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Tom Cleaver
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Airfix Hasegawa F-86F-40

October 7, 2022 · in Aviation · · 21 · 1.2K

The aircraft:

During the Korean War, the had been outperformed by the MiG-15 with regard to altitude performance. The MiG's operational ceiling of 50,000 feet allowed the Soviet fighters to almost always use an altitude advantage when attacking a Sabre formation. This problem was partially solved with the F-86F and the adoption of the “6-3" wing, which provided a slight altitude advantage, but at the cost of low-speed handling when the new wing leading edge replaced the slats that deployed at low speed for control. The lack of leading edge slats exacerbated a dangerous and often fatal handling characteristic upon take-off if the nose were raised prematurely from the runway, known as “over rotation,” in which the nose comes up high enough to stall the wing if it does not have slats. The 1972 Sacramento Sabre accident resulting in 22 fatalities and 28 other casualties was a result of over-rotation on take-off leading to a stall and crash.

Production of the F-86F Sabre finally ended with the delivery of the last F-86F-35-NA in August 1954. However, with U.S. allies and NATO air forces desiring the Sabre as a result of its Korean War record, the USAF found it impossible to meet its commitments to allies such as Nationalist China and Japan and NATO by using the surplus F-86Fs. Consequently, the F-86F was put back into production to meet this demand.

The new model was known as the NA-227 by North American and the F-86F-40-NA to the USAF. A contract for 215 was formally signed on June 27, 1955. A further 65 were added to the contract on March 27, 1956, with two additional production runs in 1957 resulting in a total 580 F-86F-40s produced. None of these were intended for USAF service and all were paid for with MDAP funds.
The first F-86F-40-NA (serial number 55-3816) rolled out of the factory in October 1955.

The new F-86F-40 was basically similar to the earlier F-86F Sabres and was powered by the same J47-GE-27; it had the fuselage, weapons system, and flight controls of the standard F It was the ultimate expression of the day-fighter Sabre, and resolved both the altitude question by extending the wing tips, increasing wing area from 302.3 sq ft to 313.4 sq ft and wing span from 37.12 ft to 39.11 ft. The wing reintroduced wing slats, while keeping the 6-3 wing planform. The wing slats and the increased wing area markedly improved handling, especially at low speeds. The low-speed roll-and-yaw problem which had plagued the "6-3" F-86F Sabres was largely eliminated. Stalling speed was reduced from 144 mph to 124 mph, and the takeoff ground run was reduced 800 feet. Maximum speed was 678 mph at sea level, 599 mph at 35,000 feet; climb rate was 8,100 fpm with 30,000 feet reached in 5.2 minutes.

These improvements in handling and turning ability led the USAF to upgrade many of their existing F-86F-25 and F-86F-30 Sabres to F-86F-40 standards. North American supplied modification kits containing the new wing leading edge, slat assemblies, wingtip extensions, and new ailerons. Many Sabre-equipped foreign air forces also upgraded their Sabres to F-40 standards through use of these kits. Only Canadair and Commonwealth Sabres were not equipped with F-40 wing kits, although both could accept the installation. Additionally, the F-86D interceptor was modified with this wing, becoming the F-86L.

In late 1953, Japan was allowed to reconstitute its military forces, though they were to be defensive only, which was confirmed in their titles using “Self Defense”. The new Japanese Air Self-Defense Force chose the F-86 for its initial equipment. 300 F-86F-40s were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in a joint production agreement with North American Aviation signed on July 13, 1954.

Mitsubishi did not manufacture the Sabres from scratch. Kits made by North American were sent to Japan for assembly. This included 70 NA-231 sets, 110 NA-238 sets, and 120 NA-256 sets. The first Mitsubishi-assembled Sabre flew on August 9, 1956, with the last completed on February 25, 1961. In 1960, the aircraft were modified with pylons to carry the Philco-Ford GAR-8 (AIM-9B) Sidewinder AAM. Mitsubishi's experience with the Sabre formed the basis of the creation of the modern Japanese aviation industry.

The Flight Demonstration Team:

In 1959 the USAF Thunderbirds visited Japan and inspired commanders to establish an official aerobatic team. In 1960, the new team was formed at Hamamatsu airbase flying five F-86Fs of 2nd Squadron.

