Three more for the Wisconsin Air National Guard

[Sabrejet]

Bill, if it's not too late, be aware that the F-86A speed brake bay is very different to the F-86E/F: it doesn't have any of the accumulators and pipework that the F-86E/F does. I'll post some photos if you are interested.

[Sabrejet]

In fact I posted them a while back:

 

 

 

Note too that this is a preserved a/c: correct colour is interior green for the bay itself, as per landing gear bays too:

 

This was mine in 1/48 Revell F-86D wing/Eduard F-86F fuselage and lots of mods!:

 

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

Thanks Sabrejet, Looks like I could have saved myself the effort of transplanting the Heller bays, but it was a good learning experience for me. Correcting to the "A" style speed brake bays certainly looks do-able. I’ll get right on it!

[billn53]

After about an hour's work this morning, I've re-done the Sabre's speed brake bays (thanks again, @Sabrejet !) to properly represent the F-86A configuration. Here's the before & after:

 

   

 

It's not my neatest work, but considering that the bay will be in a dark color, hidden behind the speed brakes, it should get the job done.

 

The hole in the corner is for the mounting Heller hydraulic actuator. I also drilled these two small holes in the forward bulkhead, should I go totally bonkers and decide to add hydraulic lines to the actuators, which are prominent in the photos Sabrejet posted:

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

This afternoon, I got the nose and intake trunking installed. The intake also serves triple duty as the nose gear bay and the cockpit floor. In the photo below, I'm test fitting the cockpit parts:

 

 

Similar to my Matchbox build, I'm using Eduard PE to enhance the instrument panel and side consoles:

 

 

Once I complete the cockpit installation, I'll do a balance test to determine how much weight will be added to the nose. I'm guessing somewhere around 6-grams, based on what the Matchbox kit needed. Hopefully, I'll find room for the weight I need.

[billn53]

I did a balance check this morning on the Hobbycraft Sabre, using the same technique as I did with my Scorpion. The results indicated I would need to add about 6.5-gr of nose weight.

 

With the Matchbox Sabre, I used Liquid Gravity for my nose weight. LG has the advantage that the tiny, spherical pellets flow freely into the smallest spaces. It's disadvantage is the stuff goes everywhere if you're not careful. That, and the fact I used extra-thin CA as my adhesive (which also goes everywhere it isn't wanted) made for a very messy experience.

 

For the Hobbycraft kit, I instead used tungsten putty, which is denser than Liquid Gravity and much easier to handle. I had previously used it on my Socata Tampico build, and was very happy with it.

 

Here is what seven grams of tungsten putty looks like:

 

b

 

and here it is pressed into the Sabre's nose:

 

 

 

Compare that with the 6.5-grams of Liquid Gravity I added to the Matchbox Sabre's nose, and you'll see the putty gives more "bang for the buck" volume-wise:

 

 

 

One more detail on the Hobbycraft kit, then I'll move on the the Matchbox landing gear bays. I used a small chisel to add a square vent in the fuselage side, which I had noticed in photos of the F-86A:

 

 

 

Now, more on the Matchbox kit . . .

 

The Matchbox landing gear bays are under-developed, to say the least. When I added the Hobbycraft intake pipe, it included a nicely-rendered bay for the nose gear. It would be a shame not to do anything to improve the main gear bays as well.

 

I cut away a section of the Matchbox belly and added the main gear bay piece from my Hobbycraft donor kit:

 

 

 

The landing gear recesses in the Matchbox wings are too-steeply angled (compared to the Hobbycraft kit), and the main gear attachment point appears to be displaced about 1-mm to the rear as a result:

 

 

Using the Hobbycraft wing as my reference, I re-did the landing gear recesses in the Matchbox wing:

 

 

 

The fresh sprue gloop makes it look pretty messy, but I have faith the result will clean up nicely after the sprue gloop has hardened.

 

Before I sign off, I have a question for the Sabre experts: Is it realistic to have the large main gear door hanging open if the speed brakes are shut? If they both go open when hydraulic pressure is lost, then I will need to glue the Matchbox kit's main gear doors shut (to be consistent with the speed brakes, that I've glued in the closed position).

 

 

 

 

 

[Sabrejet]

2 hours ago, billn53 said:

Before I sign off, I have a question for the Sabre experts: Is it realistic to have the large main gear door hanging open if the speed brakes are shut? If they both go open when hydraulic pressure is lost, then I will need to glue the Matchbox kit's main gear doors shut (to be consistent with the speed brakes, that I've glued in the closed position).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bill,

 

Perfectly realistic; you'll often see all down or both up, but also one up, the other down. Either permutation, but note that if the main doors are down, so is the nose gear door.

