RAF Sabre F4

[jaw]

I am currently building a1/48 scale RAF Sabre F4. The kit has the hard 6-3 wing. However, I am toying whether to build another RAF Sabre, this time with the earlier slatted wing. Having had a look at available kits, it looks as though they all feature the 6-3 wing, unless anybody can point me towards a kit with the slatted wing. I gather that Cutting Edge did a slatted wing conversion, but these look to be out of production now, unless anybody has got a set that they do not need? Other than that the only way forward that I can see is to use the slatted wings from the F86D and mate those to an F86E/F fuselage.

I would be grateful for advice/thoughts please.

John

[Don McIntyre]

I know that anything with the name "Cutting Edge" attached will go for silly prices. There was another company that did a resin slatted wing conversion years (decades?) ago, but I can't recall who it was that produced it.

[Pilot Officer Prune]

Kiwi Resin (http://www.kiwiresin.com) do a F-86A conversion with the requisite wing mods, and it's entirely possible that Dave (Lockhead) would consider letting you buy just the wing parts.

Apart from the increasingly rare Cutting Edge set, there used to be one from Scobiedo Productions, but I haven't seen it for ages.

You can use the wings from Revell/Monogram's F-86D, but be warned that the sweep angles don't match!

Good Luck!

Ian

Edited July 28, 2016 by Pilot Officer Prune

[Tony Edmundson]

AirWaves did a slatted wing conversion too !! You don't need to use the whole wing of the Revellogram F-86D, you can just use the leading edges.

Tony

[jaw]

Kiwi Resin (http://www.kiwiresin.com) do a F-86A conversion with the requisite wing mods, and it's entirely possible that Dave (Lockhead) would consider letting you buy just the wing parts.

Apart from the increasingly rare Cutting Edge set, there used to be one from Scobiedo Productions, but I haven't seen it for ages.

You can use the wings from Revell/Monogram's F-86D, but be warned that the sweep angles don't match!

Good Luck!

Ian

Thanks for the tip Ian - I have just ordered the slat set for the F86 which are done separately. Post/packing from NZ is a bit eye watering though!

Many thanks to those that helped me - BM to the rescue again!

John

[Scott Hemsley]

Keep in mind that the 6-3 hard-edge wing was not just a mod to the early 'slated' wing, It was the narrow-cord wing and thus the l/e sweep was a bit different.

I don't do 1/48, but I've been told that in 1/72, if you have an F-86D that's expendable and you're wishing to model a F-86A or a Canadair Sabre Mk.2/Mk.4 (the RAF's Sabre 4's were all made by Canadair) and you don't have the Scooby conversion - use those wings as they are the narrow-cord, slatted wing. On the link below, if you scroll down to about mid-page there is a small article describing Sabre wings,

http://ipmsauckland.hobbyvista.com/Newsletter/2000/May/May00.htm

What you want for the 'slated' wing of a Sabre 4 is the same wing the article describes for a F-86A. Wing span remains the same as all Canadair Sabres retained the 37.12' span.

As an aside, how does one read the span when it's written as 37.12'? I take it that's not 38 feet.

Scott

Edited July 28, 2016 by Scott Hemsley

[Tony Edmundson]

Keep in mind that the 6-3 hard-edge wing was not just a mod to the early 'slated' wing, It was the narrow-cord wing and thus the l/e sweep was a bit different.

I don't do 1/48, but I've been told that in 1/72, if you have an F-86D that's expendable and you're wishing to model a F-86A or a Canadair Sabre Mk.2/Mk.4 (the RAF's Sabre 4's were all made by Canadair) and you don't have the Scooby conversion - use those wings as they are the narrow-cord, slatted wing. On the link below, if you scroll down to about mid-page there is a small article describing Sabre wings,

http://ipmsauckland.hobbyvista.com/Newsletter/2000/May/May00.htm

What you want for the 'slated' wing of a Sabre 4 is the same wing the article describes for a F-86A. Wing span remains the same as all Canadair Sabres retained the 37.12' span.

As an aside, how does one read the span when it's written as 37.12'? I take it that's not 38 feet.