The first demonstration of the "Tenryū" team, named after the Tenryū River near the air base, occurred on March 4, 1960 at Hamamatsu. The team name was found to be hard to pronounce in western languages, so it became the Blue Impulse. They were equipped with smoke generators using different colors for each aircraft: white, red, blue, green and yellow. In 1961 the aircraft received a special paint scheme of overall white with blue flashes.

In 1964, Blue Impulse performed at the opening ceremony of the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, drawing the Olympic rings in the air with colored smoke. With our ship being in port in Yokosuka, I was in Tokyo visiting Japanese friends that week, and we went to that Olympic opening. One could walk up on opening day and get seats about midway in the stands of the stadium, which turned out to be very good for viewing a flight routine I have remembered since.

In February 1982, after 545 air demonstrations, Blue Impulse replaced their Sabres with Mitsubishi T-2 trainers. Today they fly the Kawasaki T-4.

The Kit:

's announcement a few years ago that they would produce a Canadair Sabre Mk.4 was initially met with enthusiasm by modelers, since the Mk. 4 is an F-86E, produced with narrow-chord wings and slats. At last! An early F-86 would be available as a kit rather than as a project using expensive resin replacement parts. Enthusiasm turned to disappointment when the kit was released as an upgraded Mk. 4 with the 6-3 wing and no slats. The fact the kit overall was not one of Airfix's best, being clunky in parts design with a fictional cockpit did not add to sales.

This year, Airfix released the F-86F-40, which did not bring forth great enthusiasm. I will admit to being one of the less-enthused, but when the review kit arrived curiousity got the better of me and I opened it up.

It's definitely not one of Airfix's better kits. It is clunky like their Bf-109E, with even-heavier panel lines. It does, however, have wing slats that can be displayed extended. The cockpit was as poor as advertised. The clear parts have that now-standard annoyance of being pulled from the mold too soon, wrecking their clarity. The kit decals are nice, providing the option of either a Royal Norwegian Air Force F-86F-40 or a JASDF fighter.

I will note that CMK makes a very nice resin replacement cockpit - tib, instrument panel, seat, etc. This is really necessary if you have any desire to make the model look close to "right."

Since I happened to have two of the Hasegawa F-86F-40 Blue Impulse limited-run kits, I decided I would see if it was possible to create a Blue Impulse Sabre with the kit. As it turns out, one can.

Construction:

I started by assembling the wing. There are two leading edge part options for slats open or closed. I tried fitting the slats tp the open leading edge and the fit was awful. I was able to get the slats to fit by filing the rail openings in the leading edge a bit wider and narrowing the rails. I then fitted the wing. The way this is designed, with the outer extended wingtip and aileron as a separate part, if the similar part in the Mk. 4 kit was substituted, one would by 95% of the way to a Canadair Sabre Mk. 6; it would be nice if Airfix was to do this, since the mix-and-match would be easy and the only other item needed would be to replace the lower cooling intakes on this with the “sugar scoops.” The fact those intakes are separate insert parts leads me to think Airfix may already have thought of this.

The cockpit and seat are junk; I threw them away and used the Hasegawa cockpit and seat, with the Airfix rear area under the canopy. I had determined this would have the canopy closed, which meant what could be seen through the distorted canopy would be fine.

I used “cannonball” fish weights in the nose to get nose-sitting. I modified the landing gear wells so I could use the “gear door retracted” option for the main gear doors while having the wheels down, which would make applying the marking decals easier.

Overall, the kit assembles easily and with care in assembly I did not need any filler anywhere.

Painting:

I only needed to paint the lower wing in aluminum and the overall white color for the rest. I did the aluminum first, using Vallejo Aluminum, with White aluminum for the wing center section, then masked that off. I painted the rest of the model with Tamiya X-2 Gloss White. I painted the 200-gal drop tanks X-3 Gloss Red with a bit of X-5 Orange to get an approximate match between them and the red markings on the underside of the model.

Decals:

Fortunately I had two sheets of the Blue Impulse markings, which helped because the Hasegawa kit and Airfix kit differ just enough that there were some gaps when I laid down the main markings, which I was able to hide using pieces from the second sheet.

