Aur0ra145's Airfix 1/48 North American F-86 Sabre

[aur0ra145]

Good afternoon,

Originally I thought I'd had something in my massive stash that would conform to the Korea War build. Somehow I had nothing outside of a HHQ 1/16 Sherman that can be done in Korea war paint.

So, after a quick trip the local hobby store and breaking my "no new kits" resolution, I've got a F-86! The decals option didn't include anything in Korea, so eBay helped me out on that end. In the mean time, it was time to get started!

[digger303]

[RangerNeil]

Nice choice - looking forwards to seeing this one finished.

[Stokesy44]

Looks like a nice kit

[Twokidsnosleep]

These were cool jets

[aur0ra145]

Okay, cockpit is together but not dry brushed yet. Also put a gloss white coat down the intake yesterday and taped it off today. The hope is when it's said and done I can use tweezers to remove the mask and the intake ramp will look nice.





Nose cone and nose landing gear bay on.



I'm modelling with the gun bays closed, so got those panels glued in. That's it for today, just need the cement to dry.

[Tomcat64]

That's off to a good start - looking forward to seeing this one come together; is the Korean scheme all shiny?

[aur0ra145]

That's off to a good start - looking forward to seeing this one come together; is the Korean scheme all shiny?

Yes, the scheme I'm looking at doing is all shiny with the yellow identification strip around the fuselage.

[DRUMS01]

looking good so far

[aur0ra145]

Ya'll are too kind.

Step 32 and 33 are a bit confusing. Cut off the green part? The step referenced showed that piece being removed. So I guess the molding process needed it to be there? Luckily I was able to dry fit the part referenced later, and it's pretty obvious the green bits needed to come out. Also got the speedbrakes installed. They'll be displayed with them closed. Lastly put together what I assume is the jet exhaust nozzle. It looks very nozzle/tailpipe like.

This kit seems to be going together pretty well.

[aur0ra145]

Just a bit of dry brushing today to tidy up the cockpit. Not going crazy with aftermarket for this build. The cockpit is a bit slim on detail; but, not the worst I've seen.





Also got the tailpipe glued in. Pretty good kit engineering with having indexing cutouts and supports for the tail pipe. Wish more manufacturers would do this.

[digger303]

[Tomcat64]

That's coming along really well - nice tidy progress

Airfix have really upped their game in recent years in terms of fit & moulding

[aur0ra145]

Putting the fuselage together.



And a bit of the wings.

[aur0ra145]

Adding some more pieces. Building is going slow as I need this stuff to cure before moving onto the next part.

[digger303]

[Quax]

great progress and the fit seems really good and well thought out!

Paul

[aur0ra145]

Started getting the slats put on. The end of them required a bit of rework to fit flush. Weird that it was molded that way. Other than that, they seemed to fall into place. Just need them to dry now.

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

Lovely clean lines with those wings

[Kevthemodeller]

I'm looking at this kit for the very same build, just got to get bike build finished first and in time.

All looking good so far mate

[aur0ra145]

One step at a time. Glued in some air scoops. That's about it. Until next time!

[Tomcat64]

Great progress - looks really tidy

[aur0ra145]

I was worried about some residual glue on the wings from having them taped for curing. Then I was able to reference the last metallic build on here.

TASK FAILED SUCESSFULLY!

Soooo, I was worried about the masking tape peeling off the paint. Which it didn't. I was also worried about the tape leaving a residue, so I "de-tacked" the tape by sticking it to my desk several times, then applying.

Well, the tape actually made the finish look better after it came off. It's wild. So I've essentially masked the whole plane with de-tacked tape to get the same effect with some variations for weathering purposes. Very cool.

Also, the blue color looks nice. I'll need a new one for the paint rack.

Looking back now, it seems the residue was from tape applied after the aluminum coat had been sprayed. I.e., I taped off the engine cowl to spray down the light blue. Man I love having a forum to look up old build logs.

I think this won't be an issues with the F-86. The scheme I'm doing comes with decals for the ID stripes.

[aur0ra145]

Got this door thing glued on and in place. Hopefully it holds well once it's all dried. Also cleaned up the leading edges a bit and added some filler at the wing root.





Went on a deep dive of if the gear doors are down or up on deck, as I've seen both. I surmise that museums are pinning them up for a cleaner look. This video shows the doors being raised either via pilot interaction or with hydraulic pressure reaching the right pressure. You can tell the engine is started via the pilot telling the ground crew to disconnect ground power. (Assuming ground power is used for engine start.) So, I don't know really. The plus of modelling it with the gear doors up, is that it's easier and less likely to get damaged in transport. With the gear doors down, it's how it would look on the ramp. Fortunately I can chew on this decision a bit as gear door installation is still a bit down the road.

[aur0ra145]

Got the rest of the vertical stab pieced together. Then did an initial dry fit of the wings.