[billn53]

On seeing Sabrejet’s beautiful 1/48 build above, I really like how the F-86 looks with dropped slats and lowered flaps. That motivated me to do this with my Hobbycraft Sabre:

 

Having two sets of wings available made this task much easier (I.e., the Sabre 4 slatted wings I’m using for my build, and the wings from the donor kit that provided parts for my Matchbox Sabre). I first opened up the flap locations on the slatted wings, then cut out the flaps from the donor kit (slightly larger than needed, so I could trim the flaps for a near-perfect fit). A bit of fretting later and Bob’s your uncle! 😊😊😊

[Sabrejet]

Bill, also note the tail light configuration is different; side-by-side on F-86E/F but one above the other on F-86A:

 

 

[billn53]

3 hours ago, Sabrejet said:

Bill, also note the tail light configuration is different; side-by-side on F-86E/F but one above the other on F-86A:

 

 

 

Thanks again for the excellent photo. I was aware the tail lights were vertical, not horizontal, but scratching my head on the exact details. Your pic is just in time!

Another question if you don't mind... the Hobbycraft tailpipe seems rather narrow, compared to the fuselage diameter. Do I need to replace it?

[Sabrejet]

48 minutes ago, billn53 said:

 

Thanks again for the excellent photo. I was aware the tail lights were vertical, not horizontal, but scratching my head on the exact details. Your pic is just in time!

Another question if you don't mind... the Hobbycraft tailpipe seems rather narrow, compared to the fuselage diameter. Do I need to replace it?

 

Bill,

 

No it should be fine

[billn53]

As Sabrejet mentioned, the two tail lights on the A-model Sabre are arranged vertically, as opposed to horizontally like on the Hobbycraft F-86's I'm using. Here are a couple pics of the F-86A tail light configuration:

 

   

 

Here is what the Hobbycraft rear end looks like:

 

 

 

After a bit of work, this is what I came up with:

 

 

 

Not perfect, but close. I'm planning to do some additional shape refinement, and add the cylinders for the lights, after the fuselage is zipped up.

 

Before closing the fuselage, I wanted to get the engine nozzles in place. This is the real McCoy:

 

    

 

The Hobbycraft engine nozzle looks pretty good (although too shallow), but the Matchbox is a joke!

 

 

I decided to graft my spare Hobbycraft nozzle onto the Heller mounting piece:

 

 

 

Which gave me this for my two Sabres' (Hobbycraft on the left, modified Matchbox on the right):

 

    

 

I'll have to fill the void in the Matchbox rear end, but otherwise they look pretty good.

 

With the nozzles in place, it was time to close the two fuselages:

 

 

 

and, for reference, this is how they compare:

 

 

 

 

Viewed from abobe, the Hobbycraft fuselage is noticeably "beefier" than its Matchbox counterpart. I'm not going to pass judgement on which is more accurate, I'm just doing a simple comparison.

 

 

 

 

[Jackson Duvalier]

2 hours ago, billn53 said:

Viewed from abobe, the Hobbycraft fuselage is noticeably "beefier" than its Matchbox counterpart. I'm not going to pass judgement on which is more accurate, I'm just doing a simple comparison.

 

 

Not sure what or where "abobe" is (well, a "Bobe's House of Hobbies" was* in Pensacola, FL) but from where I'm viewing your photo you're right.  😄

 

They both look good, F-86-like and shipshape, just one's beefier.  I'm imagining the Sabre with my Historian glasses on; in 1950 it was the super sleek Hot New Thing but by 1960, after the Century Series rolled out, it would seem to have a definite chonk to it.

 

I've never designed a model kit, but it's interesting to me just how differently different manufacturing concerns can interpret what in theory should be an objective and straightforward reduction in the dimensions of a thing being modelled.  The humanness involved means there will always be divergent interpretations I suppose, and flat-out error (cf. Italeri B-58).  For some modellers it's a reason to be very concerned with model dimensions, for others it's reason enough to not fret.

 

Nice work reconfiguring the -A model taillights.  How are you planning to replicate the bulbs?  To me it looks like a job for clear sprue.

 

In 1/72 you'd never see it, but I'd love to see some large-scale weathering master tackle those chipped and burnt Interior Green bits visible around the tailpipe in your photos.

