Another save from the Garage of Doom
Plucked from the Garage of Doom before I spent much of yesterday fighting the (small, thank goodness) leaks in the garage revealed by the Big Winter Storm that hit us.
Revell's F-86D Sabre kit(s) allow a modeler to do the early and late versions. Twenty years later, the quality of the kit still stands (yes, the wing is really swept at 37degrees, not 35, but sit this and a Hasegawa or Academy F next to each other and you really can't eyeball the difference). The kits have been re-released at various times. This one specifically is the first release from 2001, "Dennis the Menace." For the non-Americans here and those young enough to think that Columbus "discovered America" in 1942 (I swear, there really are people who gave that answer), Dennis the Menace was a cartoon that subversively eviscerated the Boomer Generation 50s with a kid who was a curious boy. I used to identify with his position frequently when I read them.
The airplane was developed as the first all-weather single-seat interceptor, and was so different from the F-86 that it was originally known as the F-97 - until it was realized that American congresscritters were unlikely to know the difference between an F-86E and an F-86D, and so it was re-designated as F-86D in 1950 when Congress turned on the financial taps for defense spending in the face of the Red Chinese kicking the US Army's assets in North Korea that fall.
The F-86D eventually was also flown by Denmark, Yugoslavia, the Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. A gun-armed version, the F-86K was a major player in NATO air forces before the arrival of the F-104.
The kit is not difficult. To me it looks better with the canopy closed than open. The model was painted with Talon metal paints, the first good acrylic metalizer paint, no longer available but I have heard a rumor that Vallejo Metalizers owe their existence to Vallejo picking up the rights to the Talon paint's patent.
Beautiful.
Excellent save, Tom!
My favourite version of the F-86. Looks really good Tom.
Very nice result on this Sabre, Tom @tcinla
Glad you were able to save it from the garage of doom.
Hopefully you were able to fix the leakages as well.
They're holding up and the landlady is sending a roofer next week to repair the area.
Nice save, Tom!
Great rescue from the garage of doom.
Great build as usual Tom! This is the same kit I am currently working on, about 75% complete and about to start painting. I agree with your thoughts that the kit is quite nice- certainly a good value considering what what I paid for it online. Was going to pose the canopy open but maybe I will close it after reading your write up.
Stunning looking Sabre, Tom!
Nice save.
Really great job! I remember building the old Aurora F-86D, over and over again. Back then it was the only F-86 available...no A's or E's. The paint looks beautiful, with the variations on various panels. I'm glad Vallejo came out with their Metallics line. So easy to use and they look nice for a NMF...at least to me (IPMS rivet counter judges may disagree).
Man, I've got one of those in stash and have pondered starting it many times. Your article is a great inspiration, Tom @tcinla and features a good-looking model, too! 👍
Beautiful Sabre, Tom. Those rains and mud slides look horrific out your way.
Yeah, 400 mud slides in LA County. Glad I now live in the flats instead of the hills. Supposed to be gone tomorrow morning. Two days of rain delivered half the normal season total.
Nice work on this Sabre, Tom @tcinla. Hank Ketchum would have approved too. Wasn’t there a Pro-Modeler version of this kit?
It began as a Pro-Modeler version, and I think this was that.
Another beautiful bird from your workshop Tom. I like it very much.
Looks great Tom! Great save on the worthy kit.
Gonna look for the Vallejo paints and give them a try.
My parents tell me that my brother was named Dennis due to my mom always tuning in to watch Dennis the Menace.
That is a sharp-looking Sabre Dog! Well done.
Great D model Saber. The Jimmy Durante of the F-86 would. I agree they definitely look better with the canopy closed. Nicely done Mr. Cleaver, as always!