opus999 Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 F-86F Sabre | Fujimi | 1/72 338th Squadron, Royal Norwegian Air Force, 1960's I finished this on 4/10/2022. It was a build 30 years in the making. I built a Heller F-86 with Norwegian markings in High School and it didn't live up to my expectations, mainly due to lack of ability, but also because I didn't have all the supplies available to me now. As a kid the F-86 was my favorite 50's-60's jet and I always pictured it with a mirror finish. So, when I envisioned a Norwegian Sabre build (in honor of my Norwegian heritage), I always pictured it as a mirror "airshow" finish. I bought the decals in the 90's and bought many kits (5 in total) over the years, only to find out they didn't have the correct wing (I am indebted to @72modeler for telling me the exact kit to buy!). The whole tale is in the WIP if you're really that interested in the saga. The finish is Alclad polished aluminum. Alclad's Airframe Aluminum is even more mirror-like, but it almost seemed unrealistic, so I went with the Polished Aluminum. The key to a good reflective Alclad finish is ensuring that the plastic is scratch free and having a smooth, gloss black base coat. I took extra care to make sure that any sanding I had to do (very little, thankfully) was done with fine sandpaper (about 1500 grit) and then polished with Micromesh down to about 6000 grit. I used a Mr. Surfacer 1500 black primer, and then sanded that down to 6000 grit. I finally used decanted Tamiya gloss black cut about 1 part Mr. Levelling Thinner to 3 parts paint and lightly dusted afterwards with straight Mr. Levelling thinner. After the alclad was applied, a protective overcoat of Alclad's Aqua Gloss was hand brushed on. Two more protective coats of Aqua Gloss went over the decals, applied with a hand brush. The different shades of metal were achieved by masking panels, painting a couple passes of alclad, removing the masking and painting a few more passes of Alclad until the contrast was where I wanted it. Since the Alclad is translucent, the dark undercoat shows through making the masked panels a little darker. More details and pictures are in the WIP. The kit didn't come with the correct drop tanks, so I had to swipe the ones from the original Heller build and fix them up. Finally, I had to find a resin Martin Baker ejection seat since this airframe had one. And here it is with the kit that started the whole affair, way back when: Here's the resin Martin Baker ejection seat: I hope you like it! Comments, questions and constructive criticism always welcomed. 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 I like it. Especially the fin markings and general finish. There is something about 1950s NATO aircraft and markings and this one is a good example. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiff guy Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 lovely job, well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Good to see the finished product she looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted April 30, 2022 Share Posted April 30, 2022 Very smart rendition, great build ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Exquisite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Wow, that metal finish is superb. Great markings too! Well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Womby Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 That's spectacular! David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Fantastic result. The NMF is really outstanding, great choice of markings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 Thanks everyone! I'm glad you like it! Your kind words are just icing on the cake. I've been dreaming of doing this build for so long it feels good to have it complete. Even better that you like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 That has to be the most beautiful Sabre model I've ever seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 That is a stunning little Sabre! Lovely finish with your alclad. I had exactly the same results with their Airframe Aluminium in it being too shiny & made my Lightning look way too toy like. Hope to at some point have another go at an aluminum finish aircraft. Really must try & build another F-86. This one in Norwegian markings is very nice indeed. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiampieroSilvestri Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 Very nice Luftforsvaret F-86! Saluti Giampiero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 Great looking Sabre there, like the markings too. Really nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 Lovely looking Sabre. Well worth the wait😀. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pstryk Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 Fantastic build! Love that polished aluminium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moggy Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 Fantastic! A true jewel of a beautiful aircraft. The Norwegian colours and markings ara a grat bonus Cheers, Moggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted May 6, 2022 Share Posted May 6, 2022 Shiny Sabre! Beautifully applied finish. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted May 8, 2022 Author Share Posted May 8, 2022 On 5/1/2022 at 2:01 PM, SAT69 said: That has to be the most beautiful Sabre model I've ever seen. Wow. Thank you -- I'm honored! On 5/1/2022 at 3:55 PM, Lightningboy2000 said: That is a stunning little Sabre! Lovely finish with your alclad. I had exactly the same results with their Airframe Aluminium in it being too shiny & made my Lightning look way too toy like. Hope to at some point have another go at an aluminum finish aircraft. Really must try & build another F-86. This one in Norwegian markings is very nice indeed. Martin Toy-like... that's a good description. I'm tempted to have a go with the airframe aluminum on a model to see if that's really true or not, but I don't want to waste a good kit... On 5/2/2022 at 4:03 AM, GiampieroSilvestri said: Very nice Luftforsvaret F-86! Saluti Giampiero On 5/3/2022 at 10:34 AM, russ c said: Great looking Sabre there, like the markings too. Really nice work Thanks guys! On 5/3/2022 at 11:04 AM, Pete in a shed said: Lovely looking Sabre. Well worth the wait😀. Pete Thanks, Pete... It was worth the wait. On 5/3/2022 at 11:56 PM, Pstryk said: Fantastic build! Love that polished aluminium On 5/4/2022 at 6:03 AM, Moggy said: Fantastic! A true jewel of a beautiful aircraft. The Norwegian colours and markings ara a grat bonus Cheers, Moggy On 5/5/2022 at 10:06 PM, exdraken said: Very nice! On 5/6/2022 at 10:04 AM, Bertie Psmith said: Shiny Sabre! Beautifully applied finish. Well done. Thank you guys! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you like it! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy350 Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 Lovely finish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Awesome bird! The polished metal finish is perfect! 👏👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Wonderful, and what for an outstanding NMF finish! It looks perfect! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giampiero Piva Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Nice, VERY NICE work. Congrats Giampiero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted May 21, 2022 Author Share Posted May 21, 2022 On 5/9/2022 at 8:22 PM, kapam said: Awesome bird! The polished metal finish is perfect! 👏👏 On 5/9/2022 at 10:34 PM, Andy Dyck said: Wonderful, and what for an outstanding NMF finish! It looks perfect! Andy On 5/9/2022 at 11:30 PM, Giampiero Piva said: Nice, VERY NICE work. Congrats Giampiero Thanks Guys! That Alclad Polished Aluminum turns out really great when I'm really careful with the prep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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