[aur0ra145]

Snow day! Seems we received a historic amount of snow for this area and no one knows what to do about it. I only hope that the IPMS regional show isn't cancelled and/or I'm able to make it up there come Saturday.

The F-86 is coming along. I do wish the wingtips/ailerons had indexing pins for assembly. That would make it easier to get everything aligned.



I'm also in the market for a new 3d printer. I think it's time to upgrade in size as well as print resolution.

[digger303]

Snow day! Seems we received a historic amount of snow for this area and no one knows what to do about it. I only hope that the IPMS regional show isn't cancelled and/or I'm able to make it up there come Saturday.

The F-86 is coming along. I do wish the wingtips/ailerons had indexing pins for assembly. That would make it easier to get everything aligned.



I'm also in the market for a new 3d printer. I think it's time to upgrade in size as well as print resolution.

Look forward to see what and why of your next printer.....
I've seen some pic's of that snow storm and all I can say is mother nature is both majestic and scarey all at the same time. That's a lot of snow to contend with and the man with a snow mobile would be king

[Kevthemodeller]

All coming along very nicely

[DRUMS01]

You know, throughout your build I was waiting to hear about some nasty seam issues. I'm happy for you that is not the case. I agree that it seems Arifix has amped it up a little. Even the panel lines to not too out of scale. Looks to be a nice kit!

Nice model work too!

Can't wait for it to be in color and decals...

Ben

[aur0ra145]

Back in the saddle a bit! As a warm up I painted up my reproduction helmet like the ones in Band of Brothers. Just need some scrim now. We'll see if this devolves into full blown reenacting. Already have a M1 Garand and 1911, so I guess I'd just need the uniform pieces and kit.

Based on these getting painted in a war, likely in a fast and efficient manner. I didn't fret too much about having a perfect stencil and airbrush. Instead I opted to dry brush the symbols on. Came out pretty good I think.

[digger303]

[aur0ra145]

Little bit of work done before the primer goes on. Next will be sealing in the cockpit and masking.

[aur0ra145]

Canopy is now on. Maybe I'll get around to priming sometime tomorrow.

[digger303]

Very smooth priming, almost a gloss

[Kevthemodeller]

Cracking helmet, nice primer

[aur0ra145]

Long time, no see. Work has been incredibly busy the last several months resulting in less bench time than desired.

Finally primed the F-86 in Alclad II Gloss Black Base. Did two coats as is called out in the directions. Next will be to prime the bottom. Topcoat will end up being some version of Alclad Aluminum coat, haven't decided on a duller color, or a really mirror reflective kind.



I've seen F-86's in all different colors/configurations. This one is very mirror finish...



This one looks sort of mirror on the sides; but, the wings look a bit more dull.



This guy at the USAF National Museum is on the shinier side..



Then there is this one that is a bit duller, also located at the USAF National Museum.



I'm thinking I'll use what ever Alclad Aluminum color I have the most of as there is a large range of differences on these airframes. I may also experiment with different types of metal finish, which I think I should do for the F-4 Phantom I'm wanting to complete.

[digger303]

[aur0ra145]

Did the nose first in Alclad Semi Matte Aluminum. Should be alright when it dries. Then I'll mask this off and spray Aircraft Aluminum on the rest of this one.

[digger303]

[Kevthemodeller]

Looking good

[aur0ra145]

Got the paint on last week. Been so busy I've hardly had time at the bench. Tonight I got some of the decals on. No Aquagloss over the paint this time. I'm living dangerously. Seems to be working out well so far.

ID stripe decals are thick, so they may take a few passes with microsol/microset to get them to lay down properly.

[Tomcat64]

That paint finish is simply stunning - the depth & reflection are awesome

[aur0ra145]

That paint finish is simply stunning - the depth & reflection are awesome

Thanks!

Bit more decal work tonight. I'm branching out a bit and trying some new stuff. Namely, cutting decals post setting, then adding more setting solution for surfaces that should be disconnected from one another. Essentially, if an aileron or rudder isn't form fitting, make sure there is a gap.

To get this effect, I used a brand new xacto blade and as steady a hand as possible. Also planned out the cuts so I wouldn't accidentally drag the decal out of place if the blade wasn't sharp enough. Furthermore, in the past I've always used q-tips to apply setting solution. This time I used a #2 round brush to apply. This allowed more control on adding the solution, and allowed me to get the decal to form fit the crevices.

Results:









Next up will be adding the roundels to the fuselage and the small placards to things like fueling points. Until next time!

It all together

[digger303]

Decals treatment is working , no sign of carrier film.

[aur0ra145]

Started with port side for the fuselage decals and wing walkway decals. They'll need to dry overnight before moving onto the starboard side. It's been so long since I've decaled a plane, forgot that it's my favorite part of the build!

[Kevthemodeller]

Top draw work here

[Tomcat64]

Great work with the chopping & resettling on those decals - that's worked really well