Hasegawa 1/48 F-86F-30 Sabre “The Huff”
Lt. Jim Thompson piloted this aircraft out of Suwon AFB South Korea. In May 1953 he scored his first kill, a Russian MiG-15 flown by a red Chinese pilot. The MiG had a marvelous dragon painted on the nose which enamoured Jim so much he ran to his crew chief asking if he could paint one on the side of his F-86. The result was one of the most stunning schemes of the whole Korean conflict. He delivered his second kill in July 1953.
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Hasegawa 1:48 F-86 F-30 Sabre U.S Air FOrce Plastic Model Kit 07213
S. Cubas said on January 28, 2019
What a beautiful Sabre, and a excelent built. I like it so much.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you mr Cubas…some fine modellers come out of the Canary Islands
Craig Abrahamson said on January 28, 2019
Nice work, Mr. Mack – always liked this jet.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
i appreciate that very much sir…great to hear from you
Robert Royes said on January 28, 2019
Beautiful build, and interesting back story!
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you bob…very glad you appreciated it
Josh Patterson said on January 28, 2019
Thanks for building my favorite Sabre. (Probably because it was the first one I ever saw in the air!) Combat Jets Flying Museum had this F-86 along with MiG-15, Mig-21, T-33, A-4 Skyhawk, Hunter and a TF-104 come to EAA in the early 90’s and subsequently donated them. I was so sad when the F-86 went to Canada and they painted The Huff in Golden Hawks colors. At least it , the A-4 and the TF-104 are still flying. (The A-4 with the Warbird Heritage Foundation in Illinois and the F-104 with Starfighters in Florida.) The Hunter will probably never fly again due to severe corrosion in the cockpit (and probably elsewhere underneath) from years of rain flooding the cockpit in outdoor storage.
Your Sabre really looks fine. You should do “A Dragon and His Tail” as a counterpart!
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you josh…that’s heartbreaking it was repainted…thank you for that wonderful information…i actually have “the dragon and his tail” decals and “cocktail hour”
Stephen W Towle said on January 28, 2019
Neat article and build. “The Huff” seems to attract the eye of everyone who looks at the kit. Monogram,Airfix and Hasegawa all have come up with this great combination. The 64.00 dollar question …what did that Mig-15 with the painted dragon look like?
Two thumbs up on this one.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you steve…i wonder all the time what the mig scheme that gave him the inspiration looked like
Greg Kittinger said on January 28, 2019
A beauty of a Sabre! Love the dragon and the overall scheme. Well done.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you very much greg…i treasure your feedback
James B Robinson said on January 28, 2019
Beautiful job Bob, very well done.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
i appreciate that so much jim
Ramon R. Lomeli said on January 28, 2019
Gorgeous work, and thanks for sharing some backstory of how the nose art came to be!
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you for that ramon…my pleasure
Jeff Bailey said on January 28, 2019
Very interesting explanation and a BEAUTIFULLY DONE Sabre!ll Like the others, I wish we could see the dragon on the MiG that was the inspiration … “those other guys” didn’t seem to personalize their aircraft very often.
Bravo !!
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you very much jeff…i would definitely love to see the original although i suppose it exploded when it hit the ground
Jeff Bailey said on January 29, 2019
No doubt!
David Mills said on January 28, 2019
A wonderful scheme Bob.
Lovely work, she looks superb!
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you so much David…i’m a great admirer of your skills
david leigh-smith said on January 28, 2019
Beautifully made and finished Sabre. Excellent.
‘Liked’
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
oh/ thank you david…your such a gentleman
paul e. owens said on January 28, 2019
Simply beautiful Bob, great job.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you paul…your skyraider rocked my socks
Manuel Magrinho said on January 28, 2019
Beautiful!!
And how’s the kit?
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
thank you Manuel…the kit fit very well and you can see any shape issues…typically over fiddly hasegawa but not too…their trademark but no complaint
Anthony Conway said on January 28, 2019
Cracking Sabre.
bob mack said on January 28, 2019
ah thank you tony …i needed that
Tom Bebout said on January 29, 2019
Well done Bob! She looks great.
bob mack said on January 29, 2019
thank you tom…you’ve been on quite a roll this past year yourself
Tom Cleaver said on January 29, 2019
Very nice model, Bob.
Interestingly there were two F-86 pilots named Jim Thompson, the pilot of “the Huff” being in the 51st FIW and “the other Jim Thompson” being in the 4th – both at the same time frame, and both scoring 2 victories at the end of the conflict, which has created “difficulties” for the less-discerning students of the war. “The other Jim Thompson” is a good friend of mine. A very interesting guy who became a Presbyterian minister in his native Alabama after the war, and worked with Martin Luther King during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and throughout the civil rights movement, one of the few white ministers in the state to do so.
bob mack said on January 30, 2019
that is just amazing tom..sounds like a triumvirate
of heroes to me…thank you so much…your connections are golden sir
Thiago C. M. Pacheco said on January 29, 2019
What a gorgeous build! I’m definitely not a jet guy, but the Sabre is on my future builds list.
bob mack said on January 30, 2019
thank you so much thiago…haven’t built the academy probably great/ it’s soooo beautiful an A/C
John Healy said on January 31, 2019
Slick looking Sabre, Bob! What did you use for the metal finish?
bob mack said on January 31, 2019
thank you very much John…the finish is the new vallejo metal finish…i used no primer…it’s tricky stuff…definitely needs to be misted on gently…then i sealed it with future/ it didn’t detract any from it…i don’t advise masking it even a week later…prepaint everything else [anti-glare and even dis-similar panels] then mask that and apply the silver…still learning myself but it’s bright and shiny