 

* And apparently still is!  I'm happy for them.  😎

[billn53]

7 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

 

I've never designed a model kit, but it's interesting to me just how differently different manufacturing concerns can interpret what in theory should be an objective and straightforward reduction in the dimensions of a thing being modelled.  The humanness involved means there will always be divergent interpretations I suppose, and flat-out error (cf. Italeri B-58).  For some modellers it's a reason to be very concerned with model dimensions, for others it's reason enough to not fret.

 

Nice work reconfiguring the -A model taillights.  How are you planning to replicate the bulbs?  To me it looks like a job for clear sprue.

 

I’m in the “looks good enough to me” camp, especially when there’s only one or two kits available on a subject. I built Italeri’s Hustler, spent a bunch of time on it, and am happy with the result even though it’s a bit too short. 
 

For the Sabre’s tail lights, I’m thinking rod or tubing for the cylinder-shaped mounts, and UV-activated gel for the lights themselves (same as I did for the Scorpion’s tail lights).  But, I hadn’t thought of clear sprue so might give it a try. 

[billn53]

I finished up the tail lights today, plus a couple other things.

 

For the vertically-stacked tail lights, I glued two thin styrene rods aft of the rudder:

 

 

With addition of filler, and some sanding, this is my result. The whole assembly is extremely tiny, and the macro lens is not kind . . .

 

 

I gave the Matchbox kit the same treatment:

 

 

Also for the Matchbox Sabre, I filled all of its panel lines with Perfect Plastic Putty. I'm not expecting to eliminate the panel lines, only to make Matchbox's trenches a bit less noticeable:

 

 

I next sprayed all of the joins and seams with Mr Surfacer 1200, thinned with Leveling Thinner, to bring out any flaws that will need to be fixed. I was especially concerned about where I had grafted the Heller nose onto the Matchbox kit. I found a couple minor items, but nothing that isn't easily corrected:

 

 

A bigger issue is on the Hobbycraft Sabre, where I discovered the surface is slightly raised where I had surgically converted the rear end to the "A" configuration:

 

 

 

No one promised this would be easy . . .

[billn53]

Wow! It's been just a couple of days since my last update, and I'm already way down on page 4. Good to see so many people building and posting their WIPs!

 

In the meantime, I've spent quite a few hours on my two Sabres yet it seems I have little to show for it. Much of that time was spent on little detail items, I'll list a few:

 

I sanded down the residual hump from where I had shortened the fairing for the elevators. It still slightly visible on the starboard side, so I added a bit of Bondo in to smooth it out:

 

   

 

The front wall of the Matchbox landing gear bay had a bit of a "snaggletooth", so I added a strip of plasticard to even it out. I also drilled recesses for the landing & taxi lights. After painting is done, I'll insert adhesive lenses to represent the lights:

 

   

 

I reshaped the gun openings on the Matchbox kit (the kit's version were just deep scratches) and filled in a gap inside the Hobbycraft intake with Apoxie Sculpt:

 

 

 

The Hobbycraft Sabre has a rectangular vent just forward of the fin, there was a hard-to-reach seam on the bottom of the vent, which I covered with a piece of thin plasticard. The vent was completely missing from the Matchbox kit, so I added one with a small chisel:

 

   

 

The ailerons on the "A"-series Sabre go all the way to the wingtips. I filled in the scribed panel line which make it look like the aileron ends short of the wingtip. While working on the wings, I cracked loose one of the slat guides, which I bent back into place and reinforced with a bit of plastic:

 

   

 

On top of working the detail items above, I actually made some more productive progress in a couple of areas. First, I added the wingtip navigation lights. This is what the actual light looks like:

 

 

I cut away a portion of the wingtip where the light goes, and carved a chunk of clear plastic to fit. I drilled a small hole for the light bulb and filled it with transparent blue paint (red on the opposite side). I then glued the piece into the wing with a generous amount of CA:

 

 

After the CA had set, I carefully sanded the light to shape and polished it clear with Tamiya polishing compound. I did this for both the Hobbycraft and the Matchbox kits.

 

 

The second significant item concerns the underwing tanks and their pylons. Inside the Hobbycraft lower wing are locating recesses which should be drilled out to mount the tanks' pylons. I had forgotten to do this before gluing my wings together, and wanted to get this done before attaching the wings to the fuselage. I thought this would be a simple job -- just drill four holes using my donor kit's wings for locating information:

 

 

 

But, as I was checking my references, I realized the Hobbycraft pylons are not the correct shape! Here's a drawing, and photo of an actual F-86A, for comparison:

 

 

 

Notice the front edge of the pylon should be vertical, instead of sloped as on the Hobbycraft part.

