my 1/32 CF-104 build and later my 1/24 Hellcat, and the responses I got were awesome and helped steer me in the right direction, so I'm hoping for something similar this time. As usual before I start a build, I know nothing about this aircraft, other than I think it's a must have in my collection. First a few things I would like, although not critical by any means: Being Canadian, a Canadair version would be my first choice, much like my Starfighter I want a bare metal finish on most of it, in order to add lots of rivet detail like I did on the above Now all the questions: What are the best web reference sites? Best reference books? Best kits and versions of same? I see Hasegawa and Kinetic offerings but I have no idea which are the best ones. Are there any others? What is available for the aftermarket, particularly a resin set for the cockpit, etc.? What are the best decals, especially stencils, and are there any paint mask sets? Thank you all for whatever info you can provide. Cheers, Chuck scvrobeson and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrish Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Yahoo! it’s like a preview of my favourite show coming back this fall! I can offer nothing in regards to any questions asked (I built my kinetic kit from the box but with Aires resin cockpit) just me saying I’ll be watching the build! Uncarina and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Kinetic made a Canadair boxing, AMS has some good am stuff, gun doors and cockpit. Shape wise im not sure witch one is the best but hasegawa is raised panel lines if i remember chuck540z3 and scvrobeson 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 The Hasegawa kit is good shape-wise but is the extended-span F-86F-40 so you'll need to shorten the span (Sabre 6); shorten the span, fill the slats and add a wing fence (Sabre 5/hard-edge Sabre 4) or reduce the chord and shorten the span (early Sabre 4). If you want to do a Sabre 2 then it will be something of a challenge with a revised windshield plus the other bits. The kit is also a bit clunky in terms of detail. Also note that the landing gears are modelled in the 'weight-off-wheels' configuration so unless you shorten the oleos it will look clunky. The Hasegawa Sabre also comes with the forced-ejection drop tanks (not applicable to the Canadair Sabres), as well as a set of 120-gallon tanks which are Ok but you need the later 200-gallon finned tanks if you want to do a Sabre 5 or 6. Whichever kit you choose, you'll need to modify, with the main items to look for the mid-fuselage vents (same as F-86A/E), 'sugar scoop' intakes on the aft lower fuselage (later Sabre 5 and Sabre 6) and flush fuselage top with dorsal vent in place of the raised intake/vent panel unique to the F-86F. There are a few extra vents in the aft fuselage for the Orenda-engined Sabres, but generally these are round orifices so no great difficulty. Canadair Sabres wore NMF in Canadian service up to and including the Sabre 5, with Europe-based models being camouflaged in-theatre. Sabre 6s were camouflaged during build. However you could do NMF RCAF schemes for Sabre 2 (plus Greece and Turkey); Sabre 4 (plus RAF), Sabre 5 and Luftwaffe and SAAF Sabre 6, plus the QF-86E drone Sabre 5s were NMF too. Best book: Larry Milberry's Canadair Sabre book for CANAV. daveculp, scvrobeson, Harold and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock1947a Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 If you like a challenge Kitty Hawk produced an F-86D Sabre Dog. As most of us do I usually search for specific kit reviews before deciding which one to buy. Whether you buy there or not searching eBay for 1/32 F-86 will provide most kits, cockpits, decals and accessories generally available. I saw 2 RCAF F-86 decal sets listed on ebay today. Spruebrothers is also a good resource, especially for the excellent AMS products. Good luck with your project. Pete Harold and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayovan Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) Hasegawa does have a better shape, but yes raised panel lines and rivet detail, along with the -40 wing (extended wing tips). The Kinetic/Italeri kit has, something off to the shape, and canyons for panel line, but it has the -30 wing (6-3 hard wing) and looks like a nice kit (I have both). There seems to be more after market available for the Kinetic kit as well. CMK has resin for cockpit, gun bay, wheel wells, and speed brakes for both kits. Avionix has cockpits for both if you can find the Hasegawa -30 pit. Res-Kits does some nice resin wheels, and I found a no name vendor, on e-bay that does some 3-d printed cockpits, and wheels that are not bad. There are a few decal sets out there, but not a ton. I was only interested in Korean war birds so there may be more that I never looked at. Im not all that versed in the Canadair Sabre's but for at least the MK6 I think the Hasegawa would be more representative with the extended wing tips and leading edge slats. Edited April 17, 2022 by Ayovan chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 40 minutes ago, Ayovan said: Im not all that versed in the Canadair Sabre's but for at least the MK6 I think the Hasegawa would be more representative with the extended wing tips and leading edge slats. Sabre 6 doesn't have the extended-span wing. Mark P and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayovan Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 Just now, Sabrejet said: Sabre 6 doesn't have the extended-span wing. Thought I saw pics with. Evidently my mistake. Thanks chuck540z3 and Sabrejet 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayovan Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) Not trying to be a jackalope 39 minutes ago, Sabrejet said: Sabre 6 doesn't have the extended-span wing. Not trying to be a jackalope, just trying to be a little better informed. This is one of the pics that made me think the MK6 had the 12 inch wing extensions of the -40 wing. Which version is this? Maybe an -40 painted up as a Golden Hawk? No date for this photo and the only info I have is calling it a MK6. Not saying its correct... Edited April 17, 2022 by Ayovan rafju, D.B. Andrus and chuck540z3 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock1947a Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 If selecting the Kinetic/Italeri F-86F kit Spruebrothers has several corrections and accessories in stock such as Sugar Scoops, nose intake ring and gun panels, cockpits, wheels, 120 combat and 200 gallon drop tanks with pylons, pitot tube, ejection seats, wheel bays, undercarriage covers, landing gear, etc. Pete chuck540z3, Harold and LSP_K2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Ayovan said: Not trying to be a jackalope Not trying to be a jackalope, just trying to be a little better informed. This is one of the pics that made me think the MK6 had the 12 inch wing extensions of the -40 wing. Which version is this? Maybe an -40 painted up as a Golden Hawk? No date for this photo and the only info I have is calling it a MK6. Not saying its correct... It's a Sabre 5 with F-40 wings; a non uncommon conversion done for the 1970s civilian market. In this case the conversion was by Leroy Penhall, who did a few Sabre 5/6 with F-40 wings. You could always model a civilian bird based on this configuration of course! Edited April 17, 2022 by Sabrejet spelling D.B. Andrus, scvrobeson, chuck540z3 and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chek Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 20 minutes ago, Ayovan said: Not trying to be a jackalope Not trying to be a jackalope, just trying to be a little better informed. This is one of the pics that made me think the MK6 had the 12 inch wing extensions of the -40 wing. Which version is this? According to the usually reliable Aerialvisuals photo selection (and Abpic) C-GSBR is a Canadair CL-13A Sabre Mk5 painted as 23314 of the Golden Hawks in the livery worn between 1959 to 1964. The Golden Hawks flew Mark 5s and latterly Mark 6s. It flew for many years in spurious F-86E markings as F-86E 51-2897 FU-897 'The Huff' (NX8687D) before being returned to Canada in 2009. chuck540z3 and Ayovan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 53 minutes ago, Ayovan said: Not trying to be a jackalope Not trying to be a jackalope, just trying to be a little better informed. This is one of the pics that made me think the MK6 had the 12 inch wing extensions of the -40 wing. Which version is this? Maybe an -40 painted up as a Golden Hawk? No date for this photo and the only info I have is calling it a MK6. Not saying its correct... This is the same aircraft while Penhall had it: note the hard-edge Sabre 5 wing. It also carried this scheme when it gained the F-40 wing. scvrobeson, chuck540z3 and Ayovan 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) Thank you everyone for this input, although I don't have a clue what you're talking about with Sabre 2, 4, 5 and 6 configurations, sometimes with an "F-40" or "6-3" wing. As mentioned, I know nothing about Sabres, so I clearly need to do a bunch of homework before I jump in to buy a specific kit. Based upon what I can find on-line, it appears that the Kinetic kit is a version of the Italeri kit, if not identical, and it appears to be the one to go with over the Hasegawa kit with more detail. Having said all that, I have no desire to convert any kit to a different version of Sabre if I don't have to, if the existing configuration is good enough, even if it isn't a Canadair jet. With that in mind, what is the best kit to buy that has the most detail and presumably improvements over earlier versions? Once I nail that down, I can worry about what aftermarket stuff to buy. Thanks, Chuck Edited April 17, 2022 by chuck540z3 Ayovan, Uncarina and Harold 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaninaustria Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 The Golden Hawks Sabre got a Mitsubishi manufactured F-40 wing. Cheers Alan chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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