Sabre/Fury GB: Academy 1/48 F86 Sabre, HAF 341 squadron
Finally I was able to finish my entry of the Sabre/Fury groupbuild, the Academy F86 Sabre in 1/48 scale.
Last year I received this amazing gift from Spiros @fiveten when he and his wonderful family visited the Netherlands.
It was a great time together, talking about modelling and lots of other topics.
When I mentioned to George @gblair and Spiros @fiveten that I wanted to build this aircraft, the idea was raisen to have a Sabre build all together in Greek scheme.
Spiros provided me decals to be able to build mine in the colors of 341st squadron of the Hellanic airforce who flew the Sabre between 1954 and 1964 when they got replaced by F5's.
This Academy kit has the possibility to build it with the canopy and airbrakes open, as well as seperating the tail section to be able to display the engine.
As expected, the Academy kit is a joy to work on, fit is great, with a small exception of the windscreen, and the only issues I had during this build were introduced by myself.
The only extras added was some Eduard PE on the interior.
Tale stripe decals were provided on the Icarus decal sheet showed a red/yellow/green combination for 341 squadron, searching the internet does show that the green should be black.
With the stripes being straight, and definitely would not fit the shape of the aircraft as experienced by George already, I decided to paint them on.
After succeeding I discovered my stupidity of not paying sufficient attention when applying the colored bands, they were reversed. Repainting did solve it but this was much more work than expected.
Another issue I ran into was new to me, after applying the decals, which went perfectly fine and all settled nicely, applying the clear coat caused the decals on the lower surface to wrinkle.
This I never experienced before, not after applying a clear coat, but it was possible to correct it by creating small incisions and applying decal softener.
The latest challenge was cutting the roundle decals that ran over the air brakes without damaging them, with a new #11 blade this went more smoothly than expected.
I know it is not the best Sabre build, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome and it will remember me from that wonderful day Spiros and I had last year.
Thanks to all who followed the build thread and their valuable remarks. Specials thanks to Spiros for providing me this kit and the decals and to George for his idea to create this wonderful Sabre/Fury groupbuild.
-
- 1. red/black inverted :-( some more work to do to get it corrected
-
- 1. The real one
-
- 1. No idea what could have caused this
Well done John, @johnb, it looks pretty damn nice to me. I wouldn't be so sure it isn't one of the best or better builds. I like the metalic finish you were able to achieve, I think it adds a lot to the build. I also like the back story and that you met Spiros, @fiveten. That is a pretty cool story in itself.
@luftwaffe-birdman, thanks a lot, Walt. Well appreciated. True, the reason behind this build is wonderful, something I will never forget.
Really fantastic!
@lis, thanks you, Bernard. Glad you like it.
It's a very nice result and the scheme itself is fantastic.
@christopher, thank you very much, Christopher
Excellent result, my friend John! One of the best F-86s I have seen! Will always remind me the fantastic time we had with your family in The Netherlands, something that will opt to do again in the near future! Your build thread was excellent and very informative.
Congratulations!
@fiveten, thanks a lot, Spiros. Thanks for everything, the gift and most of all the visit. The joy we had will always be remembered and I agree that we definitely should repeat this in the near future.
Excellent build, John.
@blackmopane, thank you very much, Rafi.
Beautiful work @johnb - that is really well done. Your metal finish is top class and I love the weathering you've done making it look just like a plane that has been well used. Fantastic work.
@anthonyricco, thanks a lot, Anthony.
Great result, @johnb, a wonderful looking F86 that will always remind you of such an enjoyable day that you had with your great friend Spiros @fiveten.
@chinesegeorge, thank you, George.
Fantastic build, John @johnb! Apart from the lovely greek scheme i love the nmf finish, it looks weathered and the panel lines are still somewhat visible, i love that. This is inspiring for the Airfix Vampire i have yet to do.
Repainting is always very frustrating, great you hung in there! It's also nice that you got to meet with Spiros 🙂
@fxrob, thanks a lot, Felix. Looking forward to your Vampire build.
A fantastic build and finish.
What a beauty
@alistairfgauld, thank you, Alistair
Very nicely done, John. I like the internal display.
@gwskat, thank you, Gary. The IP is from the Eduard PE set FE236.
Very attractive result, John. Nice work.
@j-healy, thanks a lot, John. I simply loved the way this aircraft looks with the engine visible.
I have to laugh John. Your Fury looks really good. Top built model. That happened to me with those decals too. I handled it the same way.
@milantesar, thank you, Milan. In that case you can understand how I felt after it happened. Luckily it was relatively easy to solve.
John, this is a very nice build with a nice story too. The most satisfying projects are often the ones that have a personal connection.
I’ve also experienced the same issue with the decals, I put it down to being too heavy handed with the clear coat.
@popeofchillitown, thanks a lot, Ben. I agree, it is so much nicer to have a build with a meaning. Thanks for your thoughts about the clear coat, I will keep this in mind for next time.
A great-looking Sabre and an excellent story behind it! Well done.
@gkittinger, thank you, Greg. Appreciate your compliment a lot.
Bravo, John @Johnb. Your Sabre looks terrific after all that work dialing it in and dealing with the stipes and decal issues. I remember when you met up with Spiros and his family but didn't realize he was the guy who gave you this kit. What a nice story along with your excellent photos. Another winner for your growing collection.
@eb801, thanks a lot, Eric. The build was unfortunately not trouble free, but all issues were introduced by myself. Spiros @fiveten was indeed the guy who presented me this kit in real life, a wonderful moment.
That looks great! The finish and layout are excellent!
@guitarhack5, thank you, Scott.
Excellent build, and very nice photography John!
Despite the setbacks you have had during the build the end result is superb and that’s what makes the difference, isn’t it?
It was really fun to follow your updates.
@alfred, thanks a lot, Alfred. It was pleasure to have you following the build.
A greatly detailed build , nicely done!
@roofrat, thanks a lot, Robert.