 

Thus, I had to scratchbuild a pair of pylons from plasticard. Getting the curved mating surfaces to match the wing and tank profiles was the hardest part.

 

 

 

For a positive mount, I added brass pins to the pylons and drilled corresponding holes in the wings and the tanks. The photo below is from my test-fit to ensure the holes are in the correct place:

 

 

Matchbox did not include wing tanks in their kit. I do have a spare set from my donor kit, but I'm leaning toward leaving them off of my Matchbox Sabre. I feel that I'm spending way too much time on that kit -- time that I could instead be using on the third part of this triple-build: the F-51D Mustang (still in the box). There's lots more work to be done on the Matchbox Sabre without worrying about the wing tanks . . .

 

That's a good segway to my biggest challenge so far: the canopy. The canopy on the Matchbox F-86A leaves much to be desired. Likewise, that of the the Hobbycraft Sabre is not representative of an "A" canopy.

 

For the Matchbox kit, I would like to use a vacuform canopy from the Falcon canopy set:

 

 

The Falcon instructions describe not only how to add their canopy, but also give an outline for how to convert a late-model Sabre to the F-86A:

 

 

 

 

The first thing I had to do was remove the molded-in hump behind the cockpit on the Matchbox kit, which is actually part of the canopy:

 

 

 

This test fit shows the enormity of the problem facing me, to get the replacement canopy to fit properly:

 

 

The main cause of the fit problem stems from the fact that the Matchbox canopy sill curves downward, whereas it should instead be a straight line:

 

 

 

I will need to build up the canopy sill to fill in the gap. That means the rear deck behind the seat will have to be raised to match the new sill line. Hopefully, the seat will not be sitting too low when I'm done.

 

What a mess!

 

[Courageous]

Nice catch with the pylon shape, I missed it when doing mine. As a 'heads-up', can you check the positon of your wing pylon for your wing tank. IIRC, the position should be at BP 99.5" which scales out as being 35mm from centre line? Here is an extract posted by @Sabrejet

In 1/72 the Buttock Planes are (measured from the aircraft centre line):

 

BP 72 1/4: 25.5mm

BP 99 1/2: 35mm

BP 118: 41.5mm

 

 

Stuart

[billn53]

18 hours ago, Courageous said:

Nice catch with the pylon shape, I missed it when doing mine. As a 'heads-up', can you check the positon of your wing pylon for your wing tank. IIRC, the position should be at BP 99.5" which scales out as being 35mm from centre line?

 

<snip>

 

Stuart

 

Thanks for that, Stuart!

 

I checked the wing pylon location on the Hobbycraft kit, and it is at BP 118, not BP 99. I.e., it is about 6-mm too far outboard:

 

 

It was a simple matter to drill new holes, 35-mm from centerline. Here is the underside of the wing with the pylons in their correct location:

 

 

and an upper view with the tanks in place:

 

 

😎

 

 

[billn53]

Back to this problem:

 

 

 

The good news is, I've eliminated the gap beneath the Falcon vacuform canopy. The bad news is... well, I'll get to that....

 

My plan of action was to create a new canopy sill that is straight, instead of the curved on on the Matchbox kit. I used the Falcon canopy to define the new sill, which I made from plasticard:

 

 

I cut out the center of the sill, but found I had to reinforce it with plastic channels. Otherwise, it wanted to close up at the front:

 

 

I faired the new sill in to the top of the fuselage:

 

 

 

So far, so good!

 

 

Then used Milliput to blend the sill in with the fuselage sides:

 

 

Looks pretty good, doesn't it? Here's the bad news -- The profile around the cockpit, viewed from the front, is definitely too slab-sided 😞

 

 

 

The root cause is that the Falcon canopy is sized for the Hobbycraft/Academy Sabre, which (as we've already seen) is beefier in the fuselage than the Matchbox kit. Thus, the canopy is proportionately too wide for the Matchbox kit.

 

I do have a plan, however (well, it's more of a hope):

 

The vacuform canopy is flexible, so I should be able to squeeze it into a narrower profile when I install it. That should allow me to reshape the fuselage sides under the sill to reduce the slab-sidedness. I'm thinking (hoping) that I can use the Heller piece, that attaches inside the canopy at the rear, to entice the canopy into a narrower profile.

 

 

We'll see how that works out 🙄

 

On a more positive note, the seats are painted up and ready to install:

 

 

[billn53]

Wings are on the Hobbycraft Sabre, and she's almost ready for paint. After giving it a spray of Mr Surfacer 1200, I found only a couple off small items needing attention.

 

 

My Matchbox build is a different story. As you can see below, I've brought out the Bondo "big gun" to whip this bugger into shape.  When I do that, you can know I'm serious... No more "Mister Nice Guy" here! 

 

 

 

 

[stevehnz]

Brilliant thread Bill, I hadn't caught up in a bit & wow, a comprehensive repository of things F-86. Some really good info there & some great modelling on display. OK, I've come to expect that from you anyway, but have to say, you're on top of your game here.

Steve.

[billn53]

2 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Brilliant thread Bill, I hadn't caught up in a bit & wow, a comprehensive repository of things F-86. Some really good info there & some great modelling on display. OK, I've come to expect that from you anyway, but have to say, you're on top of your game here.

Steve.

 

Hey Steve, thanks! That's just the mojo-boost I need right now. 

[Jackson Duvalier]

Brilliant save on the canopy sills.  Polystyrene can be magical stuff!  😎

 

Seats are convincing.  (polite applause)

[opus999]

Just got caught up... Wow... lots here to digest!  First, I have to say that I am continually amazed at the number of details that have to be attended to (both in the name of detail and in the name of "fixing") and how well you've knocked every one of them down!  When I saw that you used PPP on the panel lines, my first thought was how it's tendency to shrink might work in your favor here. 

 

The wingtip lights are a neat trick!  What is the source of your clear plastic?

 

The canopy sills are a creative solution, I sure hope your plan to get the canopy to fit works!

 

I think the seats look great.

 

Finally, I also have to say, that even though the F-86 is one of my favorite planes, I am actually quite ignorant about it because I haven't had a chance yet to do a build where I could really sink my teeth into the details (My Mohammad Alam F-86 was done before I really got into the groove of research).  So, I have learned quite a bit from this thread thanks to all the good folks here!

Edited February 28, 2021 by opus999

[billn53]

16 hours ago, opus999 said:

Just got caught up... Wow... lots here to digest!  First, I have to say that I am continually amazed at the number of details that have to be attended to (both in the name of detail and in the name of "fixing") and how well you've knocked every one of them down!  When I saw that you used PPP on the panel lines, my first thought was how it's tendency to shrink might work in your favor here. 

 

The wingtip lights are a neat trick!  What is the source of your clear plastic?

 

The canopy sills are a creative solution, I sure hope your plan to get the canopy to fit works!

 

I think the seats look great.

 

Finally, I also have to say, that even though the F-86 is one of my favorite planes, I am actually quite ignorant about it because I haven't had a chance yet to do a build where I could really sink my teeth into the details (My Mohammad Alam F-86 was done before I really got into the groove of research).  So, I have learned quite a bit from this thread thanks to all the good folks here!

 

Thanks for your comments. Taking them one at a time,

 

1) Panel lines on the Matchbox kit. I thought PPP's characteristic shrinking would do the job, but Matchbox turned out to defeat that approach. The panel lines are not only deep and wide, but have curved "shoulders" where they meet the surface. The PPP only filled in the bottom of the valleys. When I applied the primer coat, the surface looked just as terrible as before. Plan B, now in effect, is to obliterate the panel lines entirely and deal with them later by either penciling them in (as I did in my recent F-4 Phantom build) or just rely on panel shading.

 

2) Wingtip lights. I learned how to do these on this forum. This is my source of the transparent plastic:

 

 

 

I bought a box of fifty, in every color I might need, for just a couple bucks. They might be too small for 1/48 or larger, but they're perfect for 1/72 (which I mainly build).

 

3) Canopy sill. I first thought of building up the sill starting at the bottom, but then I had an "ah ha" moment. I think it's turned out nicely. You'll see the result in the following post.

 

The F-86 is a good looking fighter and it's a wonder that I've not built one before. Probably because, when I was an impressionable pre-teen just starting to build models, the Century series was the hot thing and the F-86 was passe'. I started these builds knowing almost nothing about the various Sabre versions. Thanks to fellow Britmodellers who've been kibitzing along the way, I've avoided some novice errors and learned a lot about the Sabre along the way.