Sword 1/72 North American T-39A Saberliner

[hsr]

This is the Sword !/72 North American Saberliner. I have to say first off that this kit was a huge disappointment. I have built some of their early kits like the T-34C, and T38C that were pretty bad and some of their newer kits like their FJ series and TBM-3W which were pretty good. Based on that I figured this kit would be pretty good. It wasn't. While the fuselage halves fit well that was only until I tried to add the interior parts what did not fit at all and took a lot of trimming. The transparencies, especially the triangular side windows were also bad and getting the windscreen to blend in with the nose gave me fits. Wing to fuselage fit also left huge gaps. The instructions had very vague placements. The decals were OK, but they had the classic problems I have had with all Sword decals; they stuck like glue to the first thing they touched and tended to want to roll up into a ball when I tried to move them. I found if I manage to slide a wet brush under them they would free up, if they didn't roll up first. Also the the instruction placements for the stencils seemed to be for the T-39D Navy version. It came with a very complete set of stencils, but I did not have the patience to fight with then, and most pictures I have seen of the T-39 show it to have a minimum of visible stencils, so I left most of them off. Finally most pictures I have seen of the T-39 on the ground have the front slats and air brakes extended and the main gear door closed. None of those were an option with this kit without major surgery. I used all AK Real Colors for the painting, They all covered really well and had a nice egg shell finish (despite the black labeling itself as flat). But they are impossible to touch up with a brush.

 

In the end it was a tough fight, but I am happy with how it cam out.

 

 

Next up in a Bell TH-13T using the Italeri OH-13S kit.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

[HansReggelsen]

Your model looks great! 

 

I've had my eyes on this kit albeit the Navy version.

I may have to rethink it!  Calvin's dad would probably say that this kit would be a characterbuilding excercise, but I'm 60 (!) so my character's been build a long time ago! 

 

Cheers 

Hans J

[Rod bettencourt]

What a cool subject, thanks for sharing.

 

Rod

[djos]

Something different, and very nice,

Thanks for sharing

Regards Djordje

[Pantherhawk27263]

Very nicely done!! I just recently rewatched the movie "Goldfinger" and this reminds me of the ending of the movie. 

[hsr]

7 minutes ago, Pantherhawk27263 said:

I just recently rewatched the movie "Goldfinger" and this reminds me of the ending of the movie. 

Is that where someone gets sucked out the window?

 

Thanks

[hsr]

6 hours ago, HansReggelsen said:

Calvin's dad would probably say that this kit would be a characterbuilding excercise, but I'm 60 (!) so my character's been build a long time ago! 

I have 8 more Sword kits in the queue, some new and some old, and at 69 there is only so much character I can build. 🏗️

 

Thanks

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Great job on crossing the finish line here with such handsome results!  It's a beaut, despite all the travails.  

 

 

10 hours ago, Pantherhawk27263 said:

Very nicely done!! I just recently rewatched the movie "Goldfinger" and this reminds me of the ending of the movie. 

I agree!  Except Goldfinger was sucked out of a much bigger Lockheed JetStar.

[Wulfman]

Despite the problems a great looking build !

 

Wulfman

[Bejay53]

I’m trying to build this now. I’ve only built one other sword kit before.
I worked thru the issues with blending the canopy to the fuselage and getting engine mounts onto (into) the fuselage. 
I am now trying to match the wings to the fuselage. It’s like playing “whack a mole”!…..get one side set and the other end pops out. It appears that the front of the one piece lower wing is wider than the fuselage. Could be a lot of sanding to blend.

 

Then there is the issue of getting the tail planes mounted. 
I'm almost ready to put it back on the shelf for awhile.

 

[hsr]

14 minutes ago, Bejay53 said:

almost ready to put it back on the shelf for awhile.

I feel your pain 

[72modeler]

I am so sorry to hear what a poor kit this is, but you have managed to make a very nice model, nonetheless. I have the Sword kit and Caracal decals, so at least I can dodge the poor Sword decal bullet. Disappointing to hear that one of their more recent releases isn't up to the standards set by some of their other kits. You get bonus points for persevering. I wish kit makers  would engineer their  releases to allow deflected control surfaces, gear doors, or speedbrakes, etc. that are normally deployed/drooped after shutdown. I know a good modeler is  expected  to be able to modify a kit, to reflect this, but it's not that  much more difficult to engineer...if Special Hobby can engineer deployed slats on a tiny 1/72 Bf-109E...

Mike

[kapam]

Very nice build!

Sounds like the kit challenged you all the way, but your skill & tenacity paid off.

Well done!
👏👏👏

[Orion]

I agree fully with kapam. The end result is excellent.

I would like to add, that Sword models are very reasonable priced.

But it is not Tamya.

[Paul J]

 A good effort on what sounds like a pig of a kit to build. The undercarriage leg covers look as they would scrape along the ground.

[Paul J]

HI again. I just scanned in some old print images to my pc and came across pics I took on an old Kodak Instamatic 126 casette film camera, Its of the same T-39 Not a brilliant image but one can just make out the gear door..... I think. anyway here it is:

You can just make out the '2' from the serial number on the tail. Also clear is the drooped salt spoken about.

[Ad-4N]

Great job on a tough kit.  I built their T2V SeaStar and yes, Tamiya they ain't.  But I tend to cut them slack since they make the weird ()*)((*&&*^&^ kits I like.  

[Paul J]

1 hour ago, Paul J said:

HI again. I just scanned in some old print images to my pc and came across pics I took on an old Kodak Instamatic 126 casette film camera, Its of the same T-39 Not a brilliant image but one can just make out the gear door..... I think. anyway here it is:

You can just make out the '2' from the serial number on the tail. Also clear is the drooped salt spoken about.

PS   The pic was taken at IAT Greenham Common 1974.