1/72 Academy F-86E Sabre

by Justin Davenport

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You never know where the inspiration for your next model will come from….. 

Until last November I didn’t consider the F-86 to be a “top priority” project on my to do list.  There were lots of other planes and spacecraft I was looking forward to doing.  However, that all changed when I headed down to Phoenix to visit my dad and brothers.  One of the places I got to visit was the Champlin fighter museum.  I had a great time there, but my camera ran out of battery power so I didn’t get many pictures.  Two months later, my dad and I got to go to Champlin again, and this time I got lots of pictures from there, and I’ve already sent some to Steve. 

One bird in particular caught my eye.  It was a very nice, very silver, very polished F-86 Sabre that had the markings of an aircraft – FU-371 from the 4th FIW, 334th FS, flown by Maj. Frederick “Boots” Blesse, who later became a major general.  Shortly after I got back to Salt Lake I bought the Academy Sabre “E” kit, almost on a whim.  I then got an email from Larry Shred, and soon after I found Boots Blesse’s autograph in my mailbox.  Thank you Larry!  (the autograph is displayed in a couple of pictures here).  

The Sabre, of course, is very well known for its role in the Korean War.  I remember a 1/48 Monogram Sabre model that my grandpa got for me when I was a kid….I don’t remember if I built it.  I love the Sabre done up in bare metal with yellow bands (the FEAF identification bands in Korea), that looks good to my eye.  But the Sabre also has flown in the colors of many other air forces, such as the RCAF, RAF, SAAF, Saudi AF, ROKAF, and others, and has flown in various camouflage schemes ranging from gray-green RAF finishes to SEA camouflage (ROKAF birds), and served as a frontline fighter in some air forces throughout the 60’s and 70’s.  So there’s a lot out there for a modeler to choose from.  

As some of you know, I faced a disastrous situation with my February model of the month…….I started on the Sabre to try and recover from that.  I worked on the bird from mid-February to mid-March. 

THE MODEL 

The Academy Sabre is an excellent kit.  For the most part it went together without many problems.  I needed putty on the wing roots but that was about it.  The engraving is very nice and the detail is good.  Superdetailers and contest modelers might want to add a PE or resin gunsight and belt buckles, or a resin cockpit if there is one, but the kit cockpit is a good base to do further work.  I only added Tamiya tape to the seat to simulate seat belts (there were none, that was the only disappointment).  Also the bird is a DEFINITE tail sitter….I added some lumps of bluetack in the nose but that wasn’t enough, and I have to prop my bird against my phone.  A white metal nose gear or intake cover might be a very good idea for this kit. 

One nice thing about the kit is that the slats are separate; according to my references and pictures the Sabre’s slats were down at rest.  Also the airbrakes are separate, and the aircraft I built had its slats and airbrakes open when I photographed it.  Be careful when you handle the wing, the slat guides are flimsy and I broke off quite a few. 

The kit’s decals include Maj. Chuck Owens’ “El Diablo/Liza Gal” and Maj. Cliff Jolley’s “Jolley Roger” – I used the kit stencils and yellow marking as well as national insignia.  I found the “Pissed Pigeon” insignia from Blesse’s unit (a bird flown by M.J. Fernandez) on a Superscale decal sheet I bought and used a couple of Sabre sheets to make up the “FU-371” markings and the tail serial number.  I also used some yellow and red decal swaths from my Leading Edge Hornet sheet to make up the rectangle with Maj. Blesse’s name under the canopy and a rectangle with other names down the fuselage. 

The Sabre with Ambroid liquid mask and tape on the canopy.  I’m getting ready to spray it with primer.  I’ve set up a little workbench by my computer so I can surf ARC and build at the same time! J

THE PAINT JOB 

This was not my first use of Alclad (the “SU-19” was, but that was a practice run more than anything else) but the Sabre was the first kit I tried to use Alclad on to make an accurate bare metal finish.  After I assembled the basic aircraft, I used Ambroid liquid mask on the canopy and placed the canopy over the cockpit with tape…then I sprayed a coat of Tamiya gray primer and that worked great.  After some sanding, I sprayed a coat of Tamiya gloss black (from the can, not airbrushed) onto the bird.  Before I sprayed the gloss black, I masked off the middle panels of the wings to get a different sheen for those parts, as per references.  Then came time for the Alclad polished aluminum….and a major problem.  I hadn’t shaken the bottle so I started to get runny coats…OUCH.  I shook the bottle and sprayed some parts of the a/c just fine, but other parts were problematic.  

I had to do more sanding, and I masked off the parts already done, then sprayed primer, then gloss black, then Alclad after proper shaking of the bottle.  This solved most of the problem and I got a better finish.  Not perfect but it would do.  I used SNJ powder to touch up some parts, and when I found scratches in a couple of places, I brushed Future on them then sprayed Alclad, that made the area look better.  Future also became a lifesaver when I put the decals on the bird.  I didn’t apply a gloss coat (I didn’t think I had to) and ended up getting some “silvering”….brushing Future over the area helped.  Before I put the decals on, I masked off the gun panels and sprayed Alclad dark aluminum over them, and also used dark aluminum and Alclad steel on the jet pipe.  

Overall, after the initial problems, caused by my own clumsiness and inexperience, my experience with Alclad has been very good.  I have since used Alclad on the Hornet afterburners, and would like to do another BMF aircraft sometime not too far down the road.  

CONCLUSIONS 

I greatly enjoyed this build.  For one thing, I now will use liquid mask a lot more.  Also, I’m now much more knowledgeable about the F-86, the air war in Korea, and bare metal finishes.  One of these days I’d like to display this bird next to a North Korean Mig-15.  For now I enjoyed experimenting with model photography.  One prop I’ve acquired recently (from 2 diecast aircraft) is a foam “runway” that came with the planes I bought.  Since the F-86 is such a tail sitter, I couldn’t use my customary method of putting the bird on the top of my pickup and photographing it against the mountains, so I propped it up against a wall when I photographed it outside.  I also have it on display on a flightline next to my two Corsairs, a Spit, a Phantom, and two Hornets, and I’ve put the JSF and the Rafale in their own “futuristic” display next to the foam runway.  

I also now know the differences between the “E” and “F” models – as I was finishing the bird, assuming that FU-371 was an E, I took a closer look at the pictures I took from Champlin….I wonder whether that was an F – the windshield looks kinda long for an E.  But that might just be my inexperience talking, too.  The E and F looked so similar at first and second glance to me, but I do know my Sabres better now.  Many thanks go to all those who responded to my queries on ARC for details on the Sabre and decal availability/information on Boots Blesse, as well as those who commented on the Sabre when I posted a pic of it when I first finished it. 

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this model.  

Happy modeling! 

Justin 

REFERENCES: 

  • Squadron/Signal F-86 Walkaround

  • My pictures from the Champlin museum (on their way to Steve)

  • ARC Sabre walkarounds

Click on images below to see larger images

 

Photos and text © by Justin Davenport