Scott

All,

the 6-3 mod WAS a simple leading edge change of the narrow chord wing. It was not a brand new wing installation.

The result was an increase in chord of 6" & 3" and a wing fence.

Mod kits were shipped to Korea during the war to modify Sabres in theatre. (some)RAF Mk4s were modified at squadron level

The 1/72 and 1/48 conversions just simply do the reverse of this.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Tony Edmundson

[Tony Edmundson]

As an aside, how does one read the span when it's written as 37.12'? I take it that's not 38 feet.

Scott

I make it 37' 1 3/8".

Cheers. Tony

[tempestfan]

I make it 37' 1 3/8".

Cheers. Tony

I'm all for some maths, but not that early in the morning... whoever came up with the idea of expressing fractions of Imperial in decimal deserves some gentle whips

Anyway, .12 of a foot is just below 1/8. 1/8 of a foot is just under 1.5 inches, so 1 3/8 " sounds good. We could also say: 11,314.2mm.

Lindberg had both A and D kits, but given the age of them, it's probably easier to convert an existing wing rather than to use one of theirs (they may have correct sweep, but I don't know).

Edited July 29, 2016 by tempestfan

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Just to say, it's not the hardest job in the world to cut the wing leading edge slat out of the wing, make good the resulting hole with card and filler and then use the piece you've removed to make the slat. Removing the small sliver from the bottom wing is a little harder, but if you can cut a straight line then you can do it. The top rear edge of the slat pice will need fettling down to make it thinner in thickness, and the slat runners can be made from card - just saw slots into your new wing edge to locate them.

The area under the slat blends smoothly into the wing top too - there's no step as such on top ( certainly not in 1/48th scale or 1/72nd scale)

I only mention this because if you are thinking of sawing the wing front off to attach the Kiwi resin conversion - you might as well try this first: If it works you have doen it yourself, and have a spare wing conversion for another F-86!! If it goes pear shaped you can use the conversion. It would be a good way to test your skills, with a safety net fall back option.

BTW the wing tip lights on the A model are also the same as those used for the FJ-2 & 3.

Jonners

[RidgeRunner]

Just to say that early F-86H's had the 6-3 wing too.

[Tony Edmundson]

Just to say, it's not the hardest job in the world to cut the wing leading edge slat out of the wing, make good the resulting hole with card and filler and then use the piece you've removed to make the slat. Removing the small sliver from the bottom wing is a little harder, but if you can cut a straight line then you can do it. The top rear edge of the slat pice will need fettling down to make it thinner in thickness, and the slat runners can be made from card - just saw slots into your new wing edge to locate them.

All good idea, but as the only wing available in the injection molded 1/48 & 1/172 kits are of the 6-3 variety, this gives you a slatted 6-3 wing which is only good for a Sabre 6 or a F-86F-40. To get a proper 'narrow-chord' slatted wing you still need the surgery to remove the 6-3 aspect. No?

Tony

Edited July 29, 2016 by Tony Edmundson

[viscount806x]

I was tempted to say "Oh Gawd, not this again..." but wouldn't dream of being so rude!

Seriously though, there are several slightly lapsed threads available on here discussing this very subject.

Ref the Scobie-Do wing sets, I was in touch very recently with Bill Scobie who tells me that his wing sets are now very much out of production. They do appear occasionally though on an auction site near you.

The Revell Monogram wing isn't a perfect match for the Hase kits as has been said but apart from the Kiwi sets, could be a good route. You'd have the parts left to build an F86L using the redundant Hase 6-3 slatted wing, if you are using the Hase Sabre 6 as a donor.

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

All good idea, but as the only wing available in the injection molded 1/48 & 1/172 kits are of the 6-3 variety, this gives you a slatted 6-3 wing which is only good for a Sabre 6 or a F-86F-40. To get a proper 'narrow-chord' slatted wing you still need the surgery to remove the 6-3 aspect. No?Tony

Hi Tony, yes that's true, buts it's one more straight cut to do. I'll tell you what. I've long wanted to do a Mk 4, so I'll put me money where me gob is and do one. How's that?

Jonners