Once the model was painted and decaled, the “too heavy” surface detail looked better, the same way the Airfix Bf-109E looks better once painted and decaled.

Final Assembly:

I unmasked the canopy and attached the landing gear and drop tanks.

Overall:

The model has grown on me since it was finished. From 18 inches away, it looks nice and can sit next to a Hasegawa Sabre. It's a nice addition to my Sabre collection, and if Airfix does the smart thing and reissues the kit with mix-and-match parts so a Sabre 6 can be done, I would definitely get one.

Reader reactions:
14  Awesome

12 additional images. Click to enlarge.


21 responses

  1. A superb result of a striking scheme, Tom! Thanks for the background: so many interesting details!

  2. Very eye catching. Nice job, Tom

  3. Nice use of an underwhelming kit, Tom. Still hoping for an A and an E……..

  4. A nice example of an early jet.

  5. The Sabre is a great aircraft, Tom @tcinla, your build in this scheme clearly proves that.
    Your supporting informative article is a pleasure to read.
    Well done.

  6. Tom @tcinla,
    This is a good looking plane, and so is your model. The Sabre has always been one of my favorite early era jets. The Panther, F-80 and Me-262 still hold the top spots, but this one is next in line.

    Seeing your model painted in this color combination, somehow reminds me of the prototype YF-16's that were painted in Red, White, and Blue.

    Each time I see a Sabre, it reminds me of a story my Dad told me many years ago. Keep in mind this happened way back when the military was not as strict as it is today. Some things that happened then wouldn't have a chance of occurring today.

    Somehow Dad managed to get a short ride in a Sabre. He won it in a Poker game of all things, having won the last hand in the game. It turns out one of the Sabre crew chiefs had bet the jet ride since he was out of scrip, and American money was unobtainium. Dad was a small man at the time, around 5'7" and weighing in around 160 pounds. He was able to wriggle himself on top of the radio and just barely squeezed in enough, allowing the canopy to shut.

    He said it was the most uncomfortable ride he ever had in his life, especially when the pilot did a loop ! This pushed him down on top of the radio and he said that hurt like hell. I can only imagine...

    The article you posted is also a very good read. I definitely clicked on the "like" button.

  7. Definitely another Cleaver Classic. Great article and a different take on the F-86. The plus side is that Airfix came out with wing slats. The photos show a smart, tight looking build. Over all the kit looks to be a lateral shift when compared to the Hasegawa kits of old, unless you have to have the slats. Proof is in eating the pudding, it would to neat to see what is needed to bring things up to par with the competition for a natural finished model.
    Seeing a Japanese F-86 kit always makes me think of some of the Godzilla movies of old. Sitting in front of the Black and White TV with a bowel of pop corn.

    Two thumbs up TC.

  8. Nice Build Tom, @tcinla, and as usual a good read too. I too looking at the F-86 in Japanese markings am reminded of Godzilla! All those lovely models being smashed by a man in a rubber suit. Better put your plane on a safe shelf.

  9. Outstanding build! Super looking scheme!

  10. I remember that crash into the Farrell’s ice cream parlor. That and the bombs going off (that shook the house my family and I lived in) at the Roseville rail yards are two significant memories of my childhood.

    Your story and model are, as always, excellent. Thanks for sharing!

    • Taking off from that particular runway at Sacto Exec was always a problem. Five years after the Sabre crash, a turbo D-18 from Union Flights used that runway and lost an engine on takeoff - they careened over into the "termporary" aircraft parking and hit three airplanes - two of which later flew again, but 1947 "Straight 35" Bonanza N8123Y got her right wing broken off outboard of the main gear, which wouldn't have been a problem since Bonanza wings are separate and there's no carry-through spar, but also the tail tiedown didn't come loose till it whipsawed the airplane and pulled it out of rig, which meant it was totaled. And thus my adventures flying my antique Bonanza came to an end.

  11. Impulse reaction - you got me drooling! Great looking Sabre, Tom.

  12. Very unusual painting! I don't know that Japan Self Defence has F-86!

  13. Another informative read and beautiful Sabre markings, TC@tcinla.

    I had completely forgotten about that horrible O’Farrell’s crash incident. Now I clearly remember.

  14. Another nice Cleaver build and article! Well done.

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