Airfix 1/48th Sabre Mk.IV

[keithjs]

My latest project is this new 1/48th Sabre from Airfix.  Typical softish plastic along with some quite fine panel lines too. Detail is quite good but the cockpit and seat is fairly basic along with the gun bays and airbrakes.  Built pretty much straight from the box except for a modified Quickboost seat (it was too big to fit the Airfix cockpit so I sanded the sides down) I was also going to use a modified Yahu instrument panel but that was too big as well and a totally different shape to the Airfix one. I assume there'll be a cockpit set and seat to follow from someone and scaled to fit the Airfix kit rather than the Hasegawa and Academy one, but it was interesting to see how far out they were. Anyway, I've also corrected all the things Duncan's told us about for the past few weeks (thanks Duncan!) such as the wing tank positions, the undercarrige strut mods and of course the oversized wing fences. All simple fixes in my opinion and no real effort involved. I added a couple of ammo. door bay braces too and modified the gun bay doors so I could display them. The gun bays are somewhat strange as if you put the guns and ammo belts in they protrude outside the bays and if it were for real the actual panel wouldn't fit back on. I tried to get them as far in as I could but even now the panel would have to be wafer thin. Anyway when I do another one I'm sure there'll be an Eduard set for them.

Decals are from a fairly old Xtradecal sheet for 4 squadron but I did use the kit roundels as they're already precut to shape to fit around the airbrakes. Of course I still had to cut out the squadron bars..

Anyway, all in all a pretty decent kit and I'm sure it'll be popular particularly when some more aftermarket parts appear. 

Thanks for looking.

 

S1 

 

S2

 

S4 

 

S3 

 

S5 

[Farmerboy]

I suspect that’s the first of many Sabres to be displayed on BM, you have set a high Bar, good job!

[bigbadbadge]

I say, that's a lovely Sabre, great work. 

Chris

[stevej60]

That's a stunning build of the Airfix new tool Kieth should inspire a lot of folk to track one down and build it too.

[petetasker]

Superb - hoping mine looks as good as that. 

[SAT69]

That's one beautiful build. I'm most impressed by the paint work and I really do appreciate a clean exterior. 

[ForestFan]

That’s lovely

[Graham T]

That's a knockout!  Nice a clean, just like I build them!👍

[Paul J]

Very Nice build chap.  Interesting what you say about the fit of AM parts and the gun bay issues. From experience I found that aftermarket resin tend to be too big for the suggested kit(s) and need a fair bit of work to get them to fit at a cost.   So for me personally I would stick with what the kit gives you and attempt to improve  them. In the case of the gun bay I would leave them out and have the bay closed up. Or if one is a masochist, cut the bay away from the opening and re seat it further in but then it would encroach on the cockpit. Catch 22 I think.

[Lord Riot]

Superb Sabre! You knocked it out quick too, I’ve only had mine in the stash a couple of weeks, I’ll be very happy if it looks anywhere near as good as this. 

 

Is there a spray can for the PRU blue undersides? 

[JohnT]

A very sharp Sabre I’d say. Very nice

 

On the aftermarket I’d add that in my experience and from what I’ve read an awful lot of wheel wells, cockpits etc require the resin walls and kit plastic to be thinned down to almost rice paper thin to have a chance of fitting!! Well paper thin!

[franky boy]

Nice work Keith

 

Ive just started on this myself over the weekend. I agree with your views on the kit. 

 

Thanks 

 

James

[Tony Edmundson]

Nice work !! , any photos from 'ground level'; as opposed to from high above?

 

Cheers, Tony

 

PS question for Duncan, or anyone who has the kit---Do I see a raised panel/vent on the fuselage ahead of the fin  ?????

[72modeler]

That is the best Sabre 4 build I have seen in 1/72 or 1/48 scale, in my opinion. Workmanship is museum quality, and the colors and paintwork are outstanding!  My experience with the fit of aftermarket parts into kits is  pretty much the same as the others have said- might be due to the AM parts being to scale, and the wheel bays and cockpits of most injected kits are not, due to molding and ejection from the mold considerations. Aries cockpits and wheel bays are especially frustrating to fit into the kit for which they were designed.  

Mike

[Josip]

The model itself is neat and it's nice to finally see this new kit in built form, but that aside it is a fair question to ask if Academy and Hasegawa Sabres have been made obsolete by this one? 

 

I think not. 

 

Josip

[keithjs]

11 hours ago, Paul J said:

Very Nice build chap.  Interesting what you say about the fit of AM parts and the gun bay issues. From experience I found that aftermarket resin tend to be too big for the suggested kit(s) and need a fair bit of work to get them to fit at a cost.   So for me personally I would stick with what the kit gives you and attempt to improve  them. In the case of the gun bay I would leave them out and have the bay closed up. Or if one is a masochist, cut the bay away from the opening and re seat it further in but then it would encroach on the cockpit. Catch 22 I think.

 

Thanks for all your comments everyone, but just to make it clear re my comments about the fit of the aftermarket parts. The seat and instrument panel weren't intended for this kit, it was just I thought they might have at least been close?

 

11 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

Superb Sabre! You knocked it out quick too, I’ve only had mine in the stash a couple of weeks, I’ll be very happy if it looks anywhere near as good as this. 

 

Is there a spray can for the PRU blue undersides? 

 

Not as far as I know.  

[bryanm]

Excellent!  Mine is progressing slowly....

[jenko]

Like that a lot. 👍

 

Dick

[kev67]

Another nice neat build Keith, roll on club night 

[F-32]

First one I've seen, looks awesome!

[twinpin]

Fantastic  build.  Was the paint acrylic ?  Aftermarket decals available to finish as a Canadair sabre. Can this be done without modifying the kit ?

[Tony Edmundson]

28 minutes ago, twinpin said:

Fantastic  build.  Was the paint acrylic ?  Aftermarket decals available to finish as a Canadair sabre. Can this be done without modifying the kit ?

Out of the box, it is a Canadair Sabre Mk4/F-86E(M)  With a couple panel line changes it could pass for a Canadair Sabre Mk5(or very early Mk6).

 

cheers, Tony

Edited May 10, 2021 by Tony Edmundson

[Buzby061]

Lovely job & a great finish. 
 

Pete

[twinpin]

Where does the info from Duncan appear?

[keithjs]

14 minutes ago, twinpin said:

Where does the info from Duncan appear?

 

 

Here. And the next post.

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